A Different Perspective

by House_of_Pixels

Summary:

If Ochako had to choose anyone to be psychically connected to as a result of an unfortunate quirk, Bakugou is about the last person she would choose. Really, the only person she'd hate being linked to more is Deku, who broke her heart last year. Naturally, that means that while she was in a fight with some evil child-killing bastards after a long day of saving lives, it had to be Bakugou the villain tied to her mind. They say two minds are better than one, but Ochako doesn't think they meant it for this particular context.

Notes:

Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Collision

Notes:

This fanfic is being recorded in audio format thanks to the folks at The Reading Room podcast, new episodes coming out regularly! Follow along with these links:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0yryXiieMBamld7DDvsmFf?si=8b3ef5138b0f40a0

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The Reading Room twitter: https://twitter.com/_Reading_Room_

This is not going well.

The thought came unbidden to Ochako’s mind as she slammed a chunk of concrete into the space the villain had been seconds before. It squelched into a puddle of magma that was promptly left behind as the villain popped away from the hefty rock. He had, quite literally, disappeared from his location only to relocate several feet away from the giant boulder Ochako was smashing into the ground. Again. For what felt like the millionth time in a row.

She humphed in frustration at her inability to move faster than that stupid villain could be teleported out of the way. She considered herself to be a generally optimistic person, more jaded than she had been as a newly minted hero a few years ago, but optimistic none the less. She believed that Good would triumph in the end. She believed that what she did as a pro hero made a difference, even if it wasn’t always super clear that it did. And on this day, she believed that she and her allies could and would win this fight. Despite this outlook, even she could acknowledge that this disaster of a fight was not going according to plan.

Ochako had gotten the call while finishing up a long day of patrols, the sun was setting and Ochako was doing one last round of the neighborhood before she would head home. Today had started fairly average, with several mundane calls to help cats out of trees or elders who’d fallen and need to be transported to the hospital and the such. She had finished a more strenuous rescue call thirty minutes before, a burning apartment building where she’d lifted 17 civilians and the collapsing 5th-10th floors of the building. Her agency had offered to send help, but Ochako had waved off the backup, knowing she was perfectly capable of handling it on her own- she wasn’t the Number 7 Hero for nothing after all! Thinking back on it now though, she probably should have accepted the help. She was definitely feeling the fallout from over-exerting herself as she jogged around the block, just looking around for any suspicious activity. She was contemplating her plans to head home and drink a glass of wine with a book before passing out when her comms gave a high pitched beep, indicating her agency was contacting her. She lightly tapped the edge of the ear piece to pick up the call.

“Uravity, I know it’s the end of your shift, but we’ve got an emergency call” She heard her sidekick, Plantasma’s silky voice speak through the earpiece. Plantasma was a fresh UA grad whose quirk let her summon ghost plants, which Ochako thought was a freaky quirk by all accounts. Like, what even was a ghost plant, let alone a quirk that could animate it? This new generation of heroes certainly had some weird quirks.

Ochako sighed before replying, “It’s okay Lilly, what’s the call?”

“Well, it’s Young Heroes Middle School, there’s an attack underway. There are kids at the school doing after-school-programs, they're in danger.” Plantasma replied, her voice cracking halfway through with repressed emotion. With that, Ochako immediately forgot her plans for her evening.

“I’m on my way” She said as she made a sharp right turn towards the school, breaking into a sprint.

She rapid fired questions into her comms, asking for details on the attack as she ran. Apparently, a group of five villains had decided to try and take out an entire school full of kids. Red Riot and Creati were already on the scene, having been at the school to give a presentation to the kids about what it was like to be a pro hero. Other pros in the area were being called in, just like her, to deal with the fight and its inevitable fallout.

She rushed through the city, making a sharp right turn onto the street the school was on. Pillars of black smoke billowed from the sprawling one story building. Ochako took a deep breath and ran towards the building, vaulting herself over the big fence that surrounded the campus. Looking around as she ran across the front of the school, she found no actively attacking villains. She assumed that the fight was currently in the back school yard, though she could see evidence of an earlier fight here at the front. There was a particularly concerning stain of blood on the windowsill of one of the classrooms closest to her. She wrenched her eyes away from the sight, she couldn’t worry about that now. Take out the threat, then rescue.

There were cries, grunts and the sound of heavy objects impacting flesh- clearly the sounds of a battle in progress- coming from behind the building. It was the best lead she had at the moment, so she headed towards the edge of the building, following her instincts. She jogged around the corner of the building to find said threat.

She got a quick glance at the surroundings as she swung around the corner of the building, noting Creati and Red Riot fighting with several villains. An unconscious mental count tallied five adversaries in total, before she was caught off guard with an insanely hard punch to her gut, delivered by a greasy looking man whose yellow teeth were clenched in a manic grin. Well, she'd successfully found the fight, she noted sarcastically as she felt her lungs spasm as they tried to pull air in.

“Oh Uravity is here, this aught to go fast” The villain taunted as Ochako doubled over, attempting to regain her breath.

“Uravity!” Momo yelled to Ochako while simultaneously creating a dual set of swords, “He’s got super strength!”

“Ugh.. yeah you think?” Uraraka wheezed under her breath as she dodged a follow up punch from the grinning villain. He seemed peeved off that she had dodged his second punch and started to flail punches and kicks at her. He clipped her on the side of her forearm she was using to protect her face and she heard, more than felt, one of the bones crack.

“Just stop MOVING! Let me kill you like all of those little kiddies” He spat at her as she dipped and dodged his blows to the best of her ability.

That had stopped her heart for an agonizing second. The children. Surely, they wouldn’t have killed them... right?

She did not have time for more than that second's consideration of the possible consequences of this attack, because by the next beat of her newly heavy heart the villain’s super powered punch was rushing towards her again. She ducked the blow, reaching out to make contact with the villains torso with her fingers, only to have him twist away millimeters before she could land all five. She huffed, partly in frustration and partly in pain, as her sudden movements sent bolts of pain from her bruised ribs and broken arm. She had to get away from this guy, or she’d be broken before being able to rescue the kids.

The villain brought his leg up in a kick to follow through on his twisting away from her fingers. Ochako relieved herself of gravity just as his boot made contact with her chin so that instead of delivering a head rattling kick, the villain gave her the momentum needed to be kicked off into space away from his offensively painful attacks. Ochako grit her teeth as she flew head over heels backwards, spinning weightlessly in the air in a nauseating trajectory away from the villain. She painstakingly brought her fingers together to release her quick, which stopped the spinning, but also slowed her momentum and she started to arch back towards the ground as gravity grasped her weight again. She quickly activated her quirk again and her acceleration stopped so that she was lazily drifting towards the ground- rather than accelerating towards it. She saw the Strength Quirk she had been fighting glare from the ground and her eyes widened as she watched him reach behind his back, while a second villain, an older female with white hair, appeared behind him hand extended. The shock value of the woman appearing in out of thin air was lessened considerably by the gun the strong villain had pointed at Ochako.

Crap… she thought right as the woman touched the barrel and he pulled the trigger.

At that point several things happened at once: The gun fired with a flash, but the sound was drowned out by a massive boom, which Ochako knew meant that reinforcements had arrived. Thank god.

Bakugou exploded, literally, onto the scene aiming a set of explosions toward the Strength Quirk's extended arm. Unfortunately for Ground Zero (and for the villain) Deku got there first. Moving as fast as the green lightning crackling around his limbs, Deku slammed his red boot into the greasy villain's forearm. She unconsciously blinked, missing the split second it took Deku to completely annihilate the Strength Quirk's arm. She noted that the blow was so strong the villain’s hand was literally dangling, both bones poking out of his skin. The Teleportation Quirk popped back out of existence right as Deku aimed a second kick at her, continuing his momentum. Izuku's eyes widened in surprise as the female villain disappeared before he ducked so Bakugou’s incoming blast didn’t hit him. It did, however, connect with the Strength Quirk's severed forearm, effectively cauterizing the wound and making the greasy villain scream in pain. He wasn't getting that hand back without some serious medical intervention.

“DEKU! YOU FUCKING DICK, THAT WAS MY HIT!” Ground Zero screamed at the grinning Deku, who had returned to Ground Zero’s side, though not close enough to be in range of the small explosions Bakugou fired in frustration.

“Too slow Kacchan” Ochako heard Deku reply cheekily.

These two never stopped their stupid one-upping, though she supposed she should just be happy Bakugou wasn’t actively attempting to assassinate Deku. She started to roll her eyes, but it was at this point that Ochako’s right thigh exploded in a sharp pain so intense her vision blacked out for a moment. She gasped as she unintentionally dropped her quick and started falling out of the sky.

When did I get hit? I thought the bullet missed?!

“Ochako!” Deku’s tone changed as she plummeted out of the sky and she grasped her leg, which… wasn’t, bleeding..?! Ochako’s thoughts scrambled, attempting to process the situation she found herself in. Was she shot? Was it another injury? Why wasn’t she bleeding? When did she start falling towards the ground in a tailspin? How did she stop herself from falling again?

Breathe. Focus.

Thankfully, her thoughts quickly righted, thanks to years of training in equally awful situations. She was falling. She had to activate her quirk. Easy peasy, she'd been in this situation a million times...But, oh… she was hellishly nauseous.

She was gonna puke. She was totally gonna puke. Why, oh why, was her body’s first response to stressful situations intense nausea and an immediate voiding of her stomach? Why hadn't she accepted the backup her agency had offered earlier that day so she wouldn't be on the edge of her limits?

She plummeted from the sky, accelerating toward the ground, vomit from the pain and overuse of her quirk on the back of her tongue. Ochako grit her teeth in anticipation.

Since that point it had been more or less downhill. She’d managed to activate her quick just in time to slow her progress towards becoming a human pancake, which was a plus. Then she’d immediately vomited, which was super gross and embarrassing, but not anything her comrades hadn’t already seen. It’d been, like, five years since she’d vomited from quirk use, but whatever- she’d get over it sooner or later. Then she'd bucked up and acted like the goddamn professional hero she was and kept fighting.

The five villains had a really symbiotic set of quirks as far as Ochako could tell. The greasy man had some sort of strength enhancing quick, there was a girl with short bronze curls and and insane looking scar down her face who could create telekinetic shields, a tall willow of a man who spewed lava from his..ehm… orifices and an older woman who could freaking teleport anything she touched. There was a fifth member who they couldn’t get a read on- a boy with creepily long index fingers who kept trying to touch the heroes, but who hadn’t landed a hit. Ochako shuddered to think what he could do, given the other villains' quirks; after all, the freaking Teleport Quirk had teleported one of the bullets directly into her leg( which definitely hurt way more than being shot normally, by the way). They’d figured out the teleported bullet was her mystery injury to her right leg when Deku had attempted to dress her wound, only to find there was no wound, just a hard excruciating lump in her thigh where the bullet had warped into her body.

The sum of the villains quirks turned out to be a pretty great foil for the combined set of quirks of the heroes who had showed up to the fight within the last ten minutes. Deku’s kicks were blocked by the shield, the Teleport Quirk just moved any of Creati’s objects away, the Strength Quirk went head to head with Red Riot, Magma Quirk was unaffected, if not fueled, by Ground Zero's explosions and she couldn’t get close enough to touch anyone because of Salad Fingers ridding her friggin' ass the whole time! It didn’t help she basically couldn’t use her right leg thanks to the piece of metal lodged somewhere in her vastus lateralis.

Everyone had sustained hits (well except Deku who was too fast to be hit with anything short of a targeted missile). Creati had verified that the majority of the school children who had stayed for the after school program were dead in a heart wrenching tear streaked shake of her head when Ochako had asked her as they met up in the throws of their own fights. This knowledge that the heroes had ultimately failed an entire school of children served to throw the whole lot of them off their game, due to the intense emotions it elicited. She'd swallowed her horror down with her bile and focused on capturing the villains who'd caused such a tragedy

All in all, Ochako knew that this fight was not progressing in a promising way, the heroes just couldn’t seem to get the jump on these guys, they were just trying to keep up. Reacting, not proactively taking control of the battle like they normal would have.

At the current moment, Ochako was back to back with Ground Zero attempting to fend off Magma Quirk and the Finger Kid thinking this is not going well. Deku was 100 feet away doing his damned best to get past the Shield Quirk, or at the very least wear down her quirk. Red Riot and Creati were teaming up against the villain with the Strength Quirk. The Teleportion Quirk was zipping back and forth between the fights mucking everything up.

“I need another block” She tossed over her shoulder to Bakugou, who’d been segmenting parts of nearby concrete structures for her to lift and, ideally, crush the villains with.

She kept trying to get the timing right and catch the Magma Quirk under a boulder, seeing as he was causing the most problems for the pair by spewing lava from his nostrils at them in targeted jets. Unfortunately, Teleporter Lady kept teleporting herself to him , tapping him and moving both of them just before Ochako managed to land a hit.

“I just gave you one! Can you please learn to aim like an actual fucking hero?!” Ground Zero shouted at her dropping into a squat to duck the outstretched hand of the Finger Kid. He followed up with a kick to the chest and blast to the face, physically removing the kid from their general area.

“Or you could take out the Teleportation Quirk, Lord Explosion Murder, so my target stops being teleported out of my range! Your pick!” She fumed back at him as she swung her weightless body out of the way of several smoking balls of molten rock that the Lava Quirk was flinging at her. He was using the projectiles to keep her occupied while he advanced towards her from the place he’d been teleported to last.

“I’m a little busy protecting us both from Freaky Fingers over here!” He quipped raising both his palms to incinerate a bench that had appeared over their heads courtesy of the Teleportation Quirk. “Oh yeah, and blasting all the shit that keeps appearing above us! Pull your own weight for once, Pink Cheeks!”

“Arg!” She grunted out as she snagged one of the solid chunks of cooling magma from the air with her un-broken arm and lobbed it back at the Lava Villain. She hated that nickname!

“I would really like some ammo that does not burn my hands when I use it, Bakugou!” She yelled, whipping her head around to catch his gaze, trying to impress upon him that she wasn’t messing around and really did need some help. His eyes narrowed at her, a reluctant compliance passing across his features.

“Alright, alright! Fucking give me a damn minute!” Bakugou grit back, turning his head away from her launching AP shots at the Finger Kid, who was surprisingly good at wriggling out of the way and relentless in his pursuit to get a finger on one of them. Ochako could see Bakugou was having trouble keeping the kid away from them, but she trusted he would be able to handle it.

She whipped her head back around just in time to see a stream of magma headed right for her. She activated her quirk on herself and jumped, twisting the air in an attempt to move out of the way of the scalding rock.

“AH, goddamn it! Why the right leg?!” Ochako yelled as a spray of magma caught her right foot.

She hadn’t been able to move out of the way fast enough thanks to the bullet still lodged in her thigh. She sucked in pained breaths through her teeth as she felt the molten rock melt through her costume and then through the first layer of her skin. She shook the magma off her foot, hissing in pain as her skin blistered before her eyes.

“Get it together Uravity!” Bakugou glared over his shoulder at her floating form, flinging magma off his left forearm with a grimace.

Uraraka scoffed, feeling slightly guilty that he’d gotten hit while he had entrusted her to protect his back. Only slightly though, because this wouldn’t have happened if he’d done what she’d asked in the first place and given her some ammo.

“We don’t have enough man power for you to pussy out over some lava!” He continued unapologetically as he grabbed her left foot.

Ochako decided to let that comment go unacknowledged. He yanked her weightless form back towards him with his right hand to get her out of the way of one of Creati’s spears that had been teleported into the air Ochako had perviously occupied. In a show of his multitasking talent, he simultaneously used his left hand to blast into a crumbling wall. The action freed a hearty chunk of concrete for her to use as ammo. He tossed her towards it with a bit more force than was strictly necessary, especially considering she was weightless.

“Release!” She let herself fall to the ground next to the newly loosed chunk of wall and backed up so she was once again back to back with Ground Zero, strategically best place to be for them both.

“Seriously Uraraka, I can’t keep saving your ass, get your shit together!!” He continued his insults as he spun back around to face off with the Finger Kid, who’d managed to get within hand to hand range again, the sneaky fuck.

Ochako touched the now loose concrete and lifted it up to shield them both from an incoming wave of magma while Bakugou let loose an impressive chain reaction of explosions at the touchy-feely kid. She could feel the wave of heat blow past her from the sheer size of the explosions. The Finger Kid was enveloped in a cloud of smoke, while magma flowed harmlessly to either side of the concrete she held up. Ochako exhaled forcefully in pain as the heat from his explosions and the magma licked the already burned skin on her foot. To be honest, it was all a bit overwhelming. Particularly considering she had been up and working for over 20 hours at this point. She really did not need her current fighting partner giving her crap. She really didn’t.

“Oh SHOVE OFF, Bakugou!” She yelled as she kicked the car sized piece of rock towards the Lava Leaking Freak, and then promptly made a mental note to not drop kick anything else as her leg protested in a scream of white hot pain. She let out a pained grunt before continuing her scathing remarks, “as if you didn’t pause for a freaking second when you got hit by lava! In case you missed the memo, lava hurts!”

She was right, of course, he had indeed paused for a freaking second to scream “SHIT!” when he’d been splashed across his left side a few minutes ago. He was covered in a blistering burn where his costume used to cover his flank, that caused him to flinch with any movement on his left side.

“Release!” She yelled bringing her fingers together as the chunk of concrete made contact with the villain. Finally! That should hold him for a few minutes, which meant she and Bakugou had a few moments of breather with both their opponents down. Bakugou grabbed her shoulder and spun her to look at him, which sent a shock of pain though her right leg and bruised ribs.

“Ow!” She exclaimed, “What the heck?!” She shoved his chest with her good arm without actually putting any strength behind it. He glared at her with the fury of a man who was fed up.

“Of course it fucking hurts, It’s a goddamn burn from LAVA! But you don’t see me bitching about it!” His brows were drawn down in anger, a bead of sweat ran down his face, which was streaked with soot and dirt. Ochako glanced down to his left side, where his skin was badly burned, feeling a slight twinge of guilt, before she got over that and glared back with just as much fervor, because screw him. Seriously screw his attitude, she was doing her best.

“I am NOT bitching! I said ‘ah goddamn it!’, because I got hit with frickin’ lava, you asshat!” She growled at him, “I’m allowed to be in pain when I’m injured!”

Their glaring contest was interrupted by Kirishima shouting “Impact!” as he went flying towards them, having taken a powerful hit from the Strong Quirk. Ochako really hadn’t been keeping track of the others heroes as well as she should have, having been wrapped up in her own fight and trying to keep tabs on Bakugou’s.

Quickly calculating trajectories, Ochako jumped up after activating her quirk, intercepting Kirishima as he went flying over their heads. She connected all of her finger pads to his hardened skin and removed his weight then started incrementally slowing his momentum.

“Thanks Uravity!” Kirishima smiled at her at the same time she heard Bakugou mutter “Idiots”.

She returned her gravity pulling them both back to the ground where she held out her new Red Riot balloon to Bakugou, glaring at him. He was insufferable! She literally just saved his best friend from crashing into the ground.

“Hey guys this isn’t a good time to-“ Kirishima started to say looking between the two of them, clearing seeing that they’d been fighting each other just as much as the villains.

“Light” Ochako instructed Ground Zero, who growled and placed his hand up against Kirishima's hardened back, releasing an explosion that sent the weightless Kirishima rocketing back towards the strength villain.

“YOu guuuyyyyss!” Red Riot yelled as he was launched away from the two, aimed straight for impact with the villain who’d sent him their way in the first place. He collided with the villain with a sickening cracking sound.

"Release!"

Bakugou planted his feet facing Uraraka, an infuriated glare on his face, and Ochako cocked her hip and mirrored his expression. They opened their mouths at the same time:

“You are always BITCHING-“

“ I am not always-“

“-ABOUT THE STUPIDEST SHIT I HAVE-“

“-bitching. You’ve always had some sort of-“

“-EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE!”

“-BIAS AGAINST ME!”

Ochako stood scowling at Bakugou. How they always managed to get into a fight was beyond her abilities of explanation. It wasn’t like they were still in high school, this sort of degradation of conversation was not warranted for two professional heroes. Since their years at UA, nearly six years ago now, he had grown a lot, to the point he had a working friendship of sorts with Deku. It was more of a deep mutual respect than friendliness, if she was being honest. He’d been able to learn to control his outbursts, if only for the purpose of climbing the hero rankings, and he’d made friendships with the majority of their class. Why he couldn’t seem to play nice with her was as annoying as it was insulting.

They were so wrapped up in their argument Ochako almost did not notice the Teleportation Quirk appear next to the Finger Boy, who held out his hand to her. As the villains’ fingers connected the Kid popped out of existence. Ochako promptly forgot she was pissed off at Bakugou as she felt her stomach drop in worry.

“Ground Zero, the Finger Kid-“ Ochako started to say at the same time he said “Shit” as they both watched the Finger Kid disappear.

She pulled up her hand to guard her face as Ground Zero started heating up his palms, but there wasn’t enough time to react as the creepy kid appeared in thin air in front of Uravity and Ground Zero. His long index fingers reached forward towards both of their faces and they both leaned back in an unsuccessful attempt to put more distance between them. The Kid’s left finger reached Ochako as the right reached Bakugou tapping them in the space between their eyebrows. Some part of Ochako’s brain noted that his finger had a strangely cool touch. Bakugou reached up and hit the villains hand away from where it had connected to his forehead, his face contorted in anger.

A psychotic grin spread across the Boy's face as he pulled his hands together and touched the tips of his index fingers together. Ochako heard him release a manic laugh right before her mind exploded.

Chapter 2: A Really Bad Day For A Really Weird Quirk

Notes:

Here you are!
This chapter is a bit difficult to read, by virtue of the fact that neither of them really know what's happening or how to control it. Know that Ochaco is in italics and Bakugou is in bold and you should have a clear enough understanding of what is happening. This is about as crazy as it will be for the rest of the fic though!

What AHH the fuck FUCK! is going WHAT THE HELL?! on?!

FUCK I feel like Why does my my brain is leg imploding? feel arg! like it’s it’s been dislocated? so painful! I haven’t Where am been hit I? I can’t in my think leg?

Ochako felt like her whole existence was being sucked into her thoughts, which were running so quickly she couldn’t focus on a single one. They were so alien and strange, she’d never had thoughts like these before. She felt irrationally angry, white hot fury that made her hands shake. She realized she had collapsed onto the ground. Oh she was nauseous. And her head was ringing like a bell. She started to panic and felt it swell and combine with the fury she was feeling until it was suffocating her.

I’m gonna I can’t puke. breathe

She started hyperventilating and vomiting at the same time, but not...? She gagged, interrupting her hyperventilation and gasped for breath after finishing vomiting at the same time. She felt herself doing two things at once, which was impossible and incredibly disorienting. She didn't understand, what was happening to her?

Ugh. What did that kid Gotta do to me? move. Wait.

Some part of Ochako was starting to untangle the mix of thoughts bouncing around in her throbbing head. She fisted her hand on the ground and let her finger nails dig into her palm. The bite of pain snapped her thoughts together into something that resembled organized thought. She felt an echo of pain and annoyance that definitely felt foreign. It had a different...flavor? color? One thing was certain though, these thoughts were not her own.

Ugh! That Who’s smarts! voice Fuck this! is that?

She could swear she recognized the sound of the half of her thoughts that she seemed to not be in control of. It was hard to tell though, she was in so much pain, she’d never had a headache like this, never so cripplingly bad. Not even when she’d accidentally blasted himself through a fucking wall. Wait. No. She’d never done that. What was this flash of a memory she had? She couldn’t blast herself through a…It hit her suddenly, She knew who her thoughts sounded like.

My thoughts sound If just like I could Bakugou?! just think no way. straight. This is crazy

What. The. Actual. Fuck. Why did her thoughts sound like Bakugou?! Was she reading his mind? Could he read hers?!! Panic swelled in her again and she felt it whip around in her brain melding with an uncontrollable anger. It was a shitstorm of emotions so intense she gasped for air like a fish left on a dock as it just magnified the pain her mind was experiencing. She had an inkling what was going on, but was terrified to test her theory.

I’m going to Bakugou, can you fucking hear me? murder that no this is crazy- the kid little can’t possibly punk. have made me I just gotta be able to read get up minds, right? and moving. no, it’s like I can’t I’m thinking move. FUCK! his thoughts?

He was screaming in her mind, which was really not helping her think her own thoughts and disentangle his from hers. Or what she thought were his. It wasn’t super clear that his thoughts actually were not her own. She didn’t really want to think of the alternative: that these were all her thoughts and she’d gone crazy. She really had to figure it out fast because, as she’d just remembered, they were in the middle of a fight for their lives.

GODDAMN IT he’s so HOW fucking loud! DID THIS-

He really needed to shut up and calm down, she was feeling increasingly unhinged by her (his? their??) anger. They didn’t have time for this.

BAKUGOU!

Ochako all but screamed in her mind. She felt (how the hell could she feel that?!?) a beat of surprised silence. Blessed silence! Her pain diminished to a manageable level. She opened her eyes, letting out a sigh.

Ugh finally! you’re so loud.

With the silence and decreasing pain came awareness of the rest of her body. She turned her cheek on the pavement, she must have fallen after that kid touched their foreheads. Looking around she saw Bakugou lying a few feet away grasping at his hair, eyes wide. She met his eyes and felt a weird electric jolt go though her spine. It wasn’t painful per-say, more like someone had turned on all of her sensation all at once. She felt a jolt go through his spine at the same time, as if his body was hers. She didn't even want to begin unpacking that one.

Uraraka?

He responded hesitantly and totally confused. She looked away from him, waiting for him to understand the situation, checking for the villains they’d just been fighting, who appeared to not be near them at the moment. Which was good, because she wasn’t sure she could get up.

She felt his epiphany as if it was her own, several thoughts raced through her brain as he connected the dots. The flew around with dizzying speed. A dagger of pain lanced through her forehead, which then echoed back to her as she felt him experience her pain. She was stuck in an echo chamber of pain with him, this was not good.

WHY stop thinking ARE YOU so hard IN MY it hurts my head HEAD?!

His yelling (thinking..? How did one categorize what was happening?) was causing a deep throbbing pain in both their brains, which she couldn’t really distinguish between at this point. It was like she simultaneously had one and two bodies. She groaned and rolled over onto her back reaching up to her head and squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to block out some of the stimuli assaulting her mind. An intense stab of pain sprang up her leg as she moved causing her to freeze and Bakugou to choke on his breath.

OW gah! OW OW She struggled to breathe through the combined amount of pain she was currently experiencing. She gripped her leg, which was a bad plan. The contact launched a whole new wave of torture through her mind. Their thoughts fizzled out in the blinding intensity of their combined pain.

Ugh your leg hurts, stop moving!

Ochako thought this was a good plan and stopped moving. She felt him start to sit up to take a quick look around. A new pain ripped though her- or his?- left flank. He collapsed back onto the ground, which sent another wave crashing into their shared mind-space. Or at least she thought it was his pain, the sensation of being mentally connected was so disorienting she couldn't really tell. Definitely his injury, she realized as she reached down to feel her own side, which was intact and pain free. The burning sensation his movement had elicited bounced back in forth in their brains magnifying the overall sensation, crippling them both. He stopped moving, taking his own advice, and the pain decreased. A few tears slipped out of her eyes, she opened them and glanced back to where he was laying.

This doesn’t make any sense. Why is this happening

Well obviously this is that creepo’s quirk! I’M GONNA FRY THAT FUCKER!

Stop yelling, you’re making it worse!

NO Bakugou I you swear to stop- God if you just let keep me screaming at talk me for a-

STOP THINKING FOR A FUCKING SECOND!

She stopped thinking, yielding to the biting pain his yelling sent through her psyche. She narrowed her eyes at him from their spots on the pavement.

God thank you. Okay clearly this kid has a mind altering quirk-

- It’s a mind melding quirk I think.

THAT’S WHAT I JUST SAID!

FUCKING STOP YELLING!!!

That stunned him for a second, she felt a whisper of amusement. His amusement, which was making her feel amused. Ugh they were so messed up right now.

We’ve got to get out of here and wait for this to I agree wear off.

She felt his irritation at being interrupted. But it wasn’t like she could control when her thoughts decided to happen!

We’re sitting ducks until then. Does your comms work?

“We’re sitting ducks until then. Does you comms work?” He said out loud as he thought it, which created a weird sort of echo in her brain. She pulled a face at the strange sensation.

Don’t talk, it’s really weird and just making things more complicated.

Fine. Does your comms work? Mine’s shot.

Ochako reached up to her ear piece and pressed the on button. Static buzzed through the unit.

Shoot. Mine’s busted too, I wonder if they did that on purpose?

Who, The villains, the villains? dumbass.

Ochako sighed. She could not wait for this quirk to wear off, this was exhausting. She felt his irritation and frustration building.

Okay lets go, we gotta power through and get the fuck-

His thought was interrupted as a streak of green lightning came flying into their proximity. Her heart swelled with emotions, too many for her to process at the moment: Love, pain, heartbreak, admiration, relief.

Deku! you’re disgusting no you idiot, he can help us!

She felt his begrudging admission that that was right.

Deku!

“Deku!” Her voice was scratchy and raw. She felt stupid calling from where she was stuck on the ground motionless. She could count on one hand the number of times she'd been this incapacitated and they'd all been with in her first year as a sidekick. Embarrassment, frustration, shame and guilt flooded her brain, both from herself and Bakugou.

I see what you mean, hearing you think and speak at the same time is a really uncomfortable sensation.

Ochako ignored his comment and his rising anger at their predicament. Deku skid to a stop in front of them, his face screwed up into a worried, tear streaked mess.

“OH I was so worried about you guys! I saw the long fingered kid touch you and you both just dropped!” He fell down to his knees next to Ochako and pulled her into a tight hug. Normally, she would have welcomed a hug from Izuku in a moment like this, but currently she was mind-linked to someone who seem to be a sounding-board for any pain either one of them had and Deku had jostled her leg, ribs and broken arm.

AH!! FUCK! DEKU STOP MOVING HER

“AH!! FUCK! DEKU STOP MOVING HER!” Bakugou shouted as Uraraka let out a strangled cry. Their minds exploded with pain that bounced back and forth. Deku froze holding Ochako, who just panted as the pain subsided. Bakugou’s hand grasped at the torn up pavement as he recovered too.

DON’T FUCKING MOVE

I know! God! Stop yelling!

"What’s going on?! Oh my god are you hurt? How bad? I can-“ Deku started rambling looking confused between her and Bakugou.

Izuku, I need you to listen to me very carefully, do not move me again.

“Izuku, I need you to listen to me very carefully, do not move me again.” Ochako said interrupting his frantic rambling, she made eye contact with his bright eyes. They were a tragically beautiful shade of green. She felt a pang of heartbreak, which was immediately followed with Bakugou's annoyance.

“Tch” Bakugou vocalized his irritation at Uraraka’s feelings. She whipped her head around to glare at him feeling a multitude of emotions she couldn't seem to source to either person well. It was just a giant mixing pot of hurt, annoyance, pain, heartache, longing, irritation, anger, disappointment and on and on. Endless in its depth.

You’re pathetic, pull it together.

I can’t control how I feel, you of all people should understand that!

Can you at least try not to feel it while I’m along for the ride?

Can you stop being an asshole while I’m along for the ride?!

“Uh guys?” Deku was looking back and forth between the two heroes, clearly understanding there was more going on than he initially thought. “What exactly did that villain do?”

Ochako paused. What was actually going on? How could she accurately describe how it felt to suddenly have both one and two bodies? To be psychically linked to Bakugou, of all people? She opened her mouth to explain right as Creati and Red Riot ran up.

“Ochako! Are you okay? I saw you get hit with that one Kid’s quirk” Momo said stopping next to Deku giving Uraraka a once over. Momo herself had a large gash on her forehead, which was leaking blood down her face. Kirishima arrived shortly behind her, looking worse for the wear as well.

“I’m glad you two are awake, you both dropped like a ton of bricks!” Kirishima said in concern, “They totally turned tail and fled the second you two went down! I think they probably were just trying to get a second to breathe so the Teleportion Quirk could get them out. ”

“What did he do to you guys? Are you okay?” Izuku interjected with concern, shining in his eyes and he carefully held Uraraka still.

I’m…

“I’m…” Ochako started then paused, realizing she had no idea how she planned to express her current state. She blinked up at Momo in confusion. She was still unprepared to answer the question. How did she even start explaining all that had happened in the past five minuets since she’d been inexplicable connected to Lord Explosion Murder’s mind. Luckily Bakugou caught on to her lack of explanation and took over.

The Finger Kid hit us with his quirk, which we think is mind melding or some other shit, and now we can’t move without our pain bouncing back and forth.

“The Finger Kid hit us with his quirk, which we think is mind melding or some other shit, and now we can’t move without our pain bouncing back and forth. “ He stated in a matter-of-fact tone from his spot on the ground. It was weird to see him not move as he talked. Ochako never realized how much he normally used his hands to express himself until it was taken away.

The group was silent for a moment trying to process what Bakugou said. Kririshima’s mouth actually hung open.

“That’s incredible!” Deku exclaimed. Ochako blanched, that wasn't exactly the reaction she'd been expecting, “Think of the utilities of this. You can feel each other’s pain? Can you communicate telepathically? See out of each others eyes? There are just so many applications! What an amazing quirk! I wonder…” Deku started mumbling to himself contemplating the new information. Ochako awkwardly cleared her throat.

What a fucking nerd.

I can’t believe he chose to focus on the usefulness of the quirk. We’re literally incapacitated.

Fucking rude is what it is. Doesn’t really matter how it works- it’s fucking us up!

Ochako didn’t have a response to that, she knew Deku didn’t mean anything by it, he was just trying to figure it all out for the future fight he would inevitably have with the villain. He couldn’t help himself. He had built his mind to be a one-track analyzation of everything he needed to be the best hero possible.

It isn't because he doesn't care about our pain, he just cares more about his job as the Number One Hero.

Her heartbreak and sadness washed across their minds, unbidden. She felt a jolt of sympathy from Bakugou, which was unexpected. Ochako knew he thought her and Deku's relationship, or rather fallout from said relationship, was a waste of time. He'd said as much last year when everything had gone down. He didn't comment on her thoughts though, which Ochako was grateful for.

“Wait. So if you guys are all..” Krishna gestured generally in their direction, clearly lacking words to describe their current mind-meld “ ... immobile... from each-other's pain, how are you guys planning on getting home?”

Gee, asshole I thought that’s what having allies was for.

“Gee, asshole I thought that’s what having allies was for.” She felt Bakugou’s budding anger flow through her. It was so weird, feeling his anger as if it was her own. It had a different..flavor?... than hers normally did. Some how sharper and less diffuse. The longer she spent connected to him the more she was able to tease apart what was hers and what was his, though it was exhausting just trying to do so. She couldn’t wait until the quirk wore off and she could go back to only feeling her own emotions. That was going to be great.

I think what Bakugou means is that we were hoping for some help? Maybe try getting Recovery Girl out here to fix our injuries or Aizawa to cancel out the quirk?

“I think what Bakugou means is that we were hoping for some help? Maybe try getting Recovery Girl out here to fix our injuries or Aizawa to cancel out the quirk?” Ochako restated his general idea of getting assistance, much to Bakugou’s irritation. She felt his anger at her lick her mind, leaving a sort of sting. She mentally flinched away from it reflexively and he calmed down, having felt the pain she had secondhand.

“Oh, I don’t think we're gonna have time for that. “Momo interjected, all business. “The press got ahold of the story and they’re already on their way. We can not let your… condition… get out until we know more.”

Ochako blanched. Great, the press. The last think they needed was to be photographed in a compromising position. Seeing two of the Top Ten down didn't exactly inspire confidence in heroes in a time of tragedy.

“Creati is right, having two of the Top Ten Heroes weakened by a single hit will spell disaster for morale and incite panic. “ Deku added in nodding vigorously.

I AM NOT WEAKENED!!

“I AM NOT WEAKENED!!” Bakugou spit fire at the insinuation. Ochako grimaced as his psychic shout wreaked havoc on her already bruised mind. She shot him a venomous glare.

Stop yelling! My brain is going to completely to disintegrate if you keep at it!

“Stop yelling! My brain is going to completely disintegrate if you keep at it!“ She chastised him. He had the good grace to stay quiet after that, no doubt because his head was killing him as much as hers was. Actually she knew it was, because she could freaking feel it. What a weird day. During his outburst Momo made two cots out of her back.

I do NOT like the look of those…

You don’t think they would try to carry us out of here by hand?!

The both physically flinched at the same time as she envisioned the pain that would come with them both being jostled around on those. Deku watched the flinch with interest. Great, she wasn’t going to hear the end of his list of questions.

Oh HELL No!

“Oh HELL no!” Bakugou said shaking his head. This whole hearing it in her thoughts and out loud thing was getting really annoying, but Ochako had to second Bakugou's sentiment.

“Do have a better idea? Or would you rather face the press in your current… state?” Momo launched the rhetorical question right back at Bakugou. She felt him relent his position more than saw it, his face still held the scowl, but his mind had resigned himself to his fate. Their fate.

Ochako took a deep breath and nodded to Momo in consent. Momo frowned, but turned to Deku and Kririshima.

“Kiri, Deku, can you help me carry them out of here?” Momo asked, setting the cots next to Ochako and Bakugou. Deku nodded and Kirishima made a fist in affirmation.

“Ochako first” Momo said nodding. Ochako froze up. She felt her anticipation and fear amplify as Bakugou added his own. This was going to hurt. If they couldn't even have just one of them sitting up without crippling pain, she could only imagine what have them both moving around would feel like.

Oh man I am this so not is going ready for to suuuuuuck this

Izuku shifted her in his arms and Ochako whimpered as pain lanced through her and Bakugou’s minds. Bakugou sucked in a sharp inhale of breath.

Fucking be careful, that shit hurts!

“Fucking be careful, that shit hurts!” He snapped at Deku, who just grimaced apologetically. Momo and Kirishima exchanged a concerned look, clearly freaked out by their show of shared pain. Which was a fair reaction, Ochako supposed if she saw someone exclaim in pain because another person was injured she'd be pretty weirded out too.

Just get it over with Deku, I’ll be okay

“Just get it over with Deku, I’ll be okay.” Ochako whispered making eye contact with him. Her heart stuttered again, traitorous thing it was.

“I’m really sorry about this, Ochako…” Deku said apologetically. Then before Ochako could analyze the way her heart sank at his words, he moved her onto the cot with a swift movement.

Ochako literally lost her vision the pain was so intense, but then it was over and she was on the cot panting as the pain receded. She felt dizzy. Or maybe Bakugou felt dizzy. It was hard to tell. He was groaning both verbally and with his thoughts, which was distractingly noisy. If the pain wasn’t enough then the sudden swell of emotions they both were having was more than enough to fill her brain to the brim. Pain, Hurt, Anger, Confusion, Determination and too many others to count whipped around her brain in a tornado of feelings, sweeping her ability to think clearly with it. She couldn’t process everything that was happening, it was too much for her brain to do. To make matters worse, before they had recovered from her being moved the three heroes were already moving Bakugou.

“Wait- we aren’t ready- “ Both Ochako and Bakugou said at the same time right as Kirishima moved his hands under Bakugous torso, brushing the pervasive burn wound on his flank. The pain returned, doubling from its previous intensity as Bakugou was moved onto his cot. She heard herself scream through Bakugou's ears, but didn't have time to process how strange it was because she was lost to the world in an ocean of hurt. At some point the heroes lifted their cots and began moving Ochako and Bakugou. She could hear them talking back and forth but couldn't understand what they were saying, as she and Bakugou were jostled on their cots. For the first time since this nightmare began she felt her brain totally in sync with Bakugou’s as they suffered through it together, completely consumed by their shared pain.

Make it stop!

Thankfully it did stop as Ochako's brain gave up and she faded into unconsciousness.

Notes:

I hope to be able to post every week, though I am currently in Graduate School, so there may be some weeks I have to put in 65 hours of school and wont have time to write.
Just a heads up!
Thank you for all the support on the first chapter!
Update: Fixed some typos and coding errors. Turns out coding in HTML is harder than I though ha ha

Chapter 3: Short-Acting Means Less Than 24 Hours, Idiot.

Notes:

Guess who finished school early today?
Early update, yay!

Ochako came into consciousness in a cloud of confusion. She opened her eyes, staring blearily at the ceiling. She noted that it was a standard white tiled ceiling with white fluorescent lights beating down on her, very industrial and bland in nature. She stared up into the light, fascinated by its soft, white glow. She felt…what was the word? Sort of floaty, inexplicably happy and very, very relaxed. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt like this…probably the after she’d broken her ankle in the earthquake rescue two years ago when she’d been in the hospital. They’d given her pain medications and she’d felt just like this. Loopy, that was the word!

…

Her brain caught up to itself and she realized she was in the hospital and probably being treated for something.

Oh. I’m in the hospital. How did that happen?
You idiot, we got… hit with a quirk…duh.

The foreign thought floated into her brain slowly. As if the thought was whispering to her through a blanket. Actually, wait the voice mentioned a quirk. She vaguely remembered something about a quirk… long index fingers. Oh, yeah that was right! She and Bakugou had been fighting a group of villains and a weird kid had sent their minds on a one-way-collision- course with each other. Oh man, that had been so painful, she was so glad she didn’t feel that now.

The quirk must have worn off, thank god!

Dumbass.

Wait. That voice was… Bakugou? She couldn’t be sure, everything was so fuzzy. It felt way weaker than it had before she had passed out. It definitely still sounded like him though, they must’ve still been connected, right? That or she was crazy, which (as far as she could tell) was a real possibility. At least the pain was gone. Man, her brain was slow on the uptake today! Ochako tried to make herself focus. She needed to figure out if the quirk was still active.

Bakugou?

She thought it lazily, barely an afterthought. There was no response. That was fair though, she hadn’t really been trying. It felt really hard to focus with all this cotton in her brain, like she was swimming through a fog. Just like that time she’d been in the hospital with a broken ankle and they put her on drugs.

…

Oh, she must be drugged up right now. That’s why her brain felt so funny. She wondered if Bakugou was also on drugs. Darn it! She kept getting distracted. She was testing to see if the mind bend-y connect-y quirk thingy was still active.

Bakugou?
She thought a little… harder? Yes, harder was the right sentiment. Like shoving it through the fog of her own thoughts forcefully.

What do you want? ….I’m trying to sleep.

Ah ha! It had worked! The quirk definitely hadn’t worn off yet, it must only have been a few hours since they got connected. She patted herself on the back for her powers of deduction, smug that she’d cracked the case. She was a drugged-up genius! The drug genius! That had a ring to it, she giggled at her own cleverness. She had to remember to think about changing her hero name…
What had she been doing? Ochako took a curious look around the room. Yep, it was definitely a hospital! She was in a gown, tucked firmly into a hospital bed. An IV ran out of her arm up to some hanging plastic bags that contained a clear liquid. She squinted to read one of the labels on the bag, 'Normal Saline' printed with some numbers and a handwritten note of 'Morphine'. AH HA! She was on drugs! She paused, remembering she was going to do something… That’s right she was gonna see if Bakugou was drugged up too.

Are you on drugs?
She thought at him. She couldn’t really explain what direction “at Bakugou” was, but for some reason she kinda felt like she had this...this.. pit in the back of her mind that he was just on the other side of. Anyway, apparently, she was right about his location in her brain because he clearly got the message.

What the fuck… did they put you on?

She had the weirdest sensation that he was almost..laughing at her? She then remembered that last night she had been able to feel his feeling as if they were her own. Super weird. She then realized that she wasn’t feeling his emotions as if they were hers, merely the fact that he was experiencing them. Their emotions were separate. Finally! This new change of just knowing what he was experiencing without having to go through it herself was a welcomed one for Ochako. This whole mind thing had been weird, but not not being able to tell what she was actually feeling or thinking was definitely the freakiest part of the ordeal.

It so nice that we don’t feel everything the other does now.
Speak for yourself, I can feel …how high you are right now.

His thoughts were coming in broken up, like there was static on the call between their minds. Or maybe she just wasn’t able to focus on them well enough to make them seem whole? She didn’t know, her brain was so foggy.

