Work Text:
HEY! This work is part of a series! Make sure you read Day 1!
About 15 years later…
“It’s getting louder.”
Ochako hummed, twisting her fingers around the red beads of her necklace as the sound of rifle shots and battle cries floated over them. “Sounds like it always does.” The blistered pad of her thumb rubbed one of the beads as she kept her eyes on the clouds.
“It’s definitely closer,” Izuku disagreed, pointing to the plume of smoke rising above the trees. “You don’t think they’ll invade the village, do you?”
“No,” Ochako dismissed, dropping her hand below her chest as she tilted her head to Izuku, “this stupid war has been going on for the last century. If they were gonna burn and pillage this crappy little village, they would have done it already. Not that there’s anything left.”
Izuku glared at her.
She shrugged as her gaze drifted back to the clouds.
“You okay?”
No. “Yeah, just-”
She was sick of war.
There was no escaping it.
It was everywhere, but Ochako couldn’t ignore it. War had come with a lack of food, isolation, a disappearing population, and a mass grave behind the temple that everyone pretended wasn’t there.
“-I don’t wanna talk about it.” She would have to go home soon and help her mother scrape together something for dinner while her father limped around the family farm doing chores like he hadn’t taken a bullet to the leg years ago. “You aren’t sick of all this?”
Izuku shrugged, not meeting her eyes as he tucked his hands behind his head. “They’re shipping me and a bunch of new guys out to the front line next month.” Another round of fire and shouts sounded off.
Ochako closed her eyes, breathing in a tight breath as tears burned her eyes. “Is-” She cleared her throat as her eyes followed a cloud drifting over them. “-Is that why Neito proposed?” War had taken everything from her, and now she was about to lose her best friend.
“He proposed?”
“Yep,” she huffed, voice flat, “I also got a proposal from Tenya and from the son of the blacksmith-” Ochako felt bad that she couldn’t remember his name.
“Yosetsu,” Izuku supplied.
“Yeah, him.” They had gone to school together. Ochako didn’t know why she couldn’t remember his name. “I thought it was weird that I had gotten three marriage proposals in less than a week.”
He frowned, “Why would it be weird?”
Ochako’s lips twisted, cocking an eyebrow as she turned to her friend.
“You’re beautiful.”
The comment warmed her stomach. “They’re trying to impregnate me before they go off to war just in case they don’t come back.” Ochako nibbled on her bottom lip as she forced herself to swallow what she really wanted to say.
If I’m so beautiful, then why haven’t you asked me?
“They don’t want me.” Ochako wasn’t sure that she wanted Izuku, but she’d decided that she could do worse. He was handsome. He just didn’t make her heart race. Her feelings for him weren’t what they had described in books or poems, but she could do worse.
He was okay looking.
Young.
Kind.
Treated her as close to an equal as he could despite the fact she was a woman.
She loved his mother like her own.
Ochako could do worse.
“We should get married,” she suggested, turning to see Izuku start choking at the suggestion. “Wow. Okay, I know it was a bad idea, but-”
“No,” he rasped as she stood up, dusting her dress off.
“You couldn’t just said that instead of nearly choking to death at the suggestion,” Ochako bristled. She wasn’t bothered by his answer truthfully. “You could do worse.”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “You, literally , started choking.”
“Because you surprised me!” Izuku defended, thumping a fist to his chest. “And you’re my best friend-”
“Oh god, just reject me already!”
“You don’t wanna marry for love?”
She scoffed. “Right because my heart strings are tied in a little knot over Tenya, Neito, and what’s his name.” Ochako really needed to remember his name before she rejected him. “I only suggested it because it made sense.”
Izuku would fulfill his enlistment requirement, and Ochako would have an easy way to turn down the other proposals.
“Or I could just marry Neito and hope he doesn’t come back,” she joked.
“Not funny.”
Before Ochako could respond, screams vibrated through the air sending the birds scattering out of the tree. “Neither is that,” she gasped. Her fingers curled underneath her chin as she saw flames.
Izuku scrambled to his feet. “I told you they were close.”
The battle had invaded the village.
He stumbled into his boots. “Go home.”
“What?” Ochako gasped as he started running toward the chaos. “You can’t be serious!” She stumbled after him. “What are you-”
She’d heard the stories and seen the aftermath of battle since she was knee high to a grasshopper, but she’d never found herself in the center of it. People were screaming and running around her in frantic spirals.
