Chapter Twenty-Two
Cracked Shell Circumvention
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Giant brass bells rang through the courtyard, each on a high ivory tower, announcing the arrival of the Shining Prince. Izuku tried not to ponder what kind of creature the demons had to kill in order to secure that much ivory… or whether it was one of Izuku's past lives that had slain the gargantuan beasts.
The palace gates yawned open for Prince Izuku as guards of various species knelt, bowing their heads and averting their eyes from him. Nozomi shivered in his arms from fear, and he did not want to consider how much of it was derived from his status as a Prince.
The gates were forged from a near-black metal with a dull green sheen. Izuku immediately recognized the near-obsidian appearance as a warped version of Soulsteel. With how rare and dangerous that metal was, there couldn't possibly be a way for the entire gate to be made from it. It had to be a thin layer coating something far less rare, lending the gate strength and power against possible invasions. Even as he crossed the threshold Izuku could feel the gates hunger as it grasped for whatever residual essence it could from Izuku. He surmised that the guards remained a fair distance from the gate itself for their own safety.
Izuku couldn't help but smirk at the idea that his palace had defenses that would put most fortresses to shame. That thought, however sweet, turned into ashes in his mouth. This gilded cage wasn't his property. It was just another thing lent to him by the Yozis, another hook to control him with.
Izuku had learned from the Dragon what to do with hooks and cages, though. Reminding himself that each action he took now was for his ultimate freedom, he fed that selfish drive to the power he had gleaned, fueling it into action. Aligning his essence to the dark patterns he learned from the Father of Lies, Izuku whispered a lie to his own heart. "The Yozis can hold me against my will."
Silently walking through the gardens that flanked him, Izuku felt the subtle power take hold as he moved with premeditated grace, flooding his movements and mannerisms with deceit and cunning. He smiled at little Nozomi in one moment and then at a groveling demon the next, secretly testing just how subtle and thorough the magic of his self-enchantment was. He quickly learned its limitation: if an action would erode the Yozis hold on him, then his essence would aid him from within. Otherwise, the dark pool of power would slumber, waiting for another lie to tell, another cage to slip.
Izuku's palace was impressively large. Thankfully, it was tastefully lacking in gold. Far too often, palaces throughout human history were lavished with so much gilded finery they became uncomfortable to look at or to live in. Here, status was displayed with craftmanship and opulent architecture more so than in gaudy displays of expense. Ceilings arched high above Izuku and Nozomi with ornately painted depictions of past glories. An unfortunate number of these paintings were now completely obscured by thick dark muck… an acid wash meant to destroy the pigments underneath. It was a shame, thought Izuku, that he wouldn't be able to learn from those discarded histories.
Just inside the great gate was a massive entry chamber, a gathering hall for guests and petitioners. The sight that greeted the Shining Prince, though, was not welcoming. Nozomi recoiled in his arms, hiding her face. He could feel the muscles cording around her spine as fear contorted her in his embrace.
A crowd of demons, each stranger to look at than the last, were working tirelessly here, each aided by a handful of human slaves. Scaffolding was everywhere. Paintings were being washed away, and artists were gathered to fill in the new blank spaces. Scattered across the floor were fragments of destroyed statues.
One statue, formed of nigh-unbreakable Malfean Brass, stood defiant against the destruction. It was marred and cracked, yet it refused to admit that it was doomed. The decapitated head stared forward with unmistakable pride and self-assuredness. The face, though damaged, remained strong and beautiful in the way only men with a vision of the future can be. Rubies threaded into a curtain of gossamer-stringed hair lay scattered about the floor, pooling like blood after a murder. Giant emeralds lay dark in the construct's eyes, no longer lit by the fire that the hollow head once guarded.
Izuku instinctively knew the face of the Crimson Prince, though he could not remember the Prince's name. Somehow this all seemed familiar to him in a way that passing memories of history could not explain.
As the statue's feet was an inscription of poured brass to render stone immune to time's ravaging touch. "Behold oh Exalt! Mark me Great Deva! On this Foundation do I Establish the All Thing!" it declared, yet the remainder of the inscription had already been destroyed. Hot pickaxes lay scattered on the floor nearby, next to the kneeling demon-workers that paused long enough to pay respect to the new Prince.
