Work Text:
Bakugou had never understood why his friends would become familiars to witches. He couldn't understand the appeal of wanting to sign your soul away to some magic mortal. But then he saw her in the woods one night, and the tingling sensation under his skin made his body sing out in longing and desperation.
He hated the feeling and wanted it to stop. But the sight of her trying to ensnare a small bunny spirit as a familiar made the sound of his blood pounding in his eardrums deafening.
He yelled and scared the thing off.
He wasn't expecting the bubbling fury in her flushed face when she turned to look at him. It looked out of place on her soft features. "Hey! What was that for!?" He couldn't tell if her cheeks were puffed out in anger or if she just looked like that.
"I don't appreciate your kind trying to catch things in my woods."
"Your woods!?"
"Yeah," he crossed his arms over his chest in annoyance, "my woods." She mirrored his stance. “Last I checked,” she was practically snarling, “nobody owns the woods.” He took the challenge and snarled back. Her eyes narrowed darkly as his did too. “No one lives here but me and those other pesky animal spirits you are trying so hard to entrap. That makes it mine.” He smirked. So did she. “Wrong again dog, my cabin is two miles north; off the dirt road leading out of town. Checkmate.”
This bitch did not just call him a fucking dog.
“I’m not some mangy mutt, I could rip your throat out with my teeth.” he snarled again, this time with his teeth on full display. “And I could curse you in four different ways before you take another step.” she said and grabbed the strap of her bag tighter. She was bluffing.
To be fair though, so was he.
He could still kill her easily, just maybe not like that.
“You can’t even catch a familiar, why should I be scared of you?” He said and looked her up and down again. She didn’t look like much. Especially in terms of being any sort of threat. She had a pointy hat for crying out loud, like she was dressed up for Halloween. It was October, but the cheap costume store looking witch outfit seemed a little on the nose. Plus, she just looked so soft.
The thought sent another warm buzz through his body and he yelled at himself internally.
Her jaw dropped and her nostrils flared. He didn’t know if her face was just naturally that red or if he really pissed her off. He didn’t really care either way. “I would have if you had decided not to be an asshole!” she said and stomped her foot. Literally stomped her foot. Like a child throwing a tantrum after not getting their way. And that is exactly what she looked like.
He didn’t mean for the snicker to come out.
She was in his face in seconds. “What is your problem?!”
She was easily half a foot shorter than him so he had to crane his neck to look down at her and try not to get his eye poked out by her stupid pointy hat. And she had to crane her neck to look up at him. And that was where his downfall started. Because she smelled like strawberries and mint. It flooded his nose and made his nostrils burn with how overpoweringly sweet it was.
He almost gagged but it made his throat tighten and his whole body locked up like he was going into anaphylactic shock and he was allergic to the way this girl smelled. He made the mistake of making eye contact with her and had to cover his mouth and nose. His face must have contorted in disgust, because she became impossibly more enraged.
“You smell.”
Nice one Katsuki.
“I showered less than an hour ago. How dare you! First you scare off my bunny, then you insult me?!” If she had the abilities to shoot smoke out of her ears and hiss like a whistle like in the cartoons, he’s sure that she would have right in this very moment. To be fair, that last bit wasn’t necessarily true, and maybe a little far.
In his defense she did smell, he just didn’t specify that she smelled amazing and he didn’t know how to process it.
She threw her hands up in exasperation and turned on her heels to start walking away. “Ugh! I don’t have time for this.”
He didn’t realize he had grabbed a hold of her bag strap until he felt the pull of resistance. They both shared a brief look of surprise as their composure broke and then they were back to glaring at each other.
“Let go.” She said and tried to tug her bag away from him. He wanted to let go, but couldn’t bring himself to loosen his grip. She tugged again, harder this time. “Let go!” she said a little louder as if he didn’t hear her the first time.
He had but all of his instincts were going haywire. He felt in his gut that he couldn’t let her out of his sight ever again. And he hated the feeling. He willed all his strength into letting her bag go right as she tugged it again causing her to stumble backwards but catch herself before she fell.
Once she stabilized, she shot him the nastiest look she could manage and started walking off again.
“Why are you following me?”
Why was he following her?
He hadn’t even realized he was doing it until she snapped at him. She looked at him expectantly waiting for an answer that he didn’t have. “Leave me alone.” She said as she eyed him wearily and took a few steps back while watching him over her shoulder, before snapping her head forward and picking up the pace a little bit.
He had to fight every urge within him to keep his feet planted as he watched her slowly disappear into the trees.
All of his instincts were screaming at him and his head was pounding, demanding he follow her. And even though he didn’t know where she was, he knew he could find her. Smell her out if he had to. Anything to become…
No.