“Izuku!!” Ochako screamed as a soldier on a horse sped by her.
What should she do?
She turned behind her, meeting the old man Yoshi’s eyes for a moment before his head was gone in an explosion fire and smoke.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Izuku grabbed her arms, dragging her behind one of the horse stables. “I told you to go home!”
“And leave you to get your head blown off!” she hissed as a woman’s screams sent chills down her spine. “You’re not a soldier!”
“I might as well be,” Izuku countered, pushing her against the wall. “You stay here-”
“No, I-”
“Don’t make a sound-”
“I’m not leaving you-”
“I will come back and-”
“Or you won’t!” She grabbed his arm as she took a peak around the corner. “There’s like fifty of them. What the hell are you going to do?” To be honest, Ochako wasn’t sure how many of them were there. Maybe some of them were village soldiers, but she couldn’t be sure. “ Please. ” She grabbed his wrists, hoping to keep him there with her.
Izuku stared at her, shaking his head with his mouth hanging open.
“Don’t.”
It wasn’t hard to miss that he was trying to figure out a way to console her, but it was obvious the odds were against them. “I’ll be back.”
“No,” she whispered, shaking her head, “no, no, no-”
“I’ll be okay.”
“Izuku-” Tears splashed down her face as the sharp sound of swords slicing through air and flesh mixed with the sound of guns and death. “Don’t leave me, please, please- ”
“Hey, hey-” Izuku gently cradled her face, pressing his forehead against hers. “-I’ll come back for you.”
Those words meant to comfort her made something heavy sit in her stomach. Her arms went slack as something tugged at the back of her mind. Someone had said those words to her once-
I’ll come back for you!
I swear! I swear-
“Stay here, okay?” he whispered, gently forcing her grip to relax before placing a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll be back.” Izuku stepped back and took one last look at her before running into the fray.
“It’s okay,” she whispered while nightmares played in her mind.
A fire.
A broken red beaded necklace.
Large red wings.
The feeling of fire burning her hands.
“Oh gods,” she whispered as the sudden realization of Izuku’s disappearance her, “no, no, no.” She stumbled forward as she carefully tried to navigate the chaos. Ochako wasn’t sure what she could do to help, but she knew she couldn’t let Izuku fight alone.
Not when she was sure he wasn’t going to come back.
Because he didn’t come back.
“Stop it,” she whispered to herself as she forced herself to focus on what was going on right now and not whatever her mind had conjured up. Ochako yelped, feeling her foot get caught in something as she crashed into the dirt. She rolled to her back and looked to see a dead soldier, eyes open, glassy, and gone.
She stared.
“Izuku,” she breathed as she stumbled to her feet. She turned back to the dead soldier. “I’m sorry, sorry.” She leaned down, prying the sword from stiffening fingers. “Sorry, sorry, sorry,” she chanted, hands shaking as she grabbed the weapon. “Izuku!!” she screamed. Ochako couldn’t pinpoint where exactly his voice had come from.
But she decided to follow the screams.
“The school,” she muttered, picking up her pace as a few kids came into sight. “Get out of here!” If anything, she could help. “Go to the woods! Go, go!” She wasn’t sure the kids could hear her, but they ran anyway.
“Ochako!” Katsuma cried, crashing into her legs. “They burned down the school. Izuku, he-”
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” she whispered, cradling him against her leg for a moment. “Hey, hey, everyone is okay.” She knew there was no way he escaped without seeing the trail of bodies like breadcrumbs.
“Izuku told us to run,” he sobbed, rubbing his face against her hip. “I think Mahoro is still there and-”
“I’ll go get her,” she told him, adjusting the sword in her other hand as she patted his cheek. “You-” She swallowed, looking past his head at the flames rising. “You go with the other kids to the woods, okay? Just like we practiced. You hide and wait for someone to get you, okay?”
He nodded.
“It’s going to be okay,” she assured, keeping a small smile on her face to conceal the lie. I’ll get Mahoro. Go.”
Katsuma sniffled. “Okay,” he lingered for a moment, then took off toward the woods with the other children.
Ochako watched for a few seconds, waiting for the kids to disappear behind the trees before lifting the sword with both hands and running toward the school. “Mahoro!” she screamed, raising the weapon as she prepared to fight.
She had no idea how to properly wield it, but she just needed to survive.
