Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia or any other copy-righted material.
She's No Angel
Chapter 2: A Request
'What a pretty face…such a shame to mess it up.'
Her vision was blurred as the distinct image of a dirt floor came into focus, her throat burned like it had been singed by some sort of chemical as she took in a shallow breath of air. Where was she?
'C'mon now I like to see a pretty face like this when I'm in a woman.'
She felt rough fingers glide across her cheeks harshly gripping her chin and then forcing her to look up at her captor's face. She was met with a deviant expression that made her heart sink deep into her chest.
A surge of fear chilled through her veins.
This was the face of a monster. Curled lips, and cold eyes lurking with a dark sinister glow.
These were the singular details she'd never be able to erase from her memory. They were burned onto the back of her lids forever like a brand.
She made an effort to move, but felt the pit in her stomach weigh heavier when her body refused to twitch a single muscle.
This wasn't good. She thought frantically as dread accompanied the overwhelming sense of terror flooded making her mind race.
Her position had been given away, they knew who she was. They knew why she was there.
Being a lone woman among criminals her mind could only come up with a few possible outcomes for her situation. She prayed they would knock her out before it came to any of them.
'How bout we leave the face for last, and tear up the other goods first? Huh Dave?'
A bone-chilling snicker trickled out of the men's mouths as they eyed her body hungrily.
Ochako shut her eyes tightly, willing her body with every ounce of strength she possessed to scream. But there was no sound, not even a whimper, that escaped her unresponsive lips.
They had drugged her, she was certain of that now. Many gangs she'd busted had used a similar kind on victims they abducted or on clients who didn't pay the fee.
She'd always wondered what that must've felt like.
Yet, here she was, experiencing it firsthand what it was like to be fully aware of her surroundings and unable to react to any of it.
Paralyzed.
She was paralyzed but conscious.
Hands gripped her torso tightly, and her line of sight shifted now to the ceiling of the factory building. The lights were blaring down on her, making her feel even more on display than she had.
The police were on their way, surely by now. Maybe they would make it before…before what she was sure was about to happen.
Her trail of thoughts faltered as a maniacal grin came into her line of sight. The man's eyes were glazed in lust and amusement.
Was he having fun seeing her limp body pressed into the dirt?
She tried once again to move anything, even just the tip of her fingers, with no success.
'Hey baby girl you know how we treat snitches?'
She heard him sneer, a chuckle resounding in his throat. Hot breath fanned over her neck, landing sickeningly close to her ear. Involuntary shivers ran down the length of her spine.
'We show them just how little they can actually control by putting this tiny pill in their mouth, and then…well…I guess you're about to find out what happens next.'
Uraraka did her best to keep her eyes steeled, she didn't want to become the shell of a person she once was. She'd seen so many women who'd experienced a traumatic rape lose themself. SHe was stronger than that...she needed to believe she was stronger than that.
She wanted to show these assholes that no matter what they did to her, it wasn't enough to make her spirit break.
This was her body, even if they abused that, she still had her resolve...her pride.
She felt determination waver slightly as sharp nails raked across her pale skin, drawing blood.
They then proceeded to drag across her collar, her shirt being ripped open to expose her ample chest. The material sagged away pitifully to her sides.
She brought force every ounce of malice she could draw on, and forced it into a glare at her attackers.
He had cold dark eyes, so black she couldn't see even a hint of light anywhere inside. They were like holes that had no end, no foreseeable escape from the hell crawling out of them like demons.
'Hey Dave? That pill is gonna keep'er from fighting us right?'
Stay strong Ochako, Strong! She kept repeating in her mind over and over as she tried to separate her mind from her body.
She thought of Deku, his green eyes filled with passion and his wide-set smile. What would he do if he were in this predicament? Would he give up?
'The dosage we gave her should keep her from even forming a whisper let alone movement.'
These bastards…she thought.
'Ah that's too bad.'
She watched a head of ruffled brown hair turn towards her. This one's eyes boring over her displayed assets, and tongue darting out to lick over his lips.