Absolutely not.
He would not stoop that low.
He was his own being and he would not bind himself to a temptress . One who has signed her soul away to the devil. Even if she smelled divine and he could tell she was breathtaking behind all that red faced rage.
He had always been above the idea, but everything within him yearned to become the little witches familiar. He was convinced he was just pent up and needed to get laid. That would fix his problem.
But it didn’t, because what he wanted from her was not within the confines of his body, but in his soul. It frustrated him to absolutely no end. He was made for so much more than becoming a familiar. But the annoying hum of his blood in his veins he knew was caused by her.
He was becoming increasingly agitated and people were starting to take notice.
“What’s got your panties in a twist?” His mother asked him one night while preparing dinner. He choked on his water but quickly recovered with a cough. “What the hell are you on about?” He asked with a sneer.
“You have been extra pissy lately and have been eating all my expensive out of season strawberries, which I thought you didn’t like.”
Oh god was it that bad?
“S’nothing.” He grumbled and turned to look away from his mother because if she found out about his weird fixation it would be totally over for him.
It had been maybe a week with Halloween right around the corner and instead of the holiday all he could think about was that stupid round faced witch in the terrible costume.
It was bad.
He was never hung up on anything, let alone a person. It pissed him off.
“It’s clearly something. Spit it out.” Even though he couldn’t see her, he knew his mother had her arms crossed over her chest and her hips popped out to one side; her “annoyed mom” stance.
“I said it’s nothing. Leave me alone, hag.” He glanced over his shoulder and was unsurprised to see that he was correct about her pose. He snarled at her, making sure to show his overly sharp canines. She snarled at him in return, the blond ears atop her head folded down and back in challenge.
“Alright you two settle down, what’s going on here?” His father stood in the entryway to the kitchen, his voice firm but gentle.
“The brat is acting unusually and won’t fess up as to why.” His mom said, not breaking eye contact with her son. “I’m sure if something was wrong, he would have told one of us.” His dad said as he made his way into the kitchen and next to his mate. He slowly rubbed her back and her ears twitched and returned to their natural upright position as she relaxed a fraction.
And just when he thought he had gotten off scot-free, “but.” Bakugou groaned and pointedly avoided making eye contact with his dad.
“I have noticed that you seem to be acting a bit differently as well. Like I said, if it was something bad you would have told us by now. So we know it’s nothing too terrible. But your mother and I are worried. You seem out of it these last few days.”
Bakugou gave an exasperated sigh, “I said it’s nothing, can you drop it?” He said with only a fraction of the hint of venom in his voice when he spoke to his father as compared to the overwhelming flow of it when he spoke to his mother.
“Talk to us, Katsuki.” His father almost pleaded. Bakugou’s throat tightened for a moment. “I…it’s just…” the witch flicked across his mind for a moment and he must have pumped out an embarrassing amount of pheromone because his mom gasped when she caught his scent. “You are trying to court someone!” She said and dropped her arms to her sides and shot up, straightening her spine.
“What!? No!” His voice came out less vicious than he wanted and more broken, like he was going through puberty again and his voice was trying to catch up.
“You are! I can smell it all over you! Who is it? Does it have anything to do with my strawberries? Honey, who do we know that smells like-”
“Stop! It’s not like that!” He could feel how red his face was, but he couldn’t tell what emotion it was that was triggering it. His mother crossed her arms again. “Then what is it like? Huh?”
There was no way in hell he could tell them. They would disown him. A Bakugou Alpha, as a familiar? Fat fucking chance. But he wasn’t getting out of there without telling them something, and he sure as shit wasn’t going to be pretending to be courting anyone. His mother was already giving him a hard enough time about wanting grandpups now that he was 18. He would rather die than give the hag any semblance of hope. He also couldn’t tell her the truth, but he couldn’t lie to his dad. He was cornered and he had to think of something fast.
“You better not be hesitating to try and think of a way to bullshit me. I can tell when you are lying because you fucking suck at it.” His mother was glaring at him again. They growled at each other again. “Enough you two.” His dad said sternly stopping them both instantly, despite being a quite docile omega his dad had some bite to him when he wanted to. But Bakugou figured he had to when he had to put up with the obnoxious alphas that were his wife and son on a daily basis.
“Katsuki, tell us what is going on,” his dad said and turned to him, Bakugou could tell from the look in his eyes that there was no way out of this without the truth, “we are concerned, son.” Bakugou groaned internally before relenting. “There is this girl...”
“I knew it!”
“Mom!” “Honey,” both he and his father spoke up in unison at his mothers interruption. His mom closed her mouth but she looked smug and it pissed him off. “Nevermind.” He hissed and when he side-stepped to try and get past his parents, his dad reached out and grabbed ahold of his arm, “go on, it’s okay,” he said gently. Bakugou huffed before continuing again.