“Mahoro!” she called out as she walked toward the burning building. “Mahoro!” Ochako looked around her, grip tightening on the handle. She whipped around, coming face to face with an unfamiliar man dressed in leather armor and fine chainmail. “I-” She licked her lips and tried to steady her breathing. Ochako squared her shoulders back as she pointed the tip of the sword at them. “I don’t wanna hurt you, but I will.”
He rolled his eyes.
“I’m just looking for one of the children.”
He smirked, chin held high as he stalked over toward her.
“A little girl,” she clarified, stepping back each time he moved toward her. “Please. I just want to make sure she’s okay, and, and-” She was quickly running out of space to put between them. “-I know you wouldn’t hurt a child.”
“Oh?” he quirked an eyebrow.
“I just need to find her and, and-” Well, she still needed to make sure Izuku was okay, but she didn’t need to tell him that. She’d tried and failed to appeal to her enemy's humanity by mentioning the lost child, so she doubted he would care about Izuku. “Don’t make me hurt you.” Her hands were shaking now.
He cackled, “Come on, dumpling. Put the knife, yeah?” He kept his stride toward her as he reached out a hand to her and beaconed her to come toward him.
Ochako’s hands cramped from her grip.
“Come on, now, be a good girl and- fuck!”
She gasped as blood gushed down the side of his face. She got him.
“You little whore!” he growled, lunging for her.
Ochako cried out as he easily overpowered her, taking the sword and throwing it to the side.
“Are you for real?!” he snarled, gripping the hair at the back of her head. “What the hell?!” He spat out a wad of blood as he marched her forward. “You fucking cut me!”
Ochako screamed as she struggled against his grip, feet dragging in the dust.
“Oh shit, dude.”
Ochako looked up, seeing a blonde man with bright golden eyes.
“What the fuck happened to your face, Yo?”
She twisted up to look at the man who held her captive.
“Little twit cut me,” he seethed as the man with golden hair and eyes snorted.
Ochako took a moment to look around, seeing Izuku meters away with his hands bound, on his knees, and head bowed in from of a group of warriors. Her eyes widened as she saw the sword go up, midafternoon light reflecting off the blade. “No, no! No please!!!” she screamed, trying desperately to pull herself away. “Stop! Stop!!”
The blade stopped just above his head, effortlessly slicing through a couple of green strands of hair.
Everything stopped and quieted around them as she fell to her knees. “Please,” she whimpered, tears falling from her face. " Please don’t.” She watched as the feathers around the collar of her friend’s would-be executioner rustled in the breeze as he turned his head toward her. “Please,” she whispered, words barely audible as she struggled to breathe under his red-hot gaze.
“Ochako,” Izuku breathed, eyes wide as he panted loudly. “No! Leave her out of this!” He thrashed, trying to rise to his knees. “I swear-”
“Shut up!” A pink-haired, pink-skinned woman yelled, yanking him back to his knees. “You-” Her boot connected with his cheek as she pinned him to the dirt. “You don’t make the rules here, pal!”
Izuku snarled, tears burning his face as he tried to fight.
“You can’t kill him,” Ochako pleaded, shaking her head as she looked into bright red eyes. The would-be executioner stared at her, face stoic and unmoving. “He, he-”
“Let her go!”
“His mother needs him,” Ochako pleaded, sobbing openly. “Please. Please. He-he is all she has. His father died, years ago in battle, and he-” She looked at Izuku before looking up at the blonde-haired, red-eyed warrior. “She can’t lose her son too. She can’t, I know-I know you wouldn’t take someone’s child-”
“Ochako! Run! Run!”
She crawled forward, kneeling in front of the executioner.
“Get away from her! I will kill you!”
Ochako hiccuped as she bowed in front of him. Her necklace slapped against her lips, dropping into the dirt as it slid from underneath her clothes.
It was stupid to take her gaze off her enemies in this situation, but Ochako wasn’t afraid of the man who had nearly decapitated her best friend. She was more worried for Izuku.
Her forehead rested within inches of his boots. “I’ll do anything!”
“No!”
“Take me instead!”
“No!” Izuku roared. “Kill me, just leave her alone! You leave her alone!!”
Ochako looked up, tears streaming down her face.
The executioner stared, face even and without emotion, as his eyes seemed to glow.
“Take me as collateral, or-or-” Ochako panted, tears flowing from her face. “-a prisoner, whatever you want, just don’t kill him. He’s-” She looked over at Izuku, closing her eyes for a moment as tears flooded her cheeks. “I can’t let you do this.”