Foreign hands wandered over the flesh of her torso, exploring places they didn't belong in.
Everywhere they touched felt cold.
Every slap, every scrape, and every forming bruise they left in their wake chipped away piece by piece at her iron-will. Until...eventually her sanity threatened to crumble completely as they began to invade her in other areas.
The leaders blackened orbs found her darting brown ones again, locking on and refusing to look away. He gave her a twisted smile before he spoke.
'I really like it when they scream.'
"Ah!" Ochako awoke to the sounds of muffled conversation in the background of the atmosphere, as she gasped for air. She looked to her hands, extending and curling each finger in turn.
She could move. She was okay. She wasn't in that place.
Just another nightmare? She thought hazily, her eyes fogginess dissipating as she took in her surroundings.
Where the hell am I?
"…wait so you two hooked up?…" Uraraka ignored the ringing male voices for a moment as she sat upright, feeling an intense pang of nausea run through her stomach, an unpleasant chill traveling the length of her body.
She'd definitely regret getting this drunk in a few short hours, she was certain of it.
"NO…Aizawa said…I couldn't just leave….there…"
The room she was currently residing in, wasn't a very big one. It was modestly furnished, pretty plain. Almost minimalist-esque.
The sheets and comforter weighing over her were piled around her limbs like waves colored a deep shade of grey. She turned her curious gaze to the walls.
There were a few pictures hung on the walls, figures within the photos were too far away for her to make out. There was nothing else really laying around for decorative purposes, a few indiscriminate nick-knacks here and there.
This had to be a guy's place.
She stood up and wobbled on unsteady feet from the bed, trying to be as quiet as she could manage so that she could get her bearings before facing whatever good Samaritan had taken her in.
She realized she was still dressed in the clothes she'd worn to the class 1A reunion. How long had she been out for this time? She couldn't recall much, she'd purposely gotten hammered before the whole shebang anyway.
Being in the same room as Deku and his wife, Tsuyu, and their kids...it was just a little bit much for the fragile semblance of sanity she had left in her skull.
At least whoever had picked her up had the decency not to undress her…not that it mattered anymore these days.
One look at the plethora of marks and scars covering her skin, and they'd run like the devil.
"…it's funny because wasn't she your high school crush?..."
"SHUT UP SHITTY HEAD!" Yep, she thought, that voice had to belong to Bakugou.
No other person alive could simultaneously yell and growl like Katsuki Bakugou. Still she found herself frowning as she neared the pictures placed by his bedside. He was smiling peaceably alongside what she assumed were his parents, looking more cheerful than she'd ever seen in person.
Had he been the one to take care of her while she was out cold?
That wasn't really something she would have expected out of the hot-head she knew from high school.
She did recall he had a secret sweet side though, he'd almost never reveal that part of himself to anyone. He would probably die trying to defend his tsundere image, and if someone tried to prove they knew anything different from the typical scowl and childish antics he displayed, they'd wind up with a broken nose.
She eyed a large pair of black sweatpants and black t-shirt inscribed 'AJI FRY', that was definitely too big for her.
Yeah, this was 100% Bakugou's place she knew that tell-tale outfit anywhere.
It had been along time since she'd seen pretty much any of her classmates, not that that really meant anything to her anymore anyways.
Uraraka tended to spend her days at a random run-down bar with cheap booze, and after getting completely wasted to the point that she could no longer think clearly, or remember how many bottles she'd looked into the bottom of, she would pass out in her dirty hole of an apartment.
It was the only thing she could to do escape the tortures of sobriety for at least a little while.
When she didn't drink, it only made the flashbacks and nightmares she experienced daily even worse. Numbing those memories was a far better alternative in her opinion to reliving them at full-throttle.
She was willing to do almost anything to avoid the feeling of that deep lingering emptiness inside her, the consequences didn't mean shit in the long-run.
