Little red riding hood
The crisp air filling her lungs first alerted Ochako to the change in scenery.
When she opened her eyes, she found herself no longer in the school library, but in the middle of a forest, surrounded by tall evergreens that shook their needles in the rustling wind. Cerulean blue slivers of the sky peeked out from between the rippling tops of the looming trees and the ground was carpeted in feathery, curlicue moss.
Unidentifiable birds were chirping in chorus and dozens of different species of beetles and grubs were crawling about, but Ochako felt starkly alone.
"Bakugo?" She spun around, only then aware of the cape that twirled with her. "What the…"
She was no longer in her school uniform. Instead, she was wearing a white blouse with ruffles down the front and long, swishing yellow skirt. Draped over her head and shoulders was a bright red cloak fastened securely at her neck. It was velvety and heavy, clearly made with warmth and comfort made in mind.
Even stranger than the unfamiliar clothes was the straw-woven basket in her hands. Opening the lid and peering inside, Ochako could see glazed pastries and warm cookies the size of her fist. Just the smell was making her salivate.
But why did she have such a thing?
"Bakugo! Bakugo!" Ochako yelled out, figuring if she were plopped into this unfamiliar place because of that strange light, he had to be somewhere close. After a few minutes of hearing no response, her definition of close was expanded, tentatively making her way deeper into the woods. Or maybe out of it? She had no way of knowing where she was.
Amidst her yelling, she didn't realize all the animals had gone silent at the presence of a predator.
Ochako was just about to give up and start looking for a trail out of the woods instead when a flash of blonde hair caught her eye.
"Bakugo!" She broke out into a grin as she began to run towards him. "Thank god you're here! I was looking everywhere fo-"
He emerged from behind the tree bare-chested and eyes wild. It would be enough to make anyone stop breathing, but then there was the shaggy hair covering the entire length of his arms and the pointed ears sticking out from the top of his head.
"Wh-what happened to you?" Ochako asked through a strangled voice, approaching him tentatively.
His snout-like nose twitched as her hand drew closer, fingers outstretched to stroke his forearm. Rather than offering some kind of answer, he himself probably didn't know, he bared his pointed teeth and snarled.
Ochako pulled back with a frown, wondering if he lost the ability to speak, to reason. If he were more wolf than human now.
"Smells good." He rumbled lowly, slinking towards her.
Ok. So he could still talk. Ochako held up the basket in relief. "It's the food in here. Do you want some?"
"No." He held her chin up, claws pressing into her skin, and leaned in with a growl. "You smell good. Delicious."
The previous relief was quickly replaced with a buzz of fear. Well, no, not quite fear. It was there, but masked by something more urgent.
Anticipation.
But there was no way she could've prepared herself for the way Bakugo dragged his tongue up her throat. Long, wet, and slow.
Oh my god.
What was happening?
"W-what are you doing?" Ochako squeaked out, mortified at how her knees gave out at the sensation, forcing Bakugo to grip her by the waist. She pawed weakly at him, vaguely registering that her quirk didn't work.
"Hungry."
She only just processed his single-word response when she felt his teeth sink into her pulse.
"Ah!" Ochako cried out, pulling away before his bite could break the delicate skin. Bakugo snarled from the frustration, licking his lips and making her almost surrender herself voluntarily to his mouth once more.
No! This Bakugo wasn't… Bakugo. He was some wolf-hybrid chained to his animalistic instincts. It wasn't a display of affection or attraction, no matter how her body was responding. He was quite literally trying to eat her!
"This… You need to snap out of it." Her voice trembled as she held her hands out in front in a defensive position, though unsure of who she was trying to convince.
God, she wanted him to devour her.
"Just a bite." He insisted temptingly, nipping at the tips of her fingers and sucking on her thumb. If Ochako were in her right mind, she would've been too self-conscious to let that moan escape her.
In a panic, more towards the way she reacted at his tongue than the reality of being hunted for sustenance, Ochako swung her basket into Bakugo's face to make him stumble back.
"Ow! Fuck!" He clutched his cheek with a scowl.
That made her heart skip a beat more than anything else. He was still in there. Her Bakugo.
She couldn't let this continue. First and foremost, they were friends. And she couldn't let some weird, quirked-out book jeopardize that by forcing Bakugo to, for whatever reason, find her smell, and taste, to be irresistible.
