8: Power in a Name, Redux

Tenya pursed his lips, staring down at the closed tome in front of him. Across the table, Kyoka stirred her spoon through her tea, watching him with some measure of scrutiny. Between them, a small top spun on the table, silent and balanced.

"We need to tell the guard," Tenya said quietly, not looking up.

"What do you think is more important right now? Chasing after an old bounty for someone who never actually harmed anyone, or raising the city's defenses against the Nomu attacks since clearly they are able to come all this way south?"

"No actual harm?" Tenya's eyes flicked up to the other mage, giving her a sharp look. "She cursed his highness!"

"To not have kids until he fell in love. Terrible." Kyoka replied, and there was a hint of frustration in her voice. "Hell, I can't even call it a curse, Tenya. I'd have done so much worse had I been Ochako."

There was a pause as Iida gaped at her, as if she had admitted to murder. In his eyes, it was probably pretty close. "What do you mean you'd have done so much worse? You can't possibly tell me you understand why she did what she did?"

The look Kyouka gave him made him sit up in alarm, because it was near murderous. "She was being forced to marry at the age of thirteen just to produce kids for the Todoroki bloodline. She was taken away from her family and treated like a prisoner. She had no say in any of these decisions. So yes, if I had been her, I would have probably done much worse."

Tenya's lips parted, and it was clear he was confused. "It… wasn't by choice?"

"Oh great kings, do they teach you men nothing?" Kyouka ran a hand through her hair, staring at the mage across from her. "Ochako isn't nobility. She would have had no say in any of this because her family didn't have that kind of clout. So most likely, the royal envoy showed up, announced that she was to be Prince Shouto's wife, and everyone had to comply lest they face King Enji's wrath."

The Creator mage shook his head, his expression indicating he was working to rationalize the situation in a way that made sense to him. "But… it would have been a class elevation, and her quality of life…"

"Who are you to judge what her quality of life would be?" Kyouka's words had a biting edge to them that made Tenya sit up straight in alarm. "Tell me, Tenya," she folded her arms over her chest, eyes burning in their intensity. "What about the life she was 'offered' makes you think it would be better for her?"

"I mean…" The mage looked unsure of himself, but he replied carefully. "I am aware of the quality of living differences between nobility and the common class. She would have not suffered harsh winters, had access to the royal healers, and enjoyed a lot of finer living than she ever could have otherwise."

"That's exactly what a man would say," Kyouka replied, and Tenya knew that her words were not a compliment. "Let me tell you what a woman would say. She would have been a breeding cow for the royal family. She would have been forced to give birth before her body had finished growing into adulthood, and she would have had to do so until she produced a male heir with the magic that King Enji hoped for. She would have had no say over the situation. So tell me again, Tenya. Do you still presume to know which life was better for her?"

Tenya looked like his entire reality was on the verge of shattering and only needed another push. "But…"

Kyouka all but growled, leveling the other mage with a hot glare. "Have you ever witnessed childbirth, Tenya?"

"I… no, I have not–"

"Of course you haven't. What about the changes a woman's body goes through during the pregnancy? How familiar are you with it?"

"I… well…n-not very…"

Kyouka took a deep breath through her nose, before she gently placed her hands on the table, careful to not disturb the spinning top. "For nine months, a woman's body stops becoming her own. As that fetus grows, her organs get pushed aside to make room. She can no longer find a comfortable way to sleep, and the changes to her body cause her to be sick and tired. It is draining to grow another person inside of you. And then when that person is ready to enter the world, they do not do so easily. It is agonizingly painful and it takes hours of labor. There are complications, and it permanently changes the body. Hell, Tenya, sometimes the mother doesn't even make it through the process. Childbirth isn't without risk, and even the best healers can't always prevent death from serious complications. And even if the birth goes well, a mother still can't rest. She now has a life to look after, to nurse and rock to sleep. Even with maidservants, it's still not easy."

She paused, taking another steading breath. "At no point should a woman be forced to undertake that if she's not willing, and definitely not because a man said she should. Just because he is a king does not mean he should get the right to ruin others' lives just for the sake of a bloodline. That's not the actions of a good man, Tenya."