No, no. silly. I mean I can still feel what emotions you’re having, I’m just not having them! It’s nicer, I don’t like your anger.
Rude much?!... I’m not that angry…

Was Bakugou… offended..? She probed around the place where she could feel him in the back of her mind. Yes, she was definitely picking up a feeling of offense from him. Oopsy daisy! She didn’t mean to hurt his feelings. She’d only meant it like being angry with her own anger was okay, but being angry with someone else’s anger was not.

Come on, you know what I meant.
Yeah, yeah. Tch… I get your point…. I didn’t like feeling your mushy, gushy …emotions either.
Also, you are definitely as ‘high’ as I am right now. You’re way too calm.
Well your leg no longer feels like it’s gonna fucking fall off and my side is no longer a goddamn open wound so yeah, I’m fucking calmer!

Ochako ignored his retort as his comment brought her attention to her injuries. He was right, her leg did feel a lot better. She looked down at it and saw a blooming bruise covering her upper thigh. Further down her lower leg, where she had been burnt, was still bright pink, but blister free. She assumed this meant that the hospital staff had only healed her partly, as was common practice. Gone were the days of Ochako as a student, where Recovery Girl was obligated to fully heal her. Now, as a pro hero she had to use the official medical system, which was designed to heal to the point of being functional and nothing more. Healing quirks were hard to come by and those who wielded them needed to be able to last an entire shift of continuous quirk use, after all. That also made sense as to why she was currently on pain medications. At least they’d healed her broken arm completely. She flexed her hand experimentally, smiling happily at the lack of pain. It felt good to stretch out the newly healed tissues.

She felt Bakugou’s presence in her mind intensify with fear, like he suddenly wasn’t on the other side of the mind-pit, but had crossed over into her brain. One mental foot in her mind one mental foot in his own mind. He was anxious and resentful. Or maybe she was. Someone was.

What? What’s going on? Are you okay!?

She sent the thought worriedly across the link(the pit? thier connection? she wasn't really sure what to call it) when she felt his anxiety spike sharply, his presence still stronger than it had been before. It was followed by her sensing that he was uncomfortable and then she felt a sting on her arm. She flinched and gripped her forearm, confused. Had she been bitten by a bug? She didn’t see a mark on her arm. She frowned, confused.

Bakugou faded back to where he had been before, behind that mysterious hole in her mind, as quickly as he’d breached into it. He felt more annoyed than anything and she was relieved to notice that she herself did not feel it, just that he was currently experiencing it. Things were back to the separated state, thank god.

What was that…? Are you okay?

I’m FINE!

He snapped back at her, like a dog reflexively lashing out. Ochako was mildly offended, she was just trying to help. Whatever, he could deal with it by himself for all she cared. Instead of thinking a reply toward him she sat up in bed to further investigate her surroundings.
She had a wave of dizziness at the movement, which, thankfully, quickly passed. She was pleased that her injuries didn’t hurt with the movement, they were merely sore from the healing process.

She glanced around and found that she was in a modestly sized private room, one of the perks of being a Top Ten Hero. The room had a nice view out onto the park across the street. The lone visitor chair in the room had her costume folded neatly on top of it. There was a table next to the bed with several vases of flowers on it, she assumed from friends or fans. She hoped they were from the former, though. She always felt guilty and embarrassed by fans sending her gifts, they really shouldn’t be spending money on her for just doing her job.

She clumsily reached over and wheeled the table over to the bed to get a better look. The first card she plucked from a bouquet of pink flowers read “We’re all rooting for you! Get well soon! -Class 3-A”. She smiled at the card. Despite the fact that they’d graduated six years ago, the class was still close by virtue of being in the same profession. Some of her classmates even went on to work in the same agencies. Kirishima and Momo had both been contracted together, as had Ahshido and Koda. She was always happy to run into them at hero conferences or on patrols. She smiled at their thoughtfulness, though to be honest it was probably the Todorokis that had actually coordinated the group of friends to send something.

She tossed the card carelessly on the bed, giggling as it fluttered down like a falling leaf. Oh man, maybe Bakugou was right, she was definitely a little high. She’d have to remember to ask the nurse to lower her dose.

She looked through more of the cards attached to various sets of flowers. There was one from her parents, a large bouquet from her coworkers at her agency, a bouquet of ghost plants from her bizarre sidekick, a few from fans and one from Deku. Her parents’ card had been mostly filled with concern and ended with a request for a phone call when she woke up. There was a really cute fan card written by young girl named Melody who drew a stick-figure picture of Uravity floating around the moon, a few from concerned citizens and a bouquet of red roses sent from a man named Shino. He was one of her more.. ehm… persistent fans, proclaiming his undying love for her at any given chance. She blanched at his card and tossed it onto the floor, grimacing. It was kind of creepy, but it came with the territory of being a female pro. She didn’t even open Deku’s, she just…couldn’t.
Several minutes later she was surrounded by a spattering of cards that she’d dropped onto the bed (and the one from Shino she’d tossed on her floor) and she had finished with her uplifting gifts. Ochako looked for something else to do. The medication she was on seemed to be dropping down to a less extreme level and her brain fog was clearing somewhat.

She spotted the TV in the corner of the room and decided that TV was a good enough way to pass the time until a doctor came by to check on her. She grabbed the bed control that for some reason also controlled the TV. She’d been in the hospital frequently enough to know how it worked more or less, and she only had to fumble with it for a few seconds before she turned the TV on. It was already tuned to the news. A female reporter with a set of rather fetching purple horns was speaking. She was surprised to find the story to be about herself, weird timing.

“An update on the Middle School Attack of this week. A new report has come in that the heroes Ground Zero and Uravity remain in the hospital under lockdown due to exposure to an unknown quirk. Our anonymous source reports that they are currently still recovering from non-quirk-related injuries and have yet to be assessed for possible complications of the unknown quirk. “

The reporter spoke in that weird news-reporter-voice Ochako secretly hated. Next to the reporter the network displayed her and Bakugou’s most recent hero portraits. Bakugou stood smirking at the camera arms crossed in just about the cockiest pose possible. He was all hard lines and harsh contrasts, simultaneously menacing and alluring. Contrastingly, Ochako’s picture was all curves and soft lines, calming and approachable. She smiled at the camera as her long hair floated around her head, her fingers poised inches apart ready to release her quirk. At least they had used a good photo of her. The one she’d taken as a sidekick had been horrendous and some news stations hadn’t bought the rights to her newer ones so they continued to use it. The devils.

Ochako vaguely wondered who on hospital staff was leaking information about their current condition. It was not unusual, it had happened a few of the times that she’d been hospitalized, but it was certainly annoying. She hadn’t realized as a student how invasive being a pro was. She had virtually no privacy since she’d cracked the Top Ten.

“Our source reports that they are both currently healing well, but that the staff do not know when they will be released. Both The Tokyo Hero Alliance Agency and All Might Agency have released ‘No Comment’ statements regarding their heroes’ current conditions.”

As much as she hated getting information secondhand from the news networks, at the moment her contact at her hero agency, The Tokyo Hero Alliance, hadn’t been by to debrief her. Or at least not while she was conscious… Actually, how long had she been out of it? She had no idea how long she’d been unconscious. Maybe Bakugou knew?

Hey Bakugou?
She pushed the thought over to him in the same way she had before, it felt much easier to do now, like the fog in her brain was thinner and offered less resistance. She had a brief moment of mental fugue as she considered how normal speaking to him mentally was becoming.

“The Tokyo Police Department released a statement that they have not apprehended the criminals responsible for the attack that killed 37 young heroes in training, but that they are working with top pro heroes to find and apprehend the group of villains…“ The TV reporter continued the story, but Ochako muted it while she tried to focus on the place she could feel Bakugou. She reached into the back of her mind where she felt the pull of the …link? Sure, that worked to describe how it felt, like the linchpin between their minds.

As she mentally got closer to the link she could feel that he was generally irritated, which in and of itself was not surprising. What was surprising, however, was the subtle undercurrent of embarrassment that ran concurrent with it. She could also sense him decidedly ignoring her, even when he seemed to notice her getting closer to his side of the pit. He was mentally scoffing at her greeting. How she was able to interpret all of this from the newly made link was beyond her. She just ...could? It felt shockingly natural.

Don’t ignore me!
She chided him, feeling his irritation grow and morph into animosity. He had a particularly short fuse today it seemed.

Fuckin’ what?!
Why are you so touchy?
NONE OF YOUR GODDAMN BUISNESS!

As he thought-screamed at her, Ochako got a flash of fear and anxiety and the general concept of needles. She paused. Since when could they communicate general concepts? She gapped for a bit at the idea that they might be able communicate thoughts that weren’t technically words. Like, this kid’s quirk was insane! And seriously dangerous, considering it was quite literally in the hands of a villain.

Then she realized what the implications of Bakugou’s unintentional message meant. Suddenly the earlier prick of pain on her arm made sense.

Bakugou Katsuki was scared of needles.

She let out an uncontrollable giggle, pressing her hand to her mouth in an attempt to hold it in.
Bakugou, are you afraid of needles?!

Ground Zero was afraid of needles. The same hero who blasted himself several hundred feet in the air with explosions from his hands with the utter confidence of someone with no fear of dying… was scared of needles.

Bakugou simmered on his side of the link, feeling both pissed off and embarrassed that she had figured it out.

You are! Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it!

He sent her the general impression of flipping her off. Dang, he was a fast learner with this whole no-language-communication thing.

How long has this been a thing? I can’t wait to tell Don’t you Deku! dare tell anyone! FUCKING NOT DEKU!

She felt him become furious at the implication of appearing weak in front of Deku.

Okay no need to yell! Your secret is safe with me.
She tried to send him the idea of a pinky promise, but she only felt his confusion at what she was trying to do. She frowned, puzzled at the way this new aspect of the link worked.He seemed to have no trouble doing it, why was she not able to as well? Maybe it was wearing off and got weaker over time?

Before she could delve deeper into the mystery or continue her conversation with the fuming hot head she was linked to, there was a polite knock on her door.

“Come in!” She shouted eagerly, hopefully her agency was here to debrief her.

The door opened and she was mildly surprised to see Aizawa walking into her room silently raising a hand in greeting when he saw that she was awake. Ochako observed that he looked as sleep deprived as ever, despite having retired last year. She worried he wasn’t taking his retirement seriously. Though, she contemplated, pro heroes never really retired. They were always on-call for situation specific use of their quirk. Case in point, Eraserhead was here now to relieve herself and Bakugou of the quirk side effects until it wore off.

“Aizawa-san! It’s so good to see you!” She cheered, smiling brightly at him. He walked across the room and moved her costume onto the foot of her bed, taking a seat in the now open chair. It really had been too long since she had seen him. She felt a rush of affection for the composed man. He really had been the most influential teacher she had at UA, she still really admired him for how much he promoted her growth as a hero, despite her comparative weakness to her peers.

“Hello Uraraka, I’m happy to see that you’re awake, you gave us quite the scare.” He said kindly, eye crinkling with the hint of a smile.

“Yeah about that… how long have I been out?” She asked cautiously. It was weird not knowing how long she’d been sleeping. It had been at least 12 hours, because it was clearly daylight outside. He gave her a strange look, tilting his head slightly.

“You’ve been out for four days.” He said slowly, as if unsure she was comprehending correctly.
Ochako balked at him. Four days? FOUR DAYS?!

“I-I, wwhat? Four days? How!?” She stuttered out in shock. She seriously only believed that she had slept overnight. She had somehow unknowingly missed four days to the void of unconsciousness. She had never, NEVER, been out for that long after a fight.

“ehm.” He cleared his throat uncomfortably, looking away from her “Well, you were originally only out for a few hours, but then you and Bakugou woke up and kind of went crazy.”

Ochako just stared at him. The information he was giving her just keep getting more and more unnerving. She didn’t remember waking up and ‘going crazy’, whatever that meant. She was feeling some kind of combination of shock, confusion and anxiety.

She suddenly felt Bakugou very close in her mind. How she knew that's what it was, she didn't know. Somehow she just knew. She could tell that he was curious as to what had gotten her all riled up, but was too stubborn to ask. She didn’t think she had been pushing her feelings across the link?

“I don’t remember that at all! What happened?! I didn’t hurt anyone did I?” She asked scared of the answer.

People often thought of her quirk as protective, she was primarily a rescue hero after all, but it could also very easily be used for harm; they often forgot that there isn’t air in space, having not considered the possibility that the cute girl with a pastel pink costume could quite literally throw them into orbit with little-to-no effort on her part. Not to mention the damage that could be brought down on them in the form of a weightless building being dropped directly onto their heads. So Ochako felt that her worry for having accidentally hurt someone while she couldn’t remember what she was doing seemed like a reasonable concern.

“No, god no.” He comforted her, waving his hand nonchalantly, then paused thoughtfully. “well you didn’t, Bakugou got a few hits in on Kirishima…” He tapered off like the details weren’t important, which they definitely were!

Ochako looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to explain. He sighed deeply, clearly annoyed at her reasonable request for more information about what she had done while she was unconscious. Or not unconscious, apparently.

“Anyway, the staff at the hospital couldn’t get you to calm down, so they gave you both a sedative and some morphine for the pain while your injuries healed. Apparently, it worked really well because you both kind of just slept for the next few days. It really freaked Midoriya out, he thought you were going to be permanently damaged from the quirk you got hit with, but I told him to give it time, that’d you’d both be okay. And here we are, you’re just fine.”

Well at least that explained the morphine and crazy weird drugged up feeling she’d been having when she woke up. Ochako paused at the last thing he said. 'Just fine', as if he thought she and Bakugou were back to normal. Did he think the quirk was gone? He must know that mind altering quirks were short acting, usually less than 24 hours. Not enough time had-

Ochako’s stomach dropped. Oh god. The quirk. It was still active! It had been four days, not 12 hours! Four days and the creepy Finger Kid’s quirk was still working… Oh no. She started to feel her heart in her throat, the beginning stages of panic.

What is it?! Why are you panicking?!

“Uraraka, what is it? What’s wrong?” Aizawa asked his eyes narrowing at her expression. She floundered trying to answer them both. She swallowed loudly, taking a deep inhale.

Bakugou, Aizawa-san says that we’ve been asleep for four days…

“Uhm, about the quirk…” She started in a daze “it’s, uh, it’s still active…” She finished lamely, tapering off at the end.

Aizawa’s eyes widened, his mouth tensing into a firm line.

WHAT THE FUCK?! FOUR DAYS?! That’s what Wait, the I said! quirk is still active, that’s not possible.

“Uraraka,” Aizawa’s voice got very serious, commanding her attention, “Are you saying you and Bakugou are still mentally connected? The way Deku described?”

Ochako swallowed, she felt her own fear and panic start to spill over to his side of the link, like her mind just had too much of it so it was leaking into his brain. Bakugou started to panic too, feeding hers in a vicious cycle. She felt the realization hit him and suddenly his emotions were washed out with a sort of shocked calm.

This is permanent isn’t it?

Yes
She answered him in a small voice, feeling his numbing shock start to leak into her emotions, absorbing their previous panic.

“Ochako.” Aizawa pulled her out of her head, away from Bakugou’s ever more present consciousness. They seemed to be getting closer with every increase of emotion. Ochako snapped her attention back to the man who was actually physically in front of her, rather than the one psychically in her head. Aizawa looked at her with a probing expression.

“Yes. The link is still there, I’m talking with him right now.” She replied to her former professor. Aizawa grimaced and sighed deeply. Ochako furrowed her brows, that wasn’t the reaction she’d been expecting. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say that he didn’t seem all too surprised by it at all.

“I was afraid of that…” He stated cryptically.

“What do you mean Aizawa-san? What do you know? Is this permanent? What are-” Ochako rapid fired questions at Aizawa, who interrupted her.

“Uraraka, you better ask Bakugou to come here. It seems we have a lot to discuss”

Chapter 4: Connecting the Dots is Just Drawing with Guidance

Ochako took a deep breath at Aizawa’s words, she felt like she was back in school waiting for someone to tell her everything was going to be okay. That the professional heroes would come rescue her. She obviously knew that at this point she was the pro hero and that she was going to have to figure this out herself. That’s why it was so strange that Aizawa had held back information from her. She was nervous to figure out why he had been holding knowledge back about the quirk that seem to be connecting her and Bakugou’s minds. Her nerves stirred, making her stomach pang.

Bakugou? Aizawa-san wants to speak to both of us, together. Can you come to my room?
She felt Bakugou’s interest pique as she asked, then felt it turn sour as he processed the request.

He knows more than he’s letting on, doesn’t he?
It appears so, yes.
Bastard!
Okay no need to be rude, he’s just trying to help…
She felt what seemed like the equivalent of a grumble come from his side of the link, which she took to mean he’d be coming by.

What room are you in?

Ochako realized she had no idea what her room number was at that moment. It was a silly thing to forget to mention when you were asking someone to come over. How awkward of her.

“eh.. Aizawa-san, what is this room number?” Ochako asked bashfully, fully aware of how dumb the question sounded. She supposed she could blame it on the morphine if worse came to worse.

“436” He motioned to the whiteboard on the wall. Ochako looked over to see that on it the hospital staff had written the names of her doctors and nurses, the date and that her room number was 436. Ochako felt her cheeks heat up in even more embarrassment. Her brain really was somewhere else today!

“Guess I ought to pay more attention” She said under her breath, wringing her hands together in embarrassment.

“It’s okay, it’s disorienting to wake up in a different place” He said waving away her apology, “You can tell Bakugou that it’s just down the hall from his room.”

We’re in 436, Aizawa-san said it’s just down the hall from where you are.
He didn’t respond, but she felt him get dizzy briefly and assumed he was on the way. He felt, per usually, mildly annoyed at the task of walking to her room. She rolled her eyes at his general attitude, it wasn’t like he was the only one inconvenienced by this whole thing.

“He’s on his way” She informed Aizawa, who nodded in affirmation, “well at least I think he is, he didn’t exactly tell me.” She added as an afterthought.

Aizawa looked at her curiously, “Deku described the you were fully immersed and couldn’t not tell each other what you were thinking.” He stated as if it were a fact. Ochako knew Aizawa's tone indicated that it was a request for explanation rather than a statement.

“Well, no. I mean… it’s different now than it was last ni- er, four days ago.” Ochako offered lamely, struggling to figure out how to describe the change. Also how the heck would Deku know what it felt like?! It was kind of off-putting that Aizawa trusted Deku’s analysis so much. He could be wrong about things after all.

Yeah he was wrong about me, for example.
Ochako mentally cringed away from the thought, thankful that she and Bakugou were no longer so intimately connected that he could hear everything that happened to pass through her mind.

“Different how?” Aizawa inquired stiffening in his chair, he was clearly uncomfortable with the way the quirk was changing. It made Ochako more curious as to what information about the recent changes he was privy to that she wasn’t.

“Well, it’s… muted” She started looking at her hands, “It’s like... the link is fuzzy, I can feel what emotions he is experiencing but they don’t affect me. Before it was all together. Like, anything either of us thought or felt the other also felt. It’s the same with pain.” She grasped at the air trying to find the correct way to describe it. She figured that trying to explain the hole in her brain where the link was wouldn't be a good place to start. Or how she felt like he was on the other side of a window, visible but separate. She didn’t even really understand it herself and Aizawa probably wouldn't understand the analogies.

“Link?” He asked impassively, seemingly more relaxed after her explanation, as if he expected things to have worsened rather than get better.

“Oh, yeah that’s just what I call it. There isn’t a really good word to describe it, but 'link' is close enough.” She explained her personal nomenclature for the weird connection to Bakugou she felt in the back of her head.

“Was it harder to communicate when you first woke up?” He asked clearly onto something Ochako wasn’t grasping yet. He was asking some very specific questions. She wished Bakugou would just hurry up so she could learn what Aizawa was waiting to tell them, then she could at least attempt to connect the dots that Aizawa was already connecting.

“Yeah it was, but I was still feeling the effects of the sedative.” She said as way of explanation. She figured that if her mental capacities to think clearly were affected as much as they had been earlier that it was safe to assume the link would have been too. Before Uraraka could think more on it though, there was a sharp knock on her door.

“Come in Bakugou” Aizawa called towards the entry. Ochako watched as Bakugou came into the room wheeling an IV stand behind him, still being infused with fluids and morphine like she was. His eyes roamed around the room before locking onto her own. She jumped when a jolt of intensified sensation went up and down her spine, just like it had when they’d first been connected. She felt and saw him start as the feeling went down his own spine too. The hairs on her arms stood up on end and it felt like he was suddenly a lot closer to her side of the link.

…that was weird
Super fucking weird.

“What just happened?” Ochako whipped around to look back at Aizawa as he spoke, who was looking between the two, “Why did you both just jump?”

She looked back over to Bakugou, not sure how to explain it. He just shrugged at her and sent the sentiment of ‘Whatever’ across the link. She felt mildly annoyed and a bit jealous that he already seemed to have a better handle on the link than she did. He appeared to be able to do the weird no-talking communication thing like it was second nature now. She shouldn’t be surprised, he was good at everything he tried. Just one of those Bakugou-isms.

“Er, we both felt a shock go up our spines and now our minds feel ...closer?” She tried to explain to Aizawa. Her eyes darted over to Bakugou to see his reaction, which was just to have brows furrow. It was a look that she would have previously interpreted as ‘pissed off’, but the link informed her that he was just concentrating, deep in thought. She vaguely wondered how many times she’d misinterpreted his facial expressions.

“…Or at least that’s what it felt like to me.” She added as a qualifier, not sure if she’d over-stepped her bounds trying to explain what something felt like for Bakugou. He seemed to not have heard her, though. Aizawa was looking between them with narrowed eyes, calculating.

“I can’t hear your thoughts echoing when you speak, like before. “ Bakugou spoke up, meeting her eyes, “do mine echo for you?” His side of the link broadcasted that he was curious and a bit frustrated.

Ochako paused. No, she couldn’t hear his voice echoing, which honestly, was a relief. While that hadn’t been painful, it was a really weird and grating phenomena, like nails on a chalkboard.

“No, I can’t. It’s honestly a relief, that was really annoying. I can’t hear any of your thoughts either, just a vague impression of how you’re feeling.” She replied to him shaking her head.

Can you hear this?

“Yes, I could hear that one.” She nodded in assent to him, confused at what he was trying to get at.

She suddenly felt him, for lack of a better description, pressing on the hole in the back of her mind. Then, without warning, Ochako was abruptly standing half-in and half-out of his mind. It was like he was reaching across the link into her mind and simultaneously pulling her across it into his. She felt his curiosity and mild discomfort at being vertical. He was tired of standing. He wanted to figure out how this whole quirk catastrophe worked so he could control it. As she was going step by step through his thoughts with him, she noticed that she still wasn’t experiencing his emotions as she had the first night. However, with his pulling them together like this she could better distinguish the finer intricacies of his emotions and their causes. He really just wanted to lay down. A flash of stubbornness combated his discomfort. He needed to figure this out while they were brushing mind like this. He wanted to focus.

If I push into your mind like this does it change for you too?

“Yeah that feels a lot... closer, I guess? How did you do that?” She replied out loud, “You know, you should just sit down if you really want to” She scooted over in her bed and patting the side. She felt his hesitancy at the familiarity of her proposition along with his slight offense that she thought he was not strong enough to stay standing.

“Just sit down Bakugou” Ochako said as she rolled her eyes at his ridiculous weakness complex.

“Tch” He said as he reluctantly took a seat at the foot of the bed, as far away from her as possible, folding his arms while an eyebrow twitched. She felt his indignation at her bossing him around and a small sliver of appreciation that he quickly buried under an avalanche of irritation.

Figures.
Ochako thought quietly to what she thought was herself, forgetting that they were more closely linked at the moment than they had been all day. He definitely heard that.

YOU WANNA GO CHEEKS?!
He screamed into her brain and she narrowed her eyes at him, folding her own arms across her chest.

If you don’t wanna hear it, back off my brain!

She felt him rapidly pull back from the link at her suggestion, verbally grumbling under his breath. It left a sensation of tingling where he had previously been occupying her psyche.

“As much fun as it is watching two people have a conversation in their heads, I have some information for you…” Aizawa monotoned to the two. Ochako looked back over towards him, flushing. She had almost forgotten he was there. It was strange, when she was focused on speaking with Bakugou through the link she paid significantly less attention to the outside world. It was not a good habit to get into.

“What do you know?” Bakugou's tone was clipped, he was still mad that Aizawa had attempted to skim over this information when he was with Ochako. Ochako wouldn’t admit it out loud, but she was also super annoyed he’d tried to get through their initial conversation withholding information that was very relevant to the current situation they found themselves in. Would he have ever told them this information if she hadn’t mentioned they were still under the quirk’s effects?

Aizawa sighed, dragging a hand down his face, pulling at the bags under his eyes. “While you were out we looked into the registry based on what information Deku had collected regarding the effects of the quirk. We found a registered user that matches pretty well with the symptoms you experienced. We think the person who got you two is Kanayami, Hito. His registration was updated when he entered middle school two years ago, but he never entered high school; He’s been off the grid for the last three years.”

“When you say ‘matches pretty well’ what do you mean” Bakugou said suspiciously. Ochako hadn’t picked up on the turn of phrase, but he was right. It was an odd choice of words to describe the system. Usually quirk registrations were very detailed in recording the effects of a quirk. It was important to distinguish, for example, between someone who could produce red flames as opposed to blue flames. Similar quirks often popped up, but each one was unique, like a fingerprint. A registry of unspecific information didn’t help to identify any one individual.

“Up until you two, all of his victims either died or went insane, so there wasn’t a lot of data on what the quirk actually does” Aizawa said making some seriously intense eye contact with Ochako, who promptly choked on her subsequent inhale.

“w-what?!” She managed to get out, she felt a burst of annoyance from Bakugou as he turned to glare at her, sending her a vague message across the link. He seemed to mean ‘get it together’, though Ochako was still not a pro at interpreting non-word BakuSpeak.

“How many victims?” Bakugou refocused on Aizawa.

“At least 7 people.” Aizawa answered curtly, “We think his first victims were his parents, who were found dead several weeks after Kanayami dropped off the map. At the time the coroner had no idea what had killed them, but a few weeks later witnesses watched Kanayami link two civilians’ minds and watched as they collapsed and died shortly after.”

“Why did we survive?” Ochako blurted, feeling a bone deep fear at what could’ve happened to them. Bakugou however, just felt angry.

“Well, like I said there has been at least one set of survivors. It seems Kanayami was experimenting with his quirk and tried to link three people up. They almost died, but somehow survived” He sighed deeply pausing, “But they are all totally insane, we can’t make a lick of sense out of what any of them say or do.”

Ochako shuddered. She felt as thought she sort of understood why the victims had lost their minds. Being connected with Bakugou like she had been several days ago had been the most intense experience of her life. It was maddening to not know what thought or feeling was your own. Hell, she was barely keeping it together now when she wasn’t simultaneously feeling and thinking everything he was. She couldn't imagine being linked to two people.

“Shiiiiit” Bakugou drawled out in disbelief. She could feel him processing the information with about as much comfort she was- which was none.

We could’ve died.
I wonder why we didn’t. It’s fucking bizarre. Why us?
“Do you have any theories as to why we are the only ones who are okay?” Ochako asked Aizawa instead of trying to answer Bakugou’s question.
Aizawa shrugged, if he had any idea they were talking telepathically he didn’t show it. “I have a few personal theories, but honestly only time will tell.”

“Humor us” Bakugou growled, annoyed at the avoidance of the question.

“Well I suspect that there is some additional factor that affects how Kanayami’s quirk manifests. Things like the mental resiliency of the individuals or maybe mental compatibility with the other person in the link. You two must have some sort of additional trait, either as individuals or as a pair that makes you well suited to being connected psychically”

Ochako snorted, amused. Mental compatibility between herself and Bakugou. HA! They were about as compatible as oil and water. She felt Bakugou’s own amusement at the idea.

“Or I suppose Kanayami could be gaining better control over his quirk and is able to influence the degree of severity his quirk has when he applies it. Like you learned to do with your own quirk, Uraraka.” Aizawa continued, tapping his chin thoughtfully, “Though, that doesn’t make as much sense. Why would he purposely spare your lives and mental capacities?”

Ochako couldn’t fault his logic, the last one made the most sense from a quirk application standpoint, but made no sense as a battle strategy. The whole thing was strange and seemed to be way more complicated than she had initially considered.

“Like you said time will tell…” Bakugou grit out between teeth. She glanced over at him, seeing the tension in his body. Ochako could tell he was on edge, clearly thinking about something hard.

What is it? What are you thinking?
She attempted to get closer to his side of the link, like he had a few minutes earlier to be able to interpret his emotions better, but just as she approached the edge of where she felt his mind, she was roughly shoved back into her own. She felt her thoughts mentally sputtering at the action.

Fuck off!
He snarled at her mentally. Okay clearly this was something he didn’t want to share with her, but there was no need to mentally shove her so hard. Wait, actually...how the heck had he done that?

“How did you do that?” She asked him out loud, which seemed to throw him off.

“Do what?” Aizawa asked with barely contained curiosity, capturing Ochako’s gaze.

“He just, like, shoved me away from the link” She explained to her mentor quickly before returning her attention to Bakugou, who was scowling at her.

“Yeah? Well you were being fucking nosey, mind your own goddamn business!” He replied sneering at her. She felt him attempting to pull away from the link, but he was mostly unsuccessful. It was like he was trying to run away from her while they were tied together with a rope, he just ended up dragging her with him. She could feel his dissatisfaction with the situation as a whole and a sort of desperation to not be tied with her in this way. It dawned on her then: He felt powerless. He was realizing that he couldn’t control what was happening and he did NOT like that one bit.

Not that she did either, but it wasn’t as foreign a feeling to her as it must be to him. She had felt powerless for the majority of her life. It had only been the last few years as a pro hero that she had truly felt her own independence and agency. She could imagine that he hadn’t ever had to deal with this feeling for more that a short period of time. It must’ve been hard to experience it for more or less the first time. She felt a pang of guilt and sympathy for him.

“Yeah, you’re right. Just because we can have total access to each other’s thoughts doesn’t mean we should be able to do it without permission. “ Ochako said apologetically. She reached out to touch his hand where it rested on the bed, “I’m sorry”

When her hand connected, she felt the link snap their minds back together, like magnets zipping across space to connect with a violent smack. Within a nauseating millisecond, she and Bakugou were back to how they’d been that first night. She felt overwhelmed by the influx of information her brain was now receiving. It didn’t help that they were both disoriented and panicked at the sudden change in mental state. He wasn’t just scared of the powerlessness; he had realized that they might still be in danger of going insane or dying. They had no idea what was going to happen. He was terrified of the unknown nature of their new existence. She hadn’t considered that they may still be in danger. Of course she hadn’t she was an idiot. They could die still. They were probably, definitely at this rate, going to go insane. She felt two sets of emotions rage through her mind in a hurricane of feelings. It was just as intense as it had been before and she was just as unprepared to deal with it as before.

TAKE what just YOUR happened? FUCKING HAND oh OFF MINE right! !

Just as fast as she had placed her hand on his, she ripped it off and her brain shot back into her own head, recoiling from their forceful disconnect. Or maybe his mind was ripped away from hers? It wasn’t super clear. What was super clear was that she was dizzy and lightheaded. The psychic rattling of being launched together then ripped apart was an incredibly disorienting sensation.

“ngh!” She groaned out as she collapsed back onto her pillow, too dizzy to stay upright.

“Fucking-“ Bakugou spit out at the same time and swayed dangerously at the foot of the bed. Aizawa reached out to catch his shoulder, keeping him from face planting.

“…okay” Aizawa said after a few seconds of the two catching their breath, “so no more touching…”

“Yeah, you think?!” Bakugou retorted bitterly jerking his shoulder out of Aizawa’s grasp. He scooted infinitesimally away from Ochako. Which, if she was being honest, kind of hurt her feelings. She sure as hell wouldn’t have touched him if she knew that was going to happen!

“It think it’s safe to say that we have a lot of work ahead of us.” Aizawa droned returning his hand to his armrest when he seemed confident Bakugou wasn’t going to nose dive off the bed.

“Wha..What do you mean Aizawa-san?” Ochako said still recovering her breath from the psychic whiplash, not really understanding what he meant.

“Well, I figure that you can’t stay on morphine to control the quirk forever, so you two have a lot of training ahead.” Aizawa said shrugging, “We can’t have the Number Two and Number Seven Heroes out of commission because of a mind-melding quirk.”

“What do you mean morphine?!”
“What do you mean training?!”
Ochako and Bakugou spoke at the same time, then turned to glare at the other.

“You haven’t figured it out yet?” AIzawa queried raising an eyebrow in amusement.

“Tch” Bakugou bristled at the implication. Ochako merely shook her head.

“This is acting like a second quirk that you now both control. Or at least, it seems to be under your control. That means we can train it like any other quirk to better control it. It’s pretty clear the morphine and sedative had an effect of the strength of the connection too. It’s been getting more intense the fewer drugs you have in you system, no?”

Oh duh. That seems obvious now.
Ochako felt her neurons connecting at his words. Obviously, the connection had been fuzzier because of the drugs, she’d realized it herself earlier today! She couldn’t believe she hadn’t put it all together earlier. This was acting like a second quirk, they could control it and maybe even use it to their advantage. The just had to train it like they had their own quirks over the course of their time at UA. They could totally do this! It's kind of insane how strong this next generations quirks are.... Yeah...this kid effectively gave us a second quirk...

Ochako chose to file that particular thought away for later analysis and decompression, she couldn't worry about the next generations woes right now. She needed to focus on herself and Bakugou for the moment. She felt determination flow through her like fire. She was ready to tackle this new challenge.

I can’t believe I’m going to have to train with you.
Seriously, that’s what you’re worried about?!

“When do we start?” Bakugou asked in lieu of actually answering Ochako’s annoyance at his dismissal of her. Ugh, he certainly had a way with ruining a good mood.

“Tomorrow. We’ve got to get you up and functioning as soon as we can.” Aizawa answered with an authority that turned his word into law. They would start training tomorrow to learn to control this weird second quirk they were somehow forced to receive. Ochako couldn’t tell if the twisting of her gut was due to excitement or terror at the thought of training with Ground Zero.

Notes:

I think I've worked out that this fic will be 20-25 chapters long. Often I underestimate my own tendency to write a lot of works, though. So don't be surprised if we end up at 30 chapters. Thought you'd all want to know!

Chapter 5: A Bakugou Flavored Color

The rest of the night had passed by relatively calmly. As soon as Aizawa and Bakugou left Ochako called her parents. They were positively relieved to hear she was okay, the news stations apparently had been less than optimistic about her odds of recovering. She assured them that she was doing well, but that she was going to have to spend some time in recovery and wouldn’t be working for a bit. She promised them she would continue to send them money, despite their protests. It really wasn’t a big deal, Ochako had plenty to give (yet another perk of being in the Top Ten). She didn’t mention her new reality of being permanently mentally linked to her former classmate. She felt like they had enough to worry about without the fear that their daughter was linked to the explosive Number Two Hero.

Then she tackled the task of responding to the texts from her concerned friends. She explained in the Class 3-A group chat that she and Bakugou were awake and were actively in recovery. Momo and Kirishima had been particularly worried, both sending her individual messages outside the group chat asking about the quirk. She ignored the private conversations not sure how to explain the situation. She tired to not put too much emphasis on Deku’s outpouring of support for her, but her stupid heart had other ideas and decided to flutter at his texts. That really pissed Bakugou off, which just made the whole situation worse. Ochako put her phone away at that point, deciding that it was more trouble than it was worth, she’d have to set up a time to talk to them all at once in person about the new situation.

Ochako got to meet her doctors, a series of specialists working to catalog every aspect of the new quirk. They were attempting to both enter the quirk into the registry more accurately, but also to answer the question of why Bakugou and Ochako were the first set of victims that had survived. It was also fairly rare, though becoming increasingly more common, to have two quirks and the impact on the users body was still unclear. Sufficed to say, there was a line of doctors and researchers who wanted to inspect, talk to and record anything Bakugou and Ochako did. Ochako tolerated it with a smile, and the occasional grinding of teeth, while Bakugou just did his best to not blow up anyone who lit his short fuse. Ochako felt like she was constantly trying to mediate his emotions though The Link, talking him down and trying to keep her own emotions in check. On top of all that, the press was relentlessly trying to get into their rooms to talk with one of them about what was going on. She even caught one photographer attempting to climb the building to her window. They had to move rooms after that. It was an exhausting day to say the least.

Despite all the buzz, Ochako was doing her best to get as much rest as she could before training started, especially given who she was going to be working with. Aizawa and Bakugou were not exactly known for their relaxed training techniques, she couldn’t imagine how they would be together. Probably just a feedback loop of crazier and crazier standards. She was soo not ready to deal with them together.

When she was still a sidekick, she’d had the pleasure of training one-on-one with Aizawa for 6 months. She had almost died. Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but it had been the toughest six months of her life. She had come to Aizawa to increase her capacity with her quirk. She wanted to lift heavier, faster and for longer, having come to realize that her current level was not going to cut it in the world of professional heroes. Aizawa had agreed, if she agreed to give him her entire effort for the whole time she trained with him. Little did she know, “her entire effort” meant training before and after work and all day on any days she was lucky enough to get off. Then he’d upped the ante by making her float herself all day every day. As in 24/7. She literally almost starved from not being able to keep things down that first week. Plus, she really had a hard time sleeping the first few weeks; after all, the ceiling is not exactly the most comfortable place to try and catch some rest. But true to her word, she gave him her all, day in and day out; and true to his, she got exponentially better at using her quirk, nearly quadrupling her load capacities. She also had the added benefit of discovering that she could incrementally adjust the amount of gravity she removed from something she touched.

So yeah, she was nervous to mix that bag of crazy with Bakugou’s particular brand of number-one-or-nothing crazy. She didn’t know if she could handle another 6 months of sleeping on the ceiling, or whatever this new quirk’s equivalent was, but she was damn well gonna try. This quirk could legitimately ruin her career, and even worse if she failed she could be responsible for the end of Bakugou’s. She couldn’t have that failure on her consciousness, the world needed Bakugou, he was too good of a hero to lose. She couldn’t let them down.

All that being said, she was still not exactly stoked when she was abruptly woken by the sound of Bakugou yelling in her head.
It’s time to get up, we’ve got shit to do!

Ochako groaned and rolled over in her hospital bed to peak out her window. Just as she had suspected, it was still the middle of the night. Early morning, whatever. It might as well be the middle of the night for how well-rested she felt.

I swear to god Uraraka, I will set an explosion of in your ear if you aren’t up by the time I get there.

For probably the millionth time Ochako pleaded with the gods to explain why she had to be linked with Bakugou-totally-unhinged-Katsuki of all people. Like, who the heck wakes people up by setting off explosions? Even if he didn’t really mean it, which was debatable given the vibe he was giving off through The Link, who even threatens to do that? Seriously, she’s asking.

She willed herself out of bed, not deigning to respond to Lord Explosion Murder. They had decided to walk to the training together in the morning to give themselves some time to “warm up The Link”, as Bakugou described it. Things yesterday had started off a bit sloppy in the psychic communication department and Bakugou, ever the perfectionist, wanted to get through that phase before Aizawa showed up. Ochako was finding out she was not very good at saying no to Bakugou and as such had agreed to get up earlier to meet with Bakugou first.

Ochako got herself moving, starting her morning routine. Well, as close to it as she could get being in the hospital. The doctors had finally let them dress in something other than hospital gowns, seeing as they were going to be here for a while. Ochako had asked Lilly, her sidekick, to run home and get her some casual clothing to wear while she was stuck in the hospital. They were going to be confined to the hospital grounds for the time being to receive a low dose of morphine until they could manage to get a hold on The Link. They needed to be able to keep their minds separate without the use of drugs in order to continue their jobs as pro heroes. Both her and Bakugou’s agencies had cleared temporary leave for them until then, seeing as the law prohibited intoxication while doing hero work. Lilly had returned with a full suitcase of Ochako’s clothing and condolences, clearly understanding that this was going to take a while.

She carefully maneuvered her IV and stretched her arms over head, appreciating the fact that she was pretty much fully healed. She started unbuttoning her Froppy pajama shirt (the girl knew how to design some good merch) and walked over to her suitcase, debating what kind of clothing she should wear to training. She didn’t think they would be doing anything physical, so jeans should be fine right?

“Let’s go!” Bakugou barged into her room with an energy not befitting the early hour. He paused giving her a once over, his gaze halting on her unbuttoned shirt. His side of The Link flashed with several emotions too fast for Ochako to register before settling on amusement tinged with embarrassment. He met her eyes smirking and twitched as the same unusual jolt of energy they'd felt the last times they'd been together went up both their spines.

“BAKUGOU!” Ochako yelled spinning around gripping the sides of her shirt together, “What the hell?! Have you ever heard of knocking?!” He brain was still trying to process the fact that she was awake, she really couldn’t add ‘Bakugou seeing her with her shirt half-off’ to the list of things to process at the moment.

“I warned you I was coming.” He said nonchalantly as if he barged in on half naked people all the time, “Hurry up we’re gonna be late.” He was feeling way too casual about this. Granted, they had seen each other in all sorts of stages of undress while on the job, due to the unpredictable nature of a hero costumes’ resistance to any given quirk, but this was different! This wasn’t Uravity and Ground Zero, this was Ochako and Bakugou and the distinction between personas had never felt clearer to Ochako.

“Well get out then! I’ve got to change!” She felt her cheeks burning in both anger and embarrassment. Seriously, what was he thinking?! Clearly, she would not have been ready to go at this point, he had literally woken her up not even five minutes ago. Sometimes she wondered if he just liked making people uncomfortable for the thrill of pushing the limits or some other psycho motivation.

“You have three minutes before you go alone.” He stated annoyed before she heard him pace through the door, as if hadn’t been him that asked to go together. How he was the one who was annoyed was beyond Ochako’s powers of reasoning. She stood frozen to the spot trying to process what just happened. Thank god she hadn’t undressed fully yet, that would’ve been a truly horrible situation.

I can tell you’re not moving, you know. Get that ass in gear!

Ochako fumed, letting out a barely controlled exhale, Bakugou was merely amused. It pissed her off more; The nerve of that man! She took some calming breaths, doing her best to let it go.

She shoved her anger to the bottom of her brain and quickly undressed, changing into jeans. She rummaged around for a shirt and grinned when she saw her favorite Deku shirt. It was old, from his first year after he’d been promoted from sidekick to hero, but it was soft and incredibly comfortable. While she was still feeling very emotional about their breakup, she only felt fondness for this shirt. It held many happy memories for her, memories of the times when things were good in their relationship. She could use some of that good will for her first day with Bakugou and Aizawa. It would certainly calm her nerves, so she pulled the green shirt on over her head with a small smile. She rushed into the bathroom to brush her teeth and roughly pull a brush through her hair before bolting out the door.

Bakugou was leaning against the wall just outside her room idly crackling explosions in his palm. Ochako brushed by him and turned down the hall, heading towards where she knew the physical therapy rooms were. Last night, they had agreed that it was best to not let the public know what had occurred with the quirk, at least not yet. To cover they’d agreed to act like they were doing recovery from the physical injuries they’d received, and the Physical Therapy rooms suited that image perfectly.

Bakugou pushed off the wall and followed her, still feeling some amusement. Ochako had decided not to mention the earlier incident and just pretend like nothing happened. It seemed like that would be the best way not to get into a fight with Bakugou before they’d even started the day.

Are you seriously wearing a Deku shirt?!

Bakugou’s side of The Link switched from amusement to raw irritation at the sight. Ochako decided to not do him the favor of responding to that. It really didn’t matter whose merchandise she was wearing, they had training to do. He needed to get over his Deku Complex pronto.

You wanted to warm up The Link this morning, right?

She thought at him pointedly, switching gears and refocusing him on the fact that they had bigger fish to fry than his petty feud with Deku. It was getting easier to navigate his wild emotional swings and she never thought his one-track goal-oriented mind would be to her advantage, but here they were.

Yeah, it takes me a while to sort it out.

This piqued Ochako’s curiosity, she felt like she currently did not had any difficulties understanding the signals coming from The Link, at least not with the steady drip of morphine in her system. It felt almost natural at this point to sort between hers and his. She had assumed that it felt the same for him.