The irony was not lost on Izuku. They were destroying the image of the prior incarnation even as they groveled at Izuku's feet. His upper lip curled upward into a snarl at the thought.
Izuku's heart shuddered in his chest. The Prince wasn't sure what it was that made him feel so uneasy about making eye contact with this statue. Even though he understood that this was his predecessor, the Prince who bore this Exaltation before Izuku's ascendance, he had no ability to recall memories from that life beyond vague notions and basic facts.
There was a barrier somewhere in Izuku's mind, a great wall rising between the facets of his soul. Closing his eyes briefly, Izuku tried to focus on that barrier. Cold brass as high as his thoughts could go greeted him. He smelled blood and ash in the air. Izuku was caught off guard as he heard the echoes of distant screams. He knew instinctively that these were nothing more than residual traces of battles long since ended, losses buried and mourned before Izuku was even born.
Yet the memories were locked away beyond Izuku's reach. He couldn't shake off the idea that the lock had been placed intentionally. Who was it that placed the barrier there, though?
No matter. There were far more pressing concerns. Izuku focused hard on one of the demons kneeling near the ruined statue even as Nozomi curled further into herself. "What are you doing?" he demanded.
If the demons could grovel any lower, Izuku would have been almost impressed.
The demon that rose its head to address Prince Izuku had two more that remained bowed low, each on elongated necks. "It is customary to remove the statue of the previous Prince when a new Exalt rises to take their place at the All Thing," a demon explains.
Izuku sneered in disgust. "Is it customary to destroy the statue as part of removal? Will mine one day be so disrespected?"
Another head rose to join the first, both regarding the other nervously while the third squinted its beady eyes and oriented itself down towards the floor. "The Heretic Prince is… a unique case, oh Shining Prince. He committed grievous sins against our Creators. To speak his name aloud draws their wrath, such were his crimes. All records of his existence are to be stricken away as forbidden texts, and his likeness to be destroyed in all locations across the Eternal City, including any currency."
Izuku's sneer eroded like sand in a stream. This was valuable information. On some level, he knew he should know the name of the previous bearer. The fact that he didn't clearly was intentional. He knew there had to be more, though. "And the deva who served him… what will happen to them… to you?"
"Those who do not swear and reaffirm their loyalty to the Reclamation are… to be executed." The second head spoke up, its voice shaking.
To be. So, the deed is not yet done, Izuku thought.
"How many are left that have… resisted their rightful allegiance?" the Prince asked.
"Less than a human handful, oh great Prince. The Heretic had six familiars." The demon spoke again, licking its lips before continuing. Sweat beaded on three foreheads. "Of those, only three have remained loyal to the Creators. The others… well… they have proven resistant to either interrogation or to… their true purpose as devas of the Primordial Host."
Izuku could sense the demon's reluctance to spill out any more useful information. He instinctively tugged on the demon's mind with strands of Essence, demanding compliance and obedience. "Where are these traitors kept?" his voice reverberated thickly with malicious power.
"They await you below the All Thing." All three heads pressed to the floor.
They await you. Izuku knew immediately what that meant. He was expected to execute the traitors as a sign of his own loyalty.
He chose to show no emotional reaction to this revelation. No. The waters on the surface did not ripple, but the currents underneath roiled with terrible violence. Still, Izuku wondered, why did he feel an emotional connection to these creatures when he had never met them? Even prying into his past lives, he could not recall them. They weren't human, he reminded himself. So, why did he care?
Nozomi shivered in his arms. There was no time for this. She was silently enduring her pain while Izuku sated his own curiosity. The Prince grit his teeth, annoyed with himself for getting distracted like this.
"I will need a private room. Now." He demanded.
"Right this way, my Prince." Another attendant approached, interrupting the exchange. This one looked vaguely like another variety of locust… or was it the same grasshopper as earlier? Regardless, Izuku followed the creature out of the large room and into a nearby hallway. He did his best not to look at any of the human slaves on his way out.
Izuku walked through a large selection of rooms towards his private chambers. Once it was just them and the smaller attendant, Nozomi stirred, relaxing her muscles and finally seeming almost at ease.