“She’s..she’s not one of us.”
“She isn’t human is she?”
“Not exactly.”
“Not exactly? What does that mean?”
Bakugou went silent again and debated on if he should actually tell them. But when he glanced back up to lock eyes with his dad he knew he had to, consequences be damned. He was struggling and needed their help. “It was a few days ago, I was wandering around looking for shitty hai-I mean Kirishima and I just kind of happened upon her by accident...trying to catch a familiar.”
That was all he needed to say for it to hit both of his parents. His arm seemed to weigh a million pounds when his father dropped it in his shock. “Told you it was fucking stupid.”
Bakugou grumbled more to himself than to them. “So, you mean to tell me you are courting a witch?” His mother asked, voice surprisingly delicate. “I already told you It’s nothing like that!” Bakugou snapped again. “It’s just,” he let out a sound of frustration, “I can’t explain it. I saw her trying to catch that rabbit spirit and I felt almost jealous in a way. I know how fucking stupid that sounds, because it is but it’s the truth.”
There was silence again and Bakugou wanted to floor to swallow him up so he would never have to look either of his parents in the eyes again and only see disappointment.
“Sounds like courting to me.” Bakugou choked on his own spit “Jesus Christ mom! What part of any of that sounded like courting to you?” His exclamation came out as more flabbergasted than anything. “To become a familiar is to bind your entire being to someone, just like mating.”
Un-fucking-believable, that woman would stop at nothing to get grandpups.
“They are nothing alike you crazy bitch.”
“Oi asshole! You can’t talk to me like that! I'm your goddamn mother!”
“Enough!” His dad cut in again and they both instantly shut up. His dad looked at him and only him. “Tell us about this witch, what’s she like? What drew you to her?”
Bakugou once again didn’t know what to say. How was he supposed to tell them when he didn’t even know the answer himself. Bakugou shrugged.
“Use your words.” His mother said with only a hint of annoyance. He sent her an agitated glance but relented. “She’s…I don’t even know. We interacted once and we were arguing and then she left. But everything within me told me to follow her. I can’t explain it. This is stupid. Why does this fucking matter?” Bakugou was becoming increasingly more uncomfortable by the second and needed to plan an escape.
“Then I think you should do it.” His father said, surprising him. “You can’t be serious. Giving my soul to someone who sold theirs for magic? And even if she hadn’t, I’m future pack alpha. I’m not some little plaything to help channel magic.” He doesn’t know who he was trying to convince anymore.
But he had made points and as his parents looked at each other he could see them silently debating with one another. He made another move to escape the kitchen and as he made his exit he heard his father’s voice “Just think about it. Whatever you decide, we support you.”
Bakugou practically bolted to his room.
Over the next two days, he fought internally with himself because he definitely wasn’t considering finding that damned witch and demanding she claim him as her familiar. Definitely not. But the itchy bubbling under his skin when he tried to fight down his instincts was going to be the death of him. He went on walks; sometimes it helped, sometimes it got worse.
But while out farther then he usually dared go, it suddenly stopped. And he should have guessed why when he saw her in a clearing reading from a grimoire. She was so focused, it was far too easy to sneak up behind her. She didn’t even notice anyone else was around, until he knocked the spell book out of her hands.
She gasped and spun as quickly as she could manage. Her shock and startled features instantly morphed into rage upon seeing him. “You!” She exclaimed.
“Me.” Bakugou said with a smirk, masking his nerves. “What do you want, dog?” She spit venomously. His smirk fell and he scowled at her. “Just making sure you aren’t trying to capture anymore rabbit spirits as your black magic familiars.” He said, trying to sound snarky. Her jaw dropped. “Black magic!? Excuse me, we aren’t all like that, you jerk!” She was red in the face with fury again.
“Enough of you are.”
He had never seen someone scream with their mouth closed before and he found it almost funny. She was absolutely pissed. “So what? You think you are better than all your soulless counterparts?” He asked with the hint of a smirk again. “I never said that.” She back tracked. “Yeah, but you think you are huh Cheeks?”
Her eyes blew wide “Cheeks?” he shrugged. “Are you insulting me?” She asked and cupped her face in her hands. “I dunno, am I?” He wasn’t. But he was an asshole and teasing her sent a thrill down his spine. She tore her hands from her face and spun around to grab her grimoire off the ground, as she did that she spoke, “I’ll have you know that I come from a long line of light witches! And I have the most potential of all of my peers just so you are aware,” she spun to face him again, “I could destroy you.”