“No!” Izuku screamed, thrashing futilely against the boot, pinning his cheek to the ground. “She has nothing to with this! This is between you and me, barbarian!”
“Please!” Ochako shouted, making sure that the blonde turned his attention back to her. She bowed her head, fingers curling into the dirt as his feet.
Everything was too loud around her.
“Okay,” the would-be executioner answered decisively and calmly, “I am man of my word after all.”
Ochako gasped in shock, collapsing in relief.
“Grab her,” his voice rumbled, “and let’s get out of here. We’re finished for today.”
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
“You fucking cut me.”
Ochako rolled her eyes stumbling along as Yo jerked the rope on her hands, guiding her through the woods. “I fucking warned you,” she countered with as much spite as she could muster. From what she could tell, they’d been walking for hours.The sun was starting to fade below the horizon, and she quickly found herself surrounded by foreign trees.
So even if she could escape, Ochako didn’t know where she was or which way to go. When they first set out, she tried looking for landmarks, but the forest was too dense and confusing.
She yelped as the ropes around her hands were pulled tighter, tripping and nearly tumbling to the ground.
“Yeah well,” he snarled, yanking her toward him and grabbing her face in his large hand, “I’ll be sure to warn you when I give you a matching mark on your pretty face, how about that?” He grinned as he leaned down in her face.
Ochako considered spitting in his face, but that wouldn’t be in her best interest.
“I’m pretty sure Blasty will filet your flesh and feed it to your family if you bruise her,” the pink haired woman interrupted, grabbing the reigns of her ropes. “Go walk with the horses, Denki and Kyoka will need help getting them settled.”
Yo narrowed his eyes at her before releasing her face with a push and a muttered curse.
“He’s just mad you got the jump on him, which,” the pink haired woman snorted as she guided her along, “I can’t say I’m too upset about.” She looked over at Ochako with a smile. “He’s one of the best fighters in our village, so the fact that a novice is gonna leave him with a pretty impressive scar is something.”
If Ochako hadn’t witnessed her grinding her best friend’s face into the ground with her foot she would think that she was nice.
Strange looking, but nice.
She’d never seen someone with pink hair, pink skin, with black and gold eyes.
Not that it made a difference it was just-
Weird.
“You aren’t a warrior, are you?” she questioned as they walked.
“Um,” Ochako stuttered, looking at the group diverting in front of her and then back at the pink-haired woman, “no? Where are we going?”
“We’re going to get you ready to enter our village,” she told her as she steered her toward a small stream.
Ochako stood at the edge, wondering for a second what would happen if she just hopped into the water. The current wasn’t strong but maybe drowning would be better than whatever was about to happen. “What are you doing?” she gasped, jumping away from the pink fingers fiddling with the front of her dress.
“Gotta make sure you’re not carrying any bugs into the village.”
“Bugs?” Ochako yelled, stepping away from her. “I’m not dirty! I don’t have fleas!” She couldn’t deny that she’d thought of them as dirty savages, but this felt personal.
The pink-haired woman stared at her as a smile twitched at the corner of her lips.
“I’ll take care of her,” the blonde-haired, red-eyed executioner, who Ochako had quickly figured out was the leader, said as he approached them. He shed his cloak and jerked his head. “Go help prepare dinner.”
The pink-haired woman nodded, giving a mockingly low bow. “Yes, Bakugo-sama!” she chirped before skipping away.
Katsuki looked at her.
Ochako took a step back. “I can bathe myself,” she proclaimed as she lifted her chin defiantly.
He pulled a small knife from his pocket, running his thumb over the edge. “No shit, but we need to make sure you don’t have an amulet or some sort of magic that-”
“You think if I were capable of magic I’d end up as a prisoner?”
He smirked, stalking over to her and cutting the ropes from her wrists.
Ochako clutched her wrists against her chest as she rubbed out the rope lines.
“I’m going to assume that you’re smart enough not to run,” he spoke standing in front of her.
She slowly looked up at him, eyes pausing at a faint scar on his shoulder for a few seconds before she found his gaze. The top of her head barely touched his chin. “I don’t even know where I am,” she confessed. “Even if I wanted to run, I don’t know how to get home.”
“Your home is here now,” Katsuki informed her. His fingers went to the collar of her dress. “And before you join us, we have to make sure you aren’t enchanted-”
“I can-” She panted, body trembling and stiffening nervously as he undid the buttons. “-I am perfectly capable of taking off my own clothes.”