"Sorry, Bakugo! This is for your own good!" Ochako hurled the basket as hard as she could into his direction. She turned around and ran before she could watch the thing land, but judging by the yowl that followed, she figured it met its mark.
Maybe she could put enough distance between them to dilute her smell. Or maybe she could climb a tree and hope he didn't have the ability to follow.
Or maybe she could get into that house over there in the distance!
About 200 feet away, just off the edge of the forest, was a white and yellow house with flowers growing along the windowsills. The fox-gloves and forget-me-nots waved in the wind like they were beckoning her. It was small and quaint, and it had to have a person who could help her.
The howling and snapping was drawing nearer, making her pump her legs furiously uphill until she doubled over with a gasp at the porch.
"Hello?" She banged on the wooden door desperately.
"Come in~" A feeble voice called out.
Though Ochako acknowledged that it was strange for a stranger to just let someone into their house, she didn't have time to entertain it. She ripped open the unlocked door and slammed it behind her, leaning onto it bonelessly as she fumbled with the lock.
After a few audible, gasping breaths, Ochako picked herself off the floor and prepared to explain herself to the kind lady who invited her in.
She passed the checker-tiled kitchen where the smell of a rich roast originated and walked through the tiny living room crammed with figurines to approach an open bedroom. The bed had a mountain of throw pillows supporting a full-figured grandmother who was snuggled under a plush quilt.
"I'm sorr-" Ochako began her apology.
"Oh my!" The granny sat up at the sight of her. "What a dreadful mark you have!"
Ochako gingerly touched the tender area at the bottom of her neck, only now realizing it must be a colorful bruise with a visible outline of teeth.
"Was it the wolf?" The old woman reached for the phone on her nightstand, not bothering to hear the whole story. "We must call the huntsman!"
"The huntsman? Why?" A pit of dread opened up in Ochako's stomach.
"To take care of the wolf, of course! We can't have him continue terrorizing you!"
What happened in the woods was a lot of things, but Ochako wasn't quite sure she'd call it terrorizing. Her heart beat awfully fast, but for a completely different reason. "Please, don't! I-I can handle him!"
"A little girl like you? Nonsense!" Ignoring her pleading, the grandmother invited the huntsman to come by the house right away.
"Please! You can't hurt him!" Ochako rushed to the window to see Bakugo pacing the perimeter of the house, pulling at his hair, clearly distraught. She wanted so badly to tell him to leave before danger could come to him, but didn't know how to accomplish that without tempting his insatiable appetite.
"Why are you protecting that animal?" The grandmother asked, flabbergasted.
"Because! He's m-my friend!"
"Your friend? Are you delusional, girl? If you want a friend so badly, you can go for that huntsman! He's a good man. He'll take care of you."
"I don't need someone to take care of me!" Ochako groaned, exasperated. "I need Bakugo to be ok!"
She ran back out of the house just as the crack of the first shot sliced through the air. Panic rose in her chest at the sight of the huntsman pointing the barrel of his gun directly at Bakugo, who was glaring back from a distance not nearly far enough.
"That was just a warning shot! The next one goes through your skull if you don't leave this house alone!"
"No!" Ochako yelled and ran towards the huntsman, hoping Bakugo's survival instincts would be strong enough to override his hunger and he'd run away at the opening she was providing him.
She was prepared to beg and plead, ready to wrestle the gun out of the man's hands if she had to. What she wasn't expecting was being shoved away with a cruel sneer and a, "Stay out of this, little girl."
Ochako stumbled back and coughed from the unexpected force, but was otherwise unharmed. It seemed that maybe Bakugo wasn't fully aware of that because a ferocious growl ripped from his throat as he lunged for the man. "Hands off!"
She was grateful for his instinct to exact revenge in her name, but it was overridden by her concern for his life. The click of the firearm spurred superhuman speed into Ochako's body, jumping between Bakugo and the loaded weapon.
The barrel pressed harshly into her back and Bakugo's red eyes glistened over with fear right as her brain registered exactly what she was resigning herself to. The huntsman pulled the trigger and Ochako heard the bullet explode out of the chamber, but didn't feel pain. Not physical pain, at least. Listening to Bakugo's raw scream did awful, flip-floppy things to her heart.
And then that bright light from before returned, engulfing them both as they grabbed for each other and blotting out the huntsman, the granny's house, the woods.
She wasn't sure what undid the spell, but Ochako was glad to return to the real world. She wouldn't miss this one. Really, she wouldn't.
It was too dangerous for her heart.