What do you mean?
She glanced over to where he was walking beside her, he was pointedly staring straight ahead, not looking at her.

I have difficulty distinguishing between your emotions and mine for the first couple of minutes after the…

He seem to be at a loss for words. Frustrated, he sent he the vague impression of what she had been referring to as ‘The Jolt’, which she figured happened every time they came back in psychical proximity of each other after having been separate for a period of time.

The Jolt is what I’ve been calling it.

His eyes swung around to meet hers, then nodded.
Okay, yeah after The Jolt.

Ochako thought about what he was saying for a second. He apparently was having trouble sorting out the emotional aspect of The Link, even with the morphine. She was a little relieved that he was struggling with something about this whole ordeal, she had been under the impression he was a total natural at being psychically connected to her. It was nice to know that she wasn’t the only one having trouble mastering the finer details of The Link.

See like right there, I couldn’t tell if I was feeling relief or you were until I took the time to trace it back to you.

Ochako nodded, thoughtful. How could she explain to him how she could so easily sort between their two brains?

“How does The Link feel in your mind?” She asked him, still considering how to explain to him how the hole in the back of her mind felt. How his emotions had a different flavor to hers, like the pit was tinging everything coming from him with a different color. A Bakugou flavored color.

Use your thoughts, we’re practicing for a reason.

Ochako blushed. Right, they were trying to warm up The Link. It was so easy for her to revert back to talking out loud. Sending thoughts towards him still felt somewhat cumbersome.

Right. The question still stands though, how does The Link feel to you?

I don't get what you mean. How does what feel? The layers? Your thoughts? What are you asking me?

Ochako turned to stare at Bakugou, stopping in her tracks. She suddenly realized that they must have vastly different experiences with The Link. She had just assumed that his experience was the same as hers, but clearly it was not. What did he mean layers? It made her wonder what parts of it she was missing that he was experiencing. It scared her that they seemed to only be scratching the surface of what this thing was.

What?!

He was frustrated and impatient as he came to a stop, glaring at her. She assumed he was frustrated because he was coming to the realization that he was not as in tune with this as he previously thought. Or maybe he was just upset that she had figured something out before him.

Bakugou, I think we’re experiencing The Link very differently.

He grimaced at her, placing a hand thoughtfully at his chin. He went through a flurry of emotions, chiefly concern and curiosity. She waited for him to process, idly fiddling with her shirt. That seemed to irritate him for some reason, and he glared at her to make her stop. She released her shirt dramatically, glaring right back at him. He snorted in annoyance at her antics.

“What do you mean differently?” He spoke out loud this time, pushing his irritation back.
Her face screwed up in confusion, hadn’t Bakugou just told her to not speak out loud for practice?

“I think we should speak verbally until we clear this up, I don’t want to miscommunicate because of The Link” He explained seeing her face, or maybe because he felt her confusion. Oh duh, it probably wasn’t a good idea to use a form of communication two people were experiencing differently. why hadn't she thought of that?

“For me, I can feel a hole of sorts in the back of my mind. I can tell you’re on the other side of it, so anything you send me, whether that’s feelings or thoughts comes from that pit.” She started to explain, attempting to put words to the feeling of having his mind located adjacent to hers, “when it passes across The Link, it gets tinged with a, uh, Bakugou-ness, I guess. It’s like a different flavor or a color filter.”

She watched him as she explained, his right eyebrow lifted at her explanation. She felt his curiosity rise along with his focus, he was thinking very hard about this.

“Fuck. That’s totally different from how I feel it” He said suddenly, perturbed by the difference. Ochako waited for him to elaborate, but he seemed to be too deep in thought, or self-important, to remember she existed.

“Well, how do you feel it?” She asked impatiently, putting a hand on her hip. He could be so dismissive of others! It was infuriating. He glanced up at her, mirroring her frustration.

“Calm your tits, Round Face, I’m trying to figure out how to describe it.” He all but growled at her. Ochako let out a huff, counting backwards from ten to calm herself. She waited patiently while he grasped for the vocabulary to describe his experience.

“I feel it more like layers. Most of your thoughts and emotions come into the most superficial of them, but sometimes, like the first few minutes after The Jolt, they come through at a deeper layer. I have to spend time separating the layers in my mind the first few minutes, I can't just go from 0 to 100 first fucking thing. “

Ochako was surprised with how candid he was being. He wasn’t exactly good at admitting he was struggling with something; it was unusual to see him so vulnerable. It was a pretty vulnerable situation, though, having to share thoughts and emotions with someone else. He still deserved credit for admitting that she was better at something than he was, it wasn’t exactly standard Bakugou behavior.

Ochako squinted at him as she considered his description, trying to translate what he was saying into something that made sense. It sounded like he was experiencing The Link as more of a gradient, where thoughts and feelings were shared in degrees of overlap, rather than ‘sent’ across a boundary. He didn’t have a hard stop to the end of his mind and the beginning of hers, no pit-like barrier in his brain.

“So to send me thoughts you just push your own up to the superficial layer?” She asked as way of clarifying that her mental picture was accurate. His eyes sparked a bit as he came to realize she had figured something out that he hadn’t.

“Yeah, more or less.” He stated gruffly, “I hadn’t really thought about it”

“I can see how that may get confusing to distinguish between, when everything is just a shade of grey” Ochako nodded, “I’ll try to keep that in mind when I have any strong emotions…”

“You can’t control how your emotions come across The Link, they just do.” He scoffed at her, rolling his eyes.

Not yet. Was all she said as she started walking again, all the more eager to start training. He fell into step beside her, their mutual amusement once again flooding The Link. They had a long way to go, considering that they hadn't even realized how differently they each experienced The Link. It was good they had Aizawa to help them sort it out, even if Ochako was low key scared to train with them both.

Turns out, Ochako had reason to be scared to start training. Aizawa seemed to have a death wish pushing Bakugou like he was. When they’d first gotten there the first thing Aizawa did was to slow the drip of morphine in each of their bags. Then he instructed them that they were under a strict ‘Link only communication’ until further notice. That hadn’t been too difficult to manage as she and Bakugou had gotten more or less proficient at talking through The Link over the last 24 hours. Aizawa then challenged them to keep the connection at the same level it had been, which had been fairly easy at first while there was still drug flowing through their veins. However, over time The Link had gotten harder and harder to keep at a manageable level. It felt like, to Ochako at least, that the hole in the back of her brain was growing, sucking her towards Bakugou like some sort of psychic black hole. She assumed Bakugou’s layers were collapsing into one big mess. They had been doing okay thus far, but it took all of their combined effort to keep their brains separate. It was like trying to pull apart two very strong magnets.

“Focus Uraraka, control the connection!” Aizawa instructed unhelpfully several hours into the training. Yes, obviously she should control the connection, that was the whole point. She was tired and irritated from the relentless effort keeping her mind apart from Bakugou’s. Not to mention trying to keep Bakugou’s irritation and anger from stinging her. Managing their mutual frustration was wearing her out.
They were all sitting in the training room, Bakugou and Uraraka facing each other, Aizawa sitting off to the side. She and Bakugou were both sweating with the effort and the room smelled like the burnt caramel of nitroglycerin. She tried not to think about how flammable the air must be at this point. She really tried not to think about how much Bakugou wanted to blow something up in said flammable air.

“Yes, sir” She grit out instead of voicing her frustrations, staring into Bakugou’s eyes. She wouldn’t be the first to give up, she refused to be the weak link in their little training trio. Bakugou smirked at her, red eyes flashing dangerously, clearly feeling that she was pissed off at Aizawa’s unhelpful advice, thanks to The Link.

“We aren’t leaving this room until you two can handle The Link at this level of morphine without effort.” Aizawa warned.

Ochako groaned, already knowing that it was going to be hours before she even got the basics down. It was like learning how to use her gravity quirk all over again, except her success also depended on Bakugou being successful. They’d slipped up several times already, falling into a deeper connection than they were supposed to be at. The very low levels of morphine that Aizawa let them use kept them from falling all the way back to a full immersion, but they still ended up sharing way more than either wanted to do. It didn’t help they were both exhausted from the effort of keeping The Link under control, any time they slipped their exhaustion bubbled together making it harder to pull themselves back apart and narrow The Link.

As Ochako buckled down for several more hours of mental weightlifting when she felt Bakugou suddenly get an idea. His eyes widened as he whipped his head around to look at Aizawa.

“Remove my quirk” He commanded roughly. Ochako furrowed her brow in confusion attempting to get a read on what his idea was. She grunted as she felt the hole in the back of her mind widening at her lack of attention to it. She didn’t have the bandwidth to focus on both Bakugou’s idea and her control on The Link.

“Why should I do that? The whole point is to get you two to control The Link, Bakugou.” Aizawa replied with a hint of sarcasm.

“Just do it.” Bakugou growled sending a venomous glare at the retired pro. Aizawa sighed and turned to look at Bakugou, his hair floating eerily around his head, indicating his quirk was active.

Ochako let out an audible sign when she felt the pressure of Bakugou’s mind pressing on hers cease. It was a strange feeling to suddenly be completely cut off from Bakugou, she hadn’t realized how much she’d gotten used to constantly feeling him on the other side of The Link. Now, it just felt like she had a gaping hole in the back of her mind. Actually, it felt really disconcerting, like wearing shoes on the wrong feet.

“Oh, that feels really weird.” She mumbled, looking at Bakugou and Aizawa. Bakugou looked like he was really focused, his eyes were closed, brows lowered into a glare. She unconsciously reached for The Link to double check her interpretation of his facial expression, only to grasp into the blank space where she previously felt his mind. She shuddered at the feeling, it was like her mind ended in a cliff. The sensation further confirmed her notion that this was permanent, her mind never had a drop-off into empty psychic space before she had been linked up with Bakugou.

Bakugou opened his eyes and grinned toothily, “Okay you can give it back now.” He told Aizawa, who nodded as his hair dropped. The Link came rushing up to meet Ochako and she groaned as the pressure returned, giving rise to the return of her headache. But as soon as it arrived the pressure suddenly lessened. Surprised, she reached into the back of her mind to probe for Bakugou and found his mind sitting on his side of The Link, totally self-contained. He was there, but not actively pressing on her own mind.

She made eye contact with him across the room, he was still grinning. She realized she wasn’t passively getting what he was feeling across The Link anymore. He had managed to separate his mind from hers. He didn’t even look like it was causing him any effort either. She gaped at him.

“What did you do?” She asked incredulously.

“Uraraka. Speaking ban” Aizawa reminded her gently, “Bakugou, you seem oddly relaxed.”

Clearly I fucking figured it out.
But how? What did you do?
I realized we are trying to do something we haven’t felt yet. So I asked Aizawa to separate our minds so I could get a better picture of what I was aiming to do.

Their thoughts flew back and forth lightning fast, Ochako was excited to note that when they were talking she could feel his emotions again leaking through with his thoughts. It was oddly comforting to know he hadn’t totally disconnected. She realized that if she just mentally leaned towards him across The Link to touch where she felt his mind she got a general feel for his emotional state. She experimentally brushed up against his mind and away a few times to test it out. Bakugou gave her a weird look, confusion spanning The Link. He shook his head as if trying to shake her off his mind and turned towards Aizawa, refocused.

“I needed to feel what the goal was. You let me do that, now I’ve reached the goal.” Bakugou answered Aizawa’s implicit question, smugly crossing his arms over his chest. Ochako was astounded at his ability to figure it out so seamlessly, she doubted she could do that in one try.

“Hmmm, very good.” Aizawa nodded at Bakugou, clearly pleased, “Your turn, Uraraka.” They both turned their attention on her, geeze they wasted no time did they? She gulped nervously, doubting she would be able to impress so soundly as Bakugou had. There was nothing to do but try, though, so Ochako steeled her nerves.

“Okay, I’m ready” She nodded to Aizawa. His hair rose into the air as she felt his quirk activate on her.

If being on the side of The Link still open when Aizawa took the other half away was weird, this was down right alienating. Ochako had trained with Aizawa before so she was familiar with the feeling of having her gravity quirk ripped from her being, which was uncomfortable enough on its own, but this was the first time feeling the new quirk being removed. It felt like he had placed her mind in an insulated soundproof box and sloppily stitched up the pit in the back of her brain. It made goosebumps raise on her arms and left a bad taste in her mouth. Instead of feeling like her mind was connected to an expanse, as it had when he’d removed Bakugou’s quirk, this felt much more like being shoved into a coffin and buried, very claustrophobic. Ochako wrinkled her nose in distaste.

Bakugou gave her a look that said ‘get on with it!’ and Ochako remembered what she was supposed to be trying to do. She closed her eyes and focused on the pit in the back of her brain where she usually felt The Link, inspecting what Aizawa’s quirk had done to it. It appeared to be hastily stitched closed, as if done by someone not aware how to sew. Well psychically sew at least. Feeling the shoddy job Ochako contemplated that there had to be a better way to do this, she just had no idea how.

She opened her eyes looking over to Aizawa, “Thank you.” She said as way of telling him to relax, which he did right away. The bond ripped open again and Bakugou struggled to segment himself off for a few seconds. Ochako tried in vain to sew up her side of The Link, but couldn’t seem to recreate the seal Aizawa had. She grimaced, attempting to pull the edges of The Link closer together, but failed as the edges of the hole seemed to slip away from her mental grasp. Bakugou at this point had gotten his end to shift away, under his control.

She was acutely aware of the other two looking at her expectantly and she huffed in frustration.

What’s the hold up?
I’m trying! I can see what I have to do, I just can’t actually do it!
Try harder.
She harrumphed at his response crossing her arms, as if it was that easy. She fiddled with her side of The Link, which was admittedly much easier with Bakugou’s side under control, for the next few minutes. She gave up after the slippery sides of The Link faded from her grasp for about the sixth time.
“I can’t get it. I need another go” She directed to Aizawa in defeat. To his credit Aizawa didn’t say anything just activated his quirk, giving her a second look at the closed off link. Bakugou sighed in impatience.

An hour and a half later, Ochako finally got it. She had figured out that picturing sewing up The Link helped her get a grip on it and after several tries she had managed to pull the sides together, more of less. It was sloppy and took an insane amount of concentration, but she had it controlled.

“Heck yeah!” She shouted happily at her efforts. Bakugou glared at her, but his lip twitched upward. She reached through The Link to brush his mind and felt the amusement he was attempting to hide under his impatience. She grinned at him, seeing through his façade.

Admit it, you’re as excited as I am…
Psh, in your dreams.

“Good job Uraraka.” Aizawa congratulated with a tight smile, “Now you just have to hold that for the rest of today and then tomorrow we’ll lower the morphine again”

Ochako’s good mood evaporated with his declaration, realizing they were just getting started.

Notes:

I'm really excited, we've crossed a tipping point in the narrative and the next few chapters are going to get way more interesting. At least, I plan for them to...

Thanks for all the support! Hope you're all enjoying it thus far!

Chapter 6: Stars Crossed

‘I think you should set up a time to tell with everyone what’s going on with you and Kacchan.’

Ochako read the text two more times before she was able to squash the hope that bloomed in her heart just seeing that Deku was texting her. On the third read-through she was finally able to translate the letters into something that her brain recognized. Telling class 3-A what had happened. She’d been dreading and avoiding that very conversation for days now.

It had been about a week since Bakugou and Ochako started their training to learn to contain The Link and they were making steady progress, though probably not as quickly as Bakugou would have liked. Just yesterday they’d finally gotten off the morphine completely and were working on making their management of the The Link effortless. They needed their control of it to be unconscious, they couldn’t do their job if their minds fell back together under stress. Making it an unconscious effort was a whole tangle of problems for Ochako. At this point in their training she was half present in what was going on around her and half focused on keeping her side of the link separate from Bakugou’s. It diminished her ability to do anything with her full attention, which led to several instances of lapsed awareness. Yesterday she’d almost fallen down the stairs while she’d been splitting her attention between making a step and keeping her hold on the hole in the back of her mind. Luckily for her, Bakugou was there to snag her arm before she face-planted. She’d stuttered an apology in embarrassment that she'd been so distracted that she couldn’t even manage to activate her original quirk to stop herself from falling. He’d just grumbled under his breath and walked away. Thankfully, she’d been wearing long sleeves, preventing them for having skin on skin contact, which would’ve thrown them into a full immersion. Overall, it’d been fairly embarrassing, particularly in front of Mr. Good-At-Everything. Bakugou was having no problems keeping his side of The Link locked down, already feeling like it was natural to keep his mind quarantined from hers. He had no qualms reminding her about that fact at any given opportunity, the asshole.

However unsatisfied Bakugou was with her abilities, Aizawa had been pleased with their progress and had lifted the ‘no verbal communication ban’ once Ochako had mastered sending non-language based communication, which they’d nicknamed ‘impressions’. It wasn’t quite sending images, but more general feelings and expressions. They hadn’t figured out if they could send images while not in full immersion as it was relatively low on the priority list for their training, the top slot going to being able to function normally and contain The Link.

So Ochako was understandably distracted as she stared at the text from Deku with some consternation. She wasn’t sure she was ready to talk with anyone about the quirk yet, especially since it was still a work in progress. Thus far it’d been contained between a small number of people, mostly her, Bakugou and Aizawa. Telling people meant that there would be judgement and consequences for what had happened, and quite frankly, she liked living in her bubble of just the three of them. It was easier to throw herself into training all day every day and forget the world than to face it with a half-finished quirk. However, she knew that the first step of getting justice for the victims of the attack (herself and Bakugou included) was coming clean about the whole thing.

‘Sure! When do you want to meet? I can get Bakugou on board.’

She was admittedly eager to see everyone and get it over with, so Ochako texted Deku back quickly agreeing to meet up with everyone as soon as they could set up a date and time. Then she resolved herself to tell Bakugou. He was not going to want to go talk to his friends about his current state, but Ochako knew that they really ought to be there together to tell everyone. Especially seeing as she was only one half of this situation. He would have to accept his role as the other half and go with her.

Actually, that made her think, how much more intertwined were their lives going to be moving forward? Would they ever get a good enough hold on the link to be able to go on with their lives as they were before? Would they have to forever work together to function? How would this change their lives as heroes? As individuals? She immediately shut her thought process down, that was a question for a later time. A difficult conversation she didn’t think either she or Bakugou was ready for. She shook her head just as her phone buzzed.

‘Actually, I’ve already set up a time for everyone to meet up tonight if you can come by my place? 7?’

Ochako just stared at her phone reading Deku’s reply. She couldn’t decide if she was relieved that they could get this over fast so she wouldn’t be ruminating about it for days or pissed off that Deku hadn’t even waited for her to respond before setting it up.

‘Yeah that’s fine, we’ll be there.’

She ended up replying to Deku with a non-confrontational text, reminding herself that this was just Deku trying to be helpful. She then reached out through the link to Bakugou. When she brushed up against his mind she felt his curiosity at her mental greeting. It was like he was cocking his head at her mentally. The visual almost made her laugh out loud, Deku’s inconsiderate behavior mostly forgotten in her mirth.

We’re going to Deku’s at 7 tonight to talk to the class.

'The fuck do you mean ‘we’?!

Well there goes the good mood she was in, it was nice while it lasted. Ochako sighed and steeled herself for the stupid fight she knew was coming next.

We’re going to inform them about what is going on, they deserve to know.

They don’t ‘deserve’ anything!

As our allies in battle and as our friends they deserve to know.

That made him pause for a millisecond in consideration, then she felt his frustration rise. He couldn’t argue with that logic. If they ever got caught in battle with anyone in the class as an ally, which was more likely than not, they would need to know about The Link. But Bakugou could be really stubborn and she felt him mentally dig his heels in.

They really don’t, though. It’s none of their goddamn business.

Agree to disagree. We’re going. And we’re going to tell them.

Ochako sent him the impression of rolling her eyes at him to accompany her thought. She could be stubborn too, maybe even more than him.

Again with the ‘we’ shit!

Whether you like it or not, we’re in this together. I think we should show a united front.

Bakugou didn’t respond to that, seething and thinking desperately for any logical reason he shouldn’t go. Ochako waited for him to relent to her position patiently, he always did when faced with logic.

Fucking fine, but you do all the talking, I’m not speaking about the inner workings of my brain with those extras.

Thanks, be ready at 6:30.

Ochako smiled in victory and pulled back from her light contact with his mind, as she felt his mental scoff at her glee. Once again separate from him, she could still feel the occasional flair of irritation from him, but otherwise her mind was her own. They’d discovered over the last few days that they could never truly separate fully, any particularly strong emotion would inevitably flow across the link to the other. So long as she was able to keep her side closed anyway. Anytime she slipped up and let her side of the link widen (which was an annoyingly frequent occurrence), she got a lot more information just by virtue of slipping adjacent to his psyche. She had yet to feel Bakugou slip up on his hold of The Link for more than a few moments. Once she’d caught him slip while he was sleeping. He’d lightly brushed against her mind and Ochako got a taste of his dreams, something about effortlessly cruising through clouds, but he’d recoiled and sprung awake the second she’d tried to inspect further. She’d gotten an earful about privacy after that.

Ochako took a look at the clock, it was currently 8 am. She had about an hour before training started, thirty minutes before Bakugou showed up for their ‘warm up’. She couldn’t imagine what Aizawa had in store for them today, they’d already gotten off the morphine, at this point they should just be working on making their separation unconscious which they didn't necessarily need his input to work on. However, she didn’t doubt that Aizawa had some other tricks up his sleeve, the man was a genius when it came to quirk training. An evil genius to be sure, but he got results and she and Bakugou needed results fast to be able to go back to work as soon as possible.

Ochako had spent her free time the past few days looking into the details of the attack on the Middle School, trying desperately to figure out what the villains hoped to achieve by killing 37 innocent children. The police were not giving out any details to the press and she and Bakugou technically weren’t on the case because they were on temporary leave to get the quirk under control. It was incredibly frustrating to not be able to take action against such evil. Ochako was heartbroken to have had to watch the candlelight memorial from her room last night. She’d decided to double down on her efforts to master The Link so she could get out there and get justice for the victims.

Bakugou arrived at 8:30 on the dot, punctual as always. They’d decided to walk together every day in an unspoken agreement after the first day of training. Bakugou had said he liked to spend some time warming up the link, which was good enough reason for Ochako to accommodate him. It was only fair after he’d had to slow down during training for her to catch up to his lightning quick mastery of the new quirk they shared.

He knocked on her door, having learned his lesson that first day, and Ochako opened the door. She met his red stare and felt The Jolt go through her spine. As always, she felt their minds brush across the link at The Jolt, as if in an unconscious greeting. It was strange how easily she’d gotten used to this aspect of the quirk, embraced it even. Their minds receded back into their own spaces as Bakugou nodded to her in greeting, his arms folded across his chest.

“Good morning!” She smiled sunnily at Bakugou, ready to get the day started on the right foot. She always felt more at ease after they’d met up in the morning. Bakugou just grunted in reply, seemingly deep in thought, hands stuffed in his pockets. Ochako glanced over to him curious as to what held his attention. She noted that he needed a haircut, the buzzed sides of his undercut had grown out and the top was starting to fall into his eyes. She wrinkled her brow, that was a weird thought to have, she’d never noticed things like that before. She double checked, but it had definitely been hers, The Link was under control. Maybe she’d just been spending so much time with him that she’d been picking up on things unconsciously.

“Oi! You’re letting your side slip” Bakugou pulled her out of her introspection. He was glaring at her accusatorially, irritation sparking across the link. She blushed and pulled her side of The Link back together. She was starting to get annoyed at her own incompetence with controlling the quirk.

“You’re distracted today, what are you thinking about?” He asked as a follow up. Ochako was appreciative of the respect for the unspoken boundaries they’d fallen into over the last week. If he really wanted he could’ve just pushed against her mind and see what she was thinking, but he respected their rules enough to ask instead. It was a nice show of restraint for a notoriously impatient and impulsive person like Bakugou, though he’d never given her reason to expect him to do something like press her for details she didn’t want to give.

“I was actually thinking you need a haircut.” Ochako said glancing at Bakugou, blushing. She could’ve lied, but he probably would’ve been able to tell so there wasn’t really a point.

Bakugou snapped his head to look at her, eyes wide in surprise. His side of the link stuttered with confusion and he blinked, before bringing his hand up to his hair pushing it away from his face.

“Yeah, I guess I do.” He said contemplatively then awkwardly cleared his throat, tucked his chin and shrugged his shoulders, “Come on, we’re gonna be late.”

His long strides carried him down the hall quickly and Ochako rushed her steps to keep up with him, letting out an amused chuckle at his reaction. He just sent her a glare over his shoulder, which made her laugh more. They walked to the training room in relative silence, presumably Bakugou was working on separating his layers, sorting through their different emotions one by one. Ochako just enjoyed the quiet time to mess around with her hold on the Link.

“Today we're going to turn it up a notch.” Aizawa said from his spot in the corner of the PT room. Ochako inwardly sighed. What more could they possibly do? They were already off the morphine 24/7 and she was just barely managing that. She wasn’t privy to whatever fresh hell Aizawa had in store.

“What exactly do you have in mind?” Bakugou questioned for both of them, folding his arms and raising his eyebrows menacingly. Flickers of stubborn confidence flashed to her side of The Link from him, which she enviously observed from her corner of self-doubt.

“I want you two to touch.” Aizawa stated nodding towards Ochako.

“You want us to what?” Ochako blurted out, remembering what happened the last time they’d made contact and had been psychically flung at each other’s’ brains into a full immersion. Bakugou seemed to be similarly stunned, a scowl forming on his lips.

“At this point we need to push your limits of control.” Aizawa explained, “We could, I suppose, just wait for you to adjust to being off morphine over the next several weeks. Or we could fast track this and push your limits to make you more accustomed to being linked faster.”

Ochako couldn’t argue with that logic and she did want to get this under control as fast as possible to be able to get back to work. Bakugou’s scowl morphed into a grin and she felt his elation at having a new challenge leak over her side of The Link. The man’s emotions were more hot and cold that freaking Shouto.

“Makes sense.” Bakugou agreed easily, holding his hand out to Ochako, who just looked at his offered hand as if it was a snake. As much as she respected Aizawa’s logic, she hadn’t forgotten the discomfort of being shoved into Bakugou’s mind by physical contact. She was not willing to go there today, when she was barely holding her side of the link together as it was. She stared at his offered contact with trepidation.

“Round face.” Bakugou said impatiently along with a nudge across the link for her to get moving. He caught her gaze with his and Ochako squirmed uncomfortably at its intensity. She still hadn’t gotten used to the concentrated pressure of having his attention fully on her, something that had happened a lot during their training as she held him back.

“Wait.” She said and instead of reaching for his hand held hers up, “I need some sort of game plan, like what if it goes wrong and we get stuck, or I can’t get my side of the link together? There’s a million things that could go wrong-“

“-yeah, but we won’t know until we fucking try it!” Bakugou interrupted her spinning thoughts with a solid glare, “Come on Uraraka, show some fucking courage.”

Ochako huffed at that, sending him a venomous glare back. God forbid she want to have an idea of what they’re trying to do. He was sending wave after wave of his impatience and self-confidence her way, battering her defenses.

“You can do it, I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think that” Aizawa added in, more gently than Bakugou. Ochako sighed and felt Bakugou impatiently prodding her mentally.

You know this is the best way for us to get back to work soon. We’ve got some child murders to kill.

Curse him for having overhead her intentions to track down the bastards and use it against her. Ugh! He was right though, they needed this to get better. Ochako submitted to the Bakugou way of just launching herself face first into her problems.

Fine. But you have to be patient while I figure it out.

I’ll play nice.

Ochako sighed in defeat and reached for Bakugou’s hand as he smirked at her in victory. Ochako’s hand made contact with his and Ochako sucked in a breath mentally bracing for the barrage.

Ugh Gah! Uraraka this never you’ve gets got easier to breathe.

Ochako felt herself suck in a deep breath at Bakugou’s insistence, almost as if he had been the one to instruct her lungs to expand. He felt that too. Weird. They couldn’t think about that right now though. He was focused on collapsing and segregating the layers of his side of The Link. Ochako watched from inside his mind for a few seconds fascinated. He was somehow organizing their thoughts into a more synced pattern, working together as one mind with two parts rather than two clashing psyches. It was really awe-inspiring how flawlessly he instructed organization into The Link.

Oi! Focus on your own side!

Right, sorry! Ugh I can’t orient myself, I’m lost.

Look here

Bakugou forced her attention to the back of her mind again, and Ochako was struck with a feeling of being mentally dragged from his mindspace by him. He directed her to her edges of The Link, having already figured out how her side worked. He understood now that showing her was way more helpful than letting her figure it out on her own. He was only slightly annoyed by this revelation. She observed him orchestrating The Link with fascination. Why is he so good at this? He mentally snickered at her. She felt his supreme pleasure at being better than her at this. His smugness bled into her own emotions and Ochako felt a beat of unbridled confidence. She could do this. Fuck yeah she could, he never had any doubts in her. He knew that she was her own biggest obstacle, over thinking not just doing. She felt herself aligning with his way of thinking, his overwhelming confidence was contagious. Bakugou wanted her to focus.

Pull away from my side.

Ochako desperately pulled herself back towards her own side of the link, grasping the edges of the hole and pulling it together, trying to imitate his methods. Bakugou pulled away from her at the same time and she felt their minds begin to separate again.

Like this?

Good girl.

Ochako’s stomach dropped and then promptly filled with butterflies as he positively purred out the compliment, feeling supremely smug at his own teaching efforts. She was shocked to also feel his pride in her, a totally unexpected feeling. If she thought having his full impatient attention on her was intense, it was nothing compared to his praise. She felt all kinds of flabbergasted, but her own feelings were quickly buried by his avalanche of emotions. His feelings were just so much more intense than her own. He was elated and proud and excited and happy and a million other things at her success in picking up his instructions. They flooded her mind in their volume and power, especially when they were linked this closely.

Ochako took a second to surface from his emotions to assess the status of the quirk, remembering their mission of staying separate. The Link was separate, but still closer than it was if they weren’t touching. Emotions flowed more freely than when they weren’t physically touching, but they still had their own mind spaces. It was an interesting middle ground between full immersion and how they normally separated. They seemed to be successfully fulfilling Aizawa’s request, minus the emotion-sharing imbalance.

She felt Bakugou’s pride at their work deluge The Link and she couldn’t help but mirror his reaction a huge smile breaking out onto her face. Seeing him pull his side apart had been surprisingly instructive for her, like watching a step by step for a difficult combat move. She found it easier to hold her side closed both from having watched him and from the sheer effect his emotional high had on her own confidence.

Bakugou began cackling audibly and Ochako opened her eyes. He was sitting next to her grinning viciously at Aizawa.

“We’re fucking crushing it.” Bakugou declared with the utmost confidence at Aizawa. His emotional elation was constant across the link making Ochako dazzlingly excited in response. A small part of her mind noted that she should figure out a better way to ward herself against his potent emotions, but she was quickly overcome with her own elation at their success.

“Uh, yeah I think we’ve got it.” Ochako stuttered out grinning at Aizawa. She was feeling the high Bakugou got from doing something impossible on the first try. It felt really good to be linked with Bakugou right now.

“Do you always get this excited went you do something spectacular?” She asked Bakugou, letting out a giggle and covering her mouth with the hand currently not resting in his palm. He turned to smirk at her, tilting his head and leaning towards her.

“Nah, I think this is a combined effect.” He responded thoughtfully, “This is a fucking high.” He grinned at her and she couldn’t help but reflect the expression and match his energy level.

She nodded vigorously, “It’s pretty great!” then she frowned in thought and realized how dangerous this feeding off of each other’s emotions could be. What if they were in battle and they were scared or in pain? It would be just like that first night. They had to learn to control this.

“Actually, we should probably figure out how to stop this from happening.” She voiced, grimacing and looking to Aizawa, who looked like he’d seen a ghost. She felt Bakugou’s good mood flicker at her contemplation, reacting to her sudden shift towards sobriety.

“Uh.. yeah I agree” Aizawa spoke up looking between the two of them with wide eyes, “You two look like lunatics”

Ochako glanced back to Bakugou, realizing how close they’d gotten to each other while feeling the combined effects of their positive emotions. Bakugou was gripping her hand and she was pulled into his space leaning against his arm. She jerked upright and moved away, suddenly very uncomfortable with his proximity. She tugged her hand away from his and gasped when the connection was broken. The Link snapped back to the normal they’d established this week and Ochako was pleasantly surprised to find it was easier to control now, Aizawa had been right.

As Bakugou’s intense elation faded from her mind she was surprised to note that he had been right, she was feeling pretty darn happy all on her own. She was proud of herself for doing what Aizawa wanted on her first try.

“Well that was a goddamn ride.” Bakugou stated, still grinning at her like a crazy person. Ochako let out a wheeze of a laugh nodding in agreement.

The spent the rest of the day trying to get a better hold on their combined response to each other’s emotions while touching. Surprisingly, Ochako had come out on top in this particular area, being able to regulate her own emotional response much more easily than Bakugou. He became increasing frustrated as the practice continued, making Ochako work harder to regulate their emotional state. It was a rapid flip flop from their earlier success and resulting good moods to the ragged frustrated mood they ended the session in. Their emotional control was certainly not ideal and they most definitely did not meet Aizawa’s expectations. So when Aizawa assigned them the homework of staying in physical contact for the foreseeable future Ochako wasn’t surprised. Neither was Bakugou, who just groaned angrily and flopped onto his back, dragging Ochako down with him.

“Come on, we gotta go to Deku’s” Ochako said to Bakugou sitting up and tugging on his arm. Already pissed off from the training, he glared at her baring his teeth from his spot on the ground.

“Fucking, I just.. Gah!” He grit out too frustrated to form words. She felt his exasperation and fatigue grate on her psyche and reached out to his mind to try and sooth it with her own emotions as she had been all day.

“Stop that.” He slapped her mental touch away and stood up moving his hand to grip her wrist and tugging her up too. He walked away pulling her along with him. Ochako sighed and followed him out of the training room. She totally understood his unspoken sentiment of wanting to just be alone for a bit. They’d basically spent the last nine hours mentally intertwined and he need to just feel his own feelings uninterrupted for a bit. She honestly felt the same, so she mentally pulled back and tried her best to cordon off her mind from his. She wasn’t super successful, as their physical touch made it impossible to truly separate, but she turned a blind eye to any feelings that floated her way.

They walked in silence to the exit of the hospital, diligently following Aizawa’s instructions to remain in physical contact. They both froze when they saw the crowd of people outside the hospital doors. The media. How could they have forgotten? The media had been stalking them industriously the whole week, waiting for them to be released form the hospital.

“Fuck!” Bakugou cursed his grip tightening on Ochako’s wrist. She flinched at the pain and elbowed him in the ribs hard. He glanced down at her in irritation but loosened his grip. He was thinking rapidly about how to get out of the situation when Ochako saw one of the camera men point at them through the glass and shout excitedly. The rest of the journalists jumped into action and started to film or take pictures through the glass in a frenzy. She could hear their muffled cries and questions. Great, just the way to end an already difficult day.

Ochako smiled and waved automatically, having spent the last six years drilling herself to put on a consistent show for the cameras. It had gotten her into the Top Ten and it was what was going to keep her there while she was out of commission. Bakugou glared, eyebrow twitching and spun around to face Ochako, his back turned to the reporters. He seethed with anger.

We were going to have to face them eventually anyway. They’re just curious to see how we’re doing.

Oh fuck off, they’re just being nosey assholes. I don’t have to face shit.

Oh so you’re just going to stay at the hospital for the rest of your life?!

She shot him a knowing glance, feeling him frustratingly relent to her logic. His only response was to glare at her and mentally flip her off.

Fine. Be an ass, we’re still going to Deku’s.

She told him this with such authority that she dared him to question her. They’d already had this argument and she would win it again if he chose to tread there again. She did her best to send him that impression through The Link. His eyebrow started twitching in irritation. He knew she was right, he just had a physical aversion to admitting it.

You’re going to be the death of me I swear…

He sighed and tilted his head back to the ceiling at the thought, admitting that she was right in a small corner of his mind.

So dramatic.

Ochako poked fun at his salty attitude, a real smile emerging from her fake camera smile. He tilted his face down and made a point to make eye contact with her so she could see him roll his eyes at her. Meanwhile, the media people were getting more and more antsy as the two heroes stood indecisively inside the door, just out of their reach. Ochako had made sure they were legally prohibited from harassing them inside the hospital on the second day here. She had been through this situation enough times to learn that lesson. Well not this exact situation, but a similar hospital stay.

“Come on, it won’t be that bad” She said to Bakugou tugging him forward with his grip on her wrist, “I’ll handle all the talking”. He followed her pull impassively attempting to school his expression into a neutral face. He failed.

Bakugou glowered at the reporters, his face a direct translation of his loathing for their presence. He was chalk out of fucks to give apparently. They walked through the doors into the throng of reporters.

“Bakugou, Ochako!”
“What were the effects of the mystery quirk?”
“Over here!”
“How is rehab going?”
“What do you plan on doing about the child slayers?”
“Uravity, look here!”

They all started yelling at once, pointing microphones in their direction, a few print photographer’s cameras flashed, but the majority of media were from news stations. Ochako held her free hand up good naturedly, smiling at the crowd. They quieted as she stopped to make a statement.

“We’re doing fine and we are working through our rehabilitation together.” She stated diplomatically looking into the various lenses around them, “We plan to get back to work on the case as soon as possible. Now if you’ll excuse us, we have somewhere to be.”

Bakugou started to walk away from the reporters, trailing her with him. The reporters apparently were not planning on respecting their wishes and were shouting follow up questions at them and following as fast as she and Bakugou could walk away.

“Uravity, are you still under the effects of the quirk?”
“Are you dating?”
“How about a classic Ground Zero smolder!”

Bakugou actually growled at them, then he suddenly stopped. Ochako bumped into his back at his sudden stop. She sent him a questioning thought:

Bakugou, what the hec-
I’ve got an idea.

He spun around to grin at her and sent her a strange idea, a rocket ship?? She was utterly lost. He was… excited? What the heck? He sensed her confusion and quickly sent a succession of concepts at her attempting to explain while mentally narrating the whole idea.

Hit me with your quirk and I’ll blast us into the air and fucking FLY us to Deku’s!

Ochako started at him, mouth hanging open. Where the hell did he get that idea? He just looked at her imploring her to try it. He was like a kid before he jumped off the roof into the pool, hyped to try something new and dangerous. An adrenaline junkie. It was contagious, she felt the same cyclic building of his emotions they’d been battling all day. She was getting excited to try it too. The news reporters were surrounding them at this point and Ochako was too tired to try and change Bakugou’s mind. It was a truly stupid idea, but Bakugou’s self-confidence was contagious when they were linked this close and Ochako found herself trusting him to execute his idea.

Eh, What the hell.

She thought smiling back at Bakugou ruefully. Oh she was going to regret this, she could just tell. She reached out and touched his chest removing his gravity before removing her own. A gasp went through the group of reporters as the two heroes started floating.

“Hold on.” He said out loud, tugging her closer to him. Ochako had about half a second to wrap her arms and legs around his solid torso before he shot two large explosions at the ground with his hands launching them into the air. The reporters jumped away screaming at the sudden explosion of fire in front of them. Ochako couldn’t help the startled cry that left her mouth as Bakugou let of a series of explosions to get them up to speed before changing their trajectory, jerking them around with every new blast.

GIVE ME BACK SOME GRAVITY!

He was yelling in her brain unintentionally just from the exhilaration he was experiencing from FUCKING FLYING. Ochako noticed that he was letting his side of The Link slip more and more as he focused more heavily on steering. Their thoughts were getting more muddled. Ochako focused on giving him back a portion of his gravity and keeping The Link at a manageable level. She was trying very hard to not watch how quickly buildings were flying past as Bakugou weaved in and out, releasing explosions out of his palms. He was ecstatic! She felt the adrenaline flowing through his system and felt her own heart start to race in response.

Bakugou, we’re gonna pass Deku’s apartment if you don’t slow down!

Then give us some more weight!

Ochako did as he asked, bringing her hands together behind his back shouting “Release!”. She felt the familiar tug on her stomach as gravity grasped her weight again and felt Bakugou let off a long series of explosions to adjust for the added weight. They were headed towards the ground at this point, going pretty damn fast. Ochako started to freak out, she rarely got going this fast with her quirk. Bakugou, however, was grinning into the wind totally at home going 80 miles an hour. Sometimes he could be such a freak.

Oi! Stop thinking rude things and get rid of some of our momentum!

Ochako pressed her fingers to his back, which was tensed with the effort of minimizing recoil from the blasts he was starting to use to spin them in the air. Ochako relieved them of their weight and held on as Bakugou maneuvered them into a spin to let out a massive chain reaction of explosions at the ground. Ochako and Bakugou were jerked to a halt in the air about 20 feet above the ground outside Deku’s apartment. They floated in zero-G, Bakugou breathing rapidly in exertion or excitement, maybe both. Ochako sucked in several breaths, not sure if she was terrified or exhilarated. She figured it was the first and she was just feeling Bakugou’s exhilaration secondhand. She was thankful she was not nauseous from quirk use, that would’ve just add a whole other level if complication to their emotional state.

“You can let us down now, Angel Face.” He told her tapping her on her shoulder, seeing as she had her face pressed to his chest. She let go of his torso, her hands shaking and met his gaze. He snickered at her, thoroughly amused at her unease. The smug asshole was laughing at her reaction to basically almost dying!

Don’t be dramatic.

She narrowed her eyes into a glare at him and jerked her hand away from his grasp bringing her hands together. She watched his eyes widen for a second as he read her intent through The Link.

“Release.”

She let his gravity come back full force and he dropped out of the sky like a rock, barely catching himself with a few explosions before he slammed into the ground. She let herself float down more gently laughing at his face of indignation glaring up at her from the scorched ground.

Yeah yeah, very funny Cheeks.

He scowled at her as he seized her foot yanking her down to his level, grabbing her wrist again when she finally touched down. She jumped a bit as The Link sprung to its state of high intensity again at the contact. The first thing she noticed was what a remarkably better mood he was in than he’d been just five minutes ago outside the hospital. She once again marveled at his emotional whiplash.

If I knew that blasting us across the city flipped your mood this easily, I would’ve done it a lot sooner!

He let out a bark of laughter at that, shaking his head. She grinned at him, he had a nice laugh. It made her surprisingly pleased to see him happy. Almost enough to let herself be fired across the sky with him again.

Oh, we are sooo doing it again.

Ochako rolled her eyes at him. His crimson eyes flicked away from hers to look over her shoulder and his face fell back into the familiar scowl, red eyes flashing with anger. Ochako turned to see Deku watching them with a strange look that she couldn’t quite place on his face. She met his green irises and her heart fluttered with misplaced palpitations. Bakugou’s mood soured and he retreated from their shared mindspace back into his own.

“Well that’s one way to make an entrance, I guess.” Deku said with an awkward, almost pained, smile.

Notes:

We are now officially two chapters behind my outline. Welcome to my writing style, hope you're strapped in for the long haul.

Hope you are enjoying the ride thus far!

Chapter 7: We're All A Bit of A Hypocrite

Ochako beamed at Deku, in an attempt to cover the emotional turmoil he always produced in her and started to walk forward towards him, only to be anchored by Bakugou’s iron grip on her wrist. She came to a halt at his immobility with a jerk. She tossed him an annoyed look over her shoulder and a not so subtle mental poke and he grumbled under his breath but walked forward with her towards his rival.

“Hi Deku! How are you doing?” Ochako greeted pleasantly, genuinely curious as to how he was feeling. Ochako had never been the type to hold grudges and ultimately Deku was her friend, breakup or no. She could put aside her personal feelings to retain her friendship with him. Bakugou however, was apparently not even a little bit over his Deku-complex because Ochako kept getting flairs of annoyance tinged green with envy from his side of the link. She thought it was ridiculous that he couldn’t just accept the fact that Izuku was deserving of success and help to lift him up rather than attempt to tear him down. But the supposed that it had always been this way between those two and Bakugou was at least attempting to keep his jealousy to him himself by not acting on it.

“I’m doing pretty well! Better now that you’re here, though” Deku exclaimed, returning her smile, the strange expression leaving his face, “I’ve been so worried about you both!”