He met her challenge with a blaze of a fight burning behind his eyes. “You can’t even catch a familiar, what threat are you to me?”
Instead of answering she reached into the bag still slung over her shoulder and took out a wax cover vile filled with a shimmering dark blue liquid and threw it at him, he dodged. A hunk of ground where the vile hit and shattered disappeared.
He let out an amused whistle, “not bad.” He looked back at her and saw her reaching back into her bag. “If you are so great, prove it. Prove it and I promise I will help you find the best familiar and stop pestering you about it.”
She looked at him skeptically. Not that he could really blame her. He’d kind of been an asshole both times that they have interacted. But he could see it in her eyes, the intrigue. She held her spell book close to her chest and took him in as if trying to size him up, seeing if she could find his angle. “And why should I do that?” She said with the skepticism in her voice matching her face. “I just told you. I will find you the best familiar. That way you really will be the best witch, as you claim to be.”
“I never said-” she cut herself off with the shake of her head. She grunted and looked at the ground. She took her bottom lip between her teeth in consideration. “And how exactly would I do that?” She said not looking up from a tuft of grass interlaced with some dandelions, fighting for their life in the uneasy conditions that the autumn brought them. “Fight me.” That got her attention.
She snapped her head up to look at him. She released her lip with a pop and her jaw hung slightly ajar. “Excuse me?” she asked, convinced that she had not heard him correctly. Right then, the wind picked up ever so slightly, and shifted so that he was standing downwind from her. When the wind blew through the tendrils of her hair and towards him, it carried her scent with it. Mint and strawberries. He inhaled deeper than he meant to, her scent made him almost light headed. But it also ignited everything within him; his soul was ablaze. He knew with every fiber of his being that he had to be her familiar, even if he was hiding it behind the guise of a fight to save face, he would have given himself over instantly had she asked.
“You heard me.” His voice came out hoarser than he had intended. “Why would I fight you?” She said as she raised a brow. “If you can beat me in a fight then that proves you are better than me and I will give you permission to use one of the creatures here in the woods.” The annoyed look returned to her features. “I don’t need your permission.” she said sharply. She pivoted her body slightly away from him like she intended to leave. “Just do it!” he said, internally cringing at how desperate he thought he sounded. She stopped mid turn and sighed before turning fully back to him. “And how would that be fair exactly? I have magic,” she said.
“Then don’t use it.”
“That also wouldn’t be a fair fight, You are bigger than me first off, and secondly, you’re a werewolf, that makes you physically stronger than any human.” He gave her a considerate nod, “That is true, but you aren’t human are you?” he said. Her brow furrowed impossibly further. “Fine.” She said and waited for him to get into position.
She lunged first, and before he could even resist, she pulled on the chain attached to the collar around his neck and yanked it hard enough to pull him off balance, and she kneed him in the face. When he shot back up to get out of range she took her grimoire in both hands and slapped him across the face with it. The book was so thick and she hit him so hard that he actually stumbled and fell on his ass. He was dizzy and disoriented. She had run out of the clearing before he even had enough of his senses to notice her running off.
The grin on his face was absolutely wicked. He got up and ran after her, stumbling a bit in the beginning, but quickly regaining his balance and following her scent, but she hadn’t gotten very far and he could see her off in the distance running as fast as she could. Not fast enough, though; he tackled her in less than 6 seconds.
She struggled trying to get him off of her, but he just pinned her to the ground. “Nice one, Round Face, but you are going to have to do better than that.”
And she did, by kneeing him in the groin. He deflated and practically curled in on himself, she kicked dirt up in his face while trying to scramble away. He sucked in a sharp breath trying and failing to mask the pained groan he let out.
By the time he could stably get his legs under him, she was long gone. But he trusted his instincts, he could find her. He would become her familiar if it was the last thing he did.
After putting her in her place for fighting dirty, of course. He was pissed, but thrilled and knew he had to find her.
And he did. Almost two and a half hours later after sunset, he found the cabin she had talked about, smoke billowing from the chimney and the lights on in the kitchen where he could see her, not wearing the ridiculous hat and costume. He stalked up to the door and loudly knocked. It took almost a full minute but eventually the door opened, and as soon as the witch saw who it was she tried to slam the door in his face. But she had been right about him being far stronger than her.
He shoved the door open and barged in. “Get out!” She shrieked. “No.” he gruffed and kicked the door closed behind him. He had to look her directly in the eyes to avoid looking at her thighs that were exposed by the cotton pajama shorts that she adorned. “Get out!” She yelled again, and took half a step back as he took one forward. “No, you fought dirty and then ran. That wasn’t a fair fight at all.” He growled. She scoffed. “It wasn’t a fair fight to begin with.” She countered and crossed her arms across her chest.