Almost. "We're in the Crimson Prince's palace…" she whispered. Izuku could hear undertones of primal fear in her voice. "It's dangerous… he's…
Izuku could see that she was caught in her own mental trap. She wanted to warn him of some danger, but also could not break her training and speak ill of a Prince of Malfeas. "He is gone. The danger is over. Relax now."
Demons probably knew when a Prince died. Human chattel did not warrant an update of such news, it seemed. Still, Izuku had to wonder what kind of monster he had replaced.
The aroma of honey and incense wafted through the air as they walked deeper into the palace, passing more paintings and statues and various rooms for pleasure and entertainment. The smell was strong, and Izuku successfully guessed the source.
When they reached the Prince's private chambers, a selection of Neomah and other beautiful demons awaited him. Bared breasts were dusted with powdered honey. Their necks and nethers were each touched with the barest of aromatic oils to perfume his senses. Female flesh was adorned in nothing but jewelry or the barest of silks. Perfumed pillows and incense burners were scattered about the room, yet Izuku could see there was order to their placement, efficiently using the natural airflow to spread the scent far beyond the confines of this room. For such an unexpected arrival, the Prince was greeted with an impressively impromptu orgy.
Izuku paused. He dared not wander too close to the various pillow-beds, where the siren call of sexual release called him. He knew that if he got too close that the Neomah in the room would pluck his fantasies from the air and reweave their flesh to suit his fantasies. If he allowed himself, he could become lost in their… embrace. He tried to not think past the embrace, but it was hard.
Damnit, he bit down on his own teeth to silence his thoughts. He needed to focus on the task at hand. He had been distracted enough. Nozomi did not deserve to wait even a moment longer.
With a heaving sigh, he let go of the temptation within himself. It was too bad, he admitted, that he had other things that needed to be done. Damnit, he did it again, letting his thoughts bend toward their temptations. "I asked for a private chamber. I meant that for solitude, not sex."
Feminine faces gazed at him from around the room, their eyes lidded with temptation. Their lips pouted at his rejection. Wordlessly, they remained relaxed in the lap of their own comfort, confident that Izuku would cast aside whatever concerns were troubling him and join them in carnal excess.
Like a fly flitting dangerously close to a spider's web, Izuku allowed his eyes to wander over them again. Their bared breast, an array of lavender skin adorned with dark purple nipples, rose erect as he watched. The skin around their neck became flush with heated arousal as their breaths caused their breasts to rise and fall. The air was subtly damp with thick feminine arousal and perfume. It was fucking unfair.
He bit hard into his own check, unsatisfied until he tasted blood. He needed out of this situation, but he had to choose a way that was befitting a Prince of Malfeas. Retreat wasn't an option. "Leave. All of you." Izuku ordered them sternly.
"Oh!" several of them cooed their objections, though they did move to obey. Unlike the servile demons at the entryway and the guards at his gate, his harem did not scrape and bow. The sexual nature of their servitude gave them some leverage over their master, after all. They moved like a troupe of dancers, lithe and graceful, rising from their beds and stretching at just the right angles to accentuate their curves.
"Please… may we stay? We grow so lonely without you." One said, as though she and the others were long lost lovers of his. Her eyes were large pools of dark anticipation.
He sighed before offering them a charming smile. Several of them shivered at the sight of his fangs and the promise of what they could do. Was that a genuine reaction or was that kind of behavior trained? No matter. "For now, no. I have matters that must be resolved before I continue my journey to meet Ligier. When I return though… I promise we will all have time to attend to each other's needs… after my ascension is complete."
It took more willpower than he thought it would to stand there and let them all pass by. A parade of temptation flanked him on each side. Breasts, honeyed lips, and more honeyed lips were exposed as they approached him. Their hips swayed dramatically, drawing his eyes as though to follow a series of swinging pendulums. More than one smiled or smirked at him, cocking an eyebrow as they appraised his muscles. Some licked their lips. They sauntered past him with a bounce in their steps, that motion echoed by bosom and buttock alike. As though a dance they set a hypnotic rhythm that sent his heart racing. Even now he was in danger of recanting his order and sinking himself into the hilt of intemperance.
Instead, Prince Izuku stood resolute, ignoring parts of himself that cried out for relief, that lamented that after everything he had done and been through that he deserved this indulgence. "You there… wait one moment." He called to the last one just as she was about to pass.