Across from her, Tenya bowed his head, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed thickly. "I… am sorry. It seems I have taken a very uneducated opinion, and that is unbecoming of me."

"You and the rest of your gender," Kyouka replied wryly. "However… You're not an idiot, and unlike a lot of men in power, you're not an asshole. I'm telling you this so you can make a better, more informed opinion. Don't disappoint me."

Tenya nodded slowly, running a hand over his lips. "You… have given me a lot to think about… and I am ashamed I have not thought about these things before."

"Good," Kyouka replied simply. "There's a lot to think about. Our society favors men and withholds a lot of power from women. And if we want to make things more equal, the first thing we need to do is criticize how things are and start listening to women." She sighed, shrugging. "It's better than it used to be, at least a little. I was able to make Denki take my family name, and I couldn't have done that ten years ago, but it's still not good. Ochako didn't want to be a part of this society, and so she did what she could to escape it, and honestly, I'm not entirely sure Prince Shouto wanted that marriage either."

Tenya looked up at her, eyes narrowing. "Do… you know something?"

Kyouka shrugged again, glancing out the window of the restaurant they were in. "I hear things. I don't repeat them unless I need to, but I hear things… So let's just say, I've heard enough to know the curse Ochako gave him was anything but a curse."

"I… I have a lot to think about." The Creator mage repeated, folding his hands together over his spellbook, eyes downcast. "And… thank you, Lady Jiro."

"Ky-ou-ka," she replied, lifting a brow. "If you want to start unlearning some of the issues with our patriarchal society, maybe start by addressing women with how they wanna be addressed."

"I… uh… I'll try."

"I'm sure you can do better than try," Kyouka replied simply. Placing a few coins on the table, she reached forward, grabbing the spinning top. The moment it stopped moving, there was a soft pop, but nothing more. "I need to head back. I've an idiot husband who is probably worried that I've yet to come back home from patrol."

"You were out all night?"

Kyouka nodded, eyes flickering over the quiet restaurant. "Like I said. I hear things. I've been following up on what I hear. I'll tell you more later, when I have more to tell. Good day, Tenya."

XX

Katsuki steepled his hands together in front of his lips, staring at the other two in front of him. Ochako ignored him while she prepared breakfast, and Izuku swallowed nervously, pointedly not making eye contact.

"I say 'lay low' and you fuckers go off and announce your presence to half of Heights Alliance?"

"Two people…" Izuku weakly protested, shrinking in on himself.

"Yeah, well, Kyouka is fucking married to the kingdom's biggest gossip, so you might as well just throw a banquet announcing your existence," The Dragon snapped back, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling as if asking some higher power to grant him patience.

"I doubt she'll tell Denki," Ochako said simply, walking over with a small jar of preserves and scones she had made the previous night. She placed them on the table, then went to make a fresh pot of tea. "She was the one insisting she saw nothing today. It's Tenya I'm worried about."

Katsuki grunted, grabbing a scone and inspecting it with some measure of scrutiny. "Idiot's always been too near-sighted for his own good." He took an aggressive bite of the biscuit, tasting it, before he grabbed the spoon and smeared preserves on the bread. "But, I guess the biggest worry is that people know you didn't flee overseas now."

"It was a weak cover anyway," Ochako replied, shrugging her shoulders. Seeing the look on Izuku's face, she added, "Shortly after the wedding, Katsuki helped me make it appear as if I fled the country by ship through the port. After that, I stayed in isolation for a long time to solidify the rumor, and the guards in Ultra stopped actively looking for me. I think they still inspect incoming ships at Heights Alliance, though."

"They do, on my orders," Katsuki replied between bites. He waved a hand, swallowing his food. "I'm due to visit tomorrow. Will see what the guards have to say about our monster as well as any rogue witches." He sighed, leveling them both a weary, but annoyed look.