She tried to recall, as she slipped out of her grungy, vomit-stained clothing and into, a surprisingly clean-scented pair of men's attire, what had led up to this particularly enchanting episode of unconsciousness.
She seemed to remember confronting Deku, seeing his curly green hair, and big emerald orbs filled with concern…and then seeing Katsuki's glowering face staring down at her from up high. But unfortunately that was about it, that was all she could muster out of her inebriated memory.
She'd just made an ass of herself again huh?
She was just a big disappointment to everyone in her life now it seemed. Even the ones she hadn't seen in years.
She took solace sometimes in the fact that she hadn't come face to face with those peers in so long they'd maybe forgotten about her miserable little existence.
They were the people who marked the end of her days as a carefree teenager who knew so little about the way the world really worked.
They didn't see how fucked up she become because of her own immaturity.
Life wasn't an ocean of dreams even if you worked hard every single minute of every single day to achieve something far off in the distance.
There was always someone who could steal that wide-eyed idiocy away from your fingertips, and show you just how little you actually mean. They could have you drowning in the depths of reality with a single motion.
She was no different from anybody else, she was just a speck of insignificance drifting in a planet filled with people much stronger than she would ever be.
She was just one little prickle of nothing that millions of people would forget about in time.
Sighing heavily, she turned the silver door handle at the exit of the bedroom, preparing herself for a sure-to-be awkward encounter with the 'splodey' boy from her past.
Was he angry? Would he be shocked at how little she had come to amount to?
After all those years telling him just how soon she would become something amazing, would he laugh in her face?
"Hey man I'm just saying I'm proud of you for…" she overheard the trailing sentence, and looked up with clouded brown orbs to see vibrant red hair and a surprised expression.
Kirishima lived here too? Great, just great.
"U-Uraraka! How're you feeling? I heard you had a little too much to drink last night." She could practically feel the awkward tension strangling her. She fought the urge to vomit again and instead turned to look around her.
"Yeah sorry about that, I just got a little carried away." She managed a small, half-hearted smile, trying to ward off any prying questions. It was hard to hide just how little she cared about this exchange behind a false cheery façade.
"It's no problem! Bakugou here actually got you out of there without too many people seeing...the state you were in." Uraraka turned her tired gaze towards the aforementioned blonde.
He looked like he'd changed a little since the last she remembered. He was a man now, with a fuller build and more well-defined muscles than she expected. His hair was still as unruly as ever, the style still the same as it was back in high school.
That part of him at least was the same. She thought, oddly comforted by the familiarity.
"Oh really?" She acted surprised, playing up her voice so that she could get out as soon as possible.
"Thanks Bakugou I appreciate you looking out for me!" she was annoyed by the insincere sound of her own voice. It's phony trill echoed throughout the expanse they stood in, and it made her want to slam her head against a nearby wall.
Maybe if she managed to knock herself out, Bakugou would take her out to the street and leave her out there so she didn't have to continue speaking in this manner.
She took into note, the unflinching glare she was currently receiving from him. His steady blood-red orbs clearly saw through what she wanted to hide away.
She'd always really hated that about him.
Ever since high school Bakugou could see right through all her attempts to switch an uncomfortable subject or avoid talking about something that unnerved her.
He always knew. He always understood that about her. Most times, he called her out on it too.
She wasn't unable to understand him either, but it felt like he always had some kind of upper hand when it came to seeing the real intent behind a person's actions.
Bakugou, must to her relief, said nothing about her lie, and instead turned towards the kitchen. She knew, that he knew, that her heart wasn't behind anything she was saying.
Everything that fell out of her lips were just empty, air-headed words. The kind of talk that always pissed off Katsuki.
Kirishima on the other hand, as always, was appalled by Bakugou's cold demeanor and actions.
"Oi Bakugou!" the red-head scolded in hushed tone, trying to wrangle in the indomitable Katsuki Bakugou's attitude with a jab of warning to the arm.
A flicker of surprise caught her off-guard when she saw Bakugou turn back towards her, a steaming cup of coffee and two orange tablets of aspirin in hand.