Her breath smelled of spice and something not quite like mint. An array of diamonds about her neck and waist were her only articles of clothing. Her lavender skin was hairless, with eyebrows brushed on. Diamonds were worked into the paint, in addition to more pressed into her cheekbones, framing her eyes as though with stars. "How may I serve you, my Prince?" she giggled. Her teeth were like pearls fresh from an oyster.
Oyster. Damnit. He was doing it again. "Fetch me towels and ointment for the slave's brand." was all he said, though he wanted to say something completely different. A very rigid part of Izuku wanted him to do something radically different, something that didn't involve much talking.
"As you command." She inclined her head to him before walking away towards the door. Izuku allowed himself to turn his head and stare at her supple ass-cheeks as she wandered barefoot into the carpeted hallways. He caught the barest hint of another piece of jewelry hidden way between them.
Damnit! He needed to go after her… to call the others back…
No. No! The Primordials wanted distractions like this here for him. There was a reason for that, though his head was too cloudy to know that reason… just what was in this incense?
Only at that thought did he see that little Nozomi was fully relaxed in his arms, almost oblivious to her surroundings. At least the aroma was helping her ignore her pain. He moved to one of the pillow beds, still warm from the bodies that had just occupied it, and set the small child down. Part of him wondered if her previous masters had similar comforts to this, if she had ever seen pillows like these or smelled so much incense. Probably not.
The Neomah from just earlier returned with a shining silver tray in her hands. He turned to look at her and marveled that she had taken the time to abandon her jewelry somewhere, likely with a grasshopper shaped attendant. She was naked and breathtaking. Izuku failed to come up with a metaphor for her beauty. Everything was missing save for the decoration on her face… and possibly the one adornment that remained beyond his view.
She knelt next to him and the child, setting the tray next to Nozomi. Before Izuku thought to ask, she poured ointment onto one of the small towels, soaking it thoroughly, and handed it to him, a soothing towel press for the wound. Both of their hands were slicked from the oil where they touched.
"Is there anything else I can do for you, my Prince?" she asks.
Izuku turns to answer her, taking his eyes off little Nozomi. In the amount of time he had taken to apply the ointment to the mewling child, the demoness had transformed. She was a short brunette with rose tipped breasts. Her brown eyes were large and full of determined hope. Her face had rounded, moving from exotic angles of lavender skin to pink cheeks on a very human face. Izuku didn't recall meeting someone with this description. Who was this that she was imitating?
Why was he even more rigid for her now than he was when she was an alluring temptress? What was it about this naked yet wholesome woman-next-door look that stirred up so much lust in him?
Damnit.
The shapeshifter leaned forward towards him, her breast dangling well within his reach. Ice could not have made her tips more pronounced than they were at that moment. "I am here to serve you." She reached forward with her oil-slicked hand, tentatively reaching to touch him.
Izuku took the offered hand in his own. He smiled at her. "Order the following for me. Fruit. Vegetables. Honey and bread. Soap and a hot water basin. And a silk wrap for her."
Those large brown eyes grew larger as she pouted. "You are paying a great deal of attention to a slave girl, my Prince."
At last, something to help him break the spell. Her all-too-human face did not match her words. It was enough for him to shake off his need to pin her down and bury himself in… Damnit.
He used his hunger for her, moving towards her. She was especially alluring to his senses. Izuku was dangerously close. Her breasts pressed firmly into his chest. He hungrily inhaled the spice of her arousal.
Izuku whispered in the shapeshifter's ear, barely stopping himself from biting into her. "She is my experiment. Her days as a human child are numbered. Now, go get me what I asked for or you'll be forced to watch without touching yourself when I finally get acquainted with the others… and if you're very fast you'll be first while the others watch."
With a smile, the demoness rose slowly, brushing his face with her breasts as she ascended. Her stride was longer this time as she left, less hypnotic and significantly faster. Whether she was motivated by genuine lust or simply a better position within the harem, she hurried off to Izuku's task list. His eyes bore into the last piece of jewelry, the star where a rosebud should be.
Damnit, he was going to regret sending her away. Izuku breathed out his tensions as best he could and focused on the tasks at hand.