He wrapped her in a hug, which Ochako found to be sort of awkward given that one of her arms was out of service thanks to Aizawa’s assignment of staying in constant contact with Bakugou. The half-hug still managed to make her heart shudder though. Her stupid heart that hadn’t caught up with her head’s position of ‘Izuku will hurt us again if you let him’ and just wanted Deku to love her again. Ochako tried to physically reign her heart in and slow its gallop, which failed miserably. However, Bakugou’s sour mood did a pretty good job of squashing her heart’s elation as it sloshed over to her side of the link.

“Yeah, yeah, we fuckin’ get it Deku” Bakugou grit out between his teeth in irritation, “let’s just get this over with.” He said the latter part more to Ochako, giving her a tug on her wrist and a mental nudge. Ochako pulled back from her hug with Deku and made eye contact with his bright green eyes. She rolled her own eyes at Bakugou’s antics and Izuku let out a hearty laugh.

“Okay, let’s get inside then. Everyone is already here.” He said as he started to head into his building. A large modern design with lots of large windows. Ochako had been impressed the first time he’d brought her here as it was an expensive place to live. She reconciled the discomfort she felt by reminding herself that Deku didn’t send money back to his parent like she did to hers, so he probably had some spare change to throw at expensive apartments. Now she just understood that being the Number One Hero meant Deku was loaded.

“Um, yeah sorry we were late, we got held up with some of the media” Ochako stated as way of explaining their tardiness. Deku just waved it off as he keyed in, opening the front door in a gentlemanly fashion for them to walk through. Ochako walked straight through the lobby towards the elevators, having been here many times throughout the last three years. Bakugou trailed behind her doing his best to remain impassive and keep his annoyance at the situation from spilling over The Link.

It amazed her how quickly he flipped moods, he lived fully in the moment and had no holdovers from earlier. It was totally different from how she carried her emotions, which could linger for days, adding layers to how she would feel. He was more like an on or off switch, 100% or 0%. It was more exhausting than she thought it would be, possibly explaining his short fuse.

Ochako considered reaching across the link to attempt to sooth his anger, but decided against it given how annoyed he’d been earlier tonight at her for attempting to that very thing. They’d spent so much time together this last week, it was honestly a miracle they’d managed to keep civil at all. They both needed some space from each other at some point and she wasn’t going to try and invade his if he didn’t ask for it, despite their current assignment forcing them to do just that. She wasn’t suicidal, she was not going to get exploded for pushing Bakugou to hard, assignment or no.

There was awkward silence while they waited for the elevator, Ochako standing between the Top Two Heroes, as if to buffer their eternal rivalry. They all got into the elevator when it arrived and Deku reach forward to press the 5th floor button and cleared his throat.

“What’s with the hand holding?” He asked in a trying-to-be-nonchalant way. Looking pointedly at Bakugou’s grip on Ochako’s wrist. He clearly was uneasy with this new development, though Ochako couldn’t for the life of her figure out why.

“Wouldn’t you fucking like to know.” Bakugou snarled back at him reflexively. Ochako sent him the equivalent of a mental kick-under-the-table. He whipped his head around to turn his glare onto her, which she gladly returned. He would not get away with being be rude to Deku with her here.

“It’s for training The Link” Ochako explained simply to Izuku with a smile, who nodded thoughtfully. Ochako could see the gears turning in his head with a million follow up questions, but he restrained himself from asking them, probably because of Bkaugou’s presence.

Bakugou let out a huff and leaned back against the wall of the elevator, generally irritated at the situation. He went to cross his arms, but paused realizing that would break their contact. All of which Ochako could understand because he was thinking so friggin’ loud. Well, it was more like his general disposition was being broadcast at her, they weren’t fully fledged thoughts. Ochako briefly got distracted trying to categorize the different flavors of thoughts Bakugou tended to have.

Anyway, she gave him a sigh and slid her hand up his arm to rest on his shoulder, which was exposed due to his inability, or rather his unwillingness, to wear sleeved shirts. Not that she was particularly complaining, the man had some attractive arms. Even she could admit that, so long as the admission was shoved away in the small corner of her mind that contained any of her acknowledgements that her friends even remotely attracted her. She suppressed her attraction to Bakugou’s muscular arms right next to her more-than-friendly appreciation of Kirishima’s abs.

As she slid her hand up his arm she felt goosebumps raise and he suddenly locked his side of The Link down. Like, he suddenly disappeared from her brain space in way she hadn’t known they could do while in physical contact. She mentally sputtered at the sudden lack of Bakugou in her mind.

She turned to give him a what-the-hell stare and sent him a confused jumble of questions through the link, which probably ended coming across as ‘??HUH??’. He just shrugged, ignored her mental questioning and crossed his arms, doing his best to glare a hole through the elevator doors. How did he even do that? Did he know he could do that? Could he show her how to shut down the link so definitively?

“Did something just happen? What am I missing?” Deku interrupted her flurry of confused thoughts looking emphatically between the two. Ochako briefly wondered how much their internal conversations were apparent to those around them. They may have to consider adding some training to get their physical reactions to their psychic communication under control.

“Oh shoot, sorry Deku, I forgot you were here for a second.” Ochako spoke without thinking then realized what she said and psychically face palmed with her free hand. Bakugou let out an amused “Tch” while Deku just looked genuinely confused and a bit hurt.

“I didn’t mean it like- I just” Ochako started to try and explain the feeling of being so wrapped up in her and Bakugou’s shared mental state that she tended to forget anything but them existed. Which, like, how could she even start to explain in any way that made sense to someone who hadn’t experienced what it was like to have their mind tied to someone else’s.

She took some deep breaths attempting to cool off her burning cheeks before continuing, “It’s just Link stuff.” She explained lamely, finally deciding they didn’t have enough time to even scratch the surface of questions she knew Izuku had for her. She made a mental note to schedule a time to meet up one on one so she could better explain.

“…link stuff” Deku echoed, clearly not satisfied with the answer sending her a questioning gaze. Ochako nodded rather unhelpfully right as they arrived at the Deku’s floor with a ‘ding!’.

Deku led them to his apartment a bit stiffly and gave them an apologetic glance before swinging his front door open. As the three stepped into the room they were met with the familiar undercurrent of noise a room full of people make while waiting. The former students of class 1-A were situated throughout Izuku’s living room perched on various furnishings or standing in groups. Tsu noticed their entrance first, meeting Ochako’s gaze with wide green eyes.

“Ochako!” She croaked as she hopped over to the door. Ochako grinned toothily at her friend as she bounded into Ochako for a hug. Ochako wrapped her arms around her best friend in a deep hug, she hadn’t realized how much she missed the woman this last week. The Link faded away as she let go of Bakugou and Ochako had a moment of reprieve from his volatile emotions.

“Oi!” Bakugou snapped at Ochako gesturing to his shoulder, which she had released to hug Tsu. Tsu gave her a probing look as Ochako sighed and reached back to reinstate contact with Bakugou’s firm shoulder. The Link lit up again as she made contact and she once again felt Bakugou’s disdain. Man, she was emotionally exhausted.

“What’s going on Ochako, ribbit?” Tsu asked as the rest of the classes quieted seeing that the three missing members had arrived. Momo stood up from her spot on the couch next to her husband and nodded at Ochako encouragingly. Ochako frowned at the pink puckered skin above her eyebrow, apparently the cut she’d received from the villain fight was deep enough to scar. Iida sprang up blocking Ochako’s view of Momo. He maneuvered himself roughly in front of Tsu grasping Ochako’s free hand.

“Uraraka, please tell me you’re okay!” He implored her, eyes pleading with her melodramatically, “I’ve been besides myself with worry!” Ochako smiled at his antics, getting a hit of nostalgia for the time he was their overprotective class president. The other members of the class started to move towards Ochako, Bakugou and Deku, curious as to what they were all gathered for. Bakugou made an unhappy sound from the back of his throat.

God, they turned this into a fuckin spectacle, didn’t they?

“Let them at least close the door before we interrogate them, you guys.” Momo told the group, shaking her head at their overbearing presence. Ochako ducked around Iida smiling and mouthed ‘thank you’ to her, before dragging Bakugou into the room with her. They side-stepped Iida’s sputtering at his unanswered question and made their way further into Deku’s apartment.

They’re just worried. The news hasn’t exactly been optimistic about what’s been going on with us.

Bakugou did the thought-equivalent of biting his tongue and held back his retort, feeling generally uncomfortable at the whole situation. For someone so interested in being front and center as Ground Zero, Bakugou Katsuki did not like being the center of attention. Ochako was moderately surprised to feel his discomfort while his face contradictorily just read ‘Bite Me!’ with an epic scowl. She once again was forced to wonder how much of his bad attitude and glares were a front to keep people away from him when he didn’t want to deal with his unease. She shouldn’t be surprised at this point though, the longer she was linked with him the more she started to realize how nuanced his emotional expression was, it wasn’t unusual for his face to say one thing and his head another. She was starting to give him the benefit of the doubt. What did surprise her was to see Kirishima giving Bakugou a knowing jab of a smirk and Bakugou flipping him off in return. It appears that Kiri knew Bakugou better than she ever thought he had. Strange.

The class backed off and relaxed more, Momo sat back down next to Todoroki and Ochako dragged Bakugou to the front of the room, next to Deku’s ridiculously huge fireplace. Tsu, Ida and Deku followed behind taking a place among their peers, who were look at Ochako and Bakugou with varying levels of interest.

“Okay so I guess Deku wanted us all to gather so we could keep you up to date on what’s going on.” Ochako started to speak gesturing at Deku who smiled encouragingly.

She scratched the back of her head nervously, “uh, so yeah I guess it’s easiest just to say it. Bakugou and I were hit with a quirk that permanently linked our minds together.”

Ochako paused watching the varying levels of shock across their friends faces. Kirishima was nodding sagely, Todoroki seemed totally bored by this whole conversation and Tsu just swallowed loudly.

“Erm, yeah so basically we just need you to know that we're fine, but are gonna be working on learning to control this for a few weeks.” She finished unclimatically, “uhm…the moral of the story is, don’t get hit with that one finger kid’s quirk while you’re out fighting this group of sickos.”

“wait wait wait.” Mina spoke up raising both her hands in the air theatrically, “So this kid’s quirk-“
“-Kanayami, Hito” Ochako interjected with the villain’s name.

“Yeah what’s his face, Kanayami,” Mina continued with the new information, “He was actually able to permanently turn your minds into a two-way street? What do you mean linked? How freaking strong is this kid?” Her voice got higher and higher as she continued, starting to connect the dots of how weird this whole situation was. Kirishima reached over and covered his girlfriend’s mouth with a “mmmpft” and playfully pulled her into his side.

“I think what Mina is try to say is: Uhm what the fuck?” The red head clarified, eliciting a chorus of chuckles from the group. Ochako couldn’t help but joining in in the uplifted mood, giggling a bit. The tension at their news seemed to dissipate at Kirishima’s masterful charisma.

“Yeah it’s pretty crazy, but not any crazier than that one kid who could run faster than the sound barrier, or the kid in Germany that got a quirk that lets him survive indefinitely without oxygen.” Ocahco listed some of the viral news stories that had broken in the last year about the strange quirks the youth of the world were developing.

“Oh! Oh! or that American that was lifting cars as a toddler?” Hagakure’s voice came from her position in one of Deku’s green armchairs, her gloves waving around excitedly.

“Yes exactly!” Ochako exclaimed, “Anyway, we’re working on being able to control it, but until we’re confident in our ability we don’t want the villains knowing what’s going on.”

“Oh so you’re keeping it on the down low” Sero said in conclusion, giving Bakugou a sly look that clearly held a different… implication… that made Ochako flustered. Ochako followed Sero’s gaze to see Bakugou sending mental daggers at him with his eyes, which was nice because now she didn’t have to. He had an aura of Baku-rage about him, but Ochako could tell he wasn’t any more annoyed than he normally was. Again, Ochako paused to wonder how much he used his reputation to his benefit.

“Mostly we just don’t want to clue the villains in on what we’re doing. For all they know we’re still incapacitated. It’s the only advantage we have against Kanayami right now.” Ochako explained after a beat, which Sero, Minetta and Kaminari had been filling with amused snickering, while she was willing the heat in her cheeks to go away. Why did they have to make everything so dirty sounding? She and Bakugou were totally platonic friends forced together into this weird situation by chance. It honestly stressed her out.

Bakugou’s shoulders stiffened and he was actually getting angry at this point, sending a glare promising bodily harm towards the three class idiots. He swung his fiery gaze to her, effectively commandeering her attention.

Ignore them, they’re just idiot extras.

Ochako nodded, feeling that he was talking as much to himself as he was to her. She gave his shoulder a light squeeze and a small smile.

Yeah they kinda are right now, aren’t they?

“Is that what all this, er, touching, each other is about?” Kirishima asked tactfully, looking pointedly at where Ochako’s hand rested on Bakugou’s shoulder. Mina nodded vigorously in agreement eyes sparkling with mischief. Bakugou apparently noticed the look Mina was pinning them with too, because she felt a swell of suspicion and hesitant expectation from him. That look from Mina only meant trouble down the line for Ochako, she would bet on it.

Ochako cleared her throat aggressively, her hand twitching at the sudden attention of several pairs of eyes zeroing in on its contact with Bakugou, “Er, yeah. It’s harder for us to keep our psyches separate when we’re in physical contact. Aizawa suggested we stay in contact to learn mastery faster.”

Mina’s face morphed into a mischievous grin and she opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Bakugou, who seemed done with being the focus of the conversation.

“We should be back to normal within the next few weeks.” Bakugou interjected in a low voice as if to end the conversation’s focus on their unfortunate circumstance, “Until then, what the hell are you guys planning on doing about the villains?”

It was a good question, Ochako knew Bakugou was as starved for information as she was, there was an eagerness in him as he waited for the class’s response. He wanted to take out the threat as badly as she did and was frustrated being put on the bench. The room seemed to tense a bit as the topic shifted to the more serious matter at hand. Now that their worries about Bakugou and Uraraka had been eased, the next biggest worry was front and center.

“Well, we really don’t have a lot of information to go on.” Deku responded dejectedly with a deep sigh, “We don’t even know why they decided to attack. We really only have their names, quirks and the time when they went off the grid”

“So you’ve got jack shit.” Bakugou summarized exacerbated and frustrated. His eyes narrowed dangerously at Deku. Ochako could tell he was at the end of his rope, it’d been a long day and he was just about out of emotional fuse before he exploded. It was actually kind of amazing he hadn’t already, he’d been sliding towards a rage quit since Deku greeted them outside.

Fucking morons.

“How can we help?” Ochako was shutting this conversation down before Bakugou had a chance to get to the end of his fuse for the day. She did her best to exude calm from her every pore in attempt to get through the end of this conversation without a fight.

“You could help with the history cataloging.” Todoroki spoke up from his spot on the couch. Ochako cocked her head at him questioningly, not sure what that particular combination of words was supposed to mean.

“You think this isn’t the first attack.” Bakugou apparently had become fluent in Shouto at some point during their shared time interning for Endeavor, because he translated for the rest of 1-A flawlessly.

“Yeah, actually we do need some help sorting through past police reports looking for previous incidents that one or any number of these villains committed. It rare that these things start with a full-fledged attack.” Momo finished her husband’s thought contemplatively.

Ochako nodded encouragingly, Momo was right about that. People don’t just go 0 to 100, and certainly not if the 100 puts them in the sights of pro heroes. No villain tries to get the attention of the pros unless they have a serious goal or a death wish.

“I could pull some strings to try and get you guys access to desk work while you're off active duty.” Deku added helpfully. She felt Bakugou's physical tensing at Deku’s suggestion. It wasn’t that it was a bad suggestion, he just disliked everything Deku said on principle and was too emotionally exhausted to moderate his response. Ochako sighed inwardly, her own irritation rising at Bakugou. She was trying to be understanding, but he wasn’t the only one who was exhausted from their training, the situation and having to spend essentially 24/7 with another person. Yet, she wasn’t one emotional stimulus away from exploding. Why did he get a pass for his poor behavior when she didn’t have the same luxury? It wasn’t fair.

Bakugou seemed to feel her irritation, and maybe snips of her thoughts, because he started gritting his teeth and positively glaring at her. She ignored him and responded to Deku instead.

“That would be great Deku, we’d love to help” She said with a sigh, letting some of her frustration slip into her tone.

That seemed to be the last straw for Bakugou though, because he suddenly jerked his shoulder out from her grasp and let loose a tidal wave of animosity towards her.

AGAIN WITH THE FUCKING ‘WE’! STOP VOLUNTEERING ME FOR YOUR SHIT!

Ochako physically flinched as his yelling sent a spike of pain through her forehead. As Bakugou jerked away from her, The Link snapped back to their normal separation. She felt him seclude his mind off from hers with a flourish of spite. He forcefully exhaled closing his eyes briefly then opening them to glare at her and stomped out of the room, shouldering Deku out of the way to get to the front door.

Bakugou, what are you-

-Piss off Uraraka!

He punctuated the thought with the slam of Deku’s front door. The rest of 1-A glanced back and forth between the door and Ochako in a mix of shock and confusion. Ochako hesitated, wanting to follow after him but also superbly annoyed with his bad behavior. She knew that to the others it was probably baffling what had happened, Bakugou had huffed and stomped out of the room without explanation. Actually, on second thought that probably wasn’t all that strange to a group of people who’d gone to high school with the volatile blonde. However, what was strange for them was the apparent use of silent communication between herself and Bakugou. Given the way people around them had been reacting it must be fairly obvious when they were speaking telepathically. Some part of Ochako’s mind made a mental note to add that to the list of things they needed to train.

“So not manly.” Kirishima muttered under his breath taking out his phone, presumable to text Bakugou.

Ochako shifted from foot to foot indecisively. One the one hand, she had a responsibility to do what Aizawa asked and learn to control the emotional volatility of being connected, and boy oh boy were they emotionally volatile tonight. On the other hand, screw Bakugou’s attitude.

“Uhm, am I the only one confused?” Kaminari spoke up looking around at his classmates, “What just happened?” Tsu just shushed him with a nudge to the shoulder. He looked at her questioningly, to which Tsu just shook her head.

Ochako pinched the bridge of her nose, head bowed, and eyes closed in frustration letting out a long breath. She opened her eyes and smiled apologetically at her friends.

“Thanks for taking the time to meet up guys, please keep us up to date on the investigation.” She thanked the group then turned to Deku, “Please send over any reports you’d like us to review and we’ll get it done.” Deku nodded in response, a dubious expression on his face. He had both brows drawn down in a dissatisfied way, a deep frown on his face. Tsu mouthed the words ‘text me’ at Ochako and Ochako gave her a curt nod of affirmation.

Ochako bowed to the group and walked out to the front door, opening and closing it quietly. She then stalked down the hallway to the elevator, pressing the down button waiting impatiently for it to open. She tried to reach out to Bakugou’s mind, brushing against it softly and getting tastes of anger and frustration. He ignored her contact and continued fuming. Okay so he was going to play it that way then.

She arrived at the lobby and glanced outside the building to see Bakugou standing outside staring at the sky. She sighed, irritation at his actions melting away and leaving weariness in its wake. She didn’t have the energy to fight with him toe to toe at this point in the day. Plus, he wasn’t at the point where he was actively exploding, literally. So maybe this wouldn’t be too bad of a fight given the circumstances.

She walked out the lobby doors into the cool evening air and came to stand next to Bakugou, who stiffened at her approach expectantly. She gazed up at the sky as he had been earlier and noted the stars just starting to appear as the last remaining parts of the sunset dissolved. She felt him brush her mind tentatively, as if testing her mood. As he did she got flicks of exasperation and fatigue from him and she’s sure he felt her own resignation and exhaustion. He pulled back contemplatively and kept his mind separated, as if to buffer the conversation against the emotional turmoil they’d been dealing with all day.

“Do you want to talk about it?” She asked peering up at him in interest. She knew they would have to talk about The Link and emotional regulation in general eventually, but she wasn’t sure if he was willing to do so pivoting around this particular blow out or at a later time. It didn’t really matter when, merely if he was going to be capable of hashing it out without blowing up again. It was up to him, she would leave him alone if he said no and consider the day a loss.

He sighed and tilted his head back, lips tensing. She felt sparks of emotions jump across the space he’d created between their minds but they were too fast for her to keep track.

“Tch. We’re going to have to eventually, so might as well.” He finally settled on after a few seconds of contemplation, shoving his hands into his pockets. She nodded, more to herself than to him and waited for him to continue patiently. When he didn’t after a minute or two, she spoke up, trying to be considerate but also feeling mildly impatient.

“What’s wrong?” She prompted cautiously, because realistically pretty much every part of their lives had been thrown off, so a lot was wrong at the moment. He let out a snort of amusement.

“What’s not fucking wrong?” He mumbled with a sarcastic edge in his voice. She shook her head with a small grin, bemused how sometimes they were miraculously on the same page without The Link informing them what the other was thinking. She found it to be amusing and ironic as heck.

“That’s fair.” She responded with a shrug, deciding not to push him into answering her actual question that she knew he was avoiding. Silence descend upon them once again as he gathered his thoughts.

“What they fuck are we doing?” He finally questioned her swinging his head around to catch her gaze.

“Uhm we’re standing outside Deku’s apartment talking.” She answered sardonically. Trust Bakugou to avoid answering a question by any means necessary, including by asking another question. He just rolled his eyes at her.

“No, I mean like..” He seemed to debate his word choice, “what are you or I…or us, or whatever, what does this quirk mean for who we are?” He questioned her with the very existential dilemma she was hoping to avoid until after they were done training. She froze, not really having an answer for him, she didn’t know what this meant. She didn’t know how this would change their identity, their individuality their lives. She didn’t have an answer for him.

“Because you fucking seem to believe this makes us a unit and I am not on board with that.” He answered his own rhetorical question with a hint of venom. Ochako felt stunned, she didn’t think that about them at all! Sure, they were forever going to be in each other’s lives from this point on and yeah, they’d been spending basically 24/7 together this week, but that would end once they managed the quirk. For all they knew they could return to their old lives without so much as an afterthought.

“I don’t think we’re a unit.” She said confused as to how he’d gotten that idea from her. She unconsciously reached out for his mind to see if she could figure that out, but realized what she was doing when he slapped away her psychic brush with a scathing glare.

Stop that.

At the same time that he shot the thought at her he continued his tirade out loud, “Oh really? Because you seem willing to speak for my wishes as if they were your own.” He bit out to her, waving a hand around to emphasize his point, “Just because you can read my goddamn mind doesn’t mean you can fucking make decisions for me.”

Oh. Oh. Ochako suddenly realized how much she’d been doing just that. She’d basically informed him that they were going to come here tonight and cornered him into her decision. God, right after she’d been annoyed at Deku for doing the same thing. She was such a hypocrite. And she’d just volunteered him for working on the paperwork Deku and the others needed help with because she assumed he’d want something to combat the stir craziness he’d been feeling all week. Oh man she was the worst.

She buried her face in her hands with a groan once she saw it from his perspective, which was ironic because all she had to do was look for it or ask for it in The Link, instead of assuming what he wanted solely based off his feelings.

“Oh my god Bakugou, I’m so sorry.” She admonished herself feeling a deep wave of guilt wash through her, “I am such a hypocrite. It won’t happen again.”

“Yeah you’ve been a real fucking asshole.” He gruffly responded crossing his arms.

“Ugh. I really have been haven’t I” She sheepishly admitted, looking up to him, “I can go tell Deku to just send me the paperwork if you want?” She offered as a reparation for her actions.

He scoffed, “No. You were right, I want to help them out however I can, but you still gotta let me speak for myself. No more ‘we’ bullshit.” He said the last bit with the finality of a contractual agreement.

“Of course. I am so sorry I crossed that boundary.” She blushed with her guilt but then turned her eyebrows down in thought, “But you have to promise to tell me what is going through that messy brain of yours. You can’t just hold it in until you explode on me and walk out. Like it or not, you feeling upset affects how I feel now, so you can’t just repress all of your emotions”

Ochako felt like that was a reasonable deal to strike. After all, her transgressions did not forgive his bad behavior, especially since it now so directly affected her too. They had to strike up a balance between autonomy and responsibility of sharing to the other. It was a hard balance to strike and Ochako had a feeling they were going to have to have many many more discussions about it.

Bakugou grumbled at her request, but relented, “Shit. Yeah, that’s fair too, I guess.” He hunched his shoulders and gestured with his head towards the train station. She felt him reconnect the Link so their minds were lightly touching, enough to exchange sentiments more easily. It had the added benefit of making her brain feel more complete, filling up the psychic abyss that opened between their minds when they were separate.

You ready to head back or do you still want to talk with those extras?

He quirked a sort of half smirk at her, eyes flicking up to the building behind her, amused and moderately bothered. Ochako turned to see a good portion of the class staring at them out one of Deku’s large windows. They jumped or scattered when she looked up, caught rubbernecking. She let out an exacerbated chuckle and waved at them.

Let’s go back, I’ve had enough feeling like I’m in a fishbowl for the night.

His smirk widened at that and she reached out to grip his wrist tugging on it to pull him towards the train station. The Link slid back into a comfortable distance and Ochako was pleased to note they seemed to have mastered The Link while touching. She cursed and thanked Aizawa for that silently as she and Bakugou walked back to the hospital.

Notes:

Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Thank you all for all the lovely comments on the last update! I am working my way through responding to everyones' feedback so please be patient with my slow response time! I value your feedback greatly!

Chapter 8: The Problem With Deku Is...

Ochako awoke the day after she and Bakugou met with their former classmates to the sound of her door opening and the feeling of sudden jostling of her bed. Her eyes flew open, hands instinctually curling into fists ready to fight, only to see Bakugou dumping a box filled with files onto her bed. He glanced amused at her fisted hands the way a large dog looks at a puppy. She blinked at him owlishly, supremely confused by his actions. What was he doing in her room with a box full of papers? The Jolt ran up her spine with Bakugou’s fiery gaze on her and she felt his jittery energy wash over her, more awakening than any amount of caffeine could be.

“Uhm, what the heck…?” She questioned staring at the banker’s box that was quite literally overflowing with manila files. Then back up to Bakugou, who was watching her attempt to wake up with an undercurrent of amusement and strangely, relief. He had dark purplish circles under his eyes and his hair was more of a spiky disaster than usual. She probed The Link and found him to be exceptionally tired. He didn’t sleep, she realized. That was surprising given how much they’d packed into training yesterday.

She’d gone to bed straight after they’d awkwardly said goodnight, hesitating for just a second, both wondering if Aizawa’s instructions meant they had to be in contact, like all the time. As in, while asleep. They both came to an unspoken agreement that he probably didn’t and backed away from each other in an awkward fluster. They were getting more comfortable around each other, but not that comfortable. She poked around his psyche trying to figure out why he hadn’t gone to sleep like she had.

“Good morning to you too.” He grumbled out, tolerantly letting her feel his mind to satisfy her curiosity. She took full advantage of the access and pushed up close to his mind, enjoying the feeling of him being closer, like being wrapped a blanket on a cold day. Almost as cozy too, except for the occasional grating sense of fatigue because the fool didn’t sleep last night.

You didn’t sleep She thought narrowing her eyes at him in accusation, she knew that he had a tendency to let himself get caught up in his work, but she’d only ever heard it secondhand from Kirishima or Deku. It was different seeing it (and feeling it for herself thanks to The Link) in person. He followed her emotional gauging of his current state and merely brushed her worry about his exhaustion off as secondary, unimportant.

We’ve already lost enough time. We gotta catch these fuckers.

He was gruff in his response pulling away from her mind again placing a sense of separation in their shared psyches. It appeared he was done letting her prod around his mind for the day. She found herself sighing in disappointment at the lack of contact, only slightly worried about the desire to be closer to his mind, a relatively new development. She was becoming way too used to having him close, feeling like it was a sort of safety blanket. She knew, however, that he meant the distance he created to be a prompt to get serious and focused again, not to make her uncomfortable. They had work to do, which included continuing to master their separation in The Link. She couldn’t argue with the desire to catch the villains, so she accepted the black pit that opened between their minds and the discomfort that came with it.

She pushed her hair back from her face, confident it was a mess, but was having trouble caring about it. Hair out of the way she stared at the box on the bed and Bakugou seemed to understand her non-verbal question because he pushed it into her reach.

“Did Deku drop these all off already?” Ochako asked reaching into the box to pull a file marked #1065H7 out, opening it and giving it a cursory glance. It seemed to detail a purse snatching from fifteen years ago involving a low-level villain.

“Nah, I got a head start myself last night. No time to waste waiting for that fuckwad.” He replied as he slumped onto her bed reaching for a file himself. Bakugou glanced up at her flair of irritation at the nickname, but merely smirked at her and kept reading. She frowned grumpily at him in return, he seriously couldn’t have just waited a few hours for Deku to come by? He had to go and sacrifice his sleep to get the jump on the other man, typical.

“You went all the way to the police records department last night?” She questioned him incredulous at his gall to do so without a warrant from his agency and in the middle of the night to top it off. The police records department was located in a building all the way across the city, it wasn’t a trip most people just did on a whim!

He shrugged, “Yeah, like I said. Loosing time.” He sent a nudge her way across The Link with the impression of ‘let’s get started’. And buried his nose in the file. She glanced over at the clock on the wall, 6:30am. This freak had woken her up at six freakin’ thirty to go over files?! Sometimes she was horrified at the guy’s dedication.

Oi! We only have 2 hours before we have to leave to meet up with Aizawa, get reading Cheeks!

She looked over to him to see his eyes with raised eyebrows peaking over the folder, looking at her expectantly. She sent him her best death glare, which she has been told was most potent in the morning.

Okay fine! Let me get up and dressed first. Sheesh!

She threw the blanket back on her bed, walked over to her suitcase, digging out some clothes and heading into the bathroom, feeling his eyes on her the whole time. He had an aura of amusement emanating from his side of the link, which was admittedly putting her in a better mood. It was annoying, didn’t a girl have the right to feel annoyed when her..her… Link partner …woke her up obscenely early? Why did the stupid Link have to go and make her feel his amusement instead?

She got dressed and brushed her teeth feeling Bakugou’s delight fading into a calm focus tinged with fatigue. Given how he was feeling she bet he would drop before 3pm today.

I can fucking handle being awake for 48 hours, Round Face.

She started as he responded to the quiet chatter of her brain, she had no idea how he was able to pick up on the subtlest of her thoughts sometimes. Maybe she was just bad at keeping them quiet. She pursed her lips and walked back into the room.

Bakugou had made himself comfortable on her bed, moving up to lean against the headboard, legs strewn out in front of him. The sun was just starting to rise in the window behind him, casting him in a golden light. It was a striking image, he looked so at ease, peaceful and in his element. It was kind of beautiful, in a very domestic way; He was kind of beautiful with the sunlight illuminating his golden locks and causing his red irises to shine like rubies. Sometimes she could forget how attractive Bakugou was when he wasn’t actively being an asshat.

As soon as she thought it Ochako immediately shoved the notion way down in her mind, right next to the realization of how nice Momo’s cleavage looked in her hero costume. She shook herself out of her enrapture, doing her best to get her mind out of the gutter and walked up to him.

“Skootch over.” She said making a shooing motion with her hands, doing her best to not notice how perfect the lighting was for his skin tone.

He looked up and rolled his eyes, moving over to the far side of the bed. She crawled in next to him, letting their bare arms brush together. The link glowed to life at their contact and she suddenly felt Bakugou’s… apprehension? No that wasn’t quite right, it was different than apprehension. She cocked her head at him face screwing up slightly in confusion, what did he have to be nervous about? He looked over at her form the corner of his eye and quickly stamped out the hesitation she’d been picking up on with a load of annoyance. Weird, but not any weirder than usual Bakugou emotional tribulations so she shrugged it off and grabbed a folder to start reading. After a beat of silence he resumed his own scrutinizing of the documents.

Two and half hours and 56 files later they walked into the PT room, with no new leads on the case. They’d kept a comfortable silence for the majority of the time they’d spent reading, only stopping to comment on a particularly interesting file or the occasional yawn. It was a surprisingly comfortable way to pass the time, by far the easiest time she’d spent with Bakugou up to this point.

“What part of ‘constant contact’ was unclear for you two?” Aizawa chided the second she and Bakugou stepped into the Physical Therapy room, both lost in their own thoughts. Ochako jumped and quickly grabbed Bakugou’s hand in an attempt to appease Aizawa. Bakugou merely glared at Aizawa, his lack of regard for the older hero’s instructions flowing across The Link.

“Nice job blowing your ‘recuperating from injuries’ cover yesterday.” Aizawa said with an eye roll at Ochako’s speedy reinstatement of contact. Bakugou froze, something akin to guilt sweeping through him at the mention of blowing their cover.

“What do you mean blowing our cover?” Ochako asked confused, looking between Bakugou and Aizawa. The latter reached into his bag and pulled out a tabloid newspaper, handing it to Ochako.

She opened it up to find a front page story titled: ‘Uravity and Ground Zero, Recovery from a Broken Heart?’ with a picture from outside the hospital last night of her and Bakugou gazing at each other, with what could only be described as a completely enraptured look, him holding onto her wrist.

Ochako gaped opened mouthed at the story, which she skimmed quickly, finding out it speculated that she and Bakugou were secretly dating and using their recovering-from-and-unknown-quirk story to hide their love. It detailed Ochako’s breakup last year speculating that she had broken it off with Deku for Bakugou and that they had been hiding their relationship ever since. The story actually had the guts to end with the line ‘this new quirk they’re ‘recovering from’ is just another word for love.’ Could it get any more insulting?!

“thi-this is..” she sputtered totally shocked, “This is totally unfounded!” She shook the paper in her hand, feeling her cheeks redden with either her embarrassment and anger about the situation. Bakugou felt a weird mix of anger and resentment, fuming beside her. He clenched his free hand tightly into a fist, which started smoking ominously.

“Well, regardless of the more…romantically, based claims, you’re little flying stunt yesterday wiped any notion that you are still recovering from physical injuries.” Aizawa deadpanned, clearly disappointed in them. She knew she was going to regret that! Stupid Bakugou and his stupid overpowering emotions, not to mention her own weakness to saying “no” his stupid grinning face. They’d gone and blown their carefully crafted cover. (She secretly admitted that it had been a lot of fun, though.)

“Whatever, let ‘em fucking talk. Doesn’t change what we’ve got to do.” Bakugou said with callous indifference. Like his reputation wasn’t being smeared by this whole thing, which to some extent it wasn’t. No, it was just Uravity who looked bad. She particularly didn’t care for the insinuation that she had been cheating on Deku, with Bakugou, of all people! Like that would ever happen!

Oi! I happen to be a fucking catch, for your information!

Bakugou narrowed his eyes at her, hurt at her unconscious thoughts. More deeply than she expected. Usually he wasn’t that much of a showoff in the romance department, he couldn’t care less what people thought of his romantic escapades. It was weird he would be so hurt by her declaration of dating him as an impossibility. He had once again surprised her with his response, she wondered if that was ever going to stop happening. She also wondered when he was going to stop eavesdropping on her thoughts.

Bakugou you have GOT to stop reading my personal thoughts...

Stop thinking so goddamn loud then!

It’s like a million times less loud than me thinking like this. You need to stop listening so close!

“Well then there’s really no reason for you to stay at the hospital anymore.” Aizawa said giving them pointed looks that indicated he knew they were having a private back and forth.

Bakugou just clenched his teeth at her request for him to stop listening to the thoughts she elected to not send his way and turned his attention back to Aizawa. Ochako huffed and did the same, then processed what Aizawa had said when she got a lid on their combined irritation.

“We get to go home?!” She practically squealed with excitement; she hadn’t wanted to admit how much she missed her apartment. Her own bed, Gods-her own bed! Bakugou felt some semblance of relief too, though it was nothing compared to his lingering irritation.

“I think that should be fine for now. I want you two to continue your practice with The Link, though.” Aizawa said impassively, already bored with the conversation.

“So you still want us in physical contact as much as possible then?” Bakugou questioned straightforwardly, once again feeling that weird shade of apprehensive. Ochako couldn’t put her finger on what it felt like, it was some sort of weird nervous energy, but very subtle in its nature.

“Yes. You two are going to be spending a lot of time together over the next few weeks.” Aizawa lamented, “Once I feel like you’ve got a good enough handle on this mess I will approve you for active duty again.”

“Aizawa-san,” Ochako interjected remembering that Deku had said he’d bring over some documents given the blessing of their respective hero agencies, “Deku asked if we could still work on some desk work to help find the villains, do you think you could help us get set up with that?” She figured it would be good to have Aizawa backing them up to allow them to work on the case, even if it was just paperwork.

“That’s definitely something I can do. “ He nodded with a slight smile at Ochako, to which she smiled back and Bakugou blinked impassively.

“I have some people I want to talk with about where to take your training next, so until then just work on what we’ve been working on. If you can make headway into the villains group at the same time that would be great.” Aizawa instructed the two, standing up rapidly, “Oh, and try to keep yourselves out of the tabloids.” He said snidely as he strolled out of the room as if he had all the time in the world.

Bakugou exhaled forcibly through his nose, futilely trying to release his re-inflamed irritation at the press exposure. Ochako did her best to let it slide off her mind and not seep into her own emotions, but failed miserably.

Fucking tabloid pieces of trash.

The both rose from their spots on the floor and made to follow Aizawa out, Bakugou grabbing her wrist gently, as was custom at this point. Ochako adjusted the grip and grabbed his hand instead, it was much more comfortable than having a hand on her wrist all day. Bakugou’s side of the link lit up with subtle flairs of confusion, off-brand-apprehension and frustration. He squashed them all down rapidly with shear willpower, though. Ochako wasn’t paying too much attention to his never-ending battle with his emotions, instead she was still caught up in the tabloid and its ridiculous interpretation of her and Bakugou’s appearance last night.

I can’t believe the press thinks I could have cheated on Deku! It isn’t like that at all!

Well to be honest the excuse you gave them at the time was total bullshit.

They turned the corner heading to their rooms and paused outside her door, before they spit up. Ochako looked at him, offended at his words. He had no idea why she and Deku broke up, he wasn’t even there! Besides it didn’t excuse the tabloids for accusing her of cheating!

It was the truth! We did break up to focus on our careers!

BULLSHIT, you guys did NOT break up because you wanted to ‘focus on your careers’. You broke up because Deku was an asshole who couldn’t balance his job and his love life.

Oh. Well when he said it like that… he had a point. She felt her stubborn nature dig in, though, and she doubled down, full on glaring at Bakugou.

Okay so maybe it was more that Deku needed to break up for his career, but it’s basically the same thing. I agreed with his sentiment and did it for both of us. It’s basically the same thing.

It really fucking isn’t, but whatever let’s you sleep at night.

Ochako couldn’t decide whether she was mad at Bakugou for being rude or mad that he was right. It wasn’t the same, she had wanted to stay together and work it out, but Deku had been an emotional wreck trying to choose between her and his job. She’d elected to end it for both their sakes. The way she saw it, she didn’t deserve to be relegated to second best and Deku didn’t deserve the guilt for not being able to make her the priority. It was a self-sacrificial decision for both their sakes, because Deku was never going to have the ability to do it himself.

Whatever, let’s just go get packed up and out of this freaking hospital.

She tugged on his hand, pulling him into her room. Thankfully he let the Izuku-issue drop, possibly sensing that he’d hit a sore spot for her. She tried her best to put her thoughts about her relationship with Deku to bed as she and Bakugou walked into her room. Thankfully she didn’t have much to pack, having only asked Lilly to bring a small amount of clothing to the hospital. As she moved over to start throwing her clothes into her suitcase, she glanced pointedly down at their joined hands.

I need my hand to pack, please.

Bakugou huffed and looked her up and down for a place to place his hand instead, giving up after a second and looking at her questioningly. She rolled up the sleeve on her tee shirt so he had access to her shoulder, which he then grasped. Was it annoying and inconvenient to have to be in constant contact, yes, but Aizawa was right, having constant contact was making them much better at handling The Link.

Bakugou was calmed down again, any residual irritation leaving him as quickly as it came, and Ochako was once again a bit jealous of his ability to move on from his negative emotions. She was still feeling the lingering effects of her irritation at the press and knew she would probably be stewing about it for several days.

She walked over to the side table next to the bed, Bakugou trailing passively behind her, and started picking up the get well cards she’d received. The flowers had long since wilted, but she felt some sort of obligation to keep the cards, at least for a while longer.

“Did fans send you all of these?” Bakugou asked surprised and somewhat impressed, picking up a card to read over it. Ochako glanced over to see Shino’s card in his hand and blanched. Of course, he would pick up her stalker’s card. Of. Course. She felt Bakugou’s mood shift to anger as he read the card and a sort of protectiveness of her. It was kind of sweet that he thought of her as such a good friend to feel protective of her.

“You keep cards from freaks like this?” He accused her holding the card up. Ochako blushed and rolled her eyes at him.

“Oh yeah, I love cards from my stalking fans” She replied sarcastically, grabbing the card from his hand, crumpling it and tossing it in the trashcan. He followed its trajectory with narrowed eyes, looking like he was seriously considering setting it on fire with an explosion.

“Do you have many fans that say things like that to you?” He asked gruffly, feeling a swirling concoction of negative emotions. Ochako got the sense he would be totally willing to beat up any fans who gave her any unwanted attention. She couldn’t tell if it was just a hunch or if she was legitimately feeling that vibe from him through The Link. He was getting better at keeping his side of the link closed off from her every day, even when they were touching.

“Not many” She shrugged and his hand briefly tightened its grip on her shoulder, “It’s just part of being a female pro.” She answered the question truthfully. She remembered how she’d spent some time working alongside Mt. Lady when she was in third year at UA and had witnessed first-hand just how much sexualization of female heroes was a part of Mt. Lady’s day to day. She’d been physically disgusted by the notion, but resigned to the fact that it was the reality for female pros.

Bakugou seemed to be struggling with something, his face was screwed up into the glare that Ochako now knew meant he was thinking very hard.

“That’s such bullshit!” He blurted out eyebrow twitching as his contemplation came to the realization that the sexism female heroes lived through was a breech in his moral code. His free hand glowed faintly as it heated up and a few explosions crackled his palm.

Ochako giggled at his reaction and he swung his furious gaze from the trashcan over to her. She found it highly amusing that he had apparently never thought about the inequities of the genders in hero work.

“Bakugou, it’s really okay. It’s just how it is for females. It's part of the gig.” Ochako said thoroughly amused by his response, “Did you think I wanted to wear a hero costume as tight as mine is as a 15 year old?”

Bakugou just sputtered, gaping at her, he was flustered and genuinely shocked as the revelation washed over him.

“Holy shit they made you wear that?” He said as his cheeks colored, either with anger or embarrassment- both of which Ochako could feel emanating from his side of the link.

“They strongly suggested I, oh what was their wording…” Ochako searched he brain to try and remember what Midnight had told all the girls during orientation freshman year, “oh something along the lines of ‘spice up our costumes’ or something like that. Midnight Actually came around and made adjustments to our suggestions before we turned them in.”

Bakugou ground his teeth together in retroactive anger, “Why didn’t any of the guys know about this?! “

“Not your problem, I guess. Plus, we all got used to it quickly enough.” Ochako brushed off the past easily. She was quite comfortable in her costume now after having had to wear it everyday to work for six years. It could have been worse after all, poor Momo basically had been coerced into showing as much skin as possible ‘for her quirk’ by Midnight. Ochako’s suit was tight, sure, but at least she was covered head to toe.

Bakugou was having trouble putting his thoughts into words and kept opening and closing his mouth in rage. Instead he just sent her the general impression of ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘fuck that’. She laughed at his defensiveness on her behalf.

“I appreciate your belated frustration for our plight.” She chuckled towards him, having finished packing up her suitcase. She zipped it up and reached up to grab his hand from her shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

“Your room is next! Let’s hurry, I’m ready to go home!” She said happily glancing up at his face, which seemed to still be recovering from his new commiseration with female heroes. His eyes met hers and she felt his mood flicker back to content as he boxed up his righteousness. He gave her a smirk and a returning squeeze of her hand. She jumped a bit as she felt a shiver go down her spine as his eyes connected with hers. It was less intense than The Jolt but similar in nature. She furrowed her brows briefly, unsure of what had occurred, but determined it to be the fact the room was so cold. She shrugged off the strange feeling and followed as Bakugou led them over to pack up his room.