“Despite that,” he said, taking another step towards her as she took one back, “you did still technically win. And I am a man of my word.” Her eyes widened. “I don’t want your help getting a familiar. I only fought you so you would leave me alone.” He smirked, “And how did that work out for you?” She glared at him, “Take a wild guess.” He chuckled. She rolled her eyes. “Get out.”
“No, I told you I would get you a familiar, and that is exactly what I am going to do.”
“I don’t want you to.”
“I don’t care.”
She let out a shout of frustration and threw her arms up “Fine!”
Victory. Bakugou could already feel his soul singing in getting what it craved. “Me.” he said. This halted her moment of angered annoyance “Excuse me? You? You can’t be serious.” She said more than asked. “I am.” he answered anyway. She shook her head, “no.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No! End of discussion! No!”
“Make me your familiar or I will scare off every other spirit in this forest and make your life a living hell.”
“You’ll make my life hell if I do!”
“Just do it!” he was losing his patience. He just needed her to claim him or whatever the hell it was that she had to do so that he could once again feel a semblance of peace in his own body. She crossed her arms over her chest again, shook her head and huffed in annoyance “Why do you want this so bad? You know this means you will be stuck with me my whole life right? Once the ritual is done there is no going back.” She looked at him the same way his father sometimes when he was afraid Bakugou was getting in too far over his head. It tugged at his heart.
“I just know that this is what I need to do.”
She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth again and looked at the wall just behind as she considered. She tapped her foot before closing her eyes and relenting. “We don’t even know each other’s name. Normally a witch would name their familiar, but it’s just a wandering unbound spirit. You are not that. So I assume you already have a name.” She said, finally meeting his gaze. “Katsuki Bakugou.”
“Ochako Uraraka.”
Ochako Uraraka.
What a fitting name. It warmed him at his very core. “Okay...Katsuki.” She tested. The sound of his name slipping off her tongue exhilarated him. “You’re really sure about this?” She asked. He had never been more sure about anything before in his life. He just gave her a nod and she sighed. “Okay, the full moon is Halloween night, we can do the ritual then,” she cast him a quick harsh look, “don’t make me regret this.”
“I won't.” He promised with everything that he had in him. “Okay well can you get out so I can go to bed? It’s been a long day.” She said and the arms that were crossed across her chest had moved fluidly until she was hugging herself.
He cleared his throat. “Right well. I’ll be back then. I know where to find you.” he said and took two lard steps away from her out of her space and back, nearly brushing against the door. And with her back nearly to the other wall he realized how small her living accommodations were.
Right when he tried to cast a glance around the door suddenly opened knocking him to the side. In walked a man with cloak and dual colored hair “Ochako.” he said, not yet noticing the boy he knocked on the floor. She seemed just as caught off guard about this man’s sudden appearance as Bakugou was. “Shoto, I didn’t know you were coming over.” She said and looked from the one uninvited guest to the other causing the cloaked man to follow her gaze to Bakugou who was still on the floor. “Who is this?”
“Oh its uh-”
“I’m her familiar who the fuck are you?” Bakugou growled at the other man. He felt his ears fold down and back much like his mothers did when she was mad. “You’re her familiar?” The man, Shoto, looked him up and down skeptically and looked back at Ochako for an explanation that she did not seem to have.
She looked back to Bakugou. “You should go.” She said clearly uncomfortable about the predicament that she has found herself in, whatever that was exactly Bakugou was unsure. “No,” he protested, “we haven’t finished yet.” He said. “I said we will do that on Halloween.” He stood and brushed himself off. “Why can’t we do it now? Is the moon that important?”
“I mean it isn’t technically necessary, but it is best if we wait for the full moon. That gives you time to prepare and that makes it easier on both of us.” She said and shifted her weight from one foot to the other awkwardly. “I’m ready.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm herself before she spoke again. “If we do this, you always need to be around me, at my beck and call. Because of that you won’t be able to be around any friends and family you may have. This gives you a few days to say your farewells and really think this decision over.”
“I told you. I’m ready.”
Before she could argue, Shoto cut in “You heard the dog. He’s ready.” Bakugou snarled at the word dog, flashing his canines. The other man flashed his teeth back, and that’s when Bakugou realized he was a vampire. This only caused Bakugou to break his composition for a moment, he had never actually seen a blood sucker before. “Boys!” Ochako said and stood between them with her arms out pushing against both their chests. Despite all the alarm bells going off in Bakugou’s head about this Shoto guy, Ochako’s touch electrified him.
