Chapter Twenty-Five
Tragic Love Amusement
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Ochako was comfortable on Izuku's lap, covering his face with kisses. His lips were her home. His chin and cheeks were an incredible wilderness for her to explore. She grazed along his jawline, daring to bite him teasingly as though to secure herself before her mouth went spelunking down his neck.
Izuku smiled as he obliged her, craning his neck, exposing more of himself to Ochako's intimate examination. The way he laughed when her lips grazed the bulging crown of his throat caused her to be more daring. She lashed the crown of his throat, that unmistakably male feature, with her tongue as she ascended higher, coating a long gash of his neck and jaw with her scent.
Izuku growled, low and rumbling like a tiger. It was the only warning signal that Ochako would get. She was no longer in the lead.
Ochako let out a helpless squeak when Izuku's hands moved down her back to grip onto her skirt-covered ass. She shuddered when she remembered just how powerful his arms were, how he had decimated demons in combat less than a day ago. He was remarkably restrained, gently lifting her skirt out of the way before gripping onto her. With nothing more than her panties and her uniform's stockings between them, his hands held her now for their mutual pleasure. He wasn't going to carry her away to some distant mountain, but an entirely different kind of destination.
A small part of Ochako wanted Izuku to rip those flimsy garments apart, to skip these coy games and get to the one thing they both wanted. She knew that he could. Despite that, her affection for him grew just as much from admiring his self-control as his prowess.
Izuku restrained himself, but he was also playful. He gave one cheek an appreciative slap before gripping it firmly, as though to soothe it, his way of apologizing for the surprise.
"Oh!" she cried out. Suddenly she was sitting up just a bit higher as Izuku's grip maneuvered her so that she was a touch taller than he was, seated on his hands. Izuku didn't let her weight transfer onto her knees, protecting them from the hardwood of the bench, a feat that Ochako knew he could keep up practically forever. It made her feel treasured, as though he would never let her feet touch the ground ever again.
It was also Izuku's turn to explore Ochako.
His lifting embrace provided his mouth free access to her neck. Izuku's kisses weren't the shy investigations Ochako had partaken earlier. He moved boldly, pressing his lips hard into her skin as though to feed on her. He sucked gently between hard presses with his lips, trailing slowly yet certainly as he descended from her jaw to the base of Ochako's neck.
Ochako expected Izuku to rush, to continue downward and skip the skin of her chest before allowing his lips to press onto her breasts. Once there, he would no doubt play with her exposed skin before unveiling even more so that he could feast on her.
Ochako had no understanding of how many years of lovemaking the Exaltation had injected into Izuku's mind. He was a far more experienced lover than was possible for a man his age. He felt no need to rush, despite the urgency of their situation or their shared needs.
Izuku lingered at the base of her neck. He was free there to play with Ochako as he wished.
Ochako shivered, sharply taking in air as Izuku's teeth grazed the sensitive skin that connected her neck to her collar. His fangs frightened and excited her, and as Izuku alternated between sucking gently on her neck, to hard kisses, and then on to the barest scrapes of razor-sharp teeth, Ochako moaned helplessly.
Looking down at him, Ochako admired the way his shirtless torso displayed so much power and potency. His glowing skin seemed far more robust now, his body more real to the touch than ever before. She allowed her eyes to wander from his broad shoulders down to the grooves that flanked his abdominal muscles, the lines that traced their way to somewhere below her thighs, which blocked her view. The idea that so much power was resting between her legs made parts of Ochako throb in ways she'd never felt before. Somewhere down there, below her thighs and past his waistline, was her prize. The grooves and valleys of his muscles lead to an epicenter she had yet to see. That was where her imagination had to fill in the blanks. Ochako didn't want to imagine much longer.
She leaned her weight just enough to rest on the muscles between Izuku's neck and shoulders, surrendering her neck to his advances as he moved to devour her. Ochako whimpered, admitting that she wanted Izuku to consume her.
Izuku's hands kneaded into her cheeks, his strength straining the full stockings that stood in his way, threatening to destroy them as an annoyance, a barrier to be removed. His mouth played at her neck like Ochako was a musical instrument in his expert care, as though he was using her to elicit a song of sweet pleasurable exclamations.
Ochako allowed her fingers to grip harder into Izuku's thick mane, grounding herself in him even as he used parts of her body that she had no idea could contain such bliss. Leaning into him didn't allow his exploration of her neck to continue, but she felt his smile against the skin of her collar. His laugh shook her, the vibrations moving through her collar to her core.
Ochako couldn't help it. The dam of her emotions broke. She'd never cried such happy tears before, had never smiled so brightly while her face was so wet with tears. Leaning onto Izuku as her bedrock, she kissed the top of his head. His hair didn't smell like anything, another reminder of his impermanence. He seemed so stable, so full of life and light, but she knew in bittersweet happiness that this joy would not last forever.
Her eyes caught on the dancing lights of the Chrysalis. Flashes of emerald within the gargantuan shell gave triumphant warnings of the Prince growing and building himself within. The skeleton was complete, Ochako observed. Slowly, muscle and connective tissue cemented themselves to his bones.