Izuku ducked his head, but Ochako reached out and smoothed a hand over his curls, causing him to ever so subtly lean into his touch. Katsuki watched the exchange with some measure of scrutiny. He had made the comment yesterday about how close the two seemed, but the statement had been born from the obvious - Izuku was living with Ochako out of circumstance, and she had taken on the role of guardian given his unfortunate experiences.

But then there were moments like these… Katsuki ran his tongue over his teeth, crimson eyes narrowing.

Nah, he was reading into it.

Maybe if he was a little more honest with himself, he would even be able to admit he was envious. They could have these interactions with no meaning behind them, but he wasn't allowed to have the same given his circumstances.

Privileged, both of them.

Ochako drew him out of his thoughts as she moved around the table to pour fresh tea. "I imagine you need to leave soon. Is there anything else we need to discuss?"

The Dragon nodded, eyes falling to the liquid tipping into his cup. "There's a royal banquet in three days. My parents are invited, and it's a big event, so it will take them off the estate for several hours." He pinned Izuku with a look. "Do you remember my favorite fishing spot?"

The green-haired man stared back at him with wide eyes, before nodding. Katsuki grunted. "Good. At noon three days from now, meet me there. I'd say leave Ochako behind because she needs to stay hidden, but I know a fucking lost cause when I see one, and there are two in front of me right now."

"Do you shower your lover with these types of compliments?" Ochako asked dryly, putting down the teapot.

Without even thinking, Katsuki snapped back, "Bitch loves it when I talk like this." The moment the words left his mouth, he stiffened, eyes flickering from Izuku to Ochako. The former seemed to not understand any actual implication of the words, but the latter was giving him such an infuriatingly smug look that he humored punching her for old time's sake.

Before she could respond, Izuku's brain seemed to catch up to the conversation, and he looked up from his steaming cup of tea, giving Katsuki a curious glance. "Kacchan… you have a lover?"

The captain pressed his lips together and leveled Ochako with a look that screamed murder. "No, Deku. I don't. Keeping the kingdom safe is a full time job, and keeping you two idiots in line has proven to me I don't ever fucking want kids."

Ochako snorted so loudly it made Izuku jump, but Katsuki's own words had made him pause, crimson eyes lingering on the witch in front of him, as if something just occurred to him. "Hey…"

The brunette looked over at him, and in seeing the concern on his face, dropped her amused look. "What is it?"

"You said the contract's been undone. Is… Shouto…?"

Her brows lifted in understanding. "Ah… no. My… protections are still in place. When both sides void a contract, we can choose if we want to leave part of the contract in place."

The knot in Katsuki's chest that he didn't even realize had been there began to loosen, and he nodded, finishing the last bite of his scone. "Good. We don't need the idiot producing more idiots." He didn't like the way his voice was just a touch uneven, and he cleared his throat, pushing away from the table. "I need to go. I've been here too long and my men will start looking for me. Remember, three days at noon, by the old fishing spot."

He paused, looking from Izuku to Ochako. "You think you can get him to control his magic enough to be out in the open?"

Ochako hummed, dribbling preserves on a scone. "Izuku. Do you think that in three days' time you can learn to control your magic enough to go see your mother?"

"Yes."

It was a simple response, and yet, the lack of hesitation made both Ochako and Katsuki turn to look at him in surprise. It was the first time Katsuki could recall the idiot not sounding unsure or afraid. In fact, he might even call it… determined.

"Good," Katsuki replied in what one might interpret as approval. "See you pair of migraines in three days."

XX

After Katsuki left, Ochako felt the effort from the morning's events finally catch up with her. Folding her limbs across the table, she rested her head atop them, watching Izuku lazily. Truthfully, the amount of magic she borrowed to get to him so quickly had exhausted her, and it wasn't even late morning yet. Still, she was confident that with a few minutes of just resting, she could find it in her to give Izuku more training so the entire day wasn't a waste.

The man in question had gone through the rest of the clothes Shouto had sent to him. In addition to the tunic and trousers he wore, there was another set made of thick material for winter, some lightweight clothes made from quality linen, and the leather protection Ochako had seen earlier. He seemed very awed to have so many things made just for him, and gingerly, he placed the items in the unused chair in the corner of the room by his bed.