“I think both of you should go.” She said as she looked between them. “If you help the mutt now you can help me on Halloween.” Shoto said. Ochako gave him a pained look. “You know how much energy it will take out of me, Shoto. I really don’t think-”
“Will a familiar make you stronger or not?” The vampire asked, turning his icy gaze to her. “Well, yes but-” Shoto cut her off, “then do it.” She let out a whine of protest before dropping both her arms.
“Let me get my things. Both of you please get out.” She said and rubbed her face. Shoto nodded and obediently left. Bakugou watched her walk into the room at the other end of the cramped space and hesitantly left as well.
Both boys stood outside the cabin and refused to look at one another. After a few minutes, Ochako emerged wearing a ratty old coat and some very worn boots. But she held her grimoire and carried a bag full of god knows what. Without even acknowledging either of the boys, she started off towards the clearing that she had been in earlier that day. Both boys wordlessly followed.
The silence was strained on all ends, but when Bakugou made it to the clearing, Ochako had already started setting up some candles and was flipping through her book with a knife between her teeth. Shoto must have noticed the knife at the same time that he did “You didn’t say there would be any blood.” He stopped in his tracks. “You didn’t ask.” she said around the knife. “Ochako I don’t think I can...”
“Then go.” She said harshly, clearly not wanting to be in the situation that she was in right now. And instead of protesting, the vampire practically vanished into thin air. Bakugou was glad to be rid of him. “Are you going to try and kill me with that?” he asked as he made his way over to her circle of candles. “No, but we need to do a blood bond because you aren’t a spirit. I think. There isn’t much information on a familiar not being some spirit, so I'm doing the best that I can, here.” she said and beckoned him forward, handing him the knife. He took it without question.
She looked down at her book and started speaking in tongues, inciting a spell. The wind seemed to pick up whipping her hair around wildly. He felt something just as strong shift and started stirring inside him. She held her hand out to him and he somehow knew exactly what to do. He cut her palm with the knife and then cut his own. She clasped their cut hands together and the winds got impossibly stronger and the flames of the candles shot up so high they were nearly as tall as her.
Then suddenly everything stopped.
He awoke to the sun burning his eyelids and a painful pulling in his chest that made it hard for him to breathe. He sat up with a start. He was still in the wooded clearing and Ochako was nowhere to be found, but he somehow knew exactly where she was. And he needed to find her. He stood and brushed himself off and noticed all of her things were gone as well. He must have passed out after the ritual and she just left him there. His throat burned with how dry it was.
Without even having to think, he found his way to her cabin once more. He didn’t bother knocking, although he probably should have. He felt a new sense of entitlement and decided better to ask forgiveness than permission. He made his way into the cramped living accommodations and everything was quiet and still, and also a mess. He cringed at the thought of scolding her for not keeping tidy.
Despite the fact that he knew that she was here and that he could feel her presence, he did not see her anywhere in the tiny room. But then he saw the door he had seen her go through last night, and he walked over to it and grabbed the door handle, but hesitated before turning the knob.
But in the end he turned it. He slowly opened the door to reveal a tiny bedroom with a bathroom off to the side. And there she was, curled up under at least four different blankets. Despite the dried drool on the side of her mouth, she looked so at peace. He felt the corners of his mouth try to twitch up into a smile. He quietly closed the door.
When he took his hand off the knob he noticed his palm, it was completely healed. He almost didn’t believe it but it was real. He was her familiar, despite his ego.
But here he was. And even though he would never admit it, he was thrilled about it. He could not explain how he felt. He felt the same, but different somehow. He knew that in his soul he was a changed man. He felt good. Really good. And that was all the universe needed to send him a curve ball.
His phone rang. He had completely forgotten about the thing and patted himself down trying to find which pocket it was in. When he retrieved it from his back pocket he saw his mother's contact and promptly hit the decline button.
Right as he did so he heard Ochako’s bedroom door open and he turned to see her. She seemed startled to see him. “Bakugou. You’re here.” She said as she blinked rapidly as if trying to get the hallucination out of her vision. “Yeah, you said I always had to be around. This is me being around.” he said. “Yeah I did say that.” She said around a yawn and squeezed past him to get to the coffee maker. It was small and maybe only made enough for 3 or 4 cups. She busied herself with preparing the coffee. While Bakugou just stood there. “You know, this place isn’t really big enough for two people to get around. You don’t need to be around all the time.”
“How do you even live somewhere so small and remote?” he said looking around. “I just do.” she said nonchalantly. He nodded. They were in another awkward silence. And Bakugou couldn’t stop the words before they flew from his mouth. “So who was that last night?” She stalled for a minute. “Shoto Todoroki. He’s, uh, no one. Don’t worry about it.” she said and went back to her task.
His phone started ringing again.
They both looked at it as “Hag” lit up the screen. He once again declined the call. “Who was that?”
“My mom.”