She bit down onto her lower lip as she pressed her butt against Izuku's hands. As fun as it was to feel his fingers sink into her, she kept pushing until Izuku got the hint and let her settle back down lower onto his lap. The two stared into each other's eyes, and Ochako choked, knowing that their fun couldn't last much longer.
Izuku didn't allow her a moment of solace-free despair. He quickly removed his hands from underneath her, embracing her lower back with one as he let the other trace up to her face. His thumb brushed away her tears as she leaned her cheek into his palm.
"I'm so scared, Izuku," she confessed. "I've never felt anything so frightening in my life," she said as her lips trembled.
"It's alright, Ochako. I'm here. I have you," Izuku said, reminding her that she was safe in his arms. The thought spilled even more emotion from her eyes.
Ochako shook her head from side to side; the motion just slight enough to convey her intent but not enough to dislodge her cheek from his palm. "Not that, I mean, yes, this is all scary. It's you, Izuku. I've never felt like this about anyone. I never thought I'd fall in love so hard or so fast, and I'm scared out of my mind, and I don't want this to ever stop, and I, and I," she breathed rapidly, taking quick, shallow breaths, unable to complete her thoughts much less speak them aloud.
He smiled at her, the kind of smile that told her how preciously adorable she was in his eyes. "Hush," Izuku's voice was low, calm, and soothing. "You're not facing these feelings alone, Ochako. I have you," he said.
I have you.
Those three simple words meant so much to Ochako, now with new layers for her to unlock. Izuku wasn't just protecting her from terrifying threats. He was there with her. Izuku helped anchor down her emotions, stopping her from floating away into orbit, carried by the uncertain storm of her feelings.
Izuku's grip around her lower back shifted. His eyes burned with an intensity that warned her heart to stop beating, her lungs to stop breathing, or else the predator would catch and eat her. "Ochako," he warned.
Ochako nodded, rubbing her cheek into his palm again. She wished she could snuggle into him forever. "They're coming, aren't they?"
Izuku nodded somberly, "It's time. Don't worry. I have you," he said, offering himself to her as the most magnificent shield she could ask for, and he did it with such casual comfort that he might as well have offered her a blanket. "I'll guide you every step of the way. You won't be alone."
Ochako nodded, preparing for what came next. She didn't have to think back far to understand the gravity of what they were about to do, or what she was secretly planning to do.
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Earlier, securing her in his embrace as they hid their conversation from the comm system in her ear, Izuku had tried his best to present Ochako with a menu of options for when the demons arrived. No matter what, he was asking her to step far outside of her comfort zone.
"No matter what other option you pick, there is one requirement you must fulfill," he said, his voice iron hard with determination despite how low he whispered into her ear.
Ochako nodded, knowing not to say anything in reply to him. The comm system would pick up even the slightest vocalization she made, keyed to sound as it traveled across the bones in her skull and jaw.
"This will sound strange, but you'll have to pray to me," he said.
Ochako flinched. It was the strangest request he could have made. She'd have understood it if he had asked some other favor, even something perversely sexual, but this was just odd. It went against everything she believed in as well. Praying to a living person right in front of her? What on Earth was he even thinking?
"Listen carefully," he whispered. Ochako bit her lip when his lips grazed along her ear. Izuku's breath moved through the tunnel provided by her haircut and caressed the tiny hairs on the back of her neck.
"To demons, humans have only one true purpose, to fuel demonic powers with offerings of prayer," his voice was low, like the growl of a wolf close to its prey. The sound made Ochako feel uncertain, not sure if she was protected and safe, or if she was in danger. Which of the two did she want?
Ochako allowed her hands to stray up and down his back as they embraced. His muscles were amazing to feel under her fingertips. His arms around her made her feel safe, as well as trusting, trapped, and aroused. Her emotions were all over the place.
"To demons, even a demonic thing like me, prayer is food. Your submission is a form of sustenance and power," Izuku's voice layered itself with both desire and disgust. It was as though he was ashamed of what he wanted from her. "So please, humor me on this one request," he asked, dangerously close to begging, the way someone might beg someone away from a cliff.
After considering it for a moment, Ochako nodded firmly. She could set her convictions aside if it meant Izuku would have an easier time keeping her safe.
Izuku let out a satisfied rumble, something deeper and louder than a mere hum, yet less than a growl. It was the subdued reverberation of a resting predator, content and sated, yet still dangerous. "Now, let's discuss some options," he said.
Ochako breathed deeply, her chest rising and falling within the confines of her uniform. Even after loosening the bodice-like tightness earlier, she still felt compacted by the garment, though it did make her breasts appear much more abundant.
Ochako might have inhaled even more air into her lungs than she needed, puffing her chest out to attract Izuku's eyes. Maybe. Possibly.
Alright, she admitted to herself, she did exactly that.
The way Izuku's lips grazed down her ear into her neck told her that he was looking down into the valley between her breasts. Ochako couldn't help but smile mischievously at the thought. Even here at the end of the world, she could distract him. Dirty and disheveled as she felt, she still made Midoriya Izuku's head turn to snatch up every glance of her that he could capture.