They had packed up all of Bakugou’s belongings, which took significantly less time than it had for Ochako by virtue of him being a much neater person than her. (Not that she was dirty, just disorganized. What kind of psycho folds their dirty laundry, really!? ) Anyway, packing up Bakugou's things was a speedy affair and they both were ready to leave hospital within the hour. After a quick peak outside to see that the media had vacated their positions, she and Bakugou headed to the train station. She had floated their bags beside them as they had ridden over to her apartment first, the closer of the two. She’d sent a quick text to Deku asking if he could meet them at her place to drop off the files he wanted them to review. He had been excited that they’d been released and had agreed to come by as soon as he could.

When they finally arrived at her front door, Ochako juggled her bag and Bakugou’s hand to pull out her keys, unlocking the door. She pushed it open and led him inside her place. Although it was still the nicest apartment she’d lived in to date, Ochako was still slightly self-conscious of the apartment being significantly lower quality than that of her friends. Despite being in the Top Ten, Ochako was still fairly cash poor and old habits of penny pinching died hard.

Bakugou didn’t seem to notice anything odd, though, as he shook his hand free from her grasp and dropped onto her worn brown couch, flinging his legs onto her worn out coffee table, totally at ease.

“Release.” She said quietly to drop their bags watching Bakugou with amusement. He had tilted his head back and closed his eyes, though she could tell that he was still awake. The bags dropped to the floor light as a feather and Ochako made her way into the kitchen.

Deku will be here soon, do you want anything to drink while we wait? Err… I mean if you want to stay here and wait? I wasn’t trying to imply that you had to-

-Some coffee sounds great.

He interrupted her frantic thoughts as she tried to correct her ‘we’ mistake. She could practically feel him smirking from his spot on the couch, though he hadn’t sent any impression of it. She breathed a sigh of relief and walked into her small kitchen tucked on the other side of the wall behind where Bakugou was seated on her couch. She went to her basic run of the mill coffee maker to make a pot for them to split. It was noon, but hey- what the hell! They had probably about a million files to sort through as fast as they possibly could, they were gonna need every drop of coffee they could get.

She leaned against the counter as she waited for it to brew and took a moment’s breather. She felt like this past week had been non-stop and was happy to have a moment to just be. Not training, not working on the case, not arguing with Bakugou, just leaning against her counter listening to the dripping of freshly brewed coffee. The moment was very peaceful, and for that she was thankful, Bakugou’s mood was a steady, peaceful, calm which definitely helped.

She poured two cups of coffee into two mugs (an All Might mug for Bakugou and a Creati mug for herself) and rounded the corner of her kitchen back into the living room. She let out a quiet giggle when she saw Bakugou slumped, head tilted back resting on the back of the couch passed out. No wonder his mood was so peaceful. She brushed carefully against his mind, bridging their separation and felt his mind relax against hers, almost sighing in contentment giving her the equivalent of a psychic nuzzle. He was fully unconscious, not even dreaming from what she could tell, though she didn’t go digging around to find out. He would sooo not be okay with how his mind was essentially cuddling hers if he was awake, she made a mental note to tease him about it when he woke up. For the moment, she let herself relax into the mental contact and put his mug on the table in front of him for when he woke up.

She gave him a small smile, keeping their contented mental contact and took a seat next to him on the couch. For all his bristling behavior Bakugou was a kind soul, with truly good intentions and feelings. As annoying as the mind link was, she was glad it had given her an opportunity to get to know him well enough to see that side of his personality.

She grabbed her laptop, which was on the coffee table where she’d left it after her last furious research session two weeks ago. She opened it up and started some basic research on all that they knew about the villains, taking notes as she went. As expected, there wasn’t much available, but she kept digging just in case.

A knock on the door roused her from her task, Bakugou stirred, but his mind stayed deep in unconsciousness. She glanced over to him and had the strangest desire to run her fingers though his hair, which seemed to echo in his brain with increased longing. Super weird, where had that come from?

She shook herself out of it and stood to answer the door. She swung it open to see Izuku standing in her hall with three huge boxes resting on his outstretched right hand as if they didn’t weigh a thing, which they probably didn’t for the green haired man. Stupid strength quirks.

Ochako smiled gently at him and brought a finger to her lips as Izuku opened his mouth to speak. She opened the door wider and gestured with her head over to where Bakugou was sleeping soundly on the couch. Deku clamped his mouth shut with a contemplative slant to his mouth, then shook his head lightly and smiled at Ochako.

“Hey Ochako.” He whispered and Ochako moved to the side to allow him in. He stepped through the threshold with a tentative glance around, looking for where to set down the boxes of paperwork he’d brought.

“You can set the boxes down in the living room” She whispered back and then headed towards the kitchen, expecting Izuku to follow. He did as she expected, and she hopped up to sit on her counter as he rounded the corner. She had déjà vu of them in this very kitchen a year ago, tense as she called it off. She realized he hadn’t been over to her apartment since that night and felt bittersweet about it.

“Wow, he’s really out, isn’t he?” Deku commented quietly as he leaned against the counter opposite of her. His voice was relaxed, playful even, but his shoulders held a tension that others may have missed, but Ochako had known Deku far too intimately for far too long to not notice.

“Yeah, the idiot didn’t sleep last night.” She said rolling her eyes with a fond grin, chuckling quietly “Couldn’t get the caffeine into him fast enough, I guess. Oh, would you like any coffee, by the way?” She gestured towards the half full pot to her right already moving to reach for his mug, the Uravity mug he’d bought to keep at her apartment when they’d been together. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to trash it after they’d split, even though she’d never used it since.

Deku let a small smile slip onto his lips and shook his head, “ah, no thank you. I’m trying to quit caffeine”

Ochako gave him a skeptical glance. When they’d been dating Izuku basically lived off of caffeine, working himself to the bone to remain the top hero. The man was a workaholic and had required caffeine to allow him to keep his insane work hours.

“Um, so how are you?” He asked awkwardly with a small cough. His gaze kept moving around the room, attempting to focus on anything but her. She could tell he was worried, but didn’t know how to ask about whatever was bothering him with their current emotional distance.

“I’m good Izuku, really.” Ochako said in reassurance, letting her leg kick out to nudge his hip affectionately with her foot, trying to ease some of the weird tension he seemed to have. She, contrastingly, felt supremely at ease, though that may just be Bakugou’s peacefulness rubbing off on her, given how close he was currently. He was still practically wrapped around her mind in his unguarded state, she found it oddly calming.

Izuku nodded, finally making eye contact with her at her foot nudging. His eyes still held concern though. He opened his mouth to ask something, then shut it again as if he’d decided against it on second thought.

“Izuku, you know you can ask me anything, right?” Ochako said kindly, seeing his struggle, “That hasn’t changed you know.” She still had a soft spot for the man and nothing would change how much she loved him, just that she couldn’t be in love with him. He was still one of her best friends and she’d made a promise when they’d ended their relationship to not let it end their friendship. They both needed the other’s support too much to let something as petty as a breakup come between them.

“I-“ He started then stopped, brows furrowing before, “I guess I just have so many questions about you and Kacchan and I don’t know where to start” He finished looking at her for guidance, green eyes imploring her.

“Okay, why don’t you start with the most important, then and we’ll work our way through them.” Ochako suggested with a shrug. She had known this was coming, given the pointed and curious looks he'd been sending her way last night. Deku paused for a minute and then nodded, bringing a scarred hand to rest on his chin thoughtfully.

“Are you in love with him?” He blurted out suddenly, if not some what accusatorially. Ochako’s mouth fell open in shock. What the-, where did-, … What? Her mind spun with questions and confusion and she felt Bakugou’s mind stir in response, coming into a fuller awareness, though not quite ‘awake’. She heard him grumble audibly from the couch and watched as Deku turned to look at the entrance to her kitchen, towards the living room, in shock, clearly connecting that she had somehow disturbed his sleep through The Link. She moderated her swell of emotion to a quieter level and Bakugou’s brain settled again, sliding next to hers in a resting state again. She breathed out a sigh and made a mental note to try and keep her reactions to a minimum so as to not wake him. She knew he really needed the sleep, the idiot.

“No, of course I’m not in love with him!?” She meant it as a statement, but it came out as more of a question when her pitch rose at the end in defense. Deku swung his eyes back to look at her, troubled.

“Oh.” Was all he said, voice downtrodden and thoughtful. ‘Oh.’? Just ‘oh.’?! Ochako was not about to let this particular burning question slip unnoticed.

“You don’t get to ask something like that and not explain.” Ochako said, placing her hands on her hips, annoyed at his unresponsiveness. Seriously, where had that come from? Why was everyone so interested in her and Bakugou dating? First the media, then the Baku-squad and now Deku too? Deku met her gaze and swallowed loudly, now even more uncomfortable looking than he had been. He tilted his head towards the ceiling, avoiding eye contact, clearly thinking. Which meant he was editing his response to be what she wanted, an annoying habit she’d started to recognize a few months into dating him. He always just told her what he believed she wanted to hear, not confront her with his actual thoughts. Another aspect of their relationship that hadn’t worked well, in hindsight. It was like he didn’t trust he to handle the entirety of his opinions, like they would hurt her feeling or some other such nonsense.

“You two have just gotten really close this last week. So absorbed in each other… I’ve never seen you so distracted by someone else,” He said tentatively as if testing her mood, “not even when we were dating.”

If she didn’t know better, she would say Deku was jealous, which was ridiculous because she’d broken up with him last year after he had basically told her she would always come second! He'd all but asked her to do it! She’d broken up with him with his insistence it wouldn’t work!

“Well of course we’ve gotten closer!” She practically hissed out, exacerbated, “We’re literally sharing our every thought with each other!”

“Every thought?” Izuku asked suddenly pinning her with his gaze, he looked…scared? What on earth did he have to be scared of?! That she’d accidentally shared thoughts about him with Bakugou?

Ochako sighed, “No, not every thought now. We mostly keep in our own heads, but we do share a lot of emotions. And we’re almost always keeping a conversation up.”

“I’ve noticed that, you both make weird faces when you do that, you know” Izuku said confirming her suspicions about them not being as subtle as they thought with their mind speaking. She did not fail to notice that Izuku had still avoided her question as to what would prompt him to be so concerned about her and Bakugou.

“But no, Izuku, I’m not in love with Bakugou.” She answered his question with a pointed look, one she knew he understood to mean ‘you’re not getting out of this so easily’.

Deku was stubbornly silent for several beats.

“Even though I still don’t know why you’d be so keen to know if I was…” Ochako continued her thought, pushing him to actually answer her. A blush raised on his neck and he heaved a mountain of a sigh, lips pulling down unhappily in defeat. He seemed to be weighing something in his head, deciding whether or not to speak.

“Ochako,” He started tentatively, staring at his hands, “I think we made a mistake. I don’t think we should have broken up.”

Ochako, for the second time in this conversation let her mouth fall open in shock. Her stupid, dumb heart fluttered in her chest excitedly. Then her stomach clenched painfully at the thought that she couldn’t weather this conversation again. Their relationship didn’t work the first time, hell, they had both been miserable those last few months before they’d called it off! Nothing had changed in the last year either, save for the addition of her being mind-linked to his eternal rival, which, let’s be honest, was not going to grease the friction in their relationship. Deku was still far too driven to give her the respect she deserved, and she was not nearly forgiving enough to put up with it anymore. Deku continued to stare at the floor, oblivious or politely ignoring Ochako’s reaction. Bakugou’s brain sluggishly roused at her flurry of emotions, though at this point Ochako was only half-paying attention to Bakugou’s state.

“I- I just. Izuku, you can’t be serious.” She finally got out, still incredulous at his admission. She was also kind of pissed, why was he making her go through this with him again? Didn’t he know how much it pained her to have to choose between her self-respect and his attentions?

“I’m still in love with you” He once again hit her with an emotional battering ram as he finally met her gaze, “I never stopped loving you.” Ochako’s heart actually skipped a beat, whether in excitement or terror, she wasn’t sure. Bakugou was now half-awake and sleepily concerned at her turbulent emotions.

What’s goin’ on, why are you all bothered? His thought was half-formed and groggy as he attempted to figure out what was happening. She felt him testing the link to figure out what had riled her up. She ignored him, too focused on Izuku to respond.

“Izuku,” Ochako started slowly, storm of emotions pulling her thoughts a million different ways, “we can’t do this again. Nothing has changed in our goals and –“

At this Deku lurched forward and grasped her hands, leaning into her space, “But that shouldn’t matter! I love you and you love me, isn’t that enough?”

Ochako froze, her thoughts racing. This could not be reality. She thought she had laid this to rest last year. She wasn’t sure she had the strength to do this again, her heart couldn’t take more heartache- wait. She felt around for the heartbreak she’d been carrying around in her chest for the past year and found none. She dug deeper trying to find the hurt she’d felt last year at Deku’s admission that he would never love her more than he loved being a hero and came up empty handed. She wasn’t heartbroken. Just sad and nostalgic for the past.

I’m not in love with him anymore. The realization hit her like a building she had dropped with her quirk hits the ground: hard. She didn’t know when it had happened, but it had.

In love with- what the fuck are you talking about Cheeks?

Holy cow. How long had she been okay with this? How long ago did she move on? She realized that for the past several months she wasn’t feeling heartache from a broken heart, but rather heartache for the nostalgia of a time past. Heartache at the end of something that could have been great. She stared at Izuku, unsure what to say.

“Uraraka-“ Bakugou said in annoyance as he swung around the corner, then froze, his eyes landing on Deku. Several things clicked for him in that second and Ochako watched as his brain flew through the connections.

“Deku,” He ground out, “What the actual fuck are you doing?” His voice was menacing as he glared at his rival. He was pissed, mad at Deku for making Uraraka upset enough to wake him up, or so Ochako interpreted. Deku looked back and forth between Ochako and Bakugou, lips coming together in a scowl.

“Did you just tell him what we are talking about?” He accused Ochako releasing her hands as if she’d burned him. Ochako’s eyebrows rose incredulously. She’d seen Izuku jealous before, but he’d never lashed out like this. Not at her. It cemented in her brain how much of a bad idea this was, especially now that she and Bakugou were mind linked. She was so not game to come in the cross fire of these two's ridiculous pissing contest.

Bakugou growled, crossing his arms over his chest, feeling Ochako’s indignation and offense and magnifying them. He was feeling very protective of her, probably just because her emotional tornado was making him feel all sappy and defensive. Ochako gently pushed Deku back and jumped off the counter.

“No Deku, I did not just tell him what we were talking about,” she said addressing Deku with a punctuated poke in the chest, “He has goddamn ears and he heard for himself, so you can stop the jealous rage, yeah?” Bakugou gave a snort of amusement, at which Ochako rounded on him, eyes narrowed slits of frustration.

“And you!” she shot at Bakugou, who had the guts to look shocked that she was also upset at him, “Did it ever occur to you that maybe this was a private conversation that you should not be a part of?” He just narrowed his eyes at her, irritated and angry.

Well you were the one who fucking woke me up with your emotional life or death shit.

Yeah and then you figured out it was about me and Izuku’s relationship and you thought ‘hey guess I'll just butt in this very personal conversation that’s clearly not about me?’

OH! IT IS SOO ABOUT ME, CHEEKS, AND YOU KNOW IT!

We will talk about this later!

She pointed out of the kitchen, indicating he should leave her to handle Izuku. She sent him the general impression of 'fuck off', which was very uncharacteristic of her, making him hesitate, determination to stay wavering. He didn’t budge, feeling stubborn and angry at being ordered around.

GO!

He gave one final huff and stalked out, doing his best to pull away from the link to give her space. She turned around to face Izuku with a sigh.

“Izuku, I will always love you, but you have to know that this” She gestured between herself and him, “is a terrible idea.”

She watched him open his mouth to retort, then freeze as his phone went off, the same ring tone he had when they were together indicating it was his agency. His eye widened and his fingers twitched to answer it.

“Ochako, I really should-“ He stuttered, clearly fighting with his desire to finish their conversation and the bone deep need to do his job. It threw Ochako back to when they were together and he would just drop everything, her included, at that stupid ring tone. He was sickeningly dedicated to saving the public.

Ochako smiled gently, fondness creeping through her anger, a bittersweet mix of emotion. “Go be a hero.”

Izuku grimaced painfully, struck by her words and the realization that she was right: nothing had changed. Deku, the hero, would always beat out Izuku, the person, for his time, and loving Ochako wasn’t going to be able to change that.

Izuku just nodded and turned to leave, giving her one last longing, desperately sad look before swiveling around the corner. She heard him chant a short greeting into his phone and then felt Bakugou’s rage spike as Deku crossed the living room and then heard the door close. Izuku’s muffled voice faded down the hall as he rushed to go save someone. She slumped against the counter placing her hand over her eyes warily.

Holy shit, she had not been ready for that. Where the hell had that all come form? She was still trying to process the revelation that she was no longer in love with Izuku, let alone that fact that he appeared to be jealous of how close she’d gotten to Bakugou. And just when she thought things couldn’t get weirder.

Bakugou was brimming with barely contained curiosity and frustration, creeping closer to her side of The Link to try and figure out what had happened. She sighed, not really feeling like going for a second fight after the monumental one she’d just had.

I’m not ready to talk about it, please give me some space.

She pleaded with him to just let it be for a bit while she tried to wrap her head around what had just happened. Thankfully, he seemed to understand her need and immediately pulled back from her mind, somewhat satiated by her response. It could wait.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she heard Bakugou’s go off on the coffee table in the other room. She furrowed her brows in confusion, maybe someone was talking in the group chat. She fished out her phone and took one look at the message from Aizawa before her stomach dropped.

‘There’s been another attack. Stay put. Will keep you up to date’

Notes:

So remember in the earlier chapter where I was like "sometimes I'll have 65 hour school weeks and won't be able to write" ? Yeah, this week was one of those weeks. I apologize for the late update! But here it is, in all it's stupid long glory!

Thanks for the support :D

Chapter 9: Despair, Determination and Defenses

Bakugou was pacing anxiously back and forth across her apartment, clenching and unclenching his hands. He’d had to go grab his gloves a few minutes ago to avoid dripping nitroglycerin all over her floor with his current state of readiness to fight. He’d spent too many years conditioning his body to produce the explosive substance in times when he was stressed to have any control over it now. The Link was a potent mix of both of their anxious states, Ochako could feel him attempting to reign in his desire to run towards the combat as she tried to keep her own anticipation at bay. It wouldn’t do to have them both amplifying the other’s instinctual need to go to a site of trouble.

“GODDAMNIT!” Bakugou exclaimed looking out of Ochako’s apartment’s window, a few small explosions crackling in his palms, “I want to go kill those fuckers!”

Ochako nodded from her spot on the couch sympathetically, flinching at his sudden explosions. God she hoped the smoke curling off of his palms didn't set off her smoke alarms.

“I know, I do too, but you know we’d be more trouble than help at this point.”

She responded to him trying to keep herself from reactively riling up at his turbulent emotions.

He didn’t dignify this with a response other than a frustrated growl and resumed pacing the room. Ochako sighed and looked at her phone for the nth time, waiting for news about the attack. After she’d gotten that text from Aizawa she’d rushed into the living room to intercept Bakugou, who was intent on disregarding the message from Aizawa and going to help out. He’d already managed to grab his black combat boots off the floor and was in the process of lacing them up aggressively when she’d run into the room, having felt his intent to go to the fight across The Link. She’d somehow managed to get him to back down and stay put, only by explaining how little control they had. They hadn’t even attempted to train in any physical combat while they were connected with The Link yet. They had no idea how it would work, it wasn’t a good idea to bring their hot mess of a shared mind into battle, let alone a battle with the villain who'd linked them in the first place. They had no idea if the finger kid would have some sort of residual control on their link; for all they knew Kanayami could completely unravel their minds. Bakugou had begrudgingly agreed with her logic with an exclamation of ‘FUCK!’ as he’d slumped back into her worn couch.

They’d flipped on the TV to a news station that was currently covering the attack and had it running in the background, desperate for any sort of news about what was going on. The news channel was at the scene of the attack, though it was largely uninformative. The police had arrived and had instituted a barrier around the elementary school that was currently infiltrated by villains. The school was pictured behind the chattering reporter, smoking slightly and eerily quiet. Occasionally there would be a loud noise or an eruption of lava from one of the windows and Ochako knew that there was an intense fight going on inside the halls. The longer it lasted the more anxious she became, as time was a sure measure of the difficulty of a fight.

The news had reported that currently all pro heroes on call in the immediate surrounding area were being called in, though Ochako knew that any hero in the area worth their license was heading that way- regardless if they were being paid for their time. She would’ve have gone in if she could have, on-call or not. Elementary school kids for God’s sake!

It seemed like the villains were the same as the last attack, though the reports varied. With the police barriers the news crews couldn’t get close enough to see any action, something Ochako used to think was super helpful as the Hero in the fighting; crowd control was always a major issue and was crucial to ensure bystander safety. Now though, she begrudgingly admitted that it was much more annoying that they couldn’t get any information from the news as she was benched from the action. As far as anyone knew, the children were still trapped in the school. Or dead. Ochako didn’t want to think about that as an option though.

She tried to take solace in the fact that Deku was probably there, seeing as he’d been called by his agency right before Aizawa had texted her and Bakugou. If Deku was there, there was a good likelihood everything would be okay. The Number One Hero was there, there was a chance that the villains would be stopped. They had to be stopped.

All of this right after Deku had dropped a bombshell on her was really not resulting in quality thoughts or feelings for Ochako and she lamented about the terrible timing of her life. She was just a ball of barely contained emotions, despite her best efforts to categorize The Deku Incident, as she had started calling it in her mind, in her mental 'to process later' pile.

Abruptly, Bakugou sat down next to her with a huff, clearly frustrated beyond what pacing could alleviate. Ochako just reached out and grabbed his wrist above his gloved hand, giving it a light squeeze. After all, their assignment to stay in contact wasn’t over, it was perhaps even more important now to get The Link under control than ever. The Link bloomed to life as she made skin to skin contact with Bakugou and Ochako had to physically stop her leg with her hand from bouncing with Bakugou’s overwhelming twitchy energy that now freely flowed across The Link.

“Geeze, and I thought I was itching to join the fight…” Ochako said as she stared down at her bouncing knee, willing it to stop bouncing. She was not used to this level of adrenaline and was having trouble processing it. How the heck could Bakugou manage this level of sympathetic nervous energy? She once again found herself marveling at the intensity of Bakugou’s emotions, still shocked at how well he managed to not get totally swept up in them.

“Hmm.” Bakugou hummed distractedly, clearly not really paying attention. He glared out the windows, as if he could get a better view of the battle if he glared hard enough. Ochako felt herself twitching anxiously with the amount of desire for a fight he was washing The Link with and she rolled her shoulders compulsively, letting out a shaky breath as she tried to modulate his emotions.

“Okay we have got to get something to do other than staring wistfully out the window and waiting for news.” Ochako said running her free hand through her hair. Bakugou’s energy was going to drive her up the wall if she didn’t find some way to occupy him. She noticed the box of files and sighed, it wasn’t her first choice, but it would do. He needed an outlet, or they would both go crazy. Well, she would. He would probably be fine, being accustomed to his own volatility.

“Here.” She said as she unceremoniously dropped a rather thick file onto Bakugou’s lap and pulled one out for herself. Bakugou looked at her mildly startled as the contact pulled him out of his brooding. He gave her an annoyed look.

What?!

“We might as well make ourselves useful while we wait.” She nodded towards the paperwork and felt Bakugou’s disdain for being reduced to a mere desk worker. He didn’t say anything though, and just opened the file, picking up a pencil and notepad to take notes. She had a sneaking suspicion he could feel how antsy his current state of anticipation was making her and took pity on her. Just a suspicion though, he was doing a pretty good job of keeping his thoughts locked down. Now if he could just figure out how to do that with his emotions...

Bakugou gave her a scathing look, clearing eavesdropping on her thoughts again. He sent her a rather defensive impression of 'I can't fucking help it'. Whether that was about the emotional hurricane or his eavesdropping, Ochako wasn't sure.

They passed the next hour in tense silence, only broken by the occasional grunt of annoyance by Bakugou and moments when Ochako would unmute the TV when it looked like something was happening. Both were tense beyond belief and Ochako was working hard to modulate her emotions to try and contribute as little as possible to Bakugou’s increasingly bad mood. It was, as always, exhausting work to try and keep Bakugou’s emotions in check and it was wearing on them both.

On top of that, neither had been able to find anything of use in the files, just random crimes with little relevance to their mysterious group of villains. Ochako felt particularly useless and Bakugou wasn’t much better, though he mostly felt angry at being kept inside during such a devastating attack.

An hour or so in, Ochako glanced up from her file at the TV and saw a commotion, the camera jiggling as the film crew ran over towards a blurry group of figures. Ochako grabbed the remote and turned the sound back on, anticipation spiking. The camera stilled and focused to reveal Deku pushing along a snarling Kanayami Hito from the entrance to the school towards a police van, which was parked right in front of the blue doors Deku had just emerged from.

Ochako’s mouth fell open, Deku had caught the quirk user responsible for the chaos that had descended upon her life this week. Deku had Kanayami’s hands wrenched behind him in a painful looking hold with quirk repressing cuffs as the long fingered kid was jerking and trying to get free. Kanayami looked positively feral, eyes alight with a sort of desperation Ochako only saw in villains that were truly unhinged. Deku didn’t budge a bit at the kid’s flailing though, his quirk giving him an insane advantage against the rail-thin villain. Izuku was, per his hero honor code, smiling in determination at the camera and waving as he moved Kanayami towards the waiting police van. Red Riot and Froppy were following behind Deku, looking very bruised and worse for the wear, but followed Deku’s lead smiling tightly at the camera.

“Deku!” The reporter called out to the heroes as she and the camera man rushed up, “What is the status of the fight? How many villains have you captured? How are the children?!”

Deku glanced back over at the reporter as they approached, his smile faltering just enough that people who knew him well would catch it, but not enough for the general public to notice.

Oh shiiiiiit…
Oh no…

Ochako knew what that falter meant, and so did Bakugou. Something had gone wrong. Maybe more than one something. Deku’s eyes flitted over to Kirishima, who nodded and stepped into center frame of the shot. Nobel Kirishima was taking the media’s heat for Deku, who turned away and climbed into the back of the police van with the mind-melding villain. Kirishima put on what Ochako recognized to be his ‘shit-went-down-but-they-can’t-know-that' face, which was a carefully crafted neutral expression and guarded eyes.

“We are currently still assessing the damage with the help of the Tokyo Police.” Red Riot said to the camera doing his best to keep his faced schooled into an unreadable expression, “We have captured a villain who will be detained and questioned by police.”

“Are the children alive? How many villains escaped?” The reporter pressed, turning the microphone back towards Kirishima aggressively. Kiri’s eyes flicked down to the microphone being shoved towards his face and took a small step back, putting himself more directly between the rest of the heroes now exiting the school and the media.

“That’s all I’m allowed to say at the moment. “Kirishima shook his head solemnly, “The TPD will hold a press conference shortly to answer those questions.” He then turned and walked back towards Deku, who’d emerged from the van again, and the other heroes that had gathered at the site. Ochako spotted Iida, Froppy, Shouto and Tokayami among the group surrounding the police van, though she knew there had to be more of them still inside the building.

Oh this was bad. Ochako knew that the fact that there had to even be a press conference meant things had gone poorly. So poorly, that several of the top heroes in the country had not been able to take down more than one villain. Oh god. She hoped the children were okay. Her mood plummeted and she felt suddenly empty, worried and devastated at the probable reality of the situation.

Next to her Bakugou was fuming with guilt and frustration. She could practically hear his mantra of ‘It wouldn’t have happened if I’d been there’ running unconsciously through his mind. He shifted on the couch next to her to pull his phone out from his back pocket.

“What are you-“ Ochako started to ask as he furiously typed in an unsaved number.

“I’m calling that fucking nerd” He interrupted her question putting the phone up to his ear, scowl on his face. Of course he didn’t have Izuku’s number saved in his phone… but he did have it memorized. How predictably Bakugou of him.

Shh, you’re thinking loud again.

Sorry! Uhg, I really don’t know how I-

Bakugou cut her off with a glare as the phone rang, sending the impression of ‘what did I just say?! SHH!’. Ochako crossed her arms across her body in annoyance, removing her hand from his wrist. She immediately felt the level of Baku-rage she was feeling drop to a more manageable level.

Ochako watched in fascination as Deku on the TV pulled his phone out, looking at the screen, pausing and sighing with his eyes closed, before he put it up to his ear opening his mouth to speak.

“WHAT THE FUCK YOU WORTHLESS NERD!?” Bakugou yelled before Deku could even say ‘hello’. Ochako watched as Izuku glanced towards the camera and started replying to Bakugou, saying something Ochako couldn’t distinguish.

“YES OF COURSE WE’RE FUCKING WATCHING!” Bakugou shouted, “HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO FUCK THIS UP? YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE GODDAMN NUMBER ONE HERO!”

Izuku on screen dragged a hand down his face in exhaustion and Ochako saw shame flicker across his expression. This was supper weird, Ochako had never watched coverage of something this big, she was almost always called in to deal with clean up and was there in person. The anchors were chatting non-stop speculating and narrating what the heroes in the background were doing. She muted it again, finding that the chatter held no pertinent information, instead turning to watch Bakugou attempt to have a conversation with Deku.

“DEKU I SWEAR TO GOD-“ He started and Ochako felt his mood plummet, being infiltrated with swells of grief and guilt. The intensity of it knocked Ochako’s breath away and her eyes watered reactively to her sudden swell in emotion as his spilled into her mind.

What?! What did he say?

Bakugou looked up at her, making brief eye contact before looking away, teeth grinding, and fists clenched. The air suddenly smelled strongly of nitroglycerin as his hand began reactively sweating.

The current death count is well into the 60’s. They failed.

Ochako’s heart deflated, crushed with the realization that children in the school had been killed. She should have been there, she could have done something. She could’ve saved them if she’d just been better. If she’d tried harder, she and Bakugou wouldn’t be handicapped by the stupid Link and they would’ve been there to turn the tide.

“Fuck.” Bakugou continued his conversation with Deku, “How many are injured?”

We should have been there. I feel so useless.

We’ll be there next time. You can fucking count on it.

Bakugou’s thought came across with such certainty and resolve that Ochako couldn’t possibly question it. There was no question, they would not rest until they had mastered this stupid thing so they could return to being the best heroes they could be. Ochako felt a lift in her own determination at his thought and decided to try and share it with him. She pushed the emotion over to his side forcibly, sloshing the resolve she felt through the pit in her mind. It was messy, and harder to send across the link than a thought was, but she did it. He started and looked at her, confused. It was strange feeling him react and absorb her own emotions, his own determination swelling once hers had been incorporated with it.

What did you just do?

I sent you my resolve.
This seemed to confuse him even more and Ochako shrugged. He sent her the impression of ‘explain.’ Which she ignored, now hyper-focused on never letting something like this attack occur again. Determined to get this link under their command.

“I’ll explain later, for now put Deku on speaker” Ochako brushed off his unspoken demand for an explanation, “we need to figure out what went wrong so we can be better next time.”

Bakugou narrowed his eyes, not happy to be denied an explanation, but put his phone down, between them putting Deku on speaker.

“Okay you damn nerd, tell us how the hell you managed to fuck this up.” He growled into the speaker and Ochako braced herself for a long and difficult conversation.

Deku explained how the battle had been doomed from the start. By the time he’d gotten there, the villains had already managed to go through two classes of students, systematically murdering them. He had choked up trying to explain how he’d interrupted their process in the middle of the third classroom, too overwhelmed with the horrors to speak clearly. Bakugou had reactively jumped up, ripped his gloves off and stomped out of the room to her small balcony at the descriptions, letting loose as massive explosion over the side of her building in anger. Ochako just did her best not to let the tears spill over her cheeks as she continued to get details while Bakugou blew off steam. In the end the villains had all teleported away, but not before Deku caught the mind-melding kid as he cruelly linked two children’s’ minds, something that had resulted in what Izuku described as ‘one of the worst forms of torture I’ve ever seen’. The linked children had died shorty after Deku had contained Kanayami. It was horrific.

Ochako hadn’t known how to end the call, desperately wanting more details but also not sure she could handle more guilt for not being able to be there. She’d just told Deku to keep her and Bakugou up to date. Deku mentioned something about the interrogation process and how he expected the Tokyo Police would want to involve her and Bakugou, but she wasn’t really listening.

She sat in silence after hanging up, setting Bakugou’s phone back down on her coffee table. Bakugou walked back in, having set off a sufficient number of explosions to vent his anger and guilt. Ochako vaguely hoped he hadn’t scorched the side of her building, that would be hard to explain to her landlord.

He stalked across the room towards her spot on the couch and she looked up to meet his eyes. He quickly sat next to her on the couch and Ochako got a hit with the smell of smoke and caramel clinging to him, as it always did when he’d set off several explosions. It was an oddly comforting smell, one she’d come to associate with the ass-kickery Bakugou brought to a fight. It was unusual for her to smell this scent and have a battle go poorly, in the same way seeing green lightning streak across the air meant Deku was going to dominate the battle.

“Give me your hands” He instructed holding out his own palms to her.

His side of the link radiated motivation and a rock-solid sense of focus. Ochako felt herself dipping into The Link to try and absorb some of it. She brushed his mind and felt him nudge her back, impatient. She placed her hands on his feeling their minds pulled closer together and felt the full spectrum of his emotions, anger, resentment, guilt. Lot’s of guilt, but somehow motivating, rather than the depressing kind she harbored currently. She stared into his eyes as they made contact, watching the flickers of thoughts as he felt her current emotional state too, searching for something. He smirked at her when he found whatever he was looking for, though, and Ochako got the vague impression he was satisfied with her.

“What are you thinking?” She asked, respectfully not pushing into his mind to find out for herself.

It’s time to learn some offense.

Ochako barely had time to process the thought he flung at her, before she felt him widen The Link, seemingly grabbing her mind and dragging her into his own mind, displaying his thoughts for her.

It was nauseating as ever to suddenly be flung into each other’s minds, but Ochako was finding more and more familiarity with the way his mind worked, no longer a foreign space but one she was accustomed to. The strange flavor his thoughts and emotions had now felt almost natural to her, and she felt a sort of fondness for his particular flavor of thoughts. Like having only had vanilla ice cream her whole life then suddenly getting the opportunity to try chocolate, disorienting and comparatively bitter at first, but enjoyable over time. She followed Bakugou’s thought process and felt her eyes widen in surprise. Bakugou wanted to learn how to keep her from entering his mind, like putting up a mental shield as she tried to break it down. Then he wanted to do the same to her. He wanted to make them able to keep the other one out, so if something overwhelming happened they could “protect” their own mind from the other. Something like this hadn’t even occurred to her to be something they could do, but it made total sense. He thought about the Link as if it was a river between their minds, they’d figured out how to make the river of thoughts and emotions bigger or smaller, by tightening or loosening The Link, but hadn’t thought to try and damn off the flow directly where it met the edge of their consciousness. He’d figured it out yesterday when she’d been close and he’d put up a wall so she wouldn’t see-

She was unceremoniously thrown from his mind as he psychically pushed her back out as quickly as he had pulled her in and Ochako felt a stab of pain through her mind at the force of the action.

“Ow!” She exclaimed as her hand went up to grip her forehead and she glared at Bakugou, “What the hell Bakugou?!”

He just glared at her, his side of the link one again locked down. He was apparently not going to waste any time explaining his hot and cold actions.

“Come on, we’re wasting time.” He grunted at her, impatiently gesturing with his open palm for her to re-establish connection, “Try it, see if you can get past my walls. Barriers. Whatever”

She rolled her eyes at his impatience, but placed her hand back onto his palm, felling The Link pull them closer, but instead of brushing against the soft edges of his unguarded mind, she found herself pressed against a solid barrier. It felt less like a wall and more like a thick water balloon, still moveable but thicker skinned than his unguarded mind usually was. She curiously pressed against it and felt his mind resist the action, but it gave slightly. Flexible, but strong.

She furrowed her brows and pushed a bit harder, staring unseeingly at the wall behind Bakugou’s head in focus. He grunted at her action, hands twitching under hers. She felt the strange sensation of wanting to know what he was feeling or thinking, but not being able to, despite being so close to his mind. The barrier was insulating his thoughts and emotions from her. Her eyes flicked to his, seeing him staring intently at her, brows drawn down in focus. At her glance he quirked a brow challengingly and cocky, as if to say 'that's all you got?'. Ochako felt a flair of indignation at his condescending attitude and leveled him with her best intimidating glare and closed her eyes to try and better get a picture of his mind.

She pushed against his barrier again, feeling it give the same way it had, almost rippling at the force of her action. She distantly felt his hands tighten the smallest amount on hers. She paused, thinking. It seemed like pushing against his mental wall with her whole mind was not working, the whole barrier just rippled, flexing under the stress rather than breaking. But… what if it was like a water balloon, as she’d initially described, and what she needed to do was not so much push as puncture? She pulled back from his mind, idea taking shape in her mind as she opened her eyes again. Bakugou was looking at her with guarded curiosity, clearly having felt that she pulled back. He cocked his head, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at her.

She grinned at him and launched a spike of her mind towards his barrier, feeling it rip at the contact. He physically jerked back from her and Ochako felt the rush of emotions that he’d been containing behind the barrier leak out, curiosity, determination, pride and the joy of having training to do. All buried under the avalanche of guilt and sorrow he felt as it swept through the barrier she'd broken. As he realized what had happened, she felt his disappointment in himself, but a swell of pride in her abilities. The rest of the barrier crumpled and Bakugou scrambled to get his side of The Link closed off once again, managing to get it back under control quickly.

Damn that was fast. Fucking hell that hurt, though. Could you maybe try to NOT stab my fucking brain next time?

Ochako just giggled, and nodded, feeling pleasantly surprised in her abilities. Ochako was stoked to have so quickly broken through his defenses. He gave her an uneasy glance, faint weariness drifting across The Link from him, distrusting her response. She mentally reached out and stroked his mind fondly where she’d just poked through his barrier, as if trying to ease the pain from her earlier stabbing. He shook his head, in the involuntary way people do when the get a shiver, and squared his shoulders. She felt a flash of affection from him followed swiftly by embarrassment. He felt oddly uncomfortable by her action, which confused Ochako. She edged a bit closer to better assess what he was feeling, but he just closed off The Link more. He was sitting stiffly on the couch, watching her with his red eyes narrowed wearily, leaning away from her.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you. “ She said curiously, not sure why he’d been weirded out by her mental brush. It had been a fairly familiar gesture, sure, but one she didn’t think was out of the ordinary for them. For god’s sake, she had literally been inside of his mind not even ten minutes ago.

“Yeah just be better next time.” He said shortly, calming a bit as she apologized. His posture eased a bit and she felt him relax his hold on his end of The Link. She felt him refocus on the task of building a barrier, never one to be distracted for long.

She watched him both mentally and physically while he assembled another wall, damning off the flow of The Link once more. She patiently waited, astutely watching how he erected the barrier, knowing it wouldn’t be long before he demanded she try it out.

“Again.” He stated shorty with a nod at her when he was ready, face furrowed in concentration. Ochako took a deep breath and closed her eyes, getting ready for another attempt.

Notes:

Hey all! School is intense, though I'm doing my best to keep up with writing. Thank you for being patient!
I'm really bad at naming chapters. I had some fun comments last time about the chapter title and thought to my self: "hey why don't you let the readers title your chapters since you suck at it?". And that's what we're gonna try. It may work. It may not, but it will be a fun experiment regardless.

SOOO please comment your thoughts for chapter titles for this chapter and I'll pick my favorite and make it the title of this chapter!

Chapter 10: Shower Thoughts

To say the rest of the night was intense would be an understatement. Both Ochako and Bakugou had a metaphorical fire lit under their butts with their mutual desire to figure out The Link as fast as possible, they both knew they would not be able to sit ideally by while another attack happened, they would not let it happen.

Bakugou spent the better part of two hours repeatedly being assaulted by Ochako’s mind. Building up barriers and watching as she tore them down invariably. He tried a number of different-feeling walls, until he’d finally settle on one that Ochako struggled to break down. It ended up feeling like a very sturdy sort of bulletproof material, Kevlar was the only word Ochako could think of to describe it. Bakugou had let out an exhausted chuckle when she’d told him as much, amused by her unusual analogies.

Then he’d turned his attention onto her, instructing her to try to resist his approaches. She’d gotten it down in less than an hour, much to Bakugou’s irritation. She tried to ease his bruised ego by pointing out she’d been watching him develop the technique firsthand through The Link and that he shouldn’t feel bad. He’d come up with the idea after all! That seemed to ease him a bit, though Ochako could still see his irritation in his tense shoulders and feel it radiating through The Link.

In a truly Aizawa inspired action, Bakugou suggested they try to stay walled off for the rest of the night, while in contact for as long as they could. Ochako felt a weird sense of déjà vu, trying to focus on keeping her wall up. It reminded her of when they’d first gotten off the morphine, or when they’d first instituted the skin-to-skin training of The Link. It gave her a really inspiring sense of reflection on just how much she and Bakugou had accomplished. It sometimes felt like they were moving at a snail’s pace, but since they’d been linked a little over a week ago, they’d progressed hugely. It gave her hope that they would eventually get a handle on this thing, maybe even be able to use it to their advantage. She could hope right?

They spent the rest of night, or at least as long as they could hold their eyes open, looking through files with rebounded vigor, desperate to find something, anything, that would clue them into the intents of the villains. At around 1am Ochako suddenly felt Bakugou’s mind press up against her barriers sluggishly. She looked over to see him fast asleep, having finally succumbed to his exhaustion. He still had a file open on his lap and a pen loosely grasped in his hand.

She let her mental walls down, much to her relief, and sighed at the feeling of his sleeping mind slipping into place next to hers. It felt ridiculously good, like this was their new resting state, how it was supposed to be. She tried not to worry about how having his mind curled around hers felt more normal, natural even, than having their psyches separate was. It was a real shift from how she’d felt those first couple of days and the sudden change in her impression of this whole thing was unnerving to say the least. None the less, she couldn’t help but relax into the contact, finally feeling at peace.

She had gotten up, closed the file and removed his pen from his loosely clenched hand, setting both on the coffee table in front of him. The whole time she kept close watch on his mind to see if her was waking up, ready to spring away from him at a smallest hint he was becoming conscious. He’d never be okay with her fussing over him like this, stupidly obstinate in his proclamations of never needing help.

She’d gently pushed him over so he was at least in a horizontal position on the couch rather than sitting upright, and had covered him with a throw blanket. She let herself be okay with the wash of affection she felt for the stubborn man, since he wasn’t there to chastise her for being a softie. She reasoned to herself, as she had gotten ready for bed herself, that it was impossible not to feel much closer to him with how much The Link had changed. She was a naturally affectionate person and he was just going to have to deal with her showing it to him now that they were close friends.

Eventually, she’d settled into her bed in the sole bedroom of her apartment, just down the hall from Bakugou, but feeling as if she was sitting right next to him due to how firmly his unconscious mind pressed against hers. She fell asleep ridiculously quickly, feeling at ease for the first time in a week.

Ochako woke up the next morning to a loud BANG and the very distinct feeling of the wrenching of her stomach, indicating she was going to throw up. She gasped, attempting to catch her breath, cold sweat dripping down her spine. She had a terrible feeling that something was very wrong. She tried to force her sudden nausea down as she moved to sit up, only to have her head smack against something hard. She opened her eyes, realizing she had hit her head on her ceiling. Oh crap, she’d activated her quirk in her sleep. She looked around herself, still very disoriented, noting she was in her room floating several feet above her bed. She lowered herself back to her bed, biting back the weirdly strong nausea she was feeling, as she woke up more soundly and recalled what had happened. This was the first night she’d spent back at home since she’d been hit with the mind-melding quirk. It was also the first time in years she’d accidentally floated herself in her sleep. Definitely the first time in a long time something as low level as floating herself made her nauseous. A chill went down her spine and she felt her stomach drop in anticipation of the terrible something she could feel was about to happen.