“You call your mom a hag?”
He shrugged. “That’s not very nice.” She said as he pulled out two coffee cups. “I’m not very nice.” He said as he took the one she offered him. “I noticed.”
They both sipped on their coffee in silence. “What’s with the chain and collar?” She asked. “Costume party. Same with the getup you were wearing the other day?” She nodded.
“So how exactly does this familiar thing work?” He asked. She leaned back against the counter next to him. “Well, you are supposed to be kind of like a conduit, help me become stronger and better control my magic by sharing the burden. But no one in my family has ever had another person for their familiar before. Neither has anyone else I know. So I’m not entirely sure what that means for you, sorry.”
“S’fine.” He said and finished his drink. “So this no one blood sucker, what is it he’s demanding you do on Halloween next week?” She squeezed her mug tight and tugged her lip between her teeth again, like she always did when she was in deep thought. “On Halloween, the veil between the spirit world and our world is practically non-existent. And with the right kind of magic, you can sometimes give ghosts an almost physical form. Shoto has been alive for a long time, and there are people that he misses.”
“And you’d do that for him?” She nodded. “Why? What do you get out of it?” She finished her drink instead of responding, and after putting it in the sink she gripped the counter top and avoided eye contact. “It’s complicated.”
He could hear her heart pounding at a deafening volume. And then he picked up on the unusual smell of pine coming from her small bedroom. The same aroma the vampire carried.
“You’re…dating him?” He asked and she tensed more. “It’s complicated. I’m the only person who can give him what he wants so he sticks around.”
“And you just let him use you to get what he wants?” She finally turned to look at him. “It’s really not your business,” she said. “On the contrary, our souls are bound together. You and me, we are one in the same. That makes it my business.”
“Well, I don’t want to talk about it.” She said and made her way back into the bedroom. After a few minutes he heard the shower turn on, and then his phone rang again. This time, it was his father so he picked up.
“What the fuck, you brat!?”
He should have known better. “What do you want, hag?” He snarled. “Where the hell have you been me and your father have been worried sick about you!” He rolled his eyes. “I’m an adult, I can do whatever and go wherever I want.”
“You are still my son and I am still your mother and I deserve an explanation!”
“I was with Ochako, not that it’s any of your business.”
“Who the fuck is Ochako?”
“The witch.”
The line was silent. And then his mom gave a quiet “Oh” and it was back to silence. “I take it you decided then? You gonna mate her?”
“Jesus fuck mom, I’m not mating her! I’m her familiar. Not the same thing!” he rubbed his temples. “Besides, she’s got some dickhead vampire boyfriend or something.” This time his mom scoffed. “Blood sucking immortal assholes, she can do better. The both of you.”
She was right but there was no way in hell that he was going to tell her that. “So wait, you said you are her familiar as in you two already bonded.” She observed. “Yeah when Mr. Blood bank showed up she decided to perform her ritual or whatever, and it seemed to work. At least it feels like it did.”
“Then we absolutely need to meet her.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Katsuki, you will introduce us to that girl, do you understand me?”
“I said no.”
“Katsuki!”
And instead of giving a reply he hung up because he heard the shower shut off. And when Ochako emerged from her room a few minutes later in a sweater dress and tights and hair that was still dripping wet she seemed surprised to still see him there. “Sorry about all this. I’m not really used to anyone being here but me,” she said.
“Well, you are going to have to get used to me. And you are also going to have to tell me what to do because you know more about the familiar thing than I do.” She walked past him and continued to Towel dry her hair. “You don’t really need to do anything other than stabilize my magic, which we can work through. But other than that, you are your own person, so you can do your own things with your own free will.”
She sat on the small faded couch and laid her head back and closed her eyes. He sat next to her and she immediately woke again. “Teach me how to stabilize your magic.” She looked curiously at him. “Right now?” He nodded. “I mean, we can try.”
She turned to face him and he did the same. She held out her hands, “give me your hands,” he did as told. She laced their fingers together and closed her eyes. She spoke under her breath and Bakugou had no hope of understanding the words if he tried.
Immediately, he felt all five of his senses become flooded and overwhelmed with an icy chill. He ripped his hands away and she shot her eyes open. “I take it you felt that?”
“Yeah, what the hell was that?” Her fingers sparked. “Magic. It’s weird I know, but you will get used to it. That was a very simple spell that takes no effort so it’s not very hard on me. But the one I’m performing next Friday is an incredibly huge spell and takes a lot out of me. And because you don’t know what you are doing, It’s going to take a lot out of you too. So just be prepared for that.”