With privacy finally his, Izuku could freely attend to Nozomi's injury and commune with his other-self. Nozomi looked at him with a mixture of wonder and fear. "This is going to hurt awhile longer, but nothing will harm you."
The child's eyes grew larger as she looked up at him. He could see the strobing light of his own eyes reflected in hers as he applied the ointment to her brand. "Master, you're glowing," Nozomi whispered.
Izuku smiled warmly at her, glad to have a human connection with someone, glad to be able to help. "I'm having a conversation... with myself. Nothing for you to worry over."
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Ochako could barely contain how happy she is as Izuku carried her. He scaled up Mt. Takao with long powerful strides, tirelessly ascending. Brisk air whipped through her hair as she was swept away by adrenaline pumping her heart to the beat of his legs.
She was surrounded by natural beauty, but she still caught herself staring up at him. Under any other circumstance, she would be taking in the view, admiring how pristine the sea looked from this high up. She was still breathless and sweating from her confession down at the base.
He smirked at her when he caught her staring up at him. It wasn't fair. His jawline and burning eyes were captivating. That mouth, those fangs, muscles so powerful that he could tear her apart… why did that phrase excite her? She knew the answer. Izuku was dangerous, and the danger of just being near him stirred something deep within her, like a million butterflies in her stomach.
Just then, Ochako swore that one of his hands wandered down over her butt. She sharply inhaled when that hand gave her an appreciative squeeze. Instinctively her muscles clenched, but she arched her back just enough to push back into that hand.
Wait. He was still holding her by supporting her back and legs with his arms… she tried not to ponder the way his biceps looked while he held her up and thought over the fact that there definitely had been another hand on her… there it was again!
His smirk gave the game away. Now Ochako knew. He was cheating, using one of his powers to tease her… she could feel the heat rise in her cheeks when she understood the implications of what he could do with those powers under the right circumstances.
Two could play this game, she thought. Gripping onto him firmly with one arm behind his neck, Ochako allowed her other hand to roam. She traced her fingers across his collarbone, touching Izuku's skin ever so lightly. She lingered briefly on the chain around his neck before her hand wandered down across the silky-smooth material of his shirt. She traced orbiting circles around her target without ever touching it directly. Ochako couldn't help but smile mischievously when her demonic companion uttered a low rumbling growl like the warning of a feral tiger.
"I'm going to get you for that," Izuku promised with a smirk.
"I hope you do," Ochako answered him defiantly, daring to blurt out the first thought that entered her mind.
Their game served as an effective distraction, but they both knew it would not amount to much. Not yet. Ochako tried not to think about the swarm of demons that would come to Mt. Takao or how Izuku would have to protect her from them… until suddenly she was captured by that thought. The idea of a throng of demons wanting to get at her while Izuku stood resolutely in front of her, his strong back acting as a wall of refuge for her. Ochako was afraid… but folded into that fear was an excitement unlike anything she had ever felt in her life.
As fun as it was to tease out a potential relationship with him, Ochako marveled at the fact that he was her life raft in shark-infested waters. No. Not just her. Izuku was the only hope anyone had anymore. The pressure that he had to be under, the stress… she knew without question that if he needed anything from her, either to help him endure his own burden or to help lighten it from his shoulders, Ochako would do it. Immediately and without regret.
Arriving at the summit was just as emotional as crossing any finish line Ochako could think of. There was no cheering. No fanfare. No one congratulated them on a job well done. Yet to Ochako, this was a long-overdue reward.
Now the city would have a chance. The demons would come here, and the thought of that scared her out of her mind, but this was accompanied by a fire in her heart. It burned like the sore feeling in her feet after a hard day of work. The difficulty and ache of it reminded you that you had just completed something difficult, and in this case, that difficulty would save lives.
Ochako, falling from her continuous adrenaline high, was extremely grateful that there were multiple benches here for tourists to rest on as they took in the mountain's amazing views. At that moment they looked like wooden pallets she could lay down on. Once Izuku set her feet down, she was touched that he guided her to one. Did he anticipate her exhaustion? Was he always such a thoughtful person?
Suppressing a yawn that grew in her chest like a balloon, Ochako wished she had met Izuku earlier in his life. She wished she could have learned more about who he was before the demons changed him.