“GODDAMN IT!” Came the cry from down the hall, making Ochako reflexively reach across the Link for Bakugou, only to find him hastily putting up a wall, more sloppily than he had yesterday. He was successful, however, and she couldn’t get through to feel what was causing him to exclaim so loudly.

Ochako willed her nausea away, knowing she’d delt with way worse situations and informing her body that it had to get its shit together. She curiously poked her head out of her door frame, glancing down the hall, smelling the distinct smell of smoke and caramel. Oh no…

She leapt out of her room, into the hall now in full panic mode, worried something had happened. What if the villains had infiltrated her apartment? Was Bakugou okay? Was he walling himself off because he was injured? She was suddenly very awake and ready for a fight, adrenaline pumping.

“What’s wrong? Where-“ She burst out into the living room, fist raised only to falter. Bakugou was sitting on the couch, head between his legs breathing deeply. Her throw blanket was smoldering slightly and there were scorch marks on her ceiling. At her entrance he glared up at her pointing a finger accusatorially. Ochako felt her panic fizzle out as she failed to find any sort of threat.

“Fucking. Stop.” He instructed her firmly, his face pale. Ochako stopped moving forward, confusion screwing up her face. Stop? Stop what? What was going on?

“I..uh. Okay?” Ochako said unsure, “Stop what, exactly? I can’t see what you want with your wall up.” she gestured vaguely towards him, subtly eyeing the smoking blanket, worried it may catch fire again.

“Stop whatever they fuck you’re doing that made us so nauseous.” He said as color returned to his face, clearly the wall he’d erected to keep her out had successfully stopped her nausea from leaking over to his side. Well, at least they knew his theory about the mental walls stopping flow of damaging emotions worked.

“Oh, yeah that.” Ochako stated, swallowing her fading urge to throw up, “I accidentally activated my quirk while I was asleep. I’m not so nauseous now.”

Bakugou made eye contact with her as he slowly straightened up from his bent over position. The Jolt snapped Bakugou’s mental wall apart as their eyes connected and Ochako shuddered at the shock that went through them both as their minds were forced back together. She didn’t think she’d ever get use to the feeling of The Jolt, and certainly not one like this morning that left the tips of her fingers tingling. It must have been the adrenaline they were both feeling that made it this strong.

Ugh. Well I guess our walls are not match for The Jolt. See? Not so nauseous now.

Ochako disentangled her mind from his, happy to find he wasn’t feeling secondhand nausea anymore, but was instead feeling very annoyed and kind of jittery. He leaned back into the couch and ran a hand through his spikey hair, which now was desperately in need of a haircut, seeing as he still hadn’t had time to go get one yet. It was mildly distracting to Ochako, and she had to wonder, again, what had changed so drastically in the last week that made her focus on the mundane things like his need for a haircut. He sighed heavily, glancing around and Ochako felt both their spikes of epinephrine fading as they both realized there was not threat.

“That made my Top Ten worst ways to wake up.” He stated, “Can we never fucking do that again?”

“Sorry” Ochako said rubbing her arm, embarrassed, “I haven’t done that in years, I don’t know what happened. I must have had a nightmare or something”

He just grunted, irritation and unease rolling across The Link. Ochako was happy he’d put down his wall, it felt way weird to be separated that much. Like when she got the feeling she forgot something, but couldn’t remember what. Being separate left her with… just this nagging sense of… not right. The feeling of The Link ending in radio silence was just enough to put her on edge. It was much more comfortable to have him there, just brushing against her mind.

“Don’t be sorry, just be better” He mumbled irritably. Ochako quirked a small smile at that, what an incredibly on-brand statement for him. Ochako’s amused gaze slid to the charred blanket, which thankfully had stopped actively smoking.

“err… Do you maybe want to tell me why you set my blanket on fire?” She asked with a pointed stare at the now wrecked item. He followed her gaze and sighed, more irritation spilling across the link. It was tinged with a sense of unease, which Ochako didn’t know how to interpret.

“I’ll replace it.” He said scowling at the item as if it had offended him, the unease he felt growing. Ochako blinked, confused. She sided up to his side of The Link, suspicious at his mood and evasive answer. Why was he avoiding the question?

Her prodding caused him to swing his glare to her, giving her mental searching a swift slap to get her to stop.

Just fucking leave it.

Ochako, recoiled from the sting his mental batting had caused and rolled her eyes at him. He was so touchy this morning. It wasn’t worth a fight though, so she relented her mental inspection.

Fine. I’m going to start some coffee, do you want some?

She pulled back from The Link, letting it return to their established normal resting distance as she moved past him into the kitchen. He snorted at her rapid shift in mood, slumping back into the couch as she passed.

I’ll have a cup then I’m going home to nap. Your couch fucking sucks to sleep on.

Ochako let out a low chuckle under her breath as she measured out the grounds and started the coffee maker. Like it was her fault he had exhausted himself to the point he fell asleep on her couch. What was her other option, wake him up? Let him sleep with her in her bed? As if! She liked her head on her shoulders and not exploded across her wall, thank you very much!

Sure, but take some files with you to look over.

He scoffed mentally at her, sending the impression of ‘no shit’. She felt an undercurrent of appreciation from him. Though he’d never admit it, he was thankful she’d just let him crash here, despite not having planned to do so. She could also feel how eager he was to get to his own apartment and she totally commiserated with his desire for alone time. She was so down for her first no-Bakugou-with-in-100-feet-of-her time in almost two weeks. It should be nice to reset for at least a few hours, Aizawa’s instructions be damned.

Ochako brought Bakugou’s mug of coffee out of the kitchen, her own warming her palm in her other hand. She took a seat next to him on the couch as handed him his mug. He was avidly reading something on his phone and distractedly took his mug from her. He took a hearty sip and turned to give her a small nod, left side of his lips upturning slightly in thanks. He continued reading and Ochako sipped on her coffee observing the rises and falls of his emotions with mild interest. He was intensely focused and had random bursts of anger. After a minute or two, he sighed and turned to face her, grabbing her full attention with a mental poke.

“The Police have invited us to come and speak with Kanayami Hito at three today.” He stated, though Ochako could tell from his general curious attitude and his mental probing of her response that he was questioning if she wanted to go.

“Oh?” She asked quirking her head to the side curiously, “What do they think that would provide? I can’t imagine we could do a better job than the police.”

“Apparently he is insatiably demanding to talk with us…” He hesitated, anger flaring acutely, “The fucker doesn’t believe we could have survived his quirk. The police think that we could shake his confidence if we proved him wrong.”

That gave Ochako pause, from what she’d seen both personally and on the news, when he was arrested, Kanayami was an unstable individual. Seeing herself and Bakugou alive and well, hell, thriving even, after his quirk certainly could shake him up enough to get him to talk.

“It could work…” She said tentatively, “But it would mean putting us back in his radius. We don’t know how his quirk works after it’s activated. What if he can somehow affect The Link while we’re near him?”

“There are a lot of fucking what-ifs with this kid” Bakugou countered gruffly, scoffing at her concerns mentally, exuding confidence from his side of the link.

Ochako sighed, knowing he was right that they couldn’t worry about ‘what if’ situations, but still had reservations. Feeling accepting of his personal philosophy to launch face first into trouble and actually doing it herself were two very different things. She just wasn’t sure she wanted to jeopardize all the work they’d put into this quirk to have the kid mess up their balance again. They’d made so much progress! She would be lying if she said she wasn’t afraid of what could go wrong, this kid’s quirk was just so much stronger than anyone had thought was possible, there was nothing indicating that strength couldn’t affect their Link should they get into physical proximity to Kanayami.

Ochako, it’s going to be fine, stop worrying.

Ochako started at the use of her first name, eyes snapping to his. He felt equally as surprised that he’d used her name and his side of the link flared with embarrassment and regret. His thoughts were whirring so loudly she could almost hear them leak across their current mental distance. Ochako realized that obviously, he had just slipped up and was currently trying to figure out how to proceed.

Ochako cracked a smile after a beat and gave a delighted chuckle. It was rather ridiculous that they hadn’t moved passed sur names, given how closely linked their minds were. Ochako was fairly certain she knew things about him no one else did and visa versa. He seemed to relax with her response, shock slowly drifting back to his irritated default.

It’s fine, I suppose it’s kind of silly that we haven’t been calling each other our first names! You can call me Ochako if you want.

He nodded, and Ochako noticed what had to be a blush creeping up his neck and blooming on his cheeks, which was definitely a new sight for her. She felt her grin widen reflexively.

“But only if I can call you Katsuki too!” She chided verbally, watching in delight as his flush deepened. She tried very hard not to take delight in his discomfort, but it was such an unusual occurrence, she was going to milk it for all it was worth.

Whatever.

He rolled his eyes at her, doing his best to squash his anxious, nervous energy with his characteristic indifference, but Ochako was Linked to him and could totally feel how uncomfortable he was. She stuck her tongue out at him playfully, giving him a mental poke to punctuate it.

He cleared his throat loudly and shook his head, as if trying to shake off his discomfort.

“Fucking- we’re going.” He said as he returned the topic to their invite to go to the police station, “It may be the only thing we can do to help catch these assholes until we master The Link”

He had her there. Ochako desperately wanted to do something to catch the rest of these horrible villains. Bakugou was practically twitching with his desire to burn them alive, which was a very un-hero -like mentality. She couldn’t really blame him though; these guys were truly evil.

“Ugh! Okay fine!” She relented throwing the hand not holding her coffee up in the air in surrender, “We’ll go”

His emotions flared smugly, and he smirked at her, exuding that Baku-Brand confidence that was so infectious to her. She wondered briefly if he was feeling that way on purpose, just to make her cave to his mental state, but remembered that Bakugou had probably even less control than she did over how he felt.

“Read the email they sent us before we go.” He told her downing the rest of his coffee in a giant gulp and standing, “Mind if I use your shower?”

“Oh.. uh, sure! Clean towels are in the hall closet” She replied, not expecting the turn of the conversation. “There should be a spare toothbrush in the third drawer down too if you want, I guess I could’ve woken you up last night to-“

“It’s fine.” He interrupted her, already stalking towards her bathroom. As an afterthought he added, “thanks.”

She just nodded dumbly, suddenly left on her couch, still not really sure how the morning had taken so many twists and turns. Hell, how the last few days had taken so many twists and turns. She heard her shower turn on distantly as she processed the last few days of chaos. She felt her stomach drop at the memory of The Deku Incident and shoved the feeling back down, planning to deal with it later today when Katsuki wasn’t currently naked in her shower.
… naked in her..!? Uhm. What? What the hell was up with her brain today!? Ochako blushed furiously at the intrusive thought, which she loathed to admit came with some very …ehm… appealing images, curtesy of her guttered brain.

Oi! You okay? You got all adrenaline-y all of a sudden. You’re not fucking bleeding out or some shit right?

Ochako let out and audible “meep!”, cursing his somehow awful timing to be eavesdropping on her thoughts.

I.. ER.. Y-_YEAH. I’m FINE!

She could feel his suspicion rolling across The Link at her response and could practically picture his eyes narrowing, clad only in a towel. GOD DAMN IT. Ochako cursed her stupid brain. He didn’t seem to notice the turn her thoughts had taken (which they had done FOR NO APPARENT REASON might she add!). She thanked the heavens that he hadn’t picked up on her less than friend-like thoughts.

Stop eavesdropping!

She added defensively, trying her best to pull back from The Link and simultaneously wash the all-too-attractive mental image of Bakugou’s muscles rolling under the spray of her shower from her mind.

‘Katsuki’s’, she reminded herself of their recent name change; Kastsuki’s muscles…GAH! NO!

You’re the one fucking calling for my attention across The Link! What do you expect?

What do you mean ‘call for you’?! I don’t call for you?

Ochako was supremely confused, she didn’t know anything about ‘calling for him’. Just thinking about him and then he….oh. Oh crap. Was she somehow notifying him whenever she was thinking directly about him? She tried to think back on all the times he’d been able to read the thoughts she hadn’t intentionally sent across The Link, but couldn’t remember well enough to determine if her hypothesis was right.

Uh, yes. You do. It’s really annoying, it pulls me right out of whatever the fuck I happen to be thinking at the moment.

Okay that’s weird. She had definitely never had that happen to her from Bakugou’s thoughts, as far as she knew.

That’s never happen for me with you…

What, really? You’ve never… that’s a fucking relief.

What’s that supposed to mean?

Don’t worry about it. What the fuck are you doing then?

He back-peddled, closing off his side of The Link more as she tried to figure out what he was so relieved about, before distracting her with a more interesting question. She paused pondering, she had a hunch that it had to do of her thinking about Bakugou directly, like he was overhearing her say his name and snapping his attention to her. Like overhearing you name spoken in a conversation you weren’t participating in. Or something. Well one way to find out, she supposed. She carefully thought to herself about how Katsuki was going to use all her hot water if he didn’t hurry up, the brat.

That! Whatever you just did! Also, it’s been like five minutes, chill.

Okay yeah, so she was right. He definitely was picking up on her subconscious thoughts about him. Or she was subconsciously calling out for him when she did. God, just when she thought she had a handle on the nature of The Link.

Oh my god. He could pick up on her thoughts about him. She had to get a handle on her less than pure thoughts about- Nope. she would avoid thinking directly about it from now on. Especially now that she knew he was being hailed by any mention of him by her subconscious. This was already awkward enough, he did not need to be privy to her random thirsty images of his-

Ochako stood up from the couch interrupting her own thought process. She hurriedly scooped up her and Bakugou’s mugs. Cleaning the dishes would keep her mind off of it right? She went to her kitchen sink and began to wash the mugs and other dishes that had gathered in the last day with fervor, trying to get the imagined picture of-

“Are you sure you’re okay? You’re feeling very...weird.”

Ochako jumped and spun on her spot at the sound of his voice, only to have her blush spread more at the sight of him rounding the corner into her kitchen and leaning against the wall, all the while ruffling his spikes dry with a towel. Without a shirt on. With his very defined muscles rippling with his arm movements.

“EEP!” Ochako squeaked out, quickly spinning around and furiously scrubbing the dishes feeling supremely awkward and embarrassed. “I’m fine, just remembering how horrible yesterday was.”

She covered for herself, knowing he could feel her... emotional turmoil…and not wanting him to figure out she was really just doing her best not to salivate over his deltoids thanks to her mind’s sudden reminder of her attraction to Bakugou. Sure, she knew he was attractive, but she’d never had to modulate her thoughts about it so he wouldn’t know. It was turning into a darn cyclic nightmare. Like normally, she’d just have acknowledged the random thought and moved on, but because she was worried about him picking up on it the more she thought about it and therefore the more she had to cover it up. Which made her think about it more. Ugh.

“Deku’s a moron, don’t let it get to you.” He replied with a scoff, assuming her emotional state indicated she was talking about Deku. He paused like he wanted to say something else, words caught on his tongue.

Ochako turned to meet his gaze questioningly, he was looking at her with trepidation, red eyes narrowed in his patented scowl. He met her eyes briefly before turning his head away and stalking back towards the living room, apparently having decided better of it. Ochako was still reeling from her own emotional crisis and she barely noticed the awkward air about his side of The Link. She let out a heady sigh as he left her immediate vicinity and slumped against the sink. It seemed she had one more thing to add to her “To Process Later” pile in her head. As if she wasn’t already overflowing with weird, horrific and emotionally taxing shit to sort through. Tsu was going to get one hell of a phone call this morning.

Notes:

*sneezes out 4k of fluff* Wow, don't know where that came from, but I am here for it!

Thank you to everyone for chapter title suggestions, and thank you to Kiko222 for their awesome suggestion which I ended up using! If everyone is still having fun, let's keep this going! I think it's a really fun way to interact with you all, so if you're down let's name chapter 10 together too!

and ALSO eggstoastnbacon apparently made an amazing piece of art based on this fic! HOLY SHIT IT'S BEAUTIFUL LOOK: https://twitter.com/eggstoastnbacon/status/1198324874768314368?s=21

If you create art for this fic and feel comfortable sharing it I would LOOOOOOVE to see it and would be happy to share it with all the readers! Not gonna lie, this drawing had me pumped to write chapter 10. Thank you eggstoastnbacon!!

Chapter 11: Unwanted Thoughts, Unwanted Answers

Notes:

This one's another long one, buckle in folks.

“So Bakugou crashed on your old lumpy couch, set a blanket on fire, used your shower, walked out half naked and then left?” Tsu’s voice croaked over Ochako’s cell after she had finished summarizing the insanity of her current life.

“It’s weird right?” Ochako responded pacing around her living room, twirling a strand of hair anxiously.

Bakugou left shortly after what was hands-down one of the weirdest mornings of her life. Almost as soon as he was out the door Ochako had called Tsu, long overdue for a conversation about how bizarre the last two weeks had been. The conversation had served as a hard-core reality check. Ochako had been so wrapped up in The Link and her training with Katsuki she had gotten tunnel vision about the situation. This was Bakugou they were talking about after all, and the amount of change in his and Ochako’s dynamic over such a relatively short period of time was really something when seen from a third-party perspective. A third-party perspective Tsu was more than happy to provide.

“Yes, very weird. Though, it’s Bakugou, so I guess weird is to be expected.” Tsu confirmed, “This whole mess is very strange. I mean, with Izuku’s confession and this Link thing I don’t know how you haven’t imploded yet. Ribbit”

Ochako nodded enthusiastically, “Honestly, it’s unnerving… I feel like I’ve been linked with Katsuki for way longer than two weeks. The Link feels totally natural at this point.” Ochako confessed biting her lip looking out the window, “Like, so natural it feels weird, uncomfortable even, when I can’t feel his mind right next to mine.”

For example, this very moment. As Katsuki had gotten farther and farther away from her apartment, she’d felt his mind get further and further from her awareness. Apparently physical distance, just like medications, made The Link weaker. It was making her feel anxious, feeling that massive psychic distance in her mind. She had sent him a few thoughts, which he seemed able to reply to, but they were almost as separated at this point as when Aizawa was using his quirk on them. She was struck again with how unnatural it had become to be separated from each other’s minds and wondered if Katuski felt the same way.

“Katsuiki?” Tsu asked in a surprised tone, “Since when are you on a first name basis?”

“This morning,” Ochako replied, blushing at the memory, “He accidentally called me ‘Ochako’ and we decided it made more sense to just go with it.”

“Wow. That’s big for Bakugou. I’m not sure he even knows my last name, let alone my first.”

“Oh, no he knows it, he’s just a stubborn asshole” Ochako laughed at the notion. Being linked to him did have the benefit of seeing through his bullshit.

“Anyhow, it just makes me nervous how suddenly having our minds separate feels like the unnatural thing, as opposed to the other way around.” Ochako continued her original thought with a sigh.

“That is concerning, certainly.” Tsu stated thoughtfully, humming, “Didn’t you say Aizawa thought you two could have some sort of natural compatibility, which was what prevented this quirk from making you go insane?”

Ochako froze, shocked at the notion. She had laughed it off at the time Aizawa had first suggested it, but now… now she wasn’t so sure. In some ways it felt like she and Bakugou were meant to be mentally linked. Which was crazy of course, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that The Link was exactly how her brain was supposed to operate, like it somehow completed her. Ridiculous.

“I- I guess.” She replied, concern filling her voice, “but what are the chances? I mean, Me. And Katsuki. We’re, like, total opposites. Even the way we feel The Link is different.”

“Maybe it’s not about being similar, but having strengths where the other has a weakness” Tsu said thoughtfully, ever observant, “maybe it’s more about balance.”

“Like puzzle pieces.” Ochako said, realizing what Tsu was getting at, “Our minds fit together like puzzle pieces, one’s positive space fills the other’s negative space to make a whole...”

Tsu was thoughtfully silent as she waited for Ochako to process the notion. Holy cow. She and Bakugou were compatible. How could she have not seen it before now? He was much stronger at the more concrete aspects of The Link and she managed the emotional side better. He was quick to action, while she was more cautious. He was emotionally distant while she wore her heart on her sleeve. He was confidently rash she was thoughtful and restrained. They were balanced.

“Oh my god, Tsu, Bakugou and I are complimentary.” Ochako stated, shocked at her revelation, “Like, in every way.”

As she continued down the list she just kept coming up with more and more examples. Hell, even their quirks worked together better than she’d thought possible, given their recent flight across the city.

“I think Aizawa was right, ribbit.” Tsu’s voice crackled over her phone, “You guys survived because you happen to be well-matched, mentally.”

Ochako sat down on her couch in shock, glancing at the ruined throw blanket she had yet to do something about. She didn’t know why this was shocking her so much, she hadn’t ever disliked Bakugou, per say. Maybe during their first few months at UA, but not since he’d fought her in their first sports festival. She had just never considered that they would make a good team, she’d been so keen on teaming up with her friends instead. She’d been so focused on Izuku, on being someone who complimented his skill set, she hadn’t ever considered anyone else in their class.

“Okay, wow. That’s a new thought I didn’t think I’d ever have, but yeah you’re right.” Ochako all but whispered in a daze, “Oh, Katsuki is going to have a hay day when I tell him.” She added as an afterthought.

“He’s not there right now? Mentally, ribbit?” Tsu asked, confused. Ochako had told her about the way he seemed to be able to read her subconscious thoughts about him. How he seemed unable to not be called to those thoughts.

“No, since he’s physically father away from me I can’t feel him as well, and visa versa.” Ochako explained, reflexively feeling for him in The Link, but not feeling him immediately close. She shivered at the sensation. Man, she had to get a grip on herself, this was ridiculous! She was a grown ass woman, she didn’t need anyone else to make her mind feel complete!

“But, it’s good. We both needed some space I think. There’s a lot to process right now, what with the villains and Deku...” Ochako said, trailing off as she tried to convince herself that this distance was good for them despite how uneasy she’d been feeling since his mind had slipped out of reach. The psychic cliff where her mind ended echoed unnervingly empty.

“Do you still love him? Midoriya?” Tsu questioned curiously. Ochako groaned and looked towards the ceiling.

“Of course I still love him! He’s so important to me…but I’m not in love with him anymore, I think. It’s too complicated anyway, we couldn’t handle it a year ago and I think being Linked with Bakugou would make things worse. “Ochako spilled her thoughts about The Deku Incident concisely, finding that the truth rang clear in her words. She truly didn’t believe being with Deku was an option. It just wasn’t in her cards, as much as she had believed it was as a young hero.

“Not even if there was the infamous make-up sex you always told me about?” Tsu teased, clearly more relaxed now Ochako had laid it all out. Ochako’s cheeks heated at the Frog Hero’s words. She and Izuku did have a history of amazing, make-up sex, almost good enough to warrant the endless arguments they had been having those last few months, but that was beside the point!

“Tsu!” She squealed, embarrassment burning through her cheeks, “I told you that in confidence!”

“What? It’s not like I’m telling anyone!” Tsu replied with a throaty chuckle, pausing deviously, “Besides I bet sex with Bakugou would be better anyway.”

Ochako’s jaw hung open in shock. The nerve of this girl, she swears.

“TSU!” Ocahco shouted in shock at the gall of the girl. How had a conversation about her and Deku’s past relationship turned into a conversation about sex with Katsuki?

“Well, he does have that whole ‘smoking hot, bad-boy’ thing going for him.” Tsu said as if it was a fact (which it kind of was), “I’m sure everyone in 3-A has thought about sleeping with him at least once.”

“I can’t be talking about this.” Ochako said attempting to shut down both the conversation and her suddenly awakened dirty mind.

“I mean just think,” Tsu started in a suggestive tone completely ignoring Ochako’s plea, “With those muscles, he could totally hold you up against a wall and-“

“Seriously, we have got to stop this discussion, if he overhears even a passing fancy-“ Ochako interrupted, just about ready to hang up on the girl. Her mention of Bakugou overhearing seemed to distract Tsu though, because she stopped talking to listen.

“- I thought you said he was far away?” Tsu interrupted Ochako’s worried rambling as she frantically checking The Link to make sure said man was not anywhere near her mind. Which he wasn’t, thank god.

“Yeah, but now I’m not gonna stop thinking about it when he is near! The seed’s been planted!” Ochako sighed in defeat, knowing her stupid brain would bring up the very vivid image of Katsuki’s rock solid abs after his shower at exactly the wrong moment later today.

“Oh Ochako, this is a problem. You gotta control yourself.” Tsu was positively snickering by this point, enjoying the discomfort she was causing her friend. Ochako wondered if she’d started this whole conversation just to make Ochako uncomfortable.

“I know that! So be a dear, and help me by not mentioning anything remotely related to how amazing it’d be to sleep with Katsuki.” Ochako grumbled, “Besides, it’s not like that between us. It would totally throw us off balance again, it’s taken us two weeks to get to a normal level of functioning, I am not going to mess that up just for a passing curiosity.”

“So you admit there’s a passing curiosity then?” Ochako could practically hear the grin on Tsu’s face as she firmly declared check-mate in their conversation. Ochako just sighed in defeat.

Ochako thought this was an absurd conversation, it was ridiculous that they’d even gotten on the topic to begin with. They had so many more important things to focus on. Like the child killing villains they were currently trying to catch. Ochako glanced over towards the box containing half of the files Katsuki had left for her to start reviewing before they went to talk to Kanayami. So far, she’d spent nearly an hour on the phone with Tsu talking about his presumed sexual prowess instead of doing the work. So yeah, great progress. He’d be so proud.

“Enough about me, how are you holding up after the villain fight yesterday?” Ochako effectively ended the conversation, switching instead to concern about her friend.

“Ribbit. I was honestly hoping to avoid talking about it.” Tsu said quietly, “I don’t think I’ve fully processed what happened. I couldn’t sleep last night. I just kept seeing their faces. Those kids…”

“Oh Tsu, I’m so sorry.” Ochako willed Tsu to feel her sympathy and regret, “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to help, I’m so sorry you had to see that.” Ocahco felt utterly helpless in the face of her friends despair, only able to offer flimsy words of comfort in the face of the horrors she’d had to face.

“Yeah.” Tsu said sadly, “It’s okay, I’ve got a session scheduled with our agency’s therapist later this week. And you and Bakugou getting the drop on the villains by talking with Kanayami will help.”

“I know what you mean, I’ll only feel better about this disaster once I know those evil bastards are behind bars.” Ochako all but growled at the thought. She got the sense Tsu didn’t want to talk about it yet, that she wasn’t ready. A sad silence filled the air after Tsu made and affirming noise.

“You know, if you ever want to talk about it I’m here.” Ochako said into the silence from the other end of the line.

“Of course.” Tsu said sounding more watery than usual, “You’ll be the first one I call, ribbit.”

“Good.” Ochako nodded, glad her friend knew she could count on her. It was the least she could do, really.

“I should go, I’ve got patrol in thirty minutes, ribbit” Tsu said after another pronounced silence, this one more comfortable than the last.

“Okay.” Ochako said trying to sound upbeat, “Hey Tsu?”

“Yes, Ochako?”

“Be careful, okay?”

“I will.” Tsu said and Ochako could hear the tight smile in her voice, “Bye Ochako.”

Ochako spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon on edge, busily reviewing files and compiling a list of questions she wanted to get answers to from Kanayami. It was all in and attempt to try and get her mind to calm down. It seemed like having this much physical distance between herself and Bakugou was not what her brain had in mind for the day, and her mind was freaking out on her. She was a nervous mess(for no apparent reason, might she add) without Katsuki next to her mind. So she threw herself into her work, working on her list of questions first. The biggest one, written in all caps at the top of her yellow note pad was ‘WHY?’. As she had been writing down questions her eyes kept darting back to that one. Why were these villains targeting children? What possible motive could they have?

The files offered little to no answers, though Ochako did read one file, #1035A6, that may have been related to their current case. It detailed an attack on a middle school student from five years ago by a couple, a man and woman who had gotten away after brutally attempting to murder the kid. He had been put on life support at a hospital and had been in a coma for several months before coming to. He couldn’t remember many details but recalled that the two people who had attacked him had mentioned something about having a son of their own. It seemed like they hadn’t used their quirks on the boy, but he couldn’t remember. The boy had changed schools, moving to a non-hero focused curriculum and declining his offer to UA for the following school year, stating he couldn’t do hero work after what had happened to him.

Ochako took studious notes on the file, it wasn’t a perfect match, but it fit their profile close enough to be of interest. A young student who was attacked by strangers, nearly killed, for no apparent reason. It was a shame the boy couldn’t remember more about his attackers, but Ochako couldn’t help but just be happy he’d survived at all. It was quite a sad story and Ochako hoped the boy was doing okay now.

At 2:30 Ochako left her apartment to go to the police station, her yellow notepad with questions in hand. She was motivated to get answers and prayed that Kanayami seeing her and Katsuki alive and well would throw him off enough to warrant some answers. They needed answers, they had no other leads to go off of, and waiting for another attack was not an option.

On the train she caved into the instinct she’d been battling all morning and reached out to Katsuki, feeling her mind stretch impossibly far across the void their physical distant created, eventually making slight contact with his mind. The contact roused his interest, almost startled him. Meanwhile, Ochako almost sighed as she felt the anxiety of having him apart from her mind melt somewhat.

Ochako?

Who else would it be?

He gave a mental scoff at that and Ochako grinned. God, this felt stupid good, talking with him again. She had a momentary flashback to her conversation with Tsu earlier in the day, about how they complimented each other. How he made her mind complete. It was getting harder and harder to deny it, her brain just did not feel right without his there next to it. Not whole.

What’s going on?

Just wanted to see if I could reach you.

At that she felt his mind nudge the part of hers that was bridging the distance, almost as if to say ‘well you did it, now what?’.

I’m almost at the police station, where are you?

Really?! You’re so early! I just boarded my train!

If you’re late…

I’m not going to be late! You’re just insanely early!

Whatever, just hurry up.

I can’t make the train go faster!

He didn’t bother with a response to that, but he kept his mind connected with hers, almost holding her against his own mind across the distance. As her train approached the police station, she had the most interesting sensation of feeling him get closer and closer. More and more of his emotions started to come across The Link the closer she got and she was surprised to see he was also feeling the effects of being separated. He was twitchy and uncomfortable, just like her. She tried not to worry about how much more relaxed she was getting as his mind became within a normal distance as her train pulled up to her stop.

She hopped off the train, feeling his restless energy. He knew she was basically there, being able to feel it just she could, and it seemed she wasn’t the only one itching to get back within a normal distance. This was going to be a problem, it was one thing if she was getting all clingy and weird about The Link, it was a whole other level if they both were feeling psychological effects from being separated.

This is going to be a problem.

She thought towards him as she navigated from the train station towards the Tokyo Police Department’s headquarters. She felt a weird sort of yearning in her gut, almost like nervous energy before doing public speaking. Anticipation. He seemed to understand what she meant because she felt his affirmation and mirrored anxious mood.

We’ll deal with it later, we’ve got a motherfucker to interrogate.

She sent him the impression of a nod, along with some of her burning fury. He seemed shocked at the intensity of it as it washed over him, attempting to keep his own anger from rising to meet it. She couldn’t tell if he was exacerbated by her randomly shoving her fury at him or proud that she could send it at all. Maybe a bit of both.
She rushed through the doors of the police station, head whipping around looking for his distinctive spikey blond head of hair. She tried really hard to crush her ridiculous anticipation of seeing him, convincing herself it was just whatever weird side effect The Link was throwing at them now.

To your left.

She whipped her head left and saw Bakugou leaning impassively against a wall next to a door marked ‘Secure Access Only’. As her eyes met his, The Jolt ran through her, more intense that it ever had, making her knees almost buckle and her breath leave her lungs as fire raced down her spine. Bakugou had a similar reaction and Ochako watched as he jerked back against the wall he was leaning on, smacking his head with the force of his shiver.

Oh shit!
Motherfucking-!

Their minds crashed together as Ochako gasped for air and Katsuki attempted to stand up on his wobbly legs, hand flying to massage his scalp where he’d headbutted the wall. Still, even despite all of the ridiculous nonsense happening with this unusually strong Jolt, Ochako couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief as she felt Katsuki’s mind slide next to hers. They quickly separated their minds, an automatic response at this point, and got a hold on The Link, settling at their normal distance. Finally.

She nervously glanced around, feeling the curious eyes of strangers in the station on them, clearly confused as to what the heck had just transpired. She nervously looked down, still trying to get a handle on her fully body shivers. Holy shit, that had been intense, like someone had lit her nerves with fireworks.

Once she had recovered from that super-Jolt, she walked towards Katsuki rubbing the goosebumps on her arm. He met her halfway and she watched as his hand twitched towards her, as if he wanted to reach for her. His feeling were a hot mess, to put it nicely, but then again, so were hers. They were both weirdly on edge from the intensity of The Jolt and immensely relieved to be back in the other’s general vicinity. Katsuki seemed to be wresting with this strange new desire to be closer to her, at least from the read she could get off of him. She couldn’t blame him, this reaction seriously freaked her out. She was also wrestling with her subconscious, trying to impress the notion that the desire to be right next to someone else’s mind was not normal and was in fact very strange. Her subconscious appeared to not be listening.

“What the actual fuck.” He grit between clenched teeth as he attempted to reign-in his emotions.

“That was…intense” Ochako replied, searching his face as she felt him transition from uneasy to angry with the flip of a switch. She herself was finally starting to feel the left-over tingling in her fingers and toes fade from the Jolt and a sort of floaty sensation at being back to their normal distance.

“UGH!” He growled out, “Just- just, Fuck this. Seriously, Fuck. This.”

“I know what you mean, just when I think I understand The Link, it throws some shit like this at us and I just-“ Ochako plucked the sentiment he was trying to express from The Link and verbalized her agreement. Bakugou just watched her, listening intently while running a slightly shaking hand through his hair roughly.

“I mean, separation anxiety, are you freaking kidding!?” Ochako continued, giving an incredulous chuckle, “How the hell are we supposed to deal with that?”

Bakugou let out a dark chuckle, closing his eyes letting out a sharp exhale. She felt him let his anger go, attempting to modulate his emotions. She considered reaching out to help him, but decided against it, given how freaked out they both were at the turn of events that had just transpired.

“Fuck if I know,” He said opening his eyes again, capturing her gaze before glancing pointedly at his watch, “but it’s now five past and we are officially late.”

He gave her a mental bump to punctuate his point and she sputtered in response.

“I was right on time!” She protested weakly, “It’s not my fault The Jolt decided to go all supernova on us and make us late!”

Bakugou just rolled his eyes, jerking his head towards the door he had been standing next to earlier, sending her the impression of ‘let’s just go’. She sighed, shaking her head before pulling out her Hero License ID to swipe herself into the restricted section behind the door.

“Fine, let’s go” She grumbled in defeat walking towards the door, feeling Bakugou’s mood shift from angry towards amused. He fell into step behind her and Ochako hardly noticed the wide-eyed glances the people in the lobby were pointing their way.

As they walked through the familiar halls of the TYPD, Ochako couldn’t help but notice the stares the staff and officers were giving her and Katsuki, clearly word had gotten around about their new status as mind-melded. Great. That meant it would only be a matter of time before someone leaked it to the press, something she was not prepared to deal with yet. Katsuki had noticed too and was fuming next to her, practically stomping down the hallway. She sighed and did her best to keep up with him and ignore the looks they were getting.

They arrived at the desk of Chief Natsuo, who had been the one to send them the email asking for their assistance. The mustached man looked up from his computer as Bakugou’s black combat boots alerted the entire friggin’ floor to their presence.

“Good afternoon Ground Zero, Uravity” The Chief nodded to them respectively in greeting, “I was relieved to hear you would be coming by to help us.”

“We are more than happy to help!” Ochako said with a bright smile, then paused realizing she was speaking for them both again and gave Katsuki a questioning prod through the bond.

“Screw Kanayami” He voiced gruffly shoving his hands in his pockets, which Ochako interpreted as meaning she was in the clear.

“Yup! We’re totally stoked to be here!” Ochako summarized, turning back to look at The Chief who was glancing between them with a concerned expression. The Chief seemed to remember his task and coughed gruffly.

“Right. Well I’ll take you to Kanayami’s holding cell” He stood from his chair and started walking towards where Ochako knew the cell block was, “Mostly we want you two to try and shake him up, since his quirk didn’t- well it didn’t-“

“It didn’t make us go bat-shit or kill us, we know.” Bakugou interrupted the Chief’s fumble for words impatiently, rolling his eyes. Ochako mentally sighed in exacerbation, trust Katsuki to disrespect any and every authority. She felt Bakugou give her a look and she just knew he was doing that thing where he eavesdropped on her thoughts again. She turned to meet his glare, sticking her tongue out at him.

“Er, yes.” The chief blushed and glanced back at the explosive hero, seeing their exchange and huffing flusteredly, “Right. Well, anyway… If you happen to get a good rapport going and want to try to question him, be our guest. We will be recording the whole time so everything can be used as evidence.”

They had arrived at a heavily bolted door by this point and Ochako felt some apprehension at being near the mind-melding villain. Her fears of his unknown effect on their Link hadn’t disappeared since the morning and she felt a nervous flutter in her stomach. Katsuki glanced over to her as he felt her sudden change in demeanor.

It’s going to be fine, relax.

Oh, because telling someone to relax ALWAYS makes them relax.

Ochako though back bitterly, giving him a glare. He just sighed, irritation sparking across their minds, which he seemed to wrestle back. He then did something Ochako didn’t expect by grabbing her hand, lacing their fingers together. The Link glowed to life and Ochako felt his intention to try and sway her emotions to be calmer, effectively offering up his self-confidence as emotional fuel to replace her fear.

Ochako looked up at him in shock to find him staring pointedly at the wall in front of him, decidedly not confronting the situation. His side of the link was a carefully balanced constellation of emotions and Ochako had the weirdest sense he was very focused on keeping it with exactly the right levels of each emotion. Concentration, confidence, anger, irritation and one she would just call “I don’t give a shit” were all kept steady by his focus on them. It almost felt staged.

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Ochako shrugged off his weirdly stiff emotional setting and let herself be influenced by his confident feelings. Once Katsuki felt like she had gotten a good grasp on his confidence in particular, he seemed to pull back from her. Well this was new. Ochako focused on his thoughts, picking up his plan. Oh, right he wanted to share one emotion, but not all of them. Hmm well, it was worth a shot. She redirected her focus and somehow managed to keep a steady flow of his confidence coming through her side of the link, but allowed him to pull the rest of his mind back to their resting state: adjacent but not immersed. She watched him smirk, glancing down at her from the corner of his eye. She felt his flare of pride at them having figured something new out on their first try. They were getting better at this. She felt elated- though maybe that was just his confidence influencing her. Either way.

While this new development in their usage of The Link was being processed the Chief had opened the steel door and was gesturing for them to enter. Inside there was a small closet sized room with a door directly across from the one they’d entered the room in and a two-way mirror to the left. Ochako could see through the mirror into a concrete walled room and felt her breath catch as she saw the Finger Kid sitting on the other side. Kanayami Hito was dressed in an orange jumpsuit glaring unseeingly at the mirror and Ochako worriedly wondered if he could sense their presence.

After a beat or two, she realized he couldn’t possibly know they were here, just from the fact that nothing had happened. Kanayami hadn’t moved or acknowledged their presence at all and The Link felt stable. She felt Bakugou’s flair of smugness as he came to the same realization that he had been right. Kanayami couldn’t affect their Link. The damage he had wrecked on their life was now out of his control, his part was done. She let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding in a tense exhale, feeling relieved for the second time that day.

“I’ll be just outside if you need anything.” Chief Natsuo whispered before retreating out of the small room, shutting the heavy metal door behind him surprisingly softly.

Let’s go get our answers.

Katsuki’s thought came across The Link with a gust of confidence and determination accompanied by a small, reassuring squeeze of her hand. Ochako looked up to meet his fiery gaze and felt her stomach flutter for a completely different reason than before. She silently cursed Tsu.

As they walked through the door into the cell, Kanayami’s head snapped to the two heroes, a too wide grin breaking onto his face. His eyes darted back and forth between the two rapidly, then down to their joined hands curiously. His unnaturally long index fingers twitched and he shifted his hand restlessly in their quirk suppressing cuffs.

“Well well well, look who we have!” He spoke, his voice was raspy and dry, “Ground Zero and Uravity in the flesssh”

Ochako narrowed her eyes at the villain, hate burning in her veins. This kid had killed countless children. Innocents! For what?! She seethed and felt Katsuki’s anger rise as well, melding with her own in a formidable fiery tornado.

“We’re not here to chat, we have questions that need to be fucking answered.” Katsuki’s tone was cold, his voice rough with repressed anger.

“Oh do you?” Hito replied, tilting his head to an absurd angle, “Well how about a trade then? An answer to your questions for an answer to mine?”

Ochako’s face paled. They weren’t here to negotiate, they were here for answers, but Kanayami had the upper hand here. He could stay silent and they would still be without a lead. Ochako wondered what on earth he could have questions about.

I’ve got a bad feeling about this…
Me too, but it might be our only fucking option.

“How about this,” Ocahco said, a hard edge to her voice, “You answer our question and in return you can ask yours, and we will decide if we want to answer it”

“Nononononono nooooo,” Hito said in a sing songy voice, shaking his head, “That is not the deal. A fair trade only, question for question or I will stop playing.”

Katsuki’s hand twitched in hers, his side of The Link was an inferno of fury. She felt her own anger rise to meet his, absorbing any excess that spilled over to her side of The Link. Ochako suddenly realized that they were close to the cyclic building of emotions between them if they didn’t get it handled soon. They couldn’t afford to lose themselves now.

Let go of my hand, we’re gonna go into an emotional tailspin at this rate.

Bakugou glanced over to her, nodding and dropping his hand from hers. She felt her own level of anger drop sharply as soon as his was no longer feeding it. She took a breath, calming herself. Refocusing. Kanayami’s eyes were bouncing back and forth between them, enraptured with their silent exchange. His eyes held that quality Ochako had seen on the news when he was captured, the same as when they’d fought him nearly two weeks ago: insanity. His eyes held the look of someone who was totally disassociated from reality.

“Fucking fine.” Katsuki spoke stepping slightly in front of Ochako, as if he was subtly trying to block her from Kanayami’s attention by shifting the focus to himself. He crossed his arms across his chest, which only served to make his shoulders appear broader. Looking at him now, Ochako remembered why most people were intimidated by Ground Zero, he was all raw edges and aggression when he had an enemy in front of him.

“What was your group’s motive in killing all those children?” Ochako blurted out before Bakugou could. She ignored his flair of irritation as she stepped forwards, so they were side to side, watching Hito’s reaction closely. Kanayami’s eyes narrowed and he left out a huff of frustration. Ochako stared him down, waiting for him to answer her.

“I killed my parents.” He finally stated. Ochako’s eyes narrowed further, where was he going with this?
“It was an accident, you know” The villain continued, his eyes fixed on his hands as he tapped his index fingers together, “I didn’t mean to do it. I’d never tried my quirk on humans and I wondered what would happen, so I just tapped!” He punctuated his point by tapping on the metal table three times in rapid succession, “And then they died. Because my quirk was too much for them to handle.” He paused to sigh dramatically, as if acting like he was upset about the event, though his eyes held no emotion.

“Get to the point.” Katduki growled impatiently, “I don’t care about your fucking sob story.”

Kanayami looked up, glaring at Katsuki with dark, red rimmed eyes before he turned his gaze back to Ocahco, much to Katsuki’s displeasure.

“Aaaaanyway,” Hito continued, “Once I realized what I’d done, I freaked out and started panicking. I knew I had to get rid of the bodies, had to do it quickly. Sooo I went to leave my house to get supplies, you know the usual: chainsaw, tarps, bleach and the like”

He listed off the items conversationally and Ochako’s stomach turned realizing that this kid had meant to chop up his own parents and dispose of their bodies. He had been barely 14 at the time of their murders. She repressed a shudder at the gruesome nature of the kid’s mind.

“Well, as I went to leave my house I ran into the most wonderful couple, they told me that they had a life mission to rid the world of kids like me, kids with a quirk that’s just too much for society. They said they needed my help. So, I agreed to join them. It sounded like fun, a challenge.”

They were killing kids because they had strong quirks…? Ochako couldn’t understand the logic, but something else in the kid’s narrative caught her attention and she couldn’t stop herself from questioning it.