Turning to her, he smiled nervously, fidgeting with the hem of his tunic. She offered a warm smile back, adjusting her head so that her chin was balancing on her folded arm. "You seem pleased."

He nodded, a soft flush touching his cheeks. "They're… they're nice clothes. I never had this… when I was a child."

Ochako hummed thoughtfully, eyes trailing over the cut of the material he wore. "You don't find them constricting or uncomfortable?" She honestly thought he would, given he'd spent so long wearing rags and tatters.

Izuku paused to consider her question. "Maybe a little? It's different, but I'm not sure if it's uncomfortable. I… don't think I could sleep in them though."

In response, Ochako's lips pulled up into a smile. "I imagine the other shirts are better for that. Or, I suppose you can keep using your robe; whatever feels more comfortable to you."

It was then she remembered she was still in her own nightgown. When she woke up and found Izuku missing, she hadn't bothered to change, throwing on her cloak and diving out the door. It didn't particularly bother her; her relationship with clothing had become… strained after her time in the Royal Academy, but she did try to appear decent for her recent house guest. Though truthfully, she wasn't sure how much it mattered to him, if at all.

Katsuki hadn't said anything about her state of dress either, but given the morning's events, he probably hadn't even noticed. Sighing softly, she stood up, stretching her arms over her head and wincing at the effort that took. "On that thought, I'm going to change clothes so we can keep training."

Izuku nodded at her, and she walked off to the far side of the cottage, pulling out a blouse and skirt to wear. She paused, eyes falling to the hand mirror she had, and curiously she lifted it to her face, peering at her newly acquired streak of white hair. Although cosmetic, it was definitely a warning she needed to be careful. Her body wasn't used to this amount of magic channeling.

Well, hopefully, she wouldn't need to do something as taxing as fly across the kingdom again.

Stepping out onto the veranda to be out of Izuku's line of sight, she changed clothes, tucking her blouse loosely into her skirt before securing the skirt's sash with a knot. She walked back into the main part of the cottage, pausing to toss her gown on the chair as a reminder to wash it later.

Izuku had stepped outside, but not before cleaning up the table and putting away the remaining food. It made her smile, even if he'd put some things back in the wrong place, much to her amusement. Well, the effort was more than appreciated, at any rate. With that, she crossed the open door into the yard and stopped to find him sitting out in the moss, basking in the sunlight. He was leaning back on his hands, eyes closed and face tilted up towards the sky, the wind ruffling his hair. There was something serene in his expression that she couldn't recall ever seeing before. It was captivating in a way, and her lips parted softly as she observed him.

She wasn't sure if he heard her or sensed her, but after a moment, he opened his eyes and looked over to her, their soft green glow almost non-existent in the morning sun. The serenity in his expression melted away as he focused on her, replaced by guileless curiosity. She had to marvel at his growth and the way he had come out of his shell, little by little, and it filled her with pride. She smiled brightly at him, and much to her delight, he returned the gesture, albeit shyly.

Smiles looked good on him. She made a promise to herself to ensure he had reason to smile more often.

Crossing the mossy ground, she came to a stop beside him and sat down, stretching out her legs and mirroring his pose. He turned his head to watch her, and she met his gaze by looking at him over her shoulder. Still smiling, she asked, "Ready for another lesson?"

He nodded eagerly, dark curls bouncing, and turned to face her, crossing his legs and resting his hands on his ankles. Ochako's eyes fell to his bandaged arm and she pursed her lips thoughtfully. Holding out her hand, she nodded towards the appendage. "Let me see your arm first."

He blinked curiously, holding out his arm for her to inspect. Gently, she took the limb in her hand and pushed the sleeve of his tunic up to his bicep so that she could unravel the bandages to inspect what was underneath. The lacerations were healing well on the surface, although her real concern was how deep some of the punctures had gone. He was probably still a couple of weeks away from regaining full use of his arm. "How is the pain?"

He hummed, looking down at his arm and flexed it, testing the range of mobility. "It's not bad."