The wooden seat afforded her a great view, but she wasn't looking at the scenery. She watched Izuku get to work. He set the Chrysalis down, taking a peculiar amount of time to pick just the right spot for it. Maybe he was trying to prevent it from rolling anywhere. Maybe there was something spiritually significant, some energy she couldn't see, about the spot he chose. Either way, he gave her a cutting motion with his hand, letting her know that she could deactivate her Quirk.
Once Ochako shut off her powers, the Chrysalis groaned into place, settling deep into the soil and gravel of the tourist-station at the summit. She marveled that she had held up something so heavy for so long, proud that her stomach hadn't cramped up or grown nauseous. But now that her ephemeral muscle had relaxed, Ochako was glad that she was sitting down. It felt like her legs simply wouldn't move. Her eyes felt heavy.
No! She didn't want to miss this. She didn't want to lose any time with Izuku before he disappeared! Ochako stared at him hard, forcing her eyes to track him.
Even as he oriented his body to face the Chrysalis head-on, Izuku looked over his shoulder to her. His eyes were soft and warm, like a campfire for roasting marshmallows. Don't worry, those eyes said to her.
Izuku fixed his gaze back to the Chrysalis, and gripped the air in front of him, rendering the golden chain that anchored him visible. Arcs of fire and energy shot back and forth through that chain, causing Ochako's skin to tingle as shivers of electric excitement ran up and down her body.
"Izuku. Stop." Glowing from within, the copy of Izuku, the one Ochako knew and admired, reached forward, trying to initiate contact. The mechanical voice in Ochako's ear transcribed everything with literal faithfulness, unable to capture tone or inflection. Ochako though had one advantage over any hero possibly wanting to listen in. She could see Izuku's face and posture in person.
She could see the nervous hope that fluttered in his hollow body. "Are you there? Stop."
Tears welled in her eyes as they waited. Long moments passed.
"Yes. Stop" came the flickering reply. Ochako watched as Izuku heaved, inhaling deeply at the contact with his other-self. "I have finished the first stage of the rescue. Stop. We are alone. Stop. It is safe to begin the next stage of our plan. Stop."
Ochako's breath caught in her throat. This was it. This was what they had come here for, their secret purpose that the demons couldn't know about, mustn't know about. Their mission was on the verge of success. The excitement was too much. She couldn't contain it. Ochako needed to move and rose from where she sat. Before Izuku could even ask her for it she fumbled clumsily with her blouse, rushing to extract the memory-weight from where it rested against her skin.
"Hold on a moment. Stop. I'll link us to the memories we need and…" Izuku paused whatever it was he was going to say next, but Ochako was too busy fumbling with her own clothes to take note.
It felt like it took her forever to get past her own buttons and layers, but it was almost no time at all. She stepped forward with a sense of victory as she offered forward the trophy she had hidden away. It was only when she looked up to see Izuku's face that she realized what she had done. He had a quiet smirk on his lips and one eyebrow raised just a bit higher than the other. His head leaned to the side. She was confused for a moment until he gestured at her to come closer. There was something slowly seductive in his hand movements…
That was when Ochako realized that she had left her blouse hanging open, revealing her bra-clad torso. Her face and chest felt hot and uncomfortable, clammy with embarrassment. Ochako swallowed down those sensations and strode boldly up to Izuku, letting the weight of her cargo settle directly into his outstretched hand. She maintained eye contact the entire time, daring him to speak about her exposure or to let his eyes wander.
Instead, Izuku nodded appreciatively towards her with a genuine smile. "Thank you, Ochako. We wouldn't have made it this far without you. Thank you for…" he paused, trying to find the right words. He might have taken that pause to glance down across her body, but she couldn't prove it. "Thank you for sticking by my side when I asked you to leave. It meant… it means everything to me."
Don't cry, Ochako said to herself. She smiled until her mouth felt like it would stretch her face out, the kind of smile that lifts the skin on your cheekbones and eclipses the lower parts of your own vision. "I would do it all again, Izuku. This time I spent with you… it was terrible. Oh no! Not the parts I spent with you... the..." she gestured helplessly out to the wider world, the unnatural sky and the city below them. "But even with all of that... this was also a time I'll cherish the rest of my life."