“Who were the couple?” Ochako interrupted his story, a red flag going off in her mind at the mention of a couple, remembering the file she’d found earlier today. Katsuki sent her a startled ‘HUH?’ impression, his eyebrows raising as he turned to look at her.

“No no no!” Kanayami said grinning, “It’s my turn now, fair trade remember?” He suddenly jumped in his chair, yanking his handcuffs taught as he started cackling. Both she and Katsuki jumped at his sudden movement. Ochako narrowed her eyes at him, resuming her glare.

Fuck. This. Guy.
Seriously

Ochako was unnerved by his outburst of laughter and she shifted nervously on her feet as Kanayami giggled to himself seemingly contemplating his options. She could feel Bakugou’s every nerve repressing his instinct to light the guy up. She could smell his sweat as his body responded to his stress.

“How are you surviving my quirk?” Kanayami finally shot across the table, a deep frown marring his face as he suddenly stopped laughing just as fast as he’d started.

Ochako rolled her eyes, having seen the question coming a mile away. The police had told them he was asking as much.

“Don’t know. Don’t care.” Bakugou stated uninterestedly, “We did and that’s all that matters, guess you aren’t as strong as you thought you were punk.” He uncrossed his arms and rolled his shoulders, which served to make his deltoids and biceps flex and roll, something both Kanayami and Ochako noted with very different reactions.

“Now who were the couple?” Katsuki asked in a low voice, placing his palms on the table and leaning intimidatingly towards Kanayami, who’s frown deepened at Bakugou’s answer.

“That’s not an answer,” The kid stubbornly stated narrowing his eyes at Bakugou. Katsuki bared his teeth as his palms stated to smoke on the table.

“We think it’s because our minds are mentally compatible, perfectly matched to be linked together.” Ochako interrupted their stare down, supplying the answer the kid was looking for. Katsuki, for the second time in this interrogation sent her a pronounced ‘HUH?’ across The Link. She sent him a vague ‘tell you later’ in return, brushing off his concern to focus on Kanayami.

“Oooh, fascinating.” The villain all but purred at Ochako, which only served to make Katsuki more pissed off. He was downright ready to rip this kid’s head from his shoulders, irate at the presumptuous way he was speaking to Ochako.

Katsuki, you need to chill. We have a mission here, don’t forget it.

Little punk, I’ll kill him.

Yes, we all know you could kill him very easily, but we need him alive right now. Alive and talking. So chill.

She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, feeling The Link light up with their contact. She got a better taste of his emotions, surprised to find him feeling very protective of her. He wasn’t so much pissed about the kid’s attitude in general, he was pissed about the kids attitude towards her. An undercurrent of ‘how dare he’ was running through his mind. Ochako bit back her surprise and started the work of sending him her focus and calm. She reached out and soothed his anger, taking the edge off with calming strokes of her mind. She was suddenly very thankful for Aizawa’s Mind-Meld bootcamp.

Bakugou physically relaxed and surprisingly let her calm him down, annoyance only flaring slightly at her actions. Having that squared away, Ochako turned back to Kanayami, who was watching the interaction with his head tilted and one eye twitching.

“We answered your question, now ours.” Ochako said coldly, “Who are they?”

Kanayami nodded quickly, “Right right. Musai and Shounji. That’s what they said their names were.”

Ochako waited for more information, but Hito seemed to be done suppling details. She let out a frustrated sigh, “Surnames? Quirks? Do you know any more information about who they are?”

“I answered your question, it’s my turn” He answered with a Cheshire grin. Ochako rolled her eyes and cocked her hip, crossing her arms. This hardly seemed like a fair exchange…

“What are you going to do when one of you dies?” The kid asked with look of a psychopath, who’s only interest was in causing pain in others. Ochako froze.

Katsuki scoffed, “We’re not gonna die anytime soon.”

He was the picture of confidence, anger still simmering, but now under control with Ochako’s help. She on the other hand, was thrown by the Villain’s question. What would happen if one of them died?! She hadn’t even considered that, but now that she had: she was terrified.

“Are you sure about that? I know for a fact Magman has got it out for Gravity Girl here, he’s got it all planned out to make the hit in her own home of all places -“

“you little FUCK-“ Katsuki spat as his fury was flamed by the villains words. So much for controlled, Ochako was a bit too preoccupied by the thought of one of them dying to really be effective in emotional control at this point. This loss of function was not helped by the mention of a plan to kill her specifically. Crap.

“-What are you gonna do when he melts her flesh right off her bones in her own living room?”
Bakugou’s palms were smoking in earnest now and Ochako felt his self-control slipping as he had a sudden rush of fear.

“You’re bluffing you don’t fucking know where she lives.” Bakugou commanded Hito’s attention, his voice nothing but confidence, but Ochako could feel his bone deep fear, clearly a part of him believed that Kanayami was speaking the truth.

“Oh, but we do!” Kanayami gave a maniacal laugh, grinning gleefully at Katsuki’s distress, “That cute apartment just about eight miles southwest of here? I must say that old brown leather couch is really a terrible place to take a nap- far too lumpy and it’s angled so the light from those windows just shines right in-“

Katsuki stood up suddenly, inhaling sharply, “This interview is over, go drink some bleach fuck face.”

He was shaking with his potent combination of fury and panic and Ochako struggled to try and keep him at moderated level while dealing with her own spike in alarm at hearing her notoriously lumpy old couch described. He turned to leave the room and Ochako followed, glaring over her shoulder at the creepy kid.

“I was bored with the game anyway.” Kanayami muttered under his breath, once again tapping his index fingers together, enraptured in his own anatomy once again.

As they shut and locked the cell door behind them, Ochako breathed in a gasp of air, considering all the things the villain had told them. She met Bakugou’s widened eyes, both of them hyped up on adrenaline and fear. The villains knew where she lived.

Notes:

I love glossixe's suggestion for chapter 10's title: Shower thoughts! I have adopted it and it will now live forever as the title chapter! Thank you for the fabulous suggestions! I'm curious to see what everyone's ideas are for this chapter, a lot happened! I'm still greatly enjoying having you all name the chapters! Thank you to everyone interacting and participating! :D

For those in the USA, Happy Thanksgiving!

Chapter 12: Comfort Food

“Bakugou- wait! Slow down!” Ochako scrambled to keep up as Bakugou pulled her down the police station hallway at a breakneck pace. The staff members of the station froze in their paths in his wake of rage, skittering out of his (and by default her) way. Ochako was clinging to his hand and had to jog to catch up as he stormed through the police department.

Bakugou, despite his show of anger on the outside, was quenched in fear. It leached across The Link, making the hair on the back of Ochako’s neck raise. His mind was whirring about a mile a minute, circling around Kanayami’s assertion that there was an assassination attempt on her life in the works. She couldn’t hear his thoughts exactly, but she got strong general impression from his deluge of emotion.

In all his preoccupation with her future safety, he seemed to have forgotten about the current Ochako, who was being painfully dragged down the hall in a rather indelicate way. He dragged her through the door to the lobby and was making a beeline for the exit, presumably to get her away from Kanayami.

“Katsuki, stop- we should talk about this-“ She attempted to get him to pause, to give them time to talk their plan out, but was cut off with a growl and glare over his shoulder at her. He gave her an impression of ‘Fuck Off’ through The Link as she balked at him. He spun back around and continued his advance, dragging her along with him once again.

Oh hell no! He did not get to just drag her along with him without thinking this through. She narrowed her eyes at his back in irritation, feeling her stubbornness rise to match his.

Katsuki. Stop.

Ochako drug her heals into the ground and activated her quirk on his hand. His head whipped around in a furious glare as he started to float, no longer able to stomp towards the door with her in tow.

“Put. Me. Down.” He ground out at her, anger flaring acutely, though in no way matching his current level of fear. Ochako stared back obstinately.

“No.” Ochako met his glare with one of her own, gripping his hand to tether him to her, “Not until we talk about what we’re doing.”

“Ochako, I swear to god if you don’t fucking release me-“ He spoke through clenched teeth, red eyes glinting with the unspoken threat.

“You’ll what?” She interrupted him rolling her eyes at his theatrics, “Blow me up? Please.”

She shifted her free hand to her hip, giving Katsuki a look. They both knew she had the upper hand the second her quirk was activated. Katsuki fumed, literally, his free hand smoking ominously. Some civilians in the lobby of the police department glanced nervously at the two Pros, skittering away from their general vicinity. Ground Zero certainly had a reputation of collateral damage when he was angry and the general public knew it. She supposed that the fact his clenched fist was smoking in earnest now didn’t help the public feel secure.

“Whatever.” Bakugou said in a low voice, acquiescing to her request, eyes darting away from hers. His palm stop smoking as he tasted her mood, deciding he wasn’t in the position to argue with her request. Her rational mood quenching some of his fear and anger as he let her mood influence his more.

Ochako pressed up against his mind, just to double check he wasn’t faking her out and nodded when she was satisfied with his more stable mood. She let go of his hand and he crossed his arms as he started to drift upwards. She brought her hands together and released her quirk quietly. He fell the few feet to the ground, landing surprisingly quietly given the heavy combat boots he was wearing.

Ochako glanced around nervously, noting the nervous stares they were getting from the civilians in the lobby. They couldn’t talk about such classified information with so many eager ears around. She reached out, grabbing onto one of his crossed arms (very decidedly not thinking about how firm his biceps were) and tugged him out of the center of the lobby. Once she felt satisfied with how few people were within earshot, they were situated off to the side of the busy station (Also further out of range for civilian casualties), she turned to Katsuki.

You seem intent on going somewhere. Where?

To my apartment, obviously.

He rolled his eyes to punctuate his point, fury and fear still rolling off of him in waves. He kept glancing from her face to the space over her shoulder, where Ochako knew the door they’d just barged through was located. Ochako rolled her eyes right back at him, mirroring his attitude.

No, not ‘obviously’. Why?

Well we can’t fuckin’ go back to your apartment!

Why not?

Why not- are you kidding me Cheeks? They know where you live! They have an active plan to take you out! I am not about to walk you towards a group of villains who’re intent to fucking murder you!

But- -But nothing. I am not discussing this with you.

The hell he wasn’t going to discuss this with her, he couldn’t just suddenly decide what they were doing without her input just because she had a death threat. Especially given how mad he’d been when she’d been speaking for both of them earlier this week. It was very hypocritical of him to be doing it now, even if he was just acting out of fear. Ochako sighed, lifting her hands up to rub her temples as a headache started to set in from all of his intense emotions bombarding her from The Link.

Katsuki. My apartment has classified police information just laying out on the coffee table, I can’t exactly just leave it there for them to find. We have to go back to get it.

Fuck the files, they aren’t THAT classified.

This is hardly the first time someone has threatened to kill me. I’m a big girl, I can handle it.

He didn’t seem to have a response to that, just staring her down firmly with an emotional attitude that read very clearly as ‘FUCK NO’ and a slight whisper of 'yeah I know that'. Ochako tilted her head back in annoyance at his unmoving conviction to keep her from returning to her home. They really couldn’t just leave those files for the villains to find. Especially if her hunch was right and the file she’d found earlier about the couple who’d tried to kill a child were the same as the couple Kanayami had mentioned. They couldn’t let the villains know they had a lead.

How about I just go back really quick to pick up the files and a couple of my things and then I meet you at your apartment after?

Are you even hearing yourself?! No! The fuck is wrong with you?! You are NOT going to your apartment alone!

Then come with me!

He scoffed, looking at her incredulously as she emphatically argued her point.

We’ve been over this: no.

I’m going, you can come or not. I refuse to let the villains get any tips as to what leads we have.

She held her ground, looking up at Bakugou imploringly and holding her resolve firmly in The Link. One of his eyebrows twitched with withheld emotions as he stewed. He could feel that she meant what she said, and was probing trying to see if there was any way to convince her otherwise. She waited patiently while he probed around her mind, looking for any sort of waver in her conviction he could use. After finding none, he let out a low, unhappy sound form the back of his throat.

Fine. Five minutes at your apartment.

He spun on the spot and started walking away from her towards the door again at an impressive pace. Ochako grimaced and ran to catch up, steeling herself for the possibility that they could be walking into an ambush.

Katsuki cracked the door to her apartment with extreme caution, as if were attached to a bomb (which in a way it was). He was poised and ready to explode at the slightest indication that there was even one hair out of place. She hung back in the hall, watching as he crept through her apartment strategically clearing each room. Ochako let him have his paranoia, knowing that he wouldn’t be satisfied until he had checked every inch of the perimeter himself.

Personally, in the part of her mind Bakugou couldn’t see, Ochako thought it was rather silly to do so, given that the villains could literally teleport. It didn’t really matter if it was safe now, it could flip at a second’s notice should they choose to teleport inside. Then again, maybe that’s why Bakugou was so on edge, they had no advantages here. He was trying to regain as much control as he could.

“You’ve got five minutes.” He said gesturing for her to enter with a motion with his head. He stood, arms crossed in her living room eyeing the windows across from her couch warily.

“Okay, I’ll pack some basics, you grab the files.” She replied breezing past him, alert but not nearly as antsy as he was. He nodded, bending over to coffee table to collect the files she had scattered earlier today.

Ochako hurried down the hall into her room, grabbing a generic duffle bag from her closet and quickly grabbing some clothes off the rack and stuffing them inside. She moved away from her closet, grabbing her hero suit off her bed, where she’d left it when she’d left this afternoon, on the way to her dresser. She pulled up short before she could open the first drawer, breath catching in her throat.

There was a scorch mark on her floor.

It was small enough that she would have missed it, had missed it, when she hadn’t been looking for signs of an intruder. She knelt down and ran her hands over the burned spot on the wood flooring, noting it was cool. She suspected that it had been here for a while and that she had just failed to see it last night when they’d come back to her apartment.

Well, if there was any doubt that Kanayami was lying, it’s been resolved.

She heard Bakugou’s footsteps flying down the hallway and felt his spike of alarm through The Link. He burst into her room, glowing palms facing out, eyes searching the room with a fierce glare. When he found nothing but Ochako kneeling on the ground he let out a frustrated noise.

“You scared the shit out of me Round Face.” He said rolling his head on his shoulders in exasperation and relief, letting his palms cool with a sizzle of black smoke.

“Oh, sorry.” Ochako said innocently, “I found evidence that they’ve been here, or at least the magma guy has been. Unless, you did this at some point…?” She continued pointing at the scorch mark.

He came up next to her squinting at the spot and his anger flared. He stood back up swiftly and started to scour the rest of her room without answering her. Ochako gave a sigh at his behavior and continued throwing things into her suitcase, just as eager as he was to get out of here before the villains decided to come back. It was unnerving that they had been in her personal space, where she felt secure and at home, without her even knowing it.

“Okay, I’m done let’s blow this joint.” Ochako said giving her room a quirk once-over. Katsuki gave a snort at her phrasing.

“That can be arranged.” He joked back raising a sweating hand in jest, a smirk on his face.
She grinned tensely as they hurried out of her place.

The train ride across town to Bakugou’s apartment went by much more quickly than Ochako had expected. They were both contemplatively quiet, reviewing the conversation with Kanayami across The Link. They plotted their next moves, both deciding that they needed to do combat training with The Link as soon as possible. They also agreed they needed to talk with Aizawa tomorrow about the developments in the case- particularly the names of the couple that had recruited Kanayami: Musai and Shounji. They also needed to dig into any records available about the two and see if they could get a lead as to the location or plans of this villain group. They had no idea when the next attack would be, and they had to work fast to try to prevent any future actions.

Bakugou’s anxiety about their safety seemed to wane the farther they got from Ochako’s apartment, which she was grateful for. His jittery energy was starting to grate on her nerves, it’d been a long day.

By the time they reached what Ochako came to assume was Bakugou’s apartment building it was well past sundown. He led her up to his apartment (a freaking penthouse suit, flashy just like his quirk) and unlocked the large black door for her.

Looking around, Ochako could tell that Katsuki, just like Izuku, had plenty of cash to spare thanks to his salary as the Number Two Hero. The apartment was massive and furnished sharply in a style she would have expected from someone as big of a neat freak as Katsuki was: namely very modern and sparse.

“There’s a guest room down the hall and to the right.” Bakugou said gesturing vaguely to the left of the entry way as he stalked off towards what looked to be a sizable living room directly in front of them carrying her half of the boxes of police files. He set them next to his own pile at the side of a sleek black leather couch and started walking meticulously through the space. She could feel him checking his apartment from top to bottom the same way he had done with hers.

She walked down the indicated hallway, curious and cautious. The hall had an open door on either side and one at the end of the hall, which was closed. She had never been into Bakugou’s apartment. She hadn’t even seen inside his dorm room when they’d been living at UA during school, as he’d skipped the “Annual Coolest Room Contest” every single year.

She turned to the right, as he had directed, and found herself in a moderately sized bedroom that fit with the minimalism of the rest of the house well; a bed and small chair being the only furniture items in the room. Whether this was an active choice or just Katsuki not caring enough to spare thoughts on decorating was unclear. Ochako dropped off her bag on the end of the bed and turned to return to the living room, where she guessed Katsuki still was.

She peaked into the door across the hall from the guest room as she passed and found a bathroom(with a shower and a bathtub! What luxury!). She presumed the door at the end of the hall was the master and decided to leave that discovery for later. Obviously Katsuki was a very private person, he wouldn’t appreciate her snooping around his room just to satisfy a curiosity.

Bakugou was indeed still in the living room when she emerged from the hall, sitting on the rather fetch black couch reading over her notes of the files she’d reviewed. The Link informed her that he was focused on the task, thinking hard.

“Thanks for letting me crash here.” Ochako said gratefully as she gingerly took a seat next to him on the couch, blanching as she noticed the huge TV mounted on the wall in front of it. It was connected to several gaming consoles, which was pretty spot on for Katusuki, seeing as he and the Baku-squad were known to have serious gaming tournaments. She felt slightly out of place surrounded by such shows of wealth, just as she had while she was at Izuku’s.

“You’re not going to break anything, you can relax.” He commented with an eyeroll instead of responding to her thanks, clearly picking up on her unease. Ochako glanced around nervously and cautiously leaned back on the couch, not trusting herself to not accidentally ruin his belongings, despite Katsuki’s apparent faith in her abilities.

Katsuki pulled the folder she had flagged, #1035A6, and started looking through it himself, having finished reviewing her notes on the other files that she hadn’t found useful. His brow was drawn in concentration and Ochako blushed when he bit his lip distractedly. She once again cursed Tsu for not so delicately bringing certain things about Bakugou to her attention.

Bakugou glanced up at her unconscious mention of him with a distracted curiosity, quirking a brow at her questioningly.

Goddamn it.

Her blush deepened and she whipped her head away from him with an awkward clearing of her throat, a touch too high pitched to be heard as anything but an attempt to clear her discomfort. He gave her a skeptical glance, The Link flaring with curiosity from him, before he returned his glance to the file in his hands at her conspicuous silence.

“So…did you find anything like that in your half of the files?” She blurted out the first appropriate thought that came to her mind, gesturing towards the file he still held.

“Nah, nothing like this.” He replied in a sigh, shutting the folder and running a hand through his disheveled hair in frustration.

Ochako sat contemplating their next steps, in terms of research. They still had more case files they could be going through, but with the new lead of the couple’s names, it may be a smarter and more efficient play to start digging up as much on them as they could. Then again, the police and Pros assigned to the case would be doing that, so it may be a better use of their spare manpower to look through remainder of the unreviewed files rather than cover the same research twice.

“Not a lot else we can do tonight,” Bakugou said suddenly as he stood up, “I’m going to go make some food. Any requests?” He looked at her impassively, waiting for her reply.

“Oh, thanks! That’s really sweet of you! I’m sure whatever you make will be fantastic!” Ochako smiled, thrilled that he would be cooking for her. She had the honor of eating his food a few times while they were at UA and she had yet to have a better home cooked meal. The man was a GOD in the kitchen. He was also notoriously stingy with sharing the fruits of that particular skill.

“Eh, whatever.” Bakugou said grouchily, but Ochako caught the appearance of his flush, The Link reflecting his bashful reaction to her praise, before he spun on the spot and started towards the open concept kitchen.

As Bakugou started cooking, Ochako occupied herself with looking over his notes on his half of the files. She laughed under her breath at his handwriting, so chaotic it was nearly indecipherable, and did her best to read through them. As he had said, his notes indicated that the files he had been looking at were are unrelated to the case, mostly a combination of decade old accidents and petty crimes. Still, Ochako knew the importance of having two sets of eyes review information, especially when they didn’t know exactly what they were looking for.

She got through his notes relatively quickly, not finding anything in his scrawl that she would flag as important. She sighed and returned his notes to the top of his neatly stacked boxes. They had so much work that still needed to be done.

She pulled out her phone and sent Deku a quick text asking for more files to go through, hoping he had some ready for them to continue working on. The files she and Katsuki had gone through over the last two days barely scratched the surface of what the department and heroes on the case were trying to cover and she knew they weren’t the only ones go through files. Hopefully the work they’d done to rule out several old cases would be helpful.

Deku responded quickly, as she expected him to, considering how glued to his work phone he was, letting her know he could come over to her apartment tomorrow to exchange their files and notes for some new boxes. She cringed, realizing she would have to tell him she was staying at Bakugou’s place for a bit because the villains had threatened her bodily integrity should she return to her own. Two things Izuku was (apparently) not good at dealing with: Bakugou’s perceived relationship with Ochako and death threats against her.

She felt Katsuki’s curiosity at her mood change, but he didn’t say anything. She could practically feel his eyebrow raising in patient expectation behind her in the kitchen. She ignored his unspoken question and drafted a text to Izuku: ‘I’m actually staying with Katsuki right now, my apartment is apparently no longer secure.’

She read it again and then erased it and rewrote it, chickening out: ‘Bring them by Bakugou’s instead. Long story’.

She sighed, sending the message before she could change her mind again. Juggling Izuku’s weird possessiveness, confessed feelings and The Link with Katsuki was getting complicated. Not to mention the death threat thrown in the mix. He phone buzzed with Izuku’s prompt response, ‘okay…?’ and Ochako sighed putting her phone down on the couch. She wasn’t going to get out of explaining this, but she would postpone it as long as she reasonably could.

“Call Aizawa and ask him to come by tomorrow.” Katsuki called from the kitchen interrupting her thoughts of procrastination. Ochako turned around on the couch, sending a questioning look at him. He glanced up at her, feeling her eyes on him, red meeting brown. He had a massive wok in front of him and he broke eye contact to dump a pile of precisely cut vegetables into the hot pan, which sizzled.

“Why?” Ochako asked when he didn’t answer her questioning look. Damn, whatever he was doing to those vegetables smelled amazing.

“We’re gonna start combat training,” He said smirking, “He could be helpful for that. And we need to talk with him about the couple”

Ochako nodded in affirmation. Apparently, Katsuki had just decided how they were going to spend the day tomorrow, not that she disagreed. They needed to get up to speed with their combat skills as soon as possible, and tomorrow was as good a day as any. She figured they could spend the evening buried in the files to make the most of their limited time.

She turned back around on the couch and picked her phone back up, dialing Aizawa. It rang twice before he answered in a disinterested tone.

“What.”

“Is that really a way to answer the phone, Aizawa-san?” Ochako chided, a smile creeping onto her face despite her best efforts. The man was a parody of himself at this point.

“Why did you call, Uraraka?” He sighed, ignoring her teasing.

“Katsuki wants you to come to our combat practice tomorrow.” She answered sweetly, glancing backward at Bakugou. He appeared to be dishing his food creation into two white bowls. Her mouth watered; delicious food was imminent.

Aizawa sighed, “I wanted to set up a time to meet soon anyway, I have an idea that I want to try.”

“What idea?” Ochako asked, confused by his cryptic proposition.

“Eh…not sure it’ll pan out. I have to call in a favor first.” He replied in a bored tone, “Regardless, I’ll be there. Bakugou’s usual Hero gym?”

Ochako deadpanned at Aizawa’s insisted lack of information, the man refused to give any more information than he deemed necessary. She glanced back over to Katsuki, who was walking over towards her, bowls in hand. She took the one he handed to her with a broad grin, pushing her appreciation across The Link. He shrugged and slumped down next to her, faintly embarrassed at her praise.

Aizawa wants to know if we’re meeting in your normal gym?

Yeah, tell him we’ll be in my usual studio.

Ochako gave Katsuki a perplexed glance. She knew that Aizawa and Katsuki had maintained a close relationship after their class’s graduation, but she hadn’t realized it was close enough that Bakugou invited Aizawa to his training sessions frequently enough that they had a ‘usual studio’.

“He says the ‘usual studio.’” She relayed for Katsuki, who had started eating with gusto.

“I’ll be there at 10am” Aizawa confirmed and hung up before Ochako could say goodbye. She pulled the phone away from her ear, frowning at Aizawa’s sudden departure from their call. She shrugged it off and switched her phone for chopsticks, digging into what seemed to be some sort of fusion stir fry.

She groaned, closing her eyes in blissful appreciation when the first delicious bite touched her tongue. It should be a sin to be this good at cooking. Damn him.

Katsuki cleared his throat awkwardly and Ochako turned to look at him, noticing a faint flush creeping onto his cheeks.

“oh naigh gobd” She said, mouth full of food, “dis itsh so goodt”

“Oi!” Bakugou exclaimed, looking at her like she had grown a second head, “Close your mouth you heathen!”

Ochako swallowed and choked out a giggle at his now furiously blushing cheeks, The Link alight with his flustered energy. When she had calmed her outburst, she gave him a genuine smile.

“It really is good, thank you!” She thanked him one more time.

“yeah, whatever.” He mumbled tucking into his own food again. Then after a second of thoughtful chewing he corrected himself gruffly, “You’re welcome.”

Ochako took that as her cue to stop bugging him about the impossibly appealing flavors he’d managed to create and happily continued eating the delicious food in front of her, never one to let a meal go to waste. They ate in comfortable silence after that, until Bakugou suddenly stood up, placing his bowl in the sink. He made to start the dishes, which Ochako vehemently disapproved of, assuring him she would take care of them. He had glared at her skeptically, before Ochako scoffed and assured him she could clean dishes just fine.

After some hesitation he left down the hall, instructing her to be ready to go at dawn. Ochako nodded, ready to attack the following day with steeled determination.

Notes:

Whelp. Finals this semester kicked my butt, then my stupid ass forgot to bring my computer with me while I went to visit my parents for the holiday. I've got it now and have a few more days off before the next term starts so I should have time to crank out some more chapters! This is a long winded way of saying sorry for the wait!

The chapter titles for chapter 11 was suggested by Snitchdust: "Unwanted Thoughts, Unwanted Answers". Thank you to everyone for their wonderful suggestions! It's so fun to read them and I can't wait to see how everyone interprets this chapter!

There is more art for this fic now too! Thank you Tea-Lief on tumblr! If you want to check it out here is the steamy link: https://twitter.com/tea_lief/status/1201352131107807233?s=21

Chapter 13: Icarus who?

The shrill sound of her phone ringing woke Ochako up with a start. She slowly blinked open her eyes and blearily stared at the unfamiliar ceiling above her, yawing widely. She wasn’t in her room back home…Where was she again? She glanced around the dark room, sitting up slowly as she did. Modern, minimalist, with lots of black- oh right she was at Katsuki’s. Crashing in his guest room. Because of the death threat at her apartment… right. The previous day’s revelations came back to her as she woke up sluggishly.

She noted with mild amusement that Katsuki was pressed up against the edges of her consciousness again, still sleeping. She smiled faintly at the cozy feeling of his mind right next to hers. She caught flashes of his dream, something about aerial acrobatics and was surprised at the similarities to the dream she had been in the middle of…that was weird. She reluctantly began to disentangle her mind from his, so as not to wake him. It was unusual for her to wake up before him, she didn’t want to wake him before he was ready by thinking too loudly.

Her phone trilled again and Ochako reached over to the nightstand beside the bed and grabbed it, looking at the screen. Lilly’s name, along with the plant emojis Ochako had added to her contact name were lit on the screen. Ochako sighed, already knowing this was going to be an annoying phone call. She knew it was only a matter of time before her agency checked in, but why did it have to be at this very moment? At, she glanced at the time, 4:17am?! She grumbled unhappily at the ungodly hour, fumbling to answer her phone.

“Hi Lilly… how’s my favorite sidekick” Ochako mumbled into the phone, attempting (and failing) to sound upbeat. After all, it wasn’t Lilly’s fault their agency had decided that it was time to check in. Luckily, she’d been working with Lilly for over a year now and the young hero was more than familiar with Ochako’s loss of function in the mornings.

“Good morning, Uravity. I am doing well today, thank you.” Lilly replied stiffly. She reminded Ochako of a young Iida, formal to a fault.

“What’s up?” Ochako asked lamely, working to wake herself up more fully. She pushed her unruly hair out of her face, only to have it spring back, as if to spite her. God, she needed a cup of coffee STAT.

“The media knows.” Lilly said ominously. Ochako blinked slowly, confused as to what the plant summoner was talking about. It was too early for cryptic messages.

“Er…” Ochako hedged, “What exactly is it that they know about?”

“About your…situation… with Ground Zero.” Lilly replied, her emphasis on the word ‘situation’ made Ochako roll her eyes, comprehension dawning on her.

“When you say it like that you make it sound much more scandalous than it is.” She said plainly.

Really, she couldn’t understand the obsession people seemed to have with insinuating that her change in relationship with Katsuki was anything more than it was. It was just a super weird event with an unfortunate quirk. It could have happened to anyone! It wasn’t like they wouldn’t be doing the same thing if it had been Kaminari she’d been linked to, they were just desperate to make a scandal for the sake of controversy.

“The media parked outside his apartment seem to think it’s pretty scandalous. They’re waiting to ambush you.” Lily answered matter-of-factly, “and I am currently ringing the doorbell at your apartment and you haven’t answered the door yet, so I think it’s safe to assume that whatever lead the media has about you being there is accurate.”

Ochako groaned, placing her head in her hands. Of course, the media would see it as if she was sleeping at his apartment. As in, sleeping with Katsuki. Of course, they would sniff out the scandal in that. When she and Izuku had been together there was a near-weekly tabloid rumor that they were moving in together, secretly engaged or some other such nonsense. Now that the media had a sense that she and Katsuki were staying overnight in the same place, even if the purpose was to prevent her from being freakin’ murdered, they would run with a similar romance scandal angle. Speaking of which, if Lilly was at her apartment…

“Lilly, first of all, get away from my apartment as fast as you can.” Ochako said, worried for her sidekick’s safety, “The villains know where it is and are apparently actively attempting to assassinate me.”

“Good lord!” Lilly said in a huff and Ochako her breathing get heavier as she hurried away.

“Second,” Ochako continued, “not that it’s any of your business, but Bakugou and I are friends. Stop indulging the media’s ridiculous claims of a secret romance. I’m surprised you’re buying that story at all anyway, you usually have more common sense.”

“It’s not implausible…” Lilly defended herself breathlessly. She was clearly taking Ochako’s request to get away from her apartment very seriously, Plantasma was not known for her level of cardio conditioning.

“Well it’s not true, so it’s a moot point.” Ochako said in an uncharacteristically high-pitched voice, trying not to think about the recent revelations of her attraction to Katsuki. It really didn’t help this argument’s point. Tsu’s observations be damned.

Lilly was silent, insightfully choosing not to respond or acknowledge Ochako’s strange tone, once again exemplifying why Ochako had chosen her as her sidekick over the other choices last year.

“Now that’s sorted, was there any particular reason the agency is so interested on how the media is covering The Link between Bakugou and me? It better be a good one, I’ve got a lot of training to do.” Ochako pushed on, refocusing on the important part of this conversation, namely that she was being told to confront the media by her agency, which would be taking time away from training with Katsuki and the investigation. Dismissing baseless rumors was not something she was interested in doing with her limited time.

Lilly scoffed, affronted, “Yes of course the agency has a reason! They want you to get ahead of this story as soon as possible to avoid any miscommunications about how your new, er, relationship with Ground Zero will affect your career. “

Great. This wakeup call just kept getting better. She felt a nudge against her mind as Katsuki stirred at her sour mood leaching into his sleep. Ochako segmented her mind off more in response, ignoring the nails-on-a-chalkboard feeling separating her mind from his gave her, before refocusing on her conversation with Lilly.

“I’m trying to catch some child killers and the agency wants me to go on TV to stop dating rumors?!” Ochako did her best to push down her irritation at the triviality of such a request.

Seriously, there were so many more important things she could be doing with her time. The last few weeks had been a nice break from the less desirable aspects of being a hero, such as dealing with the media’s insane speculation. Ochako was not excited to get back into the constant tug-of-war for her time between her agency’s business requirements and her actual job of saving people.

“And you don’t think that those rumors will interfere with your ability to that?” Lilly pointed out, “From what I’ve heard there are scores of journalists blocking off Ground Zero’s apartment right now trying to get the scoop on what’s going on. You know it’s only going to get worse. Take the initiative and give them a story so they leave you alone to do your work. You know how this goes.”

Ochako did know how this went. When she and Deku had started dating, they initially tried to keep it secret from the media. They had wanted to keep it private for as long as possible, which had worked until a photographer had chanced upon Izuku entering her apartment with flowers and snapped a picture that ignited a frensy of media about the two. They’d tried to ignore it, not giving any statements or doing any media appearances, but had caved eventually when it became impossible for Deku to leave his apartment without using his quirk to avoid the legions of reporters. Two members of the Top Ten dating was just too juicy of a story to miss, apparently. Ochako loathed to admit it, but Lilly and her agency were right, she had to get ahead of this before it got out of hand.

“Ugh. I hate it when you make sense. Fine I’ll go. What time tomorrow?” Ochako verbalized, hating being forced to go explain this non-story. Yes, they were hit with a quirk that did some funky things to their minds, but it’s not like it was altering the fabric of reality. She wished the media had just a smidgen more chill. Like, even a teaspoon more chill.

“The show has requested you be there at 7am” Lilly informed her. Ochako groaned again. Why the early morning show time? Why not the afternoon? Did her management and PR team know her at all?

“Okay, fine. But you’re coming with me, I refuse to face those vultures alone.” She grumbled, irritated but resigned to her fate of being bombarded with probing questions for the entertainment of the masses early in the morning.

“I can arrange that, I’ll let the agency know.” Lilly said curtly and Ochako could picture her nodding swiftly, “I’ll have Anita send you some talking points today.”

“Good, I like Anita’s work. Oh, and Lilly,” Ochako started before her sidekick could hang up, “Make sure the agency sends you with fresh coffee. For both of us. They owe me at least that… freaking 7am…” She mumbled out the last part in irritation.

“I will make sure that happens Uravity” Lilly affirmed, the sound of a smile creeping into her voice.

They said their goodbyes and hung up the phone. Ochako sighed and put her phone down before checking The Link as non-invasively as she could, creeping up to edge of Katsuki’s mind just to see if-

I’m awake Cheeks.

Oh shoot, I didn’t mean to wake you up!

I was planning on getting up at this time.

Ochako felt his thought was off kilter. Like it was a song in a minor key. She somehow knew that he was lying. His side of The Link was faintly disingenuous, though not maliciously. He was trying (and failing) to make he feel like it wasn’t a big deal.

That’s a lie, I can feel it.

Whatever. It’s time to get moving, we’ve got a scheduled training in a few hours anyway.

Whatever floats your boat, Katsuki

Ochako rolled her eyes at his insistence that it wasn’t an inconvenience to be woken up by one’s Link Partner’s loud thoughts, which maybe was true- he’d always been a morning person.

Get your ass moving, if Ghost Gardener was right about the media, we’re gonna have to be real fucking creative to get out of here.

Ochako should have known this is what he had in mind when he said ‘they’d have to be creative’. She should have seen this coming, especially given how unusually hyped he’d been as he bounced about earlier this morning. She was naïve to think it was just because he was excited to get back to physical training.

Katsuki was standing on the very edge of the roof of his apartment building (which he had a key to for some reason…? She had so many questions about that) grinning at her like a mad man. He had his left arm extended, palm open, waiting for her to join him so they could jump off the top of his apartment building. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, casting the roof in a golden glow. The light illuminated his face and hair, giving him a chaotically spiked golden halo. It was quite the striking image, like he was some sort of angelic creature offering to take her to the heavens, rather than the devilish man he actually was, asking her to jump off a building with him.

“Come on Pink Cheeks,” He persuaded suavely, “you know this will be way fucking faster than trying to muscle our way through the mass of soul sucking leeches at the door…”

He wanted to blast his way across the city. Again. Ochako wasn’t completely opposed to the idea. It had been a lot of fun the first time. Exhilarating. Intoxicating in the way it made Bakugou (and by extension Ochako) feel limitless. However, and this was a big however, she didn’t necessarily trust him to avoid accidentally killing them. Last time he got a bit... ehm… high off of the adrenaline and had stopped thinking like a sane person. Which made her think less like the sane, doesn’t-like-to-fly-at-90-miles-an-hour, reasonable person she would be without The Link influencing her emotional state by washing her logical thoughts away with Katsuki’s fortifying confidence.

“Only if you promise you won’t be reckless. I don’t want to die because you want to push limits just for the sake of it.” Ochako said giving him a skeptical look, eyes narrowed.

His side of The Link was bouncing with excitement and he kept pushing against her mind to taste whether he was convincing her enough. He definitely felt her indecision and was trying to tip her over the edge, figuratively and literally, so she’d cave to his wishes. He gave her a mental nudge, as if to say ‘how bad could it be?’ and raised an eyebrow at her cockily.

“Have a little fucking faith, Ochako.” He stated with a genuine smile that stopped Ochako’s heart, “You’re way too reliable to let us die anyway.”

Ochako felt her stomach erupt in butterflies at the look her was giving her, like he was sharing a secret with her. Like he couldn’t hurt her if he tried. Like he knew her, saw right to her soul. She took a shuddering breath, shivering at the sheer intensity of the look they were sharing. The Link was pulled taught, reflecting the weird tension between them as they both focused entirely on the other.

She blinked and shook her head a bit to break the tension, slightly freaked out by the intensity of The Link. She tried to calm her rapid pulse rate and looked down at her feet, collecting her mind from where it had been pulled into orbit with his by the intense…whatever…that was. She felt a flair of disappointment from Katsuki before it was bulldozed by his returning excitement. He was itching to try joint flight again, twitchy and antsy to try his hand at becoming a Human Rocketship again.

Ochako sighed, knowing the battle was basically lost. They both knew she would cave eventually; she wasn’t good at saying no to him when he got all excited and invigorated like this. Not when he felt this way- just so alive. Not when he gave her a genuine smile and a look like that.

Bakugou’s grin widened incrementally as he picked up on her surrender and Ochako got slammed with an emotional wall of, what can only be described as, ‘mischievous’ and her stomach dropped. She whipped her head up to look at him on the ledge, her eyes widening.

“When have I ever been reckless?” He said with a Cheshire grin before he unceremoniously launched himself off the ledge backwards and headfirst, like he was diving into a pool rather than into the thin air off of a 25-story building. He arched gracefully through the air before he fell below the ledge of the roof towards the ground and out of her sight.

This bullshit right here. This is why Ochako was skeptical of this idea.

She reacted without thinking, a trait she’d developed in her time as a hero, and sprinted towards the ledge after the idiot she had the pleasure (Pfft!) of being linked to.

KATSUKI! WHAT THE HELL!

She jumped onto the ledge then immediately vaulted into the air with as much strength as she could muster, activating her quirk on herself at the last possible second to launch herself upwards. A loud BOOM sounded below and she looked down to see manically grinning Katsuki blasting himself through the air towards her, leaving a cone of smoke and glowing embers in his wake.

Fucking ready ‘Chaco?!

His thought blasted into her mind accompanied with a vague impression of ‘hold out your hand’ and a boat load of exhilaration, confidence and.. appreciation..?

She didn’t have time to process his emotional state or use of the new nickname, instinctively reaching her hand out towards him as his impression had directed, readying herself for the impact. He was losing speed as gravity slowed his upward movement, but was not decelerating enough to make this a light impact. As he came within her reach, Katsuki stretched his right hand out to her, an ironic mirror to how he’d offered his hand while they had both still been on the roof. This time she took the offered hand as she slid past his open palm, wrapping her fingers around his corded forearm instead for a better grip. She pinned him with a targeted glare, still pissed at his rash actions, but he just grinned back, eyes shining with excitement. She activated her quirk on him as the last of her five finger pads made contact and felt his stomach clench across The Link as her quirk took his gravity away. She met his eyes again, this time with a smirk of her own, his mood unstoppably influencing her’s.

His momentum carried him up to her level and he pulled on her arm, swinging her weightless body behind him to his back. Realizing what he intended, thanks to how closely The Link had pulled them together, she wrapped her legs around his waist and hooked her arms around his shoulders so that he was essentially giving her a piggyback ride. A weightless, rocket-fueled, piggyback ride.

Without much warning, aside from a spike of Katsuki’s anticipation, at which Ochako tightened her grip, he let of a chain of precise explosions which rocketed them higher into the sky, before he turned them towards what she assumed was the direction of his gym.

Katsuki let out a delighted, if not slightly manic, laugh and Ochako grinned in response. She’d never admit it to him, but this was pretty incredible. She looked over his shoulder down at the city as it blurred past them, enamored with the way she felt: like she was literally on top of the world. Katsuki’s pervasive enthusiasm was just adding to her joy, she loved that something like this could make him so satisfied, make his soul sing they way it was right now. It made her want to do it more often, just to make him happy.

In the next few moments Ochako felt like they were bordering on a speed that was too fast for her comfort, so she steepled her fingers together and muttered “release” into Katsuki’s shoulder. Bakugou gave a start as he felt her quirk deactivate and turned his head to glare at her quickly.

We were just getting to the fucking good part!

Ochako rolled her eyes, not deigning to respond to his whine. He could deal. If he wanted to go fast he was going to have to do it without her strapped on for the ride. At least for now, until they could figure out how to manage better control.

He let out some more stabilizing blasts, angling his hands towards the ground to keep their altitude controlled and they started to curve back towards the ground. They would need to either land or have her reactive her quirk soon, depending on how far away Bakugou’s gym was.

I hope you know where we’re going!!

I’m not a fucking amateur! Get ready.

Ochako tightened her grip, ready to activate her quirk at the right moment to ensure they wouldn’t have a crash landing. Katsuki steered them towards a large building, nearly as tall as his apartment complex, but without any windows on the upper portions of the structure. She squinted at it and scoffed. The roof had a freaking helicopter pad. Ochako had a sneaking suspicion that Katsuki had more to do with that feature than he probably should have. He was notorious as a hero that would rather blast himself through the air in a semblance of flying than deal with rush hour traffic any day. Again, he was reckless.

At some unmarked distance that Bakugou seemed to be very astutely waiting for, he lifted his arms in front of him to release two twin explosions from his hands. Ochako felt his deltoids and upper back flex to absorb the recoil from the swimming-pool-sized expanding spheres of fire and appreciatively thank the gods he had spent his whole life building up the musculature needed to control the sheer amount of force his palms generated. They jerked to a stop midair above the helipad and Ochako pressed her right hand to his chest, then onto her left forearm in quick succession to remove their gravity. She off-handedly marveled how precisely he was able to calculate and create the correct size of blast to slow their momentum just enough to stop them without blasting them backwards instead.

Ochako let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, relaxing slightly now that she was the one in control. Katsuki turned his head to look at her, grinning from ear to ear. God he looked positively edible when he actually smiled.
She was suddenly struck with how close they’re gotten in The Link during their flight, his mind was right next to hers. She could feel the slight ache of his forearms as they recovered from his quirk use. He let out bark of a laughter at her expression as they floated. She supposed he was probably savvy to her not-so-quiet thoughts of appreciation of his skills (and face) and was laughing at her.

“You’re up Cheeks” He let out with a low chuckle, his side of the link alight with his amusement and delight.

He gave her a mental nudge, affectionally urging her on, and patted her thigh, just above her right knee, hand still hot from the bomb he’d just set off with it. Ochako physically startled with a small “eep!” as the touch sent a spark of electricity up her leg and was surprised to feel a similar sensation flit up Katsuki’s hand. Ochako furrowed her brow in confusion and felt Katsuki’s mind go blank in shock before he abruptly pulled back from her in The Link, not quite putting up a wall, but far enough away that she couldn’t feel his emotions instantaneously anymore. Ochako wobbled at the blending of sensation the combination of the two created.