Ochako whimpered, feeling his breath down her neck as it careened down to the exposed skin atop her breasts. She felt goosebumps rise from her skin despite how hot Izuku's breath was. The fabric of her bra suddenly felt rough as her nipples hardened with anticipation for the mouth that was breathing down her neck. She longed for his teeth, wanting to feel them pressed against her skin.
"As much as I want to claim you, I don't want to let them see you," he said, reminding her of the fact that they'd have an unwelcome audience soon. "So, whatever we decide to do, your clothes need to stay on."
Ochako couldn't help but picture it. She'd rest on his lap, maybe facing him so that the demons would be behind her. Her panties would either be pulled to the side or conveniently gone. Her hips would rock back and forth as she massaged his dick with the walls of her… of her pussy, she finally settled on the word. Oh god, could she do this?
She pictured his face buried between her breasts, no, her tits. His penis, no, his dick would rise between her thighs, solid and powerful, as she rocked against it. His teeth would lash against the skin of her tits as the head of his… of his dick pressed deep into the farthest reaches of her pussy, up against…
"Is that what you want, Ochako, to have me inside of you when the enemy is here? To be enslaved to me? To my cock?" he asked, and she bit back a moan at the forbidden words when he continued. "Do you want me to fuck you in front of such an audience?"
Ochako thought long and hard. Captured, she had no way out of her thoughts. She wanted Izuku badly, desired him more than anything or anyone she had ever wanted or needed in her life. Even if it meant being his property, the idea of his power overwhelming her was thoroughly enticing. However, the thought of being that vulnerable rattled her. Clothed or not, the idea of being intimate in front of the demons appalled her. Being exposed to the monsters that were attacking the city, the image alone shook a terrible part of her core.
She held back, not wanting her first time with a man to be like that, yet also not wanting to confess to Izuku that this would be her first time. Frozen, she wasn't sure what to say or do as her heart hammered through her ears.
"Or," Izuku's voice rumbled low and gentle in her ear, offering her protective comfort against the fantasy that frightened her, rescuing her from her imagination. "Or we could wait for that. There are other things we could do to show that I own you, that you're mine. We can wait for another time to make love, somewhere no one will see us, and we can be as free and as happy as we want."
Ochako bit into her lip as she turned to look Izuku in the eye. It was mind-numbingly frightening how badly she wanted him. She had to admit that she barely knew him, but that didn't stop her heart from thundering when her eyes met his, or her throbbing need when she watched his muscles ripple under his shirt. He was perfect, too perfect; she had to remind herself.
No force on Earth could still the tremulous fears and anxieties of her soul like Izuku could, though, with a simple "I have you," on his lips and a smile on his face. No amount of lust could explain that away.
"Or," she whispered back to him before nodding. That was all she needed to say. Izuku nodded, understanding exactly what she wanted to say but couldn't.
Nothing made Ochako feel more relieved than that nod of understanding, though she'd probably relive the fantasy of what they almost agreed to do over and over again in her head. She'd go over every variation, from facing him as she gently rose and fell on him, to his turning her to face the enemy as he savagely thrust upward into her body, using her as a doll meant for his pleasure.
Ochako moaned as she pictured it. She'd face outward, away from him, confronting the frightening prospect of the enemy seeing her eyes as she wantonly surrendered to the pleasure Izuku forced into her. His legs would separate, planting his feet firmly on the ground as he gripped onto her hips, holding her body still even as her legs were pried apart by his own. His cock would drive upward, fucking her hard even as her skirt threatened to ride up. She'd be lost, caught between the mind-numbing pleasure inside her pussy and the fear brought by her exhibition as the demons…
"Ochako, are you listening to me?" Izuku asked, interrupting her thoughts.
Ochako squeaked in embarrassment. She'd become so wrapped up in her fantasy that she had missed everything Izuku had just said. She saw his smirk out of the corner of her eye. Heat rose from within her to burn her cheeks. Izuku would make her pay for her inattention later.
Ochako looked forward to it.
"As I was saying, you could also serve me with your mouth, Ochako," his smile against Ochako's ear made her hot. There was almost no hesitation this time. She wanted to do that. Part of her hated the fact that she immediately pictured what it would be like to worship his body with her mouth. She'd kiss her way down his exposed torso. In her fantasy, he was wearing a belt and loose-fitting jeans. No underwear, not in the fictional scene she built for herself.
Ochako would use her teeth to pull on his belt, undoing it with dexterous skill that, in reality, she didn't possess, but maybe she'd learn to do that someday. With practice on Izuku, she'd be an eager student. The jeans in her fantasy had a loose row of buttons, which would pop out of place one by one, slowly, as her teeth pulled the front of his pants open. She'd reach in and find his cock, already hardening in anticipation for her. The image in her mind made her lick her lips. Once she angled Izuku's cock, and of course, it would be huge, and thick, and throbbing. Ochako would start at the base, laying soft kisses there as she ascended to the tip…
"Ochako?" Izuku asked, his smile audible in his voice. "Have I lost you somewhere?"
Flushed with excitement and embarrassment, Ochako realized that she had utterly zoned out everything Izuku had been saying to her while she was busy sexually fantasizing about him. Twice. In just one conversation, she had gotten so lost in her imagination that she had probably missed something vital. Again.
His laughter was like distant thunder, a waterfall of joy that crushed her self-recrimination. "Never change, Ochako. Promise me that."