She arched a brow at him dubiously before poking him sharply in his bicep with her finger. He hissed, pulling back in surprise.

"Not bad, huh?"

"I mean–I've had worse!" He whined, looking offended.

She shook her head, gathering up the bandages. "That's not the point. The point is, you're still healing, and you need to be honest about how you feel."

Rubbing where she poked him, Izuku looked up at her, and she had to bite back a laugh at the pout he gave her. Grinning, she reached up and gently tugged the sleeve of his tunic back down, smoothing her hand over his forearm after. "Let me ask again. How's the pain?"

He warred with himself for a few seconds, before sighing, a hint of the pout still on his face. "It feels very stiff and sore, but there is no sharp pain like before. It doesn't burn now either unless I try to lift it."

She rewarded him with a pleased smile. "Thank you for being honest." Whatever reservations Izuku had about being vulnerable about the pain melted away at that statement, and green eyes moved up from his arm to look at her intently. She gave him a gentle pat on the wrist then sat up, stretching her back. "So… I think we should revisit your original core's abilities today."

This made Izuku pause, brows lifting in confusion. "My ability to see cores?"

Ochako shook her head. "Nope. You see cores just fine. But, I think your abilities go beyond seeing, don't they? You can hear cores, too. Or at least, you can sometimes hear them. When I visited your core, you spoke to it, and it spoke to you."

He pursed his lips, gaze drifting off to the side thoughtfully. "I usually… feel things. Feel their intent. But… sometimes it has spoken to me. It told me you were an Echo, and it told me you were being hunted."

Ochako nodded slowly. "So… I think if you were able to communicate with it better, it would make controlling the magic your core has much easier. You don't even know the extent of what your magic can do, and I imagine there's a lot of magic locked away in there if your core accumulates the magic of every person it passes through."

Izuku quietly nodded, teeth plucking at his lip as he considered her words. "Okay. What should I do?"

Ochako hummed softly, tilting her head to the sky thoughtfully, as she replied, "Let's do what we did yesterday. Take me inside your core, and we'll see what we can learn about it."

There was a moment of hesitation as worry flickered across his face. "But… last time you got weak. And today you've already…"

"Izuku," She paused, realizing she was about to tell him she would be fine despite knowing that was probably not the case. However, she didn't want him to refuse to do this, so she needed to find a way to encourage him without lying to him. "I want to do this, and… I think I have the energy for it. I'll just need to rest afterward. And… and if you let me, I'll give you something you want in return. Does that sound okay?"

"But… what if what I want is for you to be okay?"

It was so earnest and so sincere that she wanted to squish his cheeks and at the same time roll her eyes, because this was not helping.

"Izuku… I didn't realize someone could be too sweet until I met you." The half complaint, half compliment escaped her lips in an exasperated laugh as she shook her head, giving him a look. He stared back at her, nervousness on his features because he couldn't tell if she was actually upset with him.

"I'm so–"

His apology was cut short as she reached out, taking his hands in her own and running her thumbs over his knuckles. "Don't–" She stopped, before trying again. "...Don't ever apologize for who you are, Izuku."

He sucked in a soft breath, lips parted as she gently lectured him. "Especially not for being kind."

A soft pink dusted across his cheeks as he chewed on his bottom lip, nodding slightly. In return, she gave him a small smile, squeezing the fingers she had captive in her hands. "However, it is important we do this, and I promise to get lots of rest afterward. Please, Izuku?"

He made a soft noise of protest, eyes falling to their hands. After a moment, he admitted, "I…don't like this, but…I don't like making you unhappy, either."

"You never make me unhappy," Ochako replied firmly, shifting her hands until her fingers laced through his much larger ones. The gesture was foreign to him, and it showed in how he let his fingers hang open before he mimicked her and curled them over her knuckles gently. "I may yell when you put yourself in danger, and I may lecture or scold you when you do something foolish, but I do it because I care. And more than anything, Izuku, I am proud of you."

His breath caught, eyes looking up to meet hers. "R-really?"