Despite her protest, he refused to go home, and over the next several days, he slept on her small uncomfortable couch so that he could be awake bright and early so she could teach him more about the world he had gotten himself into. He cleaned and made food so after day 4 she stopped complaining all together, and actually seemed very welcome to the idea of his presence. And he was very pleased by that.
The days flew by, and the night before Halloween, the vampire showed up again, and insisted on speaking to Ochako outside in private. Bakugou wanted him nowhere near her, but she went anyway. Bakugku was above pressing his heart to the door to listen in, but he wasn’t above peeking out the window and trying to figure out what was going on. He didn’t see much. But he did see Shoto give Ochako a kiss and then disappear and leave her love sick. It filled Bakugou with anger. Here was this amazing girl doing everything for him and the dick gives her a lousy kiss he probably doesn’t even mean anything by and then leaves. It makes him sick.
“That was pathetic.” Bakugou said as Ochako walked back back through the door. “That was the worst kiss I have ever seen. There was no passion behind it.” Ochako gasped, “Were you spying on our conversation?” He shrugged “not technically, just glanced out the window in curiosity is all.”
She looked upset. “Can we not do this right now?” He wanted to tell her that she was worth more than that piece of shit, but they had fought about it enough over the first few days. That he didn’t say anything and let her sulk back to her room.
After that, she seemed fine like nothing happened. They were both able to pretend, but then Halloween day came and Ochako looked miserable. “You seem like you really don’t want to do this.” Bakugou said over breakfast. She glowered, “I said I would.”
“If it’s going to make you this upset then you shouldn’t.” She just shook her head. “I’m going to do it. I always do. It’s the only reason he stays around.” Bakugou sneered. “That’s bullshit .”
“I know.” She agreed. She said it so quietly and so softly that she probably didn’t think he would hear it.
She was wearing the witch costume again, and she had seemed excited for it the other day, but now everything she did just seemed to make her upset. And it hurt Bakugou to watch. He wanted to help her, to comfort her in some way, but he had no idea how. He was shit at this kind of thing.
When the sun set, Shoto once again appeared at their door, and Bakugou had never seen Ochako in so much pain; but she covered it in a warm gentle smile. “It’s time my dear.” Shoto said and offered her his hand. He could feel the way the nickname “dear” beat at her already broken heart.
But if he tried to say anything, he knew she would snap at him, so he stayed silent.
This time when they got to her favorite clearing, the candles were already set up. Shoto had probably done it in his eagerness. “I’m going to need your help on this. It’s going to be rough on both of us. Do you think you can handle being incredibly overwhelmed?” She asked.
“Always.”
She took his hand in hers and made her way into the center of the candle circle. She gave Shoto a sad smile and began. Bakugou would have glared down at the other boy had he not immediately felt like he had been hit by a freight train. He felt like his life force was being sucked away with the wind that whipped past. And then there was a flickering. A figure in the circle with them. Like a trick of the moon light. A glitch. And then the flicker started taking a more permanent form. “-oto.” The figure was trying to speak.
“Izuku, Izuku can you hear me?”
“Shoto.” The figure's voice sounded staticy. Like it was speaking in-between radio frequencies. The candles roared dangerously and the wind became more violent. And Bakugou almost ripped his hand away when he saw the blood rushing from both of Ochakos nostrils.
Ochako then convulsed slightly and stopped, and with her everything else, the wind, the candles. All of it, except the voice. “Shoto, I'm here. Shoto.” The figure was now a fully formed person. Had he not known this was a ghost Bakugou could have sworn it was a real flesh and blood human. Shoto stepped into the circle and enveloped the green haired boy in a hug. Ochako pulled them out of the ring of candles and away from the scene.
Bakugou watched just long enough to see the two boys kiss.
Ochako refused to look and make a sound as they made their way back to the cabin. “So he uses you to see a dead lover? How disgusting. He’s using your feelings for him to his advantage and feels no remorse.”
Ochako stopped on the bottom step. “Stop it okay?” She said and looked at the ground as she wiped the blood from her face. “No I won’t. It’s bullshit and he should pay for doing that to you! Why do you put up with him?”
“Because no one else does!” She screamed. She looked back at him with tears streaking down her face. “His love for me may not be real but at least he makes me feel something! He may not love me but he pretends so that I can pretend. Pretend that someone loves me.”
Without thinking and without any semblance of hesitation. He cupped her cheek in his hand and put the other hand on her waist. And he kissed her. He kissed her properly the way that she deserves to be kissed. The way he has yearned to kiss her since probably the moment he first laid eyes on her.
When he pulled away and she gasped in for breath he leaned his forehead against her and took in her scent. “We don’t have to pretend.”
And then he let her go and walked into the cabin leaving Ochako on the steps in the hallow moon light with the knowledge of what a real kiss is meant to be.