His laugher died down to a chuckle as his lips grazed across her cheek. Ochako turned to face him, and the two kissed, neither one sure who had started it and both certain that they never wanted these moments together to end.
Izuku leaned his forehead down to press it against hers. Their lips parted, but their connection never wavered. "I've been teasing you, Ochako. I would never make you do anything like that. Not with an audience, at least."
Ochako gasped with shock at how well he had toyed her into anticipation. "You jerk!" she laughed as she struck out against his shoulder, all thoughts of keeping quiet for the comm systems gone in an instant. She might as well have tried hitting a mountain, though, since his muscles were too hard. "Asshole!" she laughed again when it felt like his shoulder hit her hand back.
Kissing while laughing never works particularly well for either activity, but at that moment neither of them minded. Eventually, though, kissing won the battle against humor. Desire overcame mirth, adding the joy from their laughter to the strength of their bond together. "So, tell me," Ochako whispered, her awareness restored that the Support Corps was listening through the comms. She dared not turn it off, though, for fear of missing something important getting radioed back to her.
The implied questions hung there between them. What did Izuku want Ochako to do? What would he ask permission for before performing some outrage against her for their audience?
"There are two things we can do to make them believe you're my slave. The first is simple enough. I can collar you, chain you to me," he said, using simple enough terms, but the thought sent a shiver from the top of her spine down to the throbbing epicenter between her legs. The idea of being chained to Izuku caused Ochako to pulse and moisten uncomfortably. She had to move her hips just to make the sensation more tolerable.
Ochako didn't nod, but she didn't shake her head to spurn the idea, either. This time, she decided that she had to listen to every word. There was no time for fantasies, not now. Maybe later, though.
"The other idea is a bit more extreme," Izuku warned. "I could brand you." He didn't sugarcoat the language. Ochako, meanwhile, recoiled at the thought. The practical portions of her mind shouted down the parts of her that craved submission to Izuku, because, well, pain. So much pain. Being chained to him, serving him, even debasing herself by servicing him with her mouth, all of those ideas had appeal. There were pros to weigh against the cons. Pain, though?
Ochako shook her head vigorously. No, this would not happen. Ever.
"Then we're settling on the chain?" he asked.
Ochako thought about it. She was reluctant, but she acquiesced with a hard-defined nod.
"You're sure?" Izuku asked.
Again, she nodded, cementing the deal. She'd allow Izuku to collar and chain her. Oh fuck, she realized she was going to let him do this to her. She barely knew him for more than two days, and they were going far past vanilla and into a cinnamon challenge. Didn't dating and sex come before this kind of stuff? Hell, Ochako thought, isn't it rare for this kind of thing to ever come up?
"Rest now," Izuku said. "This is going to be hard. I'll alert you before they get here. You'll need your strength."
He might as well have thrown a bucket of ice water onto Ochako. How dare he wind her up with arousal, seducing her ears before trying to make her cool down?
In a layer of her mind, tucked away from Izuku's view, Ochako immediately began plotting her revenge. Well, it was sort of like revenge. Izuku had said that he'd never force her to do anything sexual in front of their upcoming audience.
That didn't mean he'd stop her if she decided that she wanted to do something. Ochako merely had to determine how much she wanted this and how bold she could be. For Ochako, the decision was easier when she considered everything that was at stake. If Izuku needed a slave to perform in front of a demonic army, some trophy to display his power and authority, then he'd damned well have one.
It was all an act, of course. The plot forming in the most secret recesses of Ochako's mind was entirely for her safety and the good of all humanity. It had nothing to do with getting Izuku back for teasing her or the fact that she lusted for every centimeter of his body. At all.
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"So, how do I do this? Do I clap to get your attention, first?" Ochako joked. It was often standard to clap at a Shinto shrine before offering a prayer to the gods. She had done it plenty of times, usually on major holidays, though most other days she didn't even think about it.
Izuku's smile was endearing, especially when he tried to suppress it and act serious. "It's nothing so complicated. I'm fed power, small doses, by any prayer someone directs to me. All you have to do is utter a prayer in my name, and…"
Ochako snorted from laughing so suddenly. She tried to talk, but instead, just more laughter came out. It erupted from deep inside of her, taking her over. Joy came cracking through all of the tension that had built up inside of her since this all started. The emotional release didn't solve her problems, but it certainly helped.
Izuku couldn't help but chuckle at how she had lost it but was still confused. "What's so funny?" he asked.
"Utter… oh god," Ochako tried to breathe, and somehow managed to stop laughing just enough to catch her breath. "No one says shit like 'utter a prayer in my name,' it's just so formal and outdated. Not even the priests talk like that. You're trying so hard to make it sound reasonable, but it was so… wow…" she resumed chuckling, far more subdued with it now even though her body demanded that she continue laughing.
"I guess I do sound old fashioned, don't I?" Izuku laughed a bit at his antics.
Ochako nodded enthusiastically, her smile large enough that it dominated her face, partly hiding her eyes behind domes of happiness that rose from her cheeks. "Izu… you sound like a dork! 'Utter a prayer in my name, that I may feed power from your devotion!' or some crap. Seriously, even if it's true, it's just so dorky that you said it like that!"