"Izuku. Stop. You never finished what you were going to say. Stop. Is everything all right out there? Stop." The lights flickered from deep within the Chrysalis as two constant stars lit from within. Their green light gazed out assessing their counterpart.
Ochako was so shocked by the interruption that she instinctively grabbed up her open blouse, closing the world away from her partial state of undress. Buttons quickly followed. She saw Izuku give her an apologetic look. Later, those eyes told her. We'll have time to talk about all of this later.
But would they? Would there be time?
He turned away from her, meeting the fiery gaze from within the Chrysalis. "I apologize. Stop." He flickered the response back. "I had to retrieve our memories from Miss Uraraka. Stop."
If it was possible for Ochako to swell up with pride, she would have. Instead, her eyes filled to the brim with moisture, threatening to break the dam of her emotions. Fumbling with her buttons, she wished that she had more to do right now… even taking a video or picture as Miss Ashido had done earlier would make her feel productive. It was too bad her flip phone couldn't do that.
"Before we begin. Stop. I want you to double-check something for me. Stop." The Izuku in the Chrysalis asked.
"Of course. Stop." Her Izuku responded. Wait, did she think of one of them as hers…?
"I have rescued a child. Stop. She is eight years old. Stop. She was a slave. Stop. Now that I saved her, I want to give her a better life than she could have here. Stop. Is this desire one I would have had before the demons altered my mind? Stop." Izuku's question was recited by a monotone mechanical voice in her ear, yet the amount of emotion contained in those words almost made Ochako want to hug the Chrysalis and comfort him. She hoped that someday soon he would open up to her about everything he was going through in there.
She hoped they would all have that chance.
Ochako was caught off guard by the sight of a single blue light. It was faint, but it was there. One lone cyan star descended down Izuku's cheek as he smiled with more warmth than Ochako knew he had in him. Even after all the horrible things Izuku had been through, his light still shone through. "Yes. Stop. Adopting her is something I would think of doing too. Stop. So, do it. Stop. Bring her home. Stop. Let's give her all the encouragement we needed while growing up. Stop."
Ochako didn't know whether to jump up and down, laugh, cry, or run up to Izuku to congratulate him and hug him. Instead, she nervously shifted from one foot to the other before her nerves had her sit back down on the bench.
Adoption. Izuku had just transitioned from a dangerous powerhouse to a father in front of her eyes. He had just grown intimidating to her in ways she couldn't think of before. A relationship with him now meant a relationship with the family he was building. Ochako wasn't ready to ask herself if she wanted to be a mother… but then she realized that she was willing to do anything, if she believed herself, to make Izuku's life better.
Silently cheering for him and the life he was making for himself, Ochako decided that this sudden decision was proof that Izuku was the man she wanted in her life. To have a man this amazing, she would have to earn her place next to him.
No, not just him. She would have to work hard and secure her spot in his family. Ochako would have to be amazing too... but not just for Izuku. Sight unseen, Ochako knew this little girl would need as much help as possible to live a normal life. Izuku would need help guiding her, teaching her, nurturing her. Fist clenched, Ochako swore that Izuku could lean on her as much as she had leaned on him.
"What's her name? Stop." Izuku asked.
"I named her Nozomi. Stop." The other answered.
Ochako engraved this moment into her heart. She never wanted this memory to ever fade.
Izuku placed his hand atop the memory stone Ochako had protected. "Are you ready, Izuku? Stop." He asked his counterpart.
"Bring it, Izuku. Stop." The other called out.
Izuku uttered several words in a language she didn't understand as sand coalesced between his fingers, forming chains of gold before Ochako's eyes. That chain linked up to a lock that clamped onto the chain linking the two versions of Izuku together. Lightning seemingly wrapped around that point of contact and traveled up and down the chain. Soon Izuku's heart lit with white fire before her eyes before the lightning traveled down the chain to the other Izuku. Both hearts lit with the same white-hot energy.
Ochako could barely look anymore, fearing that she would go blind looking at them. She held her hand out in front of her, not knowing if she was blocking out the light or reaching for it. The truth was, Ochako was doing both.
Then, roaring like twin lions, Izuku changed everything.