"Yes, really," she replied, smiling. "And I want to make sure you can go see your mother safely, and to do that, we need you to be able to control your magic. So… let me be a little tired today, so that in three days, I can see your smile when you go see her."

His mouth fell open, and she watched as he tried to find words but failed to do so. Instead, he blinked several times, eyes brimming with tears as he gave her a wobbly smile. "O-okay."

"Good," She said, reaching up with one of their locked hands to wipe at his cheek when a tear broke free. He bit his lip, shyly looking at her as she doted on him, and she nodded, lifting their conjoined hands. "Shall we?"

He nodded anxiously, before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "But… we stop if you feel bad. D-deal?"

"Deal."

XX

Shouto sighed, lifting his teacup to his lips only to find the contents had already been drained. Shooting a half-hearted glare at the porcelain for being empty, he placed it back down and turned another page in the book he was reading.

Similar books were stacked around him, the titles all indicating them to be records of births, registrars of magic, and the like.

He told his father he was researching for people who specialized in curse reversal. He didn't even need to elaborate on the pathetic excuse; his father had practically thrown him at the archives, even if the idea that there would be someone out there who could easily reverse a curse was laughable. However, it let him do what he really wanted and without much scrutiny, at least for now.

Pursing his lips, he poured himself another cup of tea and sighed. Izuku had mentioned it was a powerful spell that hid the knowledge of cores away from the world, so surely there was someone in the kingdom with the right kind of magic to undo that spell.

Right?

XX

The setting was the same as before, with the green shooting stars and the sandy fields of purple grasses. Ochako looked around, eyes skimming over the jet black stones sticking up through the sands before she spotted her target.

Izuku sat on the same stone as before, staring up into the sky. He still appeared as a child, though Ochako noticed he looked a little older. She wondered if there was a reason for that.

Green eyes looked up at her and he smiled. "Hi Ochako!"

"Hi Izuku," she greeted, moving towards him. As she passed the first black rock, she paused, feeling a strange thrum of energy coming from it. Brows furrowing, she glanced down at it in confusion. She didn't recall feeling this energy before, but she also hadn't gotten near any of the black stones last time. Izuku had come to her.

Shaking her head, she continued, passing two other stones before she found herself before him. Each stone carried the same weight of energy within it, but they all looked the same. Pitch black, absorbing all light. Knowing she was on limited time anyway, she asked without preamble. "Do these black stones represent anything?"

Izuku hummed, looking out over the landscape. "I think… they are the cores that have become part of this core."

Her eyes widened, and she looked back out over the fields. Dozens of jet black rocks of various sizes jutted out from the sands. "But… there's so many! Are you sure?"

"Well… I can't think of anything else they would be, since this rock is my Hollow core."

Ochako turned back to him, her brow furrowing. "What?"

Izuku tilted his head at her and patted the rock he sat on. "This one is my Hollow. I land on it every time I come here."

"How do you know?"

The boy blinked in confusion. "You can't see it?"

"See what? Izuku, this rock looks the same as the rest."

"No, it's not. Look!" And without ceremony, the boy jumped off his rock and latched onto Ochako's hand. The moment his fingers touched her skin, the rock before them lit up in the center, showing off a beautiful spiral of energy, oscillating in chromatic colors.

"Oh…" Ochako breathed, eyes wide. "It's… beautiful."

The boy beside her hummed, nodding his head. "Hollow cores look like this, usually. Always moving, always shifting in color. It kind of reminds me of those pretty rocks with all the colors that Kacchan's mom has in a pendant."

The witch said nothing, mind working furiously. So if Izuku was right, then he potentially had dozens of core abilities he could draw from if he learned to unlock them. Looking back over her shoulder, she swept her eyes at the various stones, looking for any others that stood out now that Izuku was touching her. It was only out of the corner of her eye that she could see three of the ones closer to them each had a dull glow coming from inside. "What about these?"

Izuku followed her gaze, looking at the rocks in question. "I think… those are the cores that get used the most… I can kind of see something inside, but not well. Look." He pulled her forward and came to one of the stones, touching his hand on it. The soft glow brightened slightly, showing a faint green outline of the core within.