Izuku laughed at her stiff imitation of him. The impression was loud, authoritative, and thoroughly cartoonish. "Oh," he caught his breath, "I can't be that bad, can I?"
Ochako nodded. "It's worse because you meant it! You said it with a straight face!"
Izuku wasn't going to let her get away with this, though. With mischief in his eyes, he pulled her in close. "Say it again."
Ochako couldn't contain her happiness. She was sure that joy was bleeding out of her eyes. "You're a dork?"
He smiled and shook his head at her. "No, the part right before that."
Ochako gasped, suddenly realizing what she had just done. "Izu?"
Izuku nodded. Ochako could see so much affection in his eyes that she wanted to melt. "Izu," she repeated it. "You're not upset about the dork part, right?"
He kissed her softly. "If it means I get to hear you laugh like that, I won't ever mind anything. I'd trade away anything just to hear you laugh, every single day, just like that for the rest of my life. Hearing you call me Izu, that was…"
Izuku never got to finish his sentence. Ochako's lips latched onto his. She clung onto Izuku, her Izu, with tumultuous emotions roiling inside of her. The joy of their time together. The fear. The adrenaline. Ochako lost control of herself as her fingers gripped onto Izuku, the warm feel of his skin and the tension of hard muscle returning the pressure of her touch.
Izuku's hand gripped hard onto Ochako's ass cheek. Pulling him down towards her and forcing his groin into contact with hers. Iron hard heat pressed against soft skin, forcing it to give way. Ochako moaned into Izuku's lips, lost in the sensation before she realized her mistake.
After calling him a dork for using the wrong words, she had accidentally made him weightless. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" she spat out the words quickly as she released her Quirk.
His smile told Ochako everything she needed to know. Izuku laughed as his feet re-settled into the earth beneath them. "No problem, Ochako," he said before kissing her forehead. "None at all."
Ochako leaned her forehead down onto his chest. It felt solid, like a wall of stone, yet it was comfortable and warm there. "I guess I'm a dork too."
Izuku's hand moved to stroke her hair, a motion he interrupted only to offer a soft pat on the back of her head. "You're probably a nerd just like I am, too, what with the cosplay," he said, gesturing with his free hand to her maid outfit, which had seen better days.
Ochako's head shot up like she was woken up in a classroom that was laughing at her slumber-noises, not like she'd ever done that before. Nope. She'd deny that to her final days. "This is my work uniform!" she objected, her face flush with embarrassment.
"Oh," Izuku replied awkwardly. "I guess that means we're both dorks, and I'm a nerd?"
Ochako chuckled before standing on her toes and offering Izuku another kiss. "You have no idea how happy that makes me, Izuku."
He moved from gesturing at her costume to scratching the back of his head. "Happy? That I'm a nerd?"
Ochako nodded. Her smile was big enough to light up the whole world, to banish the emerald twilight forever, or at least it seemed that way to Izuku. "Up until now, you've been perfect. Too perfect. I'm happy to find even a few flaws here and there. It makes you…"
Izuku shrugged as Ochako struggled to find the right word. "Relatable?" he offered.
Ochako shook her head. "Beautiful. It makes you who you truly are, not what anyone or anything else has made you be, and I think that's beautiful." A fresh tear fell from her eye as she gazed lovingly up into his face.
Izuku craned his neck down so that he could kiss that stray tear from Ochako's face. "You're beautiful, Ochako, in all the ways you just described. It's like… Wabi-sabi."
Ochako laughed before saying, "Nerd!" but then her breath caught in her throat when Izuku's smile caused his cheeks to dimple. She hadn't noticed before. "Okay, so what's that? Wabi-sabi is… I'm supposed to remember this from school, aren't I?"
Izuku loomed over her before embracing her. His arms wrapped gently around her, surrounding her in protective strength and light. "It just means that things can be beautiful because they're imperfect, or impermanent, or incomplete… like people, who are always all three. I mean, look at me, falling for someone clumsy, but brave, embarrassed, but beautiful, and impatient, but considerate."
If not for Izuku's arms around her, containing her, Ochako felt like she would burst into a million pieces. "You… you're falling for me, too?" she couldn't dare to look up into his eyes as she asked.
Izuku took hold of Ochako's shoulders and gently held her, placing just enough distance between them that she could see his stern gaze. It unnerved her, stirring up butterflies of uncertainty in her stomach. "Yes, Ochako. It's been hard. I've been trying this whole time to not fall for you. I don't want them to use you as a weakness to exploit, targeted like some weapon to turn against me. You deserve better than that…"
Izuku's words were not the confession she had expected or hoped for, but they made sense. Ochako allowed her fingers to wander up to his jawline before placing them on his lips, her way of telling him to be quiet, to let her speak. "I'm willing to let you put a chain around my neck, Izuku, and to parade me as your slave in front of demons. If you don't think I'm ready for whatever danger a life with you could bring me, you're wrong. I'll do it all, whatever is needed, for you. For us. I'll even pray to you, even if I think that's fucked up, like even more fucked up than the chain and slavery part. Just promise me something."