"Here." He said in a raspy authoritative voice that left her speechless.
Maybe knowing that he could figure her out in a second made her feel somewhat at ease? Or maybe she was still kind of fucked up from the drinking.
She took a sip of the coffee, impressed with the rich flavor in it's dark makeup.
Had she gotten so bad that Bakugou felt the need to take care of her now?
If she'd learned anything in the past few years, it was that the people you think you can depend on, are really the ones that you should trust the least.
Even though she 'knew' him, she wasn't going to let her guard down for a second.
"You look like hell." The blonde commented dryly, smirk present on his hard features.
She nearly spewed some brown liquid straight onto what looked like a neatly tucked fireman's uniform.
"Ha, you never beat around a bush." She chuckled sarcastically. His blunt way of speaking was deeply appreciated. She really didn't have much tolerance for small-talk bullshit.
Scanning around the complex, she could hear the distinct drumming and clanking of a washing machine in the distance. Birds sang high-pitched greetings as the first rays of the morning began to illuminate the hard wood flooring underneath her bare feet.
This place was…nothing like where she lived.
This place had some kind of meaningful life taking place inside its decorated walls.
She truly didn't belong here…she held no importance in the world.
"So, you became a fireman?" she asked, intrigued while looking back up to Bakugou's surly gaze.
"Hell yeah." He admitted proudly, his chest flaring reflexively.
She peered to the doorway and saw a heavy dark coat lined with reflective stripes and smudges of soot. It must've been part of Bakugou's gear for work.
"I see…" she trailed, her eyes darkening as she thought about how he ended up becoming a savior in his own unique way. Just like he had always said he would. Even Deku had always said Katsuki never went back on his word when he said he was going to do something.
"Um Uraraka! I'd love to stay and catch up but I have to be on my way! Me and Mina need to get to the hospital! We both have the early shift today." Kirishima interrupted politely, silencing her inner monologue.
"Oh yeah? Don't let me keep you! Tell Mina I said hi!" Uraraka missed the subtle glance of concern shared between Bakugou and Kirishima, as Kirishima turned towards the exit of the flat a smile planted on his face, and a hand thrown up in farewell.
The two men had an unspoken understanding, that something was really off about Uraraka, something they'd discuss at a later time.
"Wouldn't forget it!" The red-head called as the door shut behind his well-muscled backside.
Uraraka sighed and then turned to find Bakugou back's turned to her again, his front facing the kitchen counter a few feet away from where her feet where planted.
She glanced at a clock on the microwave. It was about 6 in morning.
"Oi, round-face." Uraraka ignored his age-old nickname he'd bestowed on her since their first interaction and frowned.
"Hm?" she answered evenly, moving closer to where he was instinctively.
"You hungry?" she was kind of surprised by the offer, but yes, she was incredibly hungry.
"Depends on if you include booze." She replied, her eyes flicking around to try and locate any available bottles.
She heard Bakugou chuckle deeply.
The blonde turned to slide a steaming omelet and a HUGE bottle of hot sauce in front of her face. Oh yeah, she remembered, he liked spicy food.
He sat down at the dining table after she took the plate from his hands, and gestured sluggishly to the chair in front of him. She sat down with little hesitation.
"Sorry to break it to you but the bar in this house is closed at 6 in the morning, cheeks." She sighed dramatically in disappointment, prodding the omelet loosely with a fork.
She didn't really deserve this kind of treatment.
"Figured you'd be tired of that shit by now anyways." He continued as he sank his teeth deep into his food. He made a face and then drowned his meal in hot sauce.
"Hmm…clearly you don't know me very well anymore Bakugou." Katsuki narrowed his crimson eyes at her snide comment, and then continued to eat as he thought of how to proceed in the bizarre situation.
"Yeah, about that." He began, studying her face for any details that would make it easier to understand exactly who she was now anyway. The image of her scarred arms from late in the previous night surfaced to the forefront of his mind.