Ochako furrowed her brow, sighing. "All right… so the clearer you can see the core, the easier it is for you to call upon its abilities. I wonder… if it's a matter of training, or if it's a matter of unlocking… oh."

The boy turned to look at her, and she glanced back at him, giving him a sheepish smile. "You know, for someone who's entire thing is listening to the world around her, I kinda forgot that we should probably just ask your core."

Izuku shifted, glancing down. "I can try, but… it doesn't listen to me very often…"

"Well… there has to be a reason for that or something we're missing. I have a hard time believing it doesn't want to work with you, after all." Ochako crouched down, reaching up to brush his hair back from his face. "Perhaps we're not talking to it in the right way, or there needs to be an established contract, or… I don't know. Something." She huffed softly, closing her eyes. "Let me think."

The core had a purpose to protect others from the Blackened Core. It also had a strong desire to protect Izuku, knowing he was incapable of protecting himself. But why was it not cooperating with him? Teaching him? The magical world knew of this core and was excited for it. From the day Izuku had given her his name, the forest had been buzzing in delight–

There is power in a name.

She opened her eyes, looking at the child before her. "Hey. What's your core's name?"

Izuku blinked, and she saw the uncertainty flicker across his features. "I… I don't know."

She held her breath, reflecting on the exchange she had last night with the ecosystem. What had they called the core?

You wish to help the Protector. Our Requiem.

Biting her lip, Ochako weighed the situation before she leaned in and whispered into Izuku's ear. He stared at her as she pulled back, before slowly, hesitantly repeating the word she gave him. "...Requiem?"

The moment the word left his lips, everything around them exploded.

Ochako gasped, grabbing Izuku and pulling him close, shielding him from the spray of black shards as the stones around them shattered. However, no impact came. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see black mist evaporating across the sandy fields. Overhead, a beautiful aurora had erupted across the starry sky, swirling in a radiant green vortex.

And in the place of each black stone was now a magical core, each pulsing in its own shape and colors and effects.

Slowly, Izuku lifted his head up, still letting Ochako hold him close as wide eyes looked around him in wonder.

Hello Izuku. We've been waiting.

XX

He sat in the blackened ruins, letting blue flames dance from one palm to another in a curious dance. It was silent around him, with no birdsong or evidence of anything alive nearby. Even the wind was startlingly absent. It was a sensation he hoped to one day spread across his father's kingdom before his very eyes.

"Oh, there you are!"

Bored eyes turned to find the speaker, her blonde hair pinned atop her head and held together by decorated hair sticks that he knew were more than just for looks.

She gave him a fanged grin, her hands holding onto a rolled up parchment in front of her. "I've been looking for you."

"Me?" He echoed, giving her a skeptical look. They rarely talked unless it was about their assignments.

"Oh, yes!" Pulling up the ends of her coat, she hopped up the crumbled stones until she was closer to him. "I saw the witch today. She is an Echo."

His brows lifted underneath a veil of white hair, and he turned to look at her fully. "You're sure?"

She nodded slowly, painted lips pulling to show off sharp teeth. "She appeared in a cyclone of magic with no tools to aid her. The heavens bent to her will and the smell was delectable."

He huffed, nodding. "We finally found one, then. Tomura will be pleased, though we still need to locate where she's hiding…"

"Oh, it gets better!" She added, hopping in place. "I saw her face. And the Protector's face!" She took in a stuttered breath, eyes bright. "...They're both cute…"

After lingering on that thought for a moment, she teetered and held out the rolled parchment for him to take. "Our Echo has made your hated family very angry, it seems!"

He paused, eyes flickering down to the paper in her hands. "What?" Without waiting for her to answer he took the offered scroll and unfurled it, eyes falling to the faded ink. As his gaze swept over the words, he felt laughter build up inside him, bubbling out gleefully in a way that was a little too high pitched, and maybe a touch unhinged. "Oh, the irony. "

How beautiful was it that the one person they needed to rebuild the world was the one person who had publicly humiliated King Enji of Yuuei?

Damn, he almost felt bad about having to kill her.

Almost.