She moved her fingers away from his lips as she slipped them teasingly back across his face, barely touching him with her fingertips. His eyes burned into her heart. Looking into his eyes was like staring down all his fears. Those eyes told her everything. The demons could kill her, or even both of them, or worse. Ochako didn't care, though. She'd face whatever hell the future brought them, as long as she could face it with Izuku at her side.
He nodded, though still uncertain. "Anything, Ochako. You already know me better than anyone else. You know I'll do anything to protect you…"
She shook her head at him. She'd ask him later what he meant about knowing him better than anyone, but they couldn't waste the urgency of this moment on her curiosity. The enemy was coming. They'd be here soon. "I'll pray to you and let you chain me… in other words, I'm selling myself to you. I want one thing. This is my price tag: I need you to love me. Completely. As much as I love you. I need this, Izuku. Please."
It was a lot to ask any man, she realized. "Meet me and then love me within two days of meeting me," was, objectively, insane. However, Izuku was also asking Ochako for more than she ever thought anyone would. These were requests she never thought anyone would make, not even her future husband or the children they'd have. Her terms, though dear, were not negotiable.
Ochako expected a long pause. Her demand would give any man discomfort, given how every man she had ever heard of feared commitment. Izuku surprised her when his grip on her tightened with a sense of urgent possessiveness. "Alright, Ochako. If that's what you need, it's what you'll have."
There was a subtle shift in his eyes. The fires within still burned, but they softened as though repurposed from a forge to a gentle hearth fire just for Ochako's warmth. Could it be that easy? Just like that, and Izuku would love her? "I need to hear you say it, Izuku."
His smile placed her on a precipice of hope. Then his words, oh his words. "I love you, Ochako."
Ochako's spirit lit with fire from stars cascading across the night sky. Shooting out and down to the Earth, brilliant fragments of the heavens impacted precisely into her heart. Forbidden wellsprings uncovered themselves as the shower of skyfire dug deep into Ochako's soul. "I love you too, Izuku! Oh god, I love you so much!"
She cried into his chest as he embraced her. That was how, under a twilight emerald aurora, on a mountain besieged by demons at the end of the world, Uraraka Ochako found love in the arms of the most wonderful man in the world. It no longer mattered what came next. All that mattered, at that moment, was that Izuku loved her.
Their happiness was infinite, enduring, and unrelenting. They knew trials were coming their way, but they would face them together. Ochako knew that nothing, no matter how terrible or cruel, would take this love away from her. "I'm ready," she whispered while snuggling her face into his chest, enjoying that he still hadn't put a shirt back on.
"Do I have to kneel or something?" she asked, squeezing her eyes shut while keeping her face buried into him. She wanted to enjoy this sensation as long as possible.
Izuku's exhaled hum of amusement was the suppressed beginning of laughter, a sound she wished he was freer to release. Ochako could feel tension increase in his muscles while her arms tried to hold onto him. If she could absorb his tension, she could. Heat rose in her cheeks when she remembered that taking in and releasing some of his stress was explicitly part of her plan.
"You're perfect just like this," he said before kissing the top of her head. "Just keep your eyes closed and think hard about what you want to say to me, not out loud, but to my soul, okay?"
It was far more comfortable than Ochako thought it would be. At first, she struggled, trying to think of some proper thing to say in a prayer, like please give us this or honor me with that, but then she knew precisely what her heart wanted. Ochako wanted, more than anything, to say thank you.
Thank you, Izuku, for saving my father. Thank you, Izuku, for taking me on this journey, and for loving me, and for robbing a vending machine just to feed me. Thank you for laughing with me and carrying me. Thank you for protecting me, for saving my life from that ape that was going to crush me. Thank you for telling me every "I have you" and for all of the meaning you've put into those words for me. Thank you for fighting so hard to save all of us. Thank you, Izuku. I love you. And, um, amen? Namu Izuku?
Once more, he kissed the top of her head. "That was beautiful, Ochako. Thank you."
If Ochako thought that her cheeks couldn't increase in temperature anymore, she was wrong. Her entire face felt like a furnace. "Oh god, you heard all of that, didn't you? Every single word?"
Instinctively Ochako caught her face into her hands, hoping to hide from Izuku's sight at how embarrassed she was. It felt like her heart was leaping into her throat as he grabbed hold of her, anchoring her tightly.
It was only then that Ochako realized that she was weightless within his embrace. Before she could float further away into the sea of her embarrassment, Izuku bent himself low, nuzzling his face past her hands. Ochako couldn't help it. She giggled when he rubbed his nose against hers, and the two shared a kiss that calmed her nerves. Just as quickly as she had become weightless and embarrassed, she was grounded in Izuku's confident serenity.
The moment didn't last.
Ochako heard the demons before turning her face to look out from beyond Izuku's corona. There were large packs of the monstrous creatures charging up the mountainside. Each contained at least a dozen of the giant apes. Beyond that, she could make out a massive swarm of the flying wasps that had terrorized the neighborhood she called home. A mass of swelling darkness pooled behind these two formations, dripping, oozing forward in silence.
Shivers ran up and down her spine as her heart shivered like a frightened rabbit. Ochako's breath caught in her lungs, feeling like she had winter bottled up inside of her.