"Did something...happen to you?" He asked calmly, watching as her brows raised slightly, brown eyes widening. They were filled with a thick and heavy flood of emotions he couldn't pinpoint fast enough.
Her lashes caste a dim shadow on her cheeks, her hair falling gently, effectively obscuring her orbs from his view.
She tugged at the sleeves of his shirt that she was wearing, unaware she was hiding the horizontal scars cut deep onto the surface of her thin wrists.
"I should…I should probably get out of your hair, right? You have a job to get to or you wouldn't be up this early." He huffed in frustration, she dodged of his question with ease. He decided against pushing her on the matter.
It was his own damn fault for asking that kind of thing so early in the fucking morning.
"Yeah, I can drop you off if you need, the fire station isn't far from here." He really was actually curious to know just where on earth she lived. With her state being what it was, he couldn't picture it.
If he'd been thinking about the good ole' Uraraka from high school, she'd probably be living in a modest one-person apartment with minimal furnishing and a overly fluffy cat or some shit like that.
"That's alright, really." She assured warily, he knew she'd never been one to be keen on help. She stood up from the table, her meal untouched as she made her way towards the hallway leading to the rooms in his flat.
She disappeared into his bedroom, he listened as he heard sounds of clothes being dragged and stretched, then shortly after Uraraka reappeared with her jeans from the previous night on her shapely legs, grass stains and all. His black AJI FRY shirt still covering her thin torso.
"U-Um so this shirt-" she stammered.
"Keep it, I've got like a million of em." He interrupted, looking away from her as he sipped on his own mug of coffee, feeling an odd sense of disappointment that she was going to walk out the front door.
"R-Right." She stuttered, clearly uncomfortable.
Was it just his presence?
Or had his question really rattled her that much?
He watched carefully as she sauntered over towards the front door, her hand landing gently on the handle as she turned back to look at him.
He took in her face, noting every fine detail, burning it into his memory.
"Thanks for y'know…dealing with my shit Bakugou." And with that brief gratitude, shrouded in a subtle tone of embarrassment, she was out of his door, nothing but her lingering scent of tequila remaining.
An unexpected feeling of excitement coursed through him, but it was disappearing with her as she got farther and farther away. Leaving him to dwell in the emptiness she'd left behind, confused as hell as to why his heart was beating wildly against his chest.
"You're welcome." He whispered into the silence.
Hours had passed since Uraraka had left Kirishima and Bakugou's shared flat. She had spent most of her day counting out how much money she had left in her bank account and how many shots the leftover amount of cash could buy her.
It wasn't like she was proud of the fact that she was doing this to herself. It had simply become a necessity to continue living.
Drinking until you forgot, lots of people did that right?
She downed another glass of clear fiery liquid, relishing in the sear of its contents, and realized that the sunlight outside had faded away.
The street lights were the only dim flicker of light in the dusk overshadowing the evening.
"Miss?" Ochako drearily bobbed her head to the side to look curiously into the blue eyes of a young bartender. He looked like he was just a kid.
"Huh?" she slurred, propping herself up onto her elbows.
"I'm sorry about this but I'm going to have to cut you off." He whispered fervently, looking in both directions as he said it, as if someone else would get offended.
She merely rolled her eyes and moved to stand, but found her footing was not as ready to leave as she, herself was.
Damn, she was this drunk two nights in a row, she should've gotten a medal or something. Award for most pathetic being in sight.
The world began to turn sideways until she felt a pair of thick arms secure her from swaying any further towards the dirty floor.
They held her upright, and she was met with a pair of clouded eyes settled intensely on her chest.
"Hey you alright there babe?" Ugh, not another one of these guys. She thought. Not when she was this inebriated.
"Damn you're pretty, a face straight out of heaven I swear. A goddamn angel." Uraraka shuddered as that phrase was mumbled smoothly beside her ear.
A flash of cold black eyes and a wide twisted smile ran across her eyes like a scene in a movie.
Slap!