His hands paused. “I have no intention of taking pleasure from your body when you aren’t willing to give it.”
She wanted to believe him. “You say that-” Ochako closed her eyes as the evening air hit her stomach. “-but you have no trouble taking people’s lives.”
“Eye for an eye,” he reasoned as the dress fell from her body.
She resisted the urge to cover her body, but she refused to let him see how afraid she truly was. “Until everyone is blind.”
He scoffed, the sound vibrating from his chest and straight through Ochako. “From the sound of it, you’re already blind.” His hands made quick worth of the binds she used to cover her chest before moving to the ones woven around her hips.
Ochako released a shudder when the last piece of fabric fell from her body. She opened her eyes, watching as Katsuki kneeled before her feet. She gasped, air catching at the back of her throat at the sight.
He was her enemy, but despite the scowl permanently etched on his face, he was quite handsome.
Beautiful.
Like a fallen star.
Ochako blinked, nearly tumbling backward at the tug on her boots. She looked down at Katsuki.
He quirked an eyebrow up, tugging at her boot again.
She swallowed thickly and hesitantly lifted her other foot.
Katsuki cradled her leg with surprising gentleness as he pulled the boot off. He sat her foot down before repeating the process on the other leg. His fingers lingered on her calf for a moment, slowly tracing down to her ankle, then to the sole of her foot before placing it on the ground. “I doubt you’re a real threat,” he muttered, scooping a handful of deep orange clay as he rose in front of her.
“Need I remind you,” she started, stuttering as he smeared the clay over her right collarbone to the ball of her shoulder. His lips quirked and eyes blazed as the tops of his fingers lingered near the red beaded necklace draped around her neck. “I injured one of your men.” Her eyes fluttered closed as his fingers worked down her bicep to the crook of her elbow. “I believe his name is Yo? I cut his face.”
He smirked, leaning down to grab another wad of clay. “Tch.” He grabbed her hand, carefully pressing his thumb into her palm as he massaged the clay on her hand. “I’d like to see you put a mark on me, Maru.” he paused for a moment, examining the healed burns on her finger with a frown and furrowed brow. His hands lingered for a moment before grabbing more clay.
If Ochako didn’t know better, she’d say he was flirting with her. “Maru?” Why was that name so familiar? But no one had ever called her that.
He brought a hand to her face, painting clay on one cheek and then the other. “Face like a fucking full moon.”
She wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not.
“Yo isn’t a bad warrior, but he wears armor,” he spoke as his fingers trailed down the valleys of her neck.
“That-” Ochako bit her lip as she willed herself to keep her eyes open and focused as his hands painted clay to her breasts. “-doesn’t make sense.” Her eyes dipped to his bare chest.
Katsuki smirked as his fingers dipped over the muscles of her stomach. “Armor is for people who plan on getting killed.” His fingers lingered along the lines of her abdomen before pulling away. “I don’t.”
Cocky bastard.
Ochako would have told him that if her tongue wasn’t tied because of his hands rubbing clay into her thighs. She relaxed into his touch. Ochako decided that she might as well relish in the feeling since she had no choice in the matter. A whimper tore from her lips when his hands circled her thighs to paint the underside of her ass. She steadied her breath and pressed her thighs together as if to deny him.
Or control herself.
She wasn’t sure.
The situation was strange, and she couldn’t figure out why she felt so at ease with him.
And why she wanted him to touch her more.
His hands were surprisingly gentle.
She expected him to slap the clay against her skin to get it over with, but he handled her with care.
As if she were precious.
Loved, almost.
She also hadn’t anticipated him treating her with respect. From the moment she’d offered herself to save Izuku’s life, she had expected to belong to the men of their village. She wasn’t naive. Her mother had lectured her repeatedly about what would happen if the enemies would get ahold of her.
She’d watched what happened to the children who were fathered by their enemies.
Who were unwanted.
Conceived by force.
Ochako had accepted that fate when she’d dropped to her knees before him, but he wasn’t even trying.
Katsuki was gentle and reverent in his motions. He covered her ass in clay before massaging it into her thighs, legs, and feet. His eyes didn’t linger or stare at her like the men and boys in her village had once she’d entered womanhood.
“Go wash in the hot spring,” Katsuki said, stepping back as he pointed to a pool of water a few meters downstream. “Once you’ve finished, you can wear my cloak until we get you some proper attire.” He turned away from her, busying himself with rinsing his hands.
Ochako nodded, unable to find her voice to answer.
To be continued…