The great apes roared triumphantly, announcing their arrival. The insect swarm emitted a constant hum, one that grew louder like approaching thunder. The continuous droning noise dug into Ochako's skull. Demons. All she could comprehend at that moment was that demons were coming here. Lots of them. The kind that had held her mother, but not her mother, captive before her eyes. The kind that had imitated her mother. The kind that had reached for her and grabbed her, threatening to crush her in giant paw-hands. The kind…
Izuku gently turned her face to look up only at him. "Breathe," he commanded, and Ochako instinctively obeyed, calming herself as she gazed up into his firelit eyes.
Izuku's hands were warm as he moved them to caress her neck. If it were any other man, this movement would have unnerved her. Ochako understood on a deep level that letting someone wrap their hands around your neck was a vulnerable position, but at this strange moment, with demons charging towards them, Izuku's hands made her feel safe.
Ochako could feel the weight of the collar as it formed around her neck, starting as nothing more than Izuku's breath until the mass of it became obvious. The metallic band was warm like Izuku. In some ways, it felt energetic, almost alive. Izuku bent to place a brief kiss against her neck. From that spot, links of a newly formed chain swarmed into existence, and Ochako watched in fascination as the swirling sands fastened to each other with bursts of emerald light.
Before Izuku could tell her what to do, Ochako took hold of one of Izuku's arms. Her hands and wrists seemed so tiny and delicate when she compared them to the mass of muscle she wrapped her fingers around. Bringing his hand up to her face, she moved her head to the side and placed soft kisses on the underside of his wrist, on a patch of exposed skin just beyond where his armbrace ended.
Izuku held her face, caressing her, calming her. As the chain linked to a new band on his wrist, one that seamlessly integrated itself under his bracer, Izuku pressed his forehead to Ochako's. "It will be okay, Ochako. I'm here with you. I have you. I love you."
I have you, he said. Ochako repeated it in her head like a mantra, even as she tried to wrap her mind around the idea that he now accompanied those words with new ones: I love you. Ochako nodded, her head rubbing up against his. Her heart felt like it would burst, filling with love while caught in a vice of fear. She had everything she had asked for or wanted. Everything she was thankful for was within reach. That fear kept a tight grip on her swelling heart, though. Would this be enough? Would Izuku's acting alone be enough to keep up the charade, to fool the demons?
No. It wouldn't. Ochako considered her options, and the plan that had germinated in her mind earlier sprang forward, growing with new life in her thoughts.
Izuku was suddenly tense. She knew, at that moment, that the demons were too close for them to communicate safely. Ochako regretted that she hadn't immediately replied to him that she loved him, even though she had said it before.
Izuku moved swiftly, shifting her position like she was a weightless plaything. That thought tucked itself into dangerous corners of her mind, ones that she promised herself she'd explore later. In no time at all, Ochako was kneeling next to Izuku, her knees resting on soft earth not far from the concrete base that secured the bench where he had seated himself. The chain visibly extended between them, linking her neck to his wrist, even as he toyed absentmindedly with several links between his fingers.
An open vest of shadow wrapped around his torso, leaving his arms and tight midsection exposed but affording him an air of languid authority, a king resting on his throne as his subjects approached. Izuku's posture and demeanor were relaxed, unimpressed, and self-important. A gleam of cruelty was evident in his eyes, eyes that almost asked: why did it take you all so long to arrive?
Without instruction, Ochako placed her hands on the earth before her and bowed her head. This position served her well, letting her appear subservient to him while hiding her face under her hair. She didn't want to look at the demons. She didn't want them to see her face. Fear gripped her as though icy hands had taken hold of her spine, rattling her.
A strange, chiming sound approached. Ochako could barely make out flashes of green and gold light from somewhere behind her. A soft breeze carried the smell of incense, ink, leather, and parchment. An undercurrent of dried blood cut through the other scents. The cool that accompanied these scents seemed to banish the warmth she felt from Izuku's light.
She held her breath when a voice like discordant wind chimes sliced through the air, breaking the tranquil happiness of Mt. Takao and the privacy she had shared with just Izuku. She did not understand any of the words, save one: Izuku. The language was varied, tonal, she surmised, but so alien that she dared not hazard what words meant which concept. The monster's tone of voice was sarcastically placating.
Izuku returned the pretense of politeness in kind. His words carried a rough edge to them, a bite that she hadn't heard even when he had corrected those two heroes that called him a boy. She understood immediately that Izuku could be a vicious and merciless beast, but that he reserved that malice for the enemy. Ochako had another reason just then to be thankful for Izuku, and his vigilant protection of their entire species.
Izuku prefaced his next statement by calling the demon by name. Mahbahgodeth, the demon cloaked in human faces, the mask with no physical body at its core. Ochako remembered this creature, the one she saw on the news. This horror was the one that had captured All Might, had taken Izuku's mother hostage, and had orchestrated the entire ceasefire. Shivering, Ochako stared down hard at the ground, not wanting to look and see the floating leather faces that were mere meters away from her. She didn't want to see the silent screams of those faces, the ones that had seemed so far away when they were on television.