Her hand stung as she pushed the lumbering man away with more force than necessary. He held his grimy palm to the side of his reddened cheek, an outline of her fingers clearly visible.
"What the hell, you bitch?" he spat at her venomously, anger replacing the smooth demeanor he had previously held.
"I'm no angel you piece of shit." She hissed back, more malice laced into her words than he expected. She turned and continued to sway towards the exit of the bar eventually making it out without falling flat on her face.
She stumbled along the sidewalk, as more and more all too familiar images plagued her brain.
"…stop…please…stop this…" she kept repeating aloud, as if she could change the acts she was seeing play across her lids.
She felt tears surge to the rims of her eyes as she neared her apartment complex, tearing past onlooking civilians and drug users alike. Their judgmental stares meant nothing to her.
When she finally reached her door, her legs grew heavy and she sank to the ground. Hopelessness invaded her numbed senses, penetrating into her very core. She let the tears she'd been trying to hold back, flow freely as she read the notice posted.
"Dear Ms. Uraraka, we regret to inform you that as of today you are hereby evicted from this dwelling due to…"
It wasn't fair, she cried, ripping the note away in frustration.
Her thoughts from earlier that day came to mind as she sobbed pathetically.
She was just a nobody in a sea of people with lives more important than hers.
"What the hell am I supposed to do?" she choked out, sobs breaking into her voice. She took her face into her hands as the salty liquid dripped between her trembling fingers and landed with an audible patter onto the cement ledge below.
She blinked, wiping away her tears and snot as her blurry vision cleared.
Her glassy brown eyes landed on the faint outline of bold letters on a black t-shirt that was currently clinging to her shaking figure.
Why the hell would he even care? This is my own damn fault for using all of my savings to buy my sanity in bars! She chastised herself as her feet began to move of their own accord.
One-foot landing in front of the other as she headed in a direction she had walked away from earlier that very day. They seemed to have a mind and spirit of their own as they trudged forward.
He is just going to slam the door in your face and ignore you like everyone else Uraraka! She berated, dragging along the street.
She looked onto the familiar building only meters away from her reach. Her legs continued ahead.
Turn back…she pleaded with her body. Her chest heaving as she tried to take in breath between her sobs.
Don't get any closer! She screamed internally as her hand formed a fist, clenching tightly as it raised upwards and into the air.
No!
Knock! Knock! Knock…
She shivered in the frigid air as it encircled her flesh, chilling the residing tears clinging to her thick lashes as she stood, waiting.
The rasps of her hand rang loudly in her ears.
Why are you doing this? Why here?
A bright yellow light spread over her boots, enveloping her legs and body in a warmth of relief she hadn't known before.
"Uraraka?" she looked up to gape at a head of ash-blonde hair, and fixated crimson eyes. The man in the doorway before her, loomed like a tall wall she couldn't see past. The rough call of her name made her bones ache.
She shivered once again as she tried to find her voice, wrapping her arms around her torso in desperate hope.
Leave! Her said, pushing her once again.
"Bakugou…I have nowhere to go…" she forced out, the need within her voice lacing into each syllable as she stared up into his red eyes, letting him see clearly into hers, her feelings open wide.
She felt a calloused hand clasp lightly around her thin wrist and guide her gently into the bright light of the doorway. She stepped into the expanse she had occupied earlier that morning, some of the weight on her shoulders feeling lifted.
An all-encompassing warmth surrounded her being, and brought new tears of surprise springing from her eyes, dribbling down her chin, as the heat seeped into every part of her body.
She found herself chasing after the person who had taken her into a world she didn't recognize.
A world she didn't seem to belong to.
But when her eyes found his she wasn't afraid…because he was right there beside her. His hand gripped around her arm, keeping her from floating away.
A/N: Chapter 2! I had a really good time writing this and I hope you guys enjoy this continuation, hopefully this progression makes sense. I hope i'm making this transition seem natural. Let me know how you feel about it below! I love your feedback and would love some suggestions as well!