Izuku barked out a command at the inhuman thing, and from the biting comply, Ochako surmised that the order would be adhered to, albeit maliciously. It unleashed a loud gonging noise, louder than anything she had ever heard in her life. The clamor thundered out, even louder than the arc of fire and light from the Chrysalis, but thankfully it did not roar constantly.
Ochako covered her ears for fear that they would bleed or worse. The joy she had felt earlier shattered into a thousand pieces. Panic consumed her spirit, and she was ready to scream, to beg Izuku to save her. Please, she asked deep within her mind, please save me from this.
There was a tug on the chain around her neck.
Ochako looked up, her face wet with tears. She knew she had to look utterly disgraceful. From below, on the ground, looking up at Izuku, he appeared godlike to her just then. He was also dreadfully demonic, alien, like the monsters that she feared. At that moment, her heart feared him and wanted his protection. He looked down on her with fiery eyes of indifference. It hurt to see him look at her this way.
He offered no words of comfort. He did not smile at Ochako. Instead, he merely goaded her. "Why did you stop, human? Did you not say earlier that you wanted to be my priestess, to guide the flocks in worship of their new god? Then fear nothing. Grovel and adore me, for that is your new role in life. You are mine, and I have you now until the end of your days. Do you hear me, woman? I have you. Now, approach your god and venerate him." Despite the clamor around them, his words resonated clearly into her. He could have whispered, and she'd still have heard it over the near-ceaseless ringing.
Ochako's heart bled. How could he be so cruel? Had he tricked her, made her into his slave, all on promises of love and a few kisses? Was she so cheap to buy?
No. That's not it, Ochako told herself. I have you, he said. It's a code. Just like when he used Morse before, this was a code. He loved her. He'd protect her. However, she had to play along. Ochako had to play the part of his worshipful slave.
Ochako swallowed, her throat dry and her tongue swollen. She was thirsty and tired, but she had to play this exhausting role. "Yes, master."
Her hands were still grasping her ears when the gonging noise finally stopped. It was only then that she felt the intrusion of the comm device in her ear. Ochako didn't want the rest of the world to see Izuku like this, to see him as a terrible tyrant, a devil-god demanding their service. His words, meant to give coded comfort to her, had probably already damaged his image within the Support Corps. Ochako couldn't allow humanity to misunderstand him any more than they already did. She also, at that moment, found her resolve. Izuku would never ask her to go above and beyond for this role. Ochako would have to do this with him but also carry the act farther than he would intend.
It was simple to remove the comm piece from her ear and to do it unnoticed. Her hair obscured the device. There was, though, no time to shut the thing off properly, to find the tiny button that would deactivate the fly on the wall, the spy in their midst. So Ochako did what she felt was right. She gave the offending device a soft flick of her wrist, but it's weightlessness meant that it would drift so far away that it would observe nothing.
Izuku's eyes did not betray any surprise as she crawled forward to kneel between his legs. He even accommodated her by spreading his knees farther apart. Had he guessed what she wanted to do? The concrete under the bench was smooth, yet hard on her knees. Regardless of that discomfort, Ochako resolved to worship Izuku for the benefit of their demonic audience and to give a performance worthy of Izuku's high priestess and slave.
She traded glances with him briefly, observing a moment of uncertain compassion even as Izuku continued to hold court with more demons as they arrived. Ochako did not understand the orders he doled out or the replies he received, but she knew one thing. Izuku was in complete command of this situation, and to maintain that command, he would need her help. She would love to be by his side, an advisor and supporter of all his ambitions. For now, though, what he needed was a prop: a tool, a toy to showcase his power over humanity.
Ochako resolved herself to be that showcase, no matter what it cost her. She kissed the inside of his thigh through the ephemeral pants he wore, trailing her lips softly towards his epicenter, her real goal where she would sacrifice everything for his sake. Teasingly, before reaching there, she moved to his other thigh and began placing kisses along there as well.
"My master," she kissed near his knee. "My savior," she trailed her mouth closer to her goal. "My god and owner," she finished her journey, lavishing soft kisses on his member through the shadow material of his pants. The altar she had chosen for worship grew hard under her efforts, hidden from view yet rising eagerly to receive her admiration and service.
Izuku stopped talking, interrupting himself when Ochako used her tongue, running it up the outer protection of his cock like a thief scaling a tower. His pants tasted like nothing at all, which reminded her that he could make them disappear on a whim. Ochako remained at the top, appreciating the summit after her long climb. She circled him with her tongue slowly, savoring the pulsing sensation, the ache that she knew he felt for her. As her eyes raked up across his hard muscles, she truly did enjoy the view from the mountaintop.
Thank you for the meal I am about to receive, Ochako prayed.
Izuku's eyes widened in alarm, hearing her directed thoughts, but he made no move to stop her. Taking that as her signal to continue, Ochako reached forward with her hands to reveal her altar and prize.
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A Note from the Author
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Well, this chapter ran long. I had to split it into two, and the second half is underway already. So don't worry, I'm not going to leave you hanging for long!
As for my personal life, my wife is seriously ill. Thankfully we got her to the doctor in time, and her treatment regimen is aggressive so she should recover, but she needs a lot of care right now.
As always, I appreciate the love you all have shown me. I respond to every comment, both on FF and AO3. Thank you again for your interest in my fanfiction. See you again soon!