“…um…” Ochako hedged, perplexed by the whole incident, “…Release…?” She brought her fingers together in front of Katsuki’s chest, incrementally releasing their gravity to pull them towards the roof.

Katsuki’s boots touched down and she released the rest of her quirk, unlocking her legs from his waist. She descended from her spot on his broad back, landing on her slightly wobbly legs (thanks to all the adrenaline and the weird electric zap) with a low giggle. She was amazed at how much more smoothly that had gone from the previous attempt just a few days ago. Weird Link stuff aside, she and Katsuki had something pretty awesome going with the flying thing. So long as he didn’t take it too far and try to hurl them into the side of a skyscraper at 90 miles an hour, she mentally amended.

Tch. I’d stop us before we could face plant into a fucking skyscraper, they’re pretty damn easy to see coming.

Bakugou rolled his shoulders and shook his right hand, as if trying to shake the electric zinging from his fingertips. He glanced down at it, as if it had offended him, before turning around to look at her briefly.

“Come on, Kirishima is gonna be here soon.” He stated as he turned and started walking towards the door sticking up from the other side of the roof, pulling a key out of his pocket (the man had a lot of explaining to do about his apparent access to every roof in the friggin’ city).

“Wait, since when is Kiri is going to be here?!” Ochako called as she jogged to catch up.

Turns out, Katsuki had invited Kiri to their workout the night before. Without asking her. Something Ochako was more or less pouting about, even two hours after they had started training, much to Bakugou’s annoyance.

“LET IT FUCKING GO CHEEKS!” He shouted at her, finally fed up with her sour attitude, as she attempted to land a punch to his solar plexus. He slapped her punch away, diverting it to the side with a block.

“NO!” She buckled down stubbornly, “You can’t. Just. Make. Decisions. For us. Both.” She punctured each word with another swing, which he dodged breezily before countering with a right hook. She sucked in a surprised breath and flipped away from the blow in a back handspring. She tried to catch his jaw with one of her feet as she went, but his (stupid) lighting fast reflexes had him out of the way before it could land.

“Remember?! That rule that YOU made?!” She finished her sentence in a huff and they circled each other again. Katsuki, scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“I invited a friend to training,” He growled out, sending two explosions her way, “That’s hardly a fucking life or death decision!”

She danced around the fire balls with lithe movements, scowling sourly at the blonde. She gave him a mental shove, which he returned with a glare. They both had shields up in an effort to keep the fight unpredictable. They’d realized they could easily read each other’s next moves with The Link, a flaw they had figured out within the first few minutes of sparing where they’d essentially just moved around each other preparing to defend against attacks that never happened, the battle just occurring in their minds. Kirishima had laughed until tears came to his eyes at the sight.

“Guys, It’s really not a big deal, I can leave.” Kirishima chimed in from his spot in the sparing triangle the three heroes made, glancing between his friends anxiously. They were supposed to be all fighting each other in a three-way spar, but Eijirou had disheartenedly backed up when Ochako and Katsuki had started to argue more heatedly a few minutes ago.

“FUCK NO!”
“Stay right where you are!”

Ochako and Katsuki both turned to shout at the redhead at the same time, then turned to glare at each other anew. Kirishima let out a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his head, backing away from the two.

“You’re such a prick!” Ochako yelled activating her quirk on herself and leaping into the air to deliver a spinning kick to the assholes smug face. Bakugou reached out and grabbed her leg, swinging her around with the momentum of her kick, hurling her off towards a slack-jawed Kirishima like some glorified frisbee.

“You just won’t admit it was a good idea!” He sneered, planting his boots in expectation of her next counter-strike. It was not an incorrect statement, but it was one that pissed her off. It didn’t matter that Katsuki had predicted that The Link would make training with only each other a less than productive venture, he still should have explained to her what she was walking into! Plus! It was.. It was hypocritical of him!

Ochako flew towards Kiri, connecting her finger pads to his shoulder to activate her quirk on him. She rotated her body, transferring her momentum to him by spinning around him them jerking him with a grunt (and some serious abdominal strength) until she became the axis on which they rotated. She let the hero go at exactly the right second to send him flying toward his best friend, adding some muscle to increase the force behind her throw.

“Uraraka- wait n-no, AH FRICK!” Kirishima stuttered out in realization of what was about to happen, having seen Uravity use this move on the battlefield before. He hardened his body as he noticed Bakugou’s hands glowing brighter, ready to blast Ochako’s impromptu projectile.

“RELEASE!” She called, wasting no time as she ran towards Katsuki, who was sparking an explosion into existence directly in his friend’s rock solid face. The explosion echoed through the massive space of the quirk studio, Kirishima was blasted back across the studio while Ochako leaped through Katsuki’s smoke screen with another flying kick. This kick took Katsuki by surprise and Ochako watched with delight as his eyes widened a fraction right before her foot connected with his jaw. His head was snapped to the side and he stumbled backward as Ochako landed roughly. Ochako was slammed with his pain as soon as her kick landed and she gripped her own jaw reflexively, letting out a groan.

“WHAT THE FUCK URARAKA?!” Katsuki fumed and her rubbed his jaw and spat some blood onto the ground. He turned to glare at her in fury, then barked out a grungy laugh when he saw her cradling her own jaw. “Fucking serves you right!” He stopped short when his laughter sent a flair of pain through his jaw.

“Shut up!” Ochako barked, now feeling slightly guilty over having kicked him so hard, “It hurts when you talk.”

Katsuki was struggling to hold back his grin as he shook his head ruefully. She cautiously took her mental shield down and felt an immediate increase of pain as Katsuki’s mind sided up next to her’s when The Link reestablished. He was in a remarkably good mood for the level of pain he was in. Bakugou glanced over to where Kiri was extracting himself from the crater he’d made in the concrete wall.

“You both suck.” Kiri said brushing some concrete dust off his shoulder with a grimmace, “now can we move on?”

“Looks like we arrived at just the right time.” Aizawa’s distinctive baritone cut across the open room with a note of sarcasm.

Ochako snapped her head over towards Aizawa’s voice, then did a double take. Aizawa was slouching towards where the three heroes were standing, in the middle of the studio, and walking next to him, with equally slouchy posture, was Shinsou. With brown hair. When had he dyed it brown?! Also, why was he here?

“Shinsou? What are you doing here?” Ochako questioned dumbfounded. Was this the favor Aizawa had to ask for? What on earth could Shinsou help them with?

“Oh HELL no!” Bakugou called, pointing a finger agitatedly at the mind-control hero, “He is NOT fucking fishing in our damn minds.”

Ochako looked back over to Katsuki sending him a ‘huh?’ impression across The Link, still not getting it. She was kind of amazed at how quickly Bakugou had picked up on Aizawa’s unspoken meaning. Katsuki swung his irritated gaze to her with a sigh.

Aizawa wants him to control us to get a better idea of what The Link is. What our limits are.

“We need to know how other mind altering quirks work on you two.” Aizawa sighed exhaustedly, “You’re going to let Shinso try whatever he has up his sleeve to make sure it’s not a problem, or you don’t get active duty again.”

“Oh. Oh snap.” Kiri’s surprised exclamation of understanding just about summed up Ochako’s feelings, “That’s gonna be freaky as heck.”

Notes:

So this may be my new favorite chapter thus far! Hopefully everyone else liked it too!

 

I'm going to keep the chapter 12 Title recommendations open for a bit longer, since this update was so soon after I released that one. I want to give everyone a chance to participate!

Thank you all for your support! Happy New Year!

Chapter 14: Under The Bridge

“Okay I’ve got SO many questions…” Ochako stood across from the newcomers to their training session. She absently rubbed at her jaw where it was still aching with phantom pain from where she’d kicked Bakugou.

“Tch.” Katsuki scoffed, tilting his head back threateningly. The Link informed her that he was very much unhappy with this situation, stubbornly refusing to be compliant with Aizawa’s request to have Shinsou train them. She was getting the sense that he really didn’t like Shinsou.

“Shinsou, what does Aizawa-san want you to do exactly?” Ochako continued ignoring Katsuki’s disdain. Shinsou’s purple irises flicked over to her and he gave her a small smile and tilt of his head in greeting.

“Aizawa asked me to come help out.” Shinsou stated smoothly with a shrug, “He wants me to test the depth of connection your minds have. Seemed like fun, plus I owe him.”

Aizawa gave a snort at Shinsou’s comment and Ochako looked back and forth between the two. She didn’t even know that Aizawa and Shinsou were talking, let alone doing favors for one another. Katsuki was so skeptical it bordered on paranoid, Ochako gave him the mental equivalent of a kick under the table and a look that indicated he needed to chill. He narrowed his eyes at her in disparagement.

“uhhh…okay.” Ochako said, still not super clear on what was going on, “ so what exactly does that entail?”

“Obviously, trying to activate his slimy-ass quirk on one of us and see how it affects the other. And probably dig through our brains like a fucking creep.” Katsuki spat, glaring with fury at the pair of adversaries Aizawa and Shinsou had become to him.

“You’re just butt-hurt that he made you his personal bazooka in the preliminary round of our third sports festival, Baku-bro.” Kirishima chimed in good naturedly from behind Bakugou. Ochako burst out laughing at the face Katsuki made, a twisted mix of horror and fury with a dusting of an embarrassed blush on his cheeks.

“SHUT IT SHITTY HAIR!” Katsuki whirled around pointing his palms threateningly at Kiri, who just let out a laugh and shook his head. Katsuki’s side of The Link was awash with stinging embarrassment and anger. She peeked over at Shinsou, who was smiling at Bakugou condescendingly. As if he felt her eyes on him, he met Ochako’s gaze and winked at her subtly. Ochako let out a chuckle as Katsuki’s hands started to smoke.

He’s got you pinned, you are SO not over that yet.

Fuck off! I’m not ‘butt hurt’ or what-the-fuck-ever else Rock for Brains is implying!

Suuuuure you aren’t.

Katsuki’s eyes slid to hers, from where he was glaring at Kirishima, as they conversed through The Link. Ochako rolled her eyes at his denial, grinning broadly. He huffed and crossed his arms, glaring at her, annoyed that she saw right through his protests.

“I see what you mean Aizawa, that is fascinating.” Shinsou mumbled, hand coming to rest thoughtfully at his chin. Ochako returned her gaze to her fellow UA grad as he pondered their silent interaction. He raised an eyebrow at her and she blushed. He had an uncanny ability to catch her when she glanced at him.

“Fuck you hypno-freak.” Katsuki glared at Shinsou, “I’m not letting you anywhere near our minds.”

“Katsuki, I’m not letting you back on duty again until we can be sure that quirks like Shinsou’s can’t affect you both. It would be a fatal weakness should we not account for it before you’re allowed to resume patrols.” Aizawa sighed, tone suggesting he already regretted this idea.

“Katsuki,” Ochako said soothingly reaching out to rest a hand on his shoulder. His eyes snapped to meet hers at the contact, narrowing in distrust. “Aizawa-san is right, we don’t know enough about this yet. Especially, given how The Link affected us yesterday. We need to know as much as we can.”

“Wait, what happened yesterday?” Kirishima interjected at her words, concerned. Aizawa’s eyebrows rose in alarm.

“Well, we experienced some pretty intense…um… psychological effects from The Link.” Ochako hedged in an attempt to avoid the question. She’d wanted to talk with Aizawa about this today, but hadn’t necessarily wanted to share with Kirishima or Shinsou. She mentally kicked herself for speaking so carelessly. Katsuki sighed loudly at her admission, clearly not happy she’d decided to share. He felt distinctly annoyed and impatient at the conversation, his anger was dissipating as the conversation changed topics to something that didn’t involve mind control.

“What effects?” Aizawa asked concerned.

“A sort of separation anxiety.” Ochako stated, seeing no way around sharing this with everyone present.

“Explain.” Aizawa said narrowing his eyes at Ochako. Kirishima was glancing back and forth between Ochako and Katsuki, who just grit his teeth together and stared pointedly at a wall.

“Well, we ended up on opposite sides of the city for, like, the first time since this whole thing started and we both were just…” Ochako paused looking to Katsuki for a better description than ‘anxious’. Something to encapsulate how unnatural and not-okay it was to have a gaping void in The Link. Katsuki turned his head at her mental cue and met her gaze thoughtfully, right next to her mind in The Link.

“Super fucking NOT okay with it.” He supplied with a snort, translating her feelings into Baku-speak. Ochako let out a chuckle at that and she caught Shinsou’s mouth twitching upwards in amusement. She looked up at Katsuki again with amusement, he smirked at her warily, still on guard about letting Shinsou use his quirk on him.

That wasn’t quite what I was going for.

Eh, it was what you were thinking.

Not exactly, certainly not the ‘fucking’ part.

Don’t I know it…

Huh?

Never mind.

By this time the other three were looking between her and Katsuki, clearly understanding they were speaking privately in The Link. When Ochako finally noticed, she blushed and dipped her head. She needed to get a better handle on carrying on two conversations at once, rather than getting sucked into the black hole that Katsuki’s undivided attention was for her. She cleared her throat awkwardly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, pushing down her embarrassment.

“Uh, yeah we both were just unconsolably on edge until we got back with in each other’s proximity.” Ochako finished, trying to explain, “I can’t explain it any other way. It just felt-”

“Wrong. Unnatural.” Katsuki interjected thoughtfully, picking the words straight out of her brain. Ochako glanced his way and nodded in affirmation.

“Well that is certainly a new development…” Aizawa said pensively, eyes troubled.

Katsuki coughed conspicuously. The others turned to look at him and his eyes shifted from face to face before landing on Aizawa. Aizawa gave him a pointed look, clearly demanding an explanation.

“Not exactly.” He admitted gruffly, “I noticed it a few nights ago when I left the hospital to go across town.”

Wait what? Why hadn’t he mentioned this to her? She knew he’d gone across town to pick up some files, but she hadn’t felt any of those effects. Granted she’d be soundly sleeping (because she was a reasonable person who valued her sleep, unlike some psychos…), but she figured she would have felt something? Right?

“Katsuki!” Ochako exclaimed looking at him affronted, “Why didn’t you say anything?!”

“Didn’t think it was important.” He said with a shrug, avoiding eye contact, “It wasn’t as bad that first time.”

Maybe it’s because you were asleep.

He added the thought silently to Ochako as way of explanation. She sided up to his mind subtly, considering his current emotional state. He was mostly feeling frustrated and resigned, an interesting combination for him. She sighed when she felt a flash of guilt at his omission, he didn’t mean to keep things from her, he truly hadn’t thought it was relevant.

… Or maybe it’s been getting worse without us realizing it.

It was a worrying thought. She’d be lying if she said that The Link wasn’t getting stronger. Even in the past two weeks The Link had stitched her and Katsuki’s minds together so tightly it was nearly impossible to imagine what it would be like, had been like, to not have him there. The better they got at managing it seemed to also make them more intrinsically linked. It was worrying.

“All the more reason to let Shinsou test his quirk out.” Aizawa stated firmly, giving Bakugou a very clear look of ‘Don’t test me on this’. Katsuki let out a huff and gave the smallest incline of his head in affirmation, knowing the battle was lost. He wanted to get back on active duty, this was just another hurdle to get to that point.

“Fuckin’ fine.” He relented, “but if you do ANYTHING even remotely fishy, I’m going to fry you.” He warned pointing at Shinsou accusatorily. Ochako rolled her eyes at his theatrics. Shinsou was a good guy, he was here to help. Katsuki just had a bad habit of keep grudges for way to long.

“Eijirou, you can go home now” Aizawa said to the red head as if in an after-thought.

“No way Boss Man! I am not gonna miss this!” Kirishima barked, grinning excitedly, “It’s been to long since I’ve seen Baku-bro fail miserably at something.”

“One of these days I am actually going to fucking kill you…” Bakugou mumbled grouchily in response, running a hand down his face. Ochako giggled, feeling his begrudging amusement at the comment. She’d never really understood their relationship, until she’d felt his admiration for the red head first hand. Katsuki felt a deep respect and love for Kirishima. He trusted him absolutely, no exceptions. Ochako stared at Katuski as she felt his appreciation for Kirishima through The Link, as always, astounded by how deeply he felt any emotion that possessed him.

“Who’s first?” Shinsou’s voice interrupted Ochako’s deep dive into Katsuki’s emotions. Right, focus. It was time to get back to business.

“Who the fuck do you think?” Katsuki spat, snapping his head up to glare at Shinsou. Ochako opened her mouth to protest. Clearly Bakugou did not want this to happen, so why should he go first?

“Very well” Shinsou said with a smile, watching as Katsuki’s eyes went blank, before Ochako could voice her protests.

Ochako held a breath as she focused all of her attention onto The Link, unsure of what would happen. She felt, more than saw Shinsou’s quirk take hold of Katsuki. Katsuki’s mind suddenly felt intangible, like it was comprised of smoke. It dissolved until it was drifting in curls around the edges of her mind, rather than resting against it with the solid pressure of his thoughts, as it normally had. If that wasn’t chilling enough, when she felt his electric flash of panic flare into her mind Ochako realized that she was still feeling Katsuki’s emotions. The hairs on the back of her neck raised at the sensation, and she gasped slightly. Katsuki was mildly panicking at the sensation of losing control.

Distracted by Katsuki’s panic, anger and claustrophobia, she didn’t notice the creeping numbness reach across The Link. The tendrils of mist from Katsuki’s mind infiltrated The Link and drifted into her mind within seconds of Shinsou activating her quirk, and Ochako had barely a second to realize what was happening. She scrambled to put a shield up as she fought for control, but it was too late: she felt her mind pushed off to the side as Shinsou took control.

She silently cursed herself, feeling annoyed she hadn’t thought to put up a shield before the test. She felt very confined and powerless like this, and though she was familiar with the feeling thanks to years of training and working with Shinsou, it was still very disconcerting.

Curiously, she could still feel Katsuki’s emotional state, which was reeling in panic and discomfort. He seriously hated this, which made sense given how much of a control freak he was. She could still feel The Link, high above where her consciousness had been shoved, just out of reach.

She watched from the small corner of her mind that she had been shoved into as her body smiled and spoke out loud.

“I’ve got them both.” Her voice stated, more monotonously than she would have said it. She felt Katsuki’s reactive disgust and anger.

She could still feel him, the emotional side of The Link had not been compromised….Wait. The emotional side of the Link had not been compromised. Did that mean they could still communicate that way? She considered sending him some of her resignation and calm, but wasn’t sure it would work…?

Ah, what the hell. She focused all of the remainder of her consciousness on the steady flow of feelings she was feeling drift through what remained of The Link and shoved her resignation and calm through.

Katsuki’s reaction was instantaneous surprise and relief, and Ochako watched as his body’s hand twitched. Her (metaphorical) eyes widened in excitement. His hand had twitched! Maybe they could snap the other out of it, as Deku had somehow been able to do to himself during the first sports festival.

Outside her confined mindspace, Aizawa was looking between the two of them and Shinsou with a frown on his lips. His face showed his clear disappointment. This was not what he had been hoping would happen, he looked almost worried as he turned to face Shinsou.

“Well this is discouraging…” He sighed aggravatedly, “How does The Link feel to you?”

“It’s…strange.” Shinsou said brow furrowed in concentration, “They have separate minds, but there is a distinct… bridge… between them. It is also- hmm” He paused in thought, faltering for words.

It was super strange, but Ochako couldn’t feel Shinsou at all. Her mind, where she assumed she would have been hearing Shinsou’s thoughts, felt like a void, filled only with lazily drifting clouds of numbing smoke. She had expected it to feel like it did when Katsuki was in her mind, like a solid presence, full of emotion and thought, but it was just…empty. Numb. Like her brain was an empty shell that Shinsou was puppeteering, rather than inhabiting. It was nothing like how it felt to have Katsuki in her mind.

“What? Any detail could be crucial.” Aizawa probed encouragingly.

“It’s almost like- like there’s more to it.” Shinsou sighed, “I can tell that there’s a big part of this bridge I’m not able to touch somehow.”

Ochako paused, listening. She wasn’t super sure what Shinsou meant, but maybe it had something to do with the way she could still feel Katsuki, even if their minds weren’t in direct contact due to Shinsou’s control. She returned to her idea to snap them out of it. Maybe… she could use that part to get them out of this.

“What do you mean?” Kirishima questioned, his face wrinkled in confusion.

“I don’t know how to describe it.” Shinsou said a slight edge in his tone, distracted “It’s like this thing between them goes deeper than just between their minds. There’s some part- something I can’t influence.”

Ochako felt Shinsou’s fog thin slightly as he focused on talking with Aizawa and Kiri. She took the chance that the lapse in control gave her, doing her best to send Katsuki a ‘Move!’ impression as she shoved a mound of excitement and agitation at him across The Link. She had no idea if this would work, but it was worth a shot.

She watched as Katsuki’s body heaved, a harsh breath forced out of his lungs. Shinsou’s and Aizawa’s head whipped around to look at him. Kirishima squealed in surprise. Bakugou’s right arm raised jerkily, palm pointing towards Shinsou.

“What the-” Shinsou muttered raising a hand, causing the fog in her brain to swirl around her more quickly, oppressively. Katsuki’s body tensed, as if being pulled in two different directions, eyes still dull. His hand quivered in the air.

MORE!

Shinsou’s eyes widened and his mouth gaped open as Katsuki’s voiced echoed across her empty mind, rebounding to where her consciousness was located. She supposed that Shinsou could hear Katsuki’s thought, just as well as she could, which was probably a very new sensation for the mind controller. She felt Shinsou tighten his grip on her mind as the fog around her thickened. It pushed her further away from her own mind as well as The Link.

Ochako didn’t give it another second, shoving as much excitement and energy towards Katsuki as she could muster, as he’d requested. It took way more out of her than the first time to get the emotion to flow across The Link, but she managed to throw the mountain of energy and emotion through the thick fog of Shinsou’s control.

She watched as Katsuki jerked again, head snapping up to glare at Shinsou with a ferocious grin on his face, red eyes alight with their usual fire. Ochako felt his flair of triumph as his hand started to glow, heating up. Shinsou saw it too, and reacted by clamping down on Ochako’s mind, smothering her consciousness by flinging his arm out towards her, clenching his hand. Uh-oh… This was not going to be good.

Ochako panicked as the swirling mists enclosed on the small space she had been relegated to, numbing her awareness as it closed around her. She lost track of what was happening outside her small space. Vision, even the secondhand vision she usually had while under Shinsou’s control, faded to black. Sounds grabbled until they were just white noise, then became an eerie silence. The pressure of the sensation-numbing fog was simultaneously immense and contradictorily light, freezing all conscious thought. She felt one last flair of panic, then there was nothing.

Ocha… Come…you…eed… wake up.. Please…ake up…

Ochako started to shift into awareness with the sound of Katsuki’s thoughts reverberating in her head. She heard sounds filtering into her mind, but couldn’t think straight enough to process them.

“I didn’t mean to-”
“Shut the fuck up! You’ve done enough!”

If you don’t fucking wake up in the next thirty seconds I’m revoking all comments about your strength.

The first thing Ochako was truly able to process was the emotional state that seemed to be flooding her mind. Katsuki was PISSED. She could feel his anger whipping around her mind in a firestorm, being fueled by his panic and fear. Contrastingly, she felt like her brain was made of cotton, insulated and numb.

“She should wake up soon, I didn’t put her too far under.”
“Get the FUCK out of my sight before I try my hand at painting walls with your exploded entrails!”

Ochako was starting to be able to understand what was happening, as her memories came back to her. She had obviously been knocked unconscious, under the influence of Shinsou’s quirk. She vaguely wondered how long she’d been out as she slowly started to bubble back up to fuller awareness.

“He didn’t mean to-“
“I swear to God, Shitty Hair if you’re defending him-“

She felt Katsuki’s anger flare acutely and felt the sting it brought with it, the emotional and psychic numbness of being unconscious faded with each flare. Ugh, he had no chill sometimes, it was not exactly pleasant to go from numb to on fire. He could at least try to contain his stinging emotions...

Fuck, just- please wake up.

She became aware of her lungs pulling in air, and with it a crystal clear clarity, in a soothing rhythm. She was stretching closer to fully conscious with each breath.

In and out.

In and out.

Her consciousness slowly rose from where it had been forcibly pushed down, floating back up next to The Link. She blearily attempted to open her eyes, but found her body to be sluggish in response.

“Bakugou, relax.”
“DON’T FUCKING TELL ME TO-“

Katsuki

She instantly felt his mind side up next to her emerging consciousness, cutting off his speech as the whole of his attention shifted onto her. His mind flittering nervously around her, doing a head-to-toe check of her mind looking for any damage. She brushed his mind reassuringly, trying to impart that she was fine. His relief at the motion was palpable, a cooling balm to his intense fire of fury. He let out a shaky breath in relief.

YOU FUCKING SCARED THE SHIT OU-

Stop yelling, you idiot.

You just, fucking- disappeared from The Link.

mmm, pretty sure my mind stopped existing for a bit there.

She tried to explain the way Shinsou snuffed out her conscious mind to ease his anxiety about the integrity of The Link. He didn’t need to worry, that’s just how Shinsou’s quirk worked. It suppressed someone’s consciousness until it stopped existing for a while. Unfortunately, her attempt at reassurance just sent Katsuki’s stomach to his toes as his anxiety increased.

Fuck! Don’t say shit like that!

I was trying to reassure you. I’m fine, really. The Link is fine. You can relax.

At this point her connection to her body seemed to have reestablished as she felt her limbs tingling with pins and needles. She also felt a lancing headache start to glow to life in her temples. She blinked open her eyes with a barely audible groan as her eyes adjusted to the bright lights of the training center.

She saw that the members of their little training session were are circled around where she was laying, half on the floor and half in Katsuki’s lap. He had pulled her head and part of her torso to rest on his crossed legs and was anxiously rubbing her arms up and down, as if to bring feeling back into them. It actually was helping a lot with the pins-and-needles sensation her limbs had as they came-back-online. She wondered if her could feel the sensation through The Link and was trying to help.

Aizawa was watching her with eyebrows drawn together in concern, an arm slightly extended in front of Shinsou, who was just behind him, as though to put himself between the fuming Bakugou and Shinsou. Kiri was kneeling next to Bakugou gripping her hand tightly, and she gave it a slight twitch in an attempt to squeeze his hand in reassurance. The red head seemed to understand and let out a huff of relief, squeezing her hand back with a tense smile.

“Uraraka?” Shinsou’s said leaning in, his expression marred with guilt, “I am so sorry, I –“

“Back the fuck up or I will blow you into next week.” Katsuki growled, baring his teeth as Shinsou moved closer to her, hand outstretched. Shinsou froze at Katsuki’s threat, eyes darting back and forth between her and her overbearing guard dog of a Link partner.

“Itz ph- Ochako started, but stopped as her words slurred and her head throbbed. She made a frustrated sound at her bodies lack of response, this was like being on pain killers and hungover at the same time. There was a strand of her hair tickling her nose, but she couldn’t get her arm to move to sweep it away, it was distracting. This was so annoying.

Tell him it’s fine, I just need a second to wake up my body.

Katsuki turned to look down at her, reaching up to tuck the ticklish strand of hair behind her ear (god bless him), brows furrowed in frustration.

I am not going to tell that greasy motherfu-

She arranged her face into a glare and gave him her best mental shove, which ended up being more of a nudge than a push. Katsuki sighed unhappily and resumed rubbing her arms, which really felt quite nice. He was mostly just relieved, though his anger still glowed like embers in the background, threatening to flare into a firestorm of fury at any minute.

“She says she’s fine, she just needs a couple of minutes.” He ground out, clearly not pleased as he glared at Shinsou. She experimentally flexed her fingers, which stiffly and belatedly responded. It was progress at least.

What happened? How long was I down?

“You broke me out of the trance and this asshole” Katsuki answered her out loud jerking his head towards Shinsou, “shoved you so far under that you went unconscious.”

“I didn’t mean to, I just reacted…” Shinsou protested weakly, ignoring Katsuki’s scowl.

“You gave us quite a scare,” Kiri chimed in giving their joined hands a pat with a relieved smile, “you were out for a solid five minutes, we weren’t sure if you were going to come to without healing intervention. Bakugou said he couldn’t feel you at all. He was freaking out.”

Ochako nodded her head shakily, ignoring the spike of pain it sent through her forehead. All in all, five minutes was not that bad, it could have been way worse. Shinsou’s quirk could do some serious damage if he wanted it to.

There had been several instances where villains had been transported to the hospital after he’d snuffed out their consciousness so severely that their bodies went comatose. Most of them required healing quirks to get their minds to resurface. She knew Shinsou felt bad about it every time it happened to villains, she couldn’t imagine how guilty he must be feeling for accidentally forcing it on a friend.

Once, after a particularly brutal fight, where he’d caused a particularly vicious self-healing villain to go comatose, he had confessed to her over a bottle of wine that he felt bitter how effective his quirk could be at incapacitating villains. She’d told him it wasn’t any worse than Deku’s or Bakugou’s, who physically damaged villains until they couldn’t act any more, but he protested saying he didn’t incapacitate them, he erased them. She hadn’t had a response to it then, just shrugging and pouring him another glass.

Ochako cleared her throat gruffly, looking over to where Shinsou was looking at her anxiously. Aizawa, was dispassionately watching the entire group, though she knew he’d been worried too.

“It’s ok- okay.” She managed to speak shakily, smiling weakly at Shinsou, “I know you didn’t m-m-ean to.”

She felt, more than saw Katsuki roll his eyes as his fear for her wellbeing dissipated into disbelief at her blasé response. Shinsou just pressed his lips together and nodded, she could tell he hadn’t forgiven himself yet. Eh, she’d convince him eventually.

She had feeling in her limbs again, though Katsuki was still rubbing her arms compulsively, as if he couldn’t stop. She let go of Kiri’s hand and moved to push herself into a sitting position, Katsuki moving to help her sit up. She felt a brief wave of dizziness, which went away fairly quickly, unlike the headache that seemed to be sticking around.

“Well, shit.” She said reaching a hand to rub her temples, “Now I know why villains always are in such a terrible mood after they wake up from your quirk, Shinsou.”

Kirishima laughed, giving her a toothy grin, which she returned glad that at least one person wasn’t taking this so seriously. Shinsou just pressed his lips together in displeasure again and Katsuki gave an incredulous snort.

“Let’s go again.” She said, bringing her hand into a fist determined, making significant eye contact with Aizawa, who nodded with an approving smile.

“Fucking hell Ochako…” Katsuki groaned out in exacerbation.

After a long discussion (argument really) about whether they should attempt to continue training with Shinsou, in which Katsuki and Shinsou were unlikely allies arguing for them to skip it and try something else, Aizawa determined that they had found a weakness in their Link that needed to be fortified. Ochako somehow convinced Katsuki to chill, a feat all on its own, and they decided to try it again. The second time went much the same way, though this time it was Katsuki who broke Ochako out of the trance with a shove of emotion so intense it caused Ochako to physically jump as she jerked out of Shinsou’s control, accidentally activating her quirk on herself. Kirishima had gotten a good laugh at that, which seemed to put everyone to ease.

After that, they worked mostly on seeing how far they could go until this little trick, of pushing emotions at each other, didn’t work. It seemed that the better control Shinsou had, the less able they were to communicate and therefore the less successful their attempt to escape was. They couldn’t feel each other at all if he activated his quirk on both of them, rather than activating on one of them and controlling the other vicariously through The Link.

Concerningly, they also discovered that their mental shields did virtually nothing to stop the flow of control across The Link, merely just slowing it down by a few seconds, which Ochako found to be mostly unhelpful. Katsuki was convinced that it was useful to know, a few seconds of time could be enough time to act.

Aizawa sat watching intently, taking in all the information the party offered to him with a look of calculation behind his eyes. Ochako knew he had something brewing and was curious to find out what it was, though Katsuki told her to be patient when he picked up on her barely contained curiosity. Aizawa would tell them when he was ready. She begrudgingly agreed with his assessment and let it go… for now.

It was late afternoon when Shinsou finally called it quits. Which was just as well, because Ochako had told Deku to swing by Bakugou's around 5 so they would need to be leaving soon anyway.

“I’m at my limit for today. I have to keep some reserves for later.” He said silkily after Ochako and Katsuki had broken themselves out of his hold in a record 15 seconds, the two of them breathing heavily at the effort. She was bent over, bracing herself on her knees as she caught her breath and waited for the tingling in her fingertips to fade.

“Later?” Ochako asked curiously, looking up at the mind controller from where she had been letting her head hang between her arms.

“I’m on an undercover assignment” Shinsou explained vaguely with a shrug. His eyes flickered over to Aizawa, before flitting away quickly. Comprehension dawned on Ochako.

“AH-HAH! That’s why your hair is brown!” She exclaimed, to which Shinou gave a slight nod, “Oh man, that was bugging me this whole time!”

“Yeah, I gotta say,” Kirishima said walking over to Shinsou and resting a heavy arm on his shoulders, “Brown does not suit you, my man.”

“er..” Shinsou replied, puzzled “well, it’s less noticeable than purple so..”

Ochako let out a chuckle at Shisou’s awkward response and clear discomfort as she straightened into a standing position. She glanced over at Bakugou, who was standing a few feet away with arms crossed agitatedly. His mood hadn’t ever waivered from annoyed, angry with a tinge of anxiety since they’d started up again. If anything, he disliked Shinsou more than when they’d started. Shinsou seemed to be avoiding looking in Bakugou’s direction for fear of pissing him off even more.

“Well this has been a great bonding session.” She said sarcastically with a pointed look at Katsuki, who just grumbled unhappily.

“Thank you for putting up with us for the day. It really was very helpful.” She said to Shinsou emphatically. She watched as he smiled slightly, a blush rising to his cheeks. He started to nod, then froze as if he’d just had an epiphany.

"That’s what it is.” Shinsou said in shock, looking between Bakugou and Ochako. Ochako furrowed he brow in confusion and felt Katsuki tense reactively.

“What what is?” Aizawa asked raising a brow.

“A bond.” Shonsou said quietly, bringing a finger to rest against his chin.

“I don’t get it.” Kirishima said, and Ochako had to agree with him. What on earth was Shinsou talking about? Shinsou seemed to come out of his thoughts with a shake of his head, looking to Ochako cautiously.

“Today, there was always a part of this Link I couldn’t touch.” He started, watching Ochako carefully, “Something that was deeper, more intrinsic than your minds being connected.”

“Yeah, you mentioned that…” Ochako nodded, still not quite picking up what Shinsou was laying down.

“I think-“ Shinsou said hesitantly, “I think, you two have some sort of bond, one that goes deeper than your minds. To the core of your beings, even.”

“Whoa whoa whoa” Katsuki ground out, “Back the fuck up. What the hell are you talking about?! ‘to the core of our beings’ what sort of psycho bullshit are you proposing?!”

“Well, think about it. “Shinsou said eyeing Bakugou distrustfully, “My quirk allows me to control minds, but I can’t influence emotions or any of the other things Aizawa described to me that you guys do with this new quirk. Additionally, you shouldn’t have been able to break out of my hold without some sort of stimuli that was external from your mind. It has to be deeper than just a mind link. It can’t be just your minds, or I would be able to control it completely.”

Ochako’s mouth dropped open, Shinsou was proposing some kind of … some kind of …soul… bond? No way, she would know if she’d had her soul linked with another person, surely?! Like, there was no way something like that could happen and she wouldn’t know…right? She felt like she was in shock. At this point she shouldn’t be surprised The Link was throwing something like this at them. It was a nearly daily occurrence at this point.

Bakugou was radiating a sense of annoyance and ironic humor. She never failed to be confused at his emotional response. She turned to look at him, confused, to see he had his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. He seemed to be focusing very intently on his breathing.

Uhm… I- what do- What do you think?

Goddamn it. Just- goddamn it.

Notes:

I wrote this chapter, like, last week, but felt like it was just...off. So I waited and sat with it and boy am I glad I did because I went through and workshopped the heck out of it and I am much happier with how it ended up.

Chapter 12 title from: LidaofthePack19 "Comfort Food"
Chapter 13 title from: ETRNL4L "Icarus who?"
Thank you for all the wonderful suggestions, it gets harder and harder to pick each update!

Thank you for your support! <3

Chapter 15: Soul Searching and Closure With an Eternal Rival

“Shinsou,” Aizawa’s voiced cautiously stated, “Are you saying that Bakugou and Uraraka have some sort of…soul bond?”

Ochako watched as Sinshou sighed heavily, frustrated at his loss for words, “I don’t know what to call it but it’s definitely not just a mind link.”

Katsuki had been conspicuously silent verbally, but also through The Link as he slowly pulled back and put up a solid shield, stopping the flow of his thoughts and emotions (much to her disdain). He must’ve just wanted some distance to think things though, away from her, this was some heavy conversation. She understood his desire to have some distance from her as they processed the new revelation about The Link…The Bond? She wasn’t even sure what to call it anymore. Soul bond. The thought seemed to fit… it felt right.

“Soul bond…” She said quietly to herself, testing it out on her tongue. They were just words, but it somehow felt right, like it encapsulated the way she just felt, the way she knew and understood Katsuki on a deeper level. She knew his soul.

Okay that sounded dumb. Even she could admit how freaking cheesy that sounded. No wonder Katsuki wanted to process this alone. She didn’t even know if she believed in souls! Maybe this was not souls in the literal sense then, but metaphorically. She certainly felt like this Link, Bond, Connection- whatever they called it was more. It was just more than any other mind-affecting quirk she’d experienced. More natural, more profound, more real. Just more. But still…how corny was ‘soulbond’? She’d given up any romantic world views she’d once held when she and Izuku (a man she had once considered to be her destiny) had crashed and burned last year. ‘Soulbond’ was sooo not her jam, let alone Bakugou’s.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Kirishima suddenly cracking up into hysterical laughter. She looked up at him to see him bent at the waist as his laughs wracked his body. She watched as some tears escaped his eyes.

“Oh, oh man. I can’t. believe-” He choked out between cackles, “I just, Katsuki…man, you gotta admit-“

“Say another fucking word I dare you…” Bakugou had crossed the space between himself and the red head in an instant to get into Kirishima’s personal space threateningly, palms glowing and smoking already. Kiri attempted to rein in his laughter, shaking his head and sharing some kind of look with Katsuki.

Ochako furrowed her brows, confused, but shrugged off the interaction. There were somethings that she didn’t need to know, and this felt like one of those weird “bro” moments (BROments as Kaminari would say). Plus, Katsuki had cut her off for a reason: he wanted the emotional space to process this on his own. She would give it to him, it was the least she could do.

“Let’s not make any rash assumptions about it.” Aizawa said pensively, “I think it is safe to assume that whatever this quirk is, it somehow encompasses more than your minds. It’s not new information, just a new way of looking at what we already knew.”

Ochako listened intently and felt palpable relief at Aizawa’s words. He was right. No need to get all deep with their descriptions of this, nothing had changed in the quality of The…Bond. Just that they were relabeling it to better describe what it was. Not soul-bonding, just a bond. She could live with that. That held fewer...implications. Implications she was sure Tsu would love to rave about. She could hear her ‘I told you so’ already.

There was silence as the group considered this information. Ochako unconsciously tried to reach out and feel how Katsuki was taking the revelation, but he was broadcasting a very clear message of ‘don’t want to share’ at her subtle brush. She tried not to feel hurt by that (she was definitely hurt by that).

“Hem.” Shinsou cleared his throat, “I really do have to go now. I’ve got a prior commitment.”

“Yeah, we should probably head home too,” Ochako nodded to Shinsou, “Izuku is swinging by with some more desk work for us to complete tonight.”

“Yes, I think this has been…enough for today” Aizawa concluded, “The best thing you two can do for now is try to spend some time apart and see if you can de-sensitize this anxiety you felt yesterday. It may help in the long term.”

Ochako squirmed internally at the thought. It had been so uncomfortable to not have Katsuki’s mind next to hers. She wasn’t exactly thrilled to have to go back to that state. Like choosing to willing put rocks in her shoes. Or taking an ice bath. Even with him shielded as he was now, she could still feel his mind, right next to hers, a small comfort she was not excited to voluntarily get rid of.

“Can we go on active duty again?” Katsuki’s gruff voice chimed in from his spot beside her, “We did what you asked, we know it’s a weak spot, and how to counteract it more or less.”

Ochako kind of hated that he still had a shield up. She’d gotten so used to getting some sense of his intent with his actions, it was hard to go back to not knowing how he felt or what he thought. His crimson eyes were focus intently on Aizawa and he ground his teeth together as he waited for a response, something she knew was a nervous tic. It was weird seeing it without feeling the nerves to go along with it.

“Yes.” Aizawa said after some consideration, “I will put in the paperwork later today recommending you for active duty again. Keep working on it though, you’re far from proficient”

Bakugou nodded, a smirk creeping onto his face. Ochako sighed, still feeling annoyed she couldn’t get a read on him but trying to respect his boundaries. It’s what good partners did and Ochako and Katsuki were at the very least partners in this.

“Oh! Shoot!” Ochako said, her thought line suddenly reminding her that they’d meant to tell Aizawa about the couple, “Aizawa-san, When we were interrogating Kanayami, he told us about the couple who recruited him. Their names are Musai and Shounji.”

“Yes, I’ve listened to the tape already.” Aizawa nodded. Ochako blanched, of course he’d already listened to it, the man had his fingers in every freaking information stream in the country.

“We think that we found a file about them from several years ago.” Ochako continued, unperturbed, “it’s in the lot Deku is picking up today.”

“Hmm. I will be sure to take a look at it. Thank you, Uraraka.” Aizawa said pensively. Ochako smiled at him appreciatively. It was out of their hands now, hopefully the police would be able to dig up some information on them.

“With that classified information I was not supposed to know, I’m leaving. Thank you for such an interesting afternoon.” Shinsou said calmly to Bakugou inclining his head before turning to Ochako, “I am so sorry for what I did to you.”

“Don’t be, it was an accident. I forgive you.” Ochako waved a hand at him with a smile. Shinsou nodded solemnly and turned to leave. Aizawa turned and followed him out, waving passively over his shoulder as he left.

Ochako turned to Kirishima, “Well, thank you for all your help this morning, sorry you had to stick around for that mess of a training session.”

“Are you kidding?” Kirishima grinned his 1000-wat smile, “This was the most interesting thing to happen to me all month!”

“Somehow I find that hard to believe given you live with Chaos Incarnate Herself…” Katsuki snorted and rolled his eyes, shoving his hands in his pockets agitatedly. Ochako got the sense he was avoiding looking at her. She felt a pang of hurt at the thought.

“Oh! Don’t worry, Mina keeps things plenty interesting” Kirishima said waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“Fucking gross, that’s not what I meant you dolt.” Katsuki scrunched his nose disgustedly with a sigh.

Kirishima laughed heartily at Katsuki’s discomfort, who glanced over at Ochako, meeting her eyes. She looked back at him confused by his actions, he seemed to be searching her face for something. She gave him a questioning look, seeing as how he had decided to cut off all contact through The Link. He sighed and looked away.

“Come on Rock for Brians, you wanted to go to back to your place, right?” Katsuki snapped, irritated at something. Ochako was annoyed she couldn’t just reach for his mind to find out what.

She blinked confused. Kirishima’s place? What? When had they discussed that? She looked back and forth between the two. She thought that they were going to go Katsuki’s to meet up with Izuku.

“When did I say that?” Kirishima voiced her very thoughts, tilting his head to the side.

“Come on you idiot.” Katsuki unceremoniously said as he turned to leave. Kirishima startled and jogged to catch up with him. Bakugou paused suddenly and turned back to face her, fishing something out of his pocket. She felt distinctly off balance. She had no idea how this conversation, and her plans for the night had turned so suddenly.

“Here.” Katsuki said tossing her what Ochako realized was a key. She caught it, brows still furrowed at his distant behavior.

“Make sure you’re up later to let me inside.” He said impassively, giving her one last look with a weird expression on his face before turning, grabbing Kirishima’s shoulder and dragging him out the door.

Ochako stood, blinking for several minutes. What…what had just happened? How had her plans gone from: go home with Katsuki, bum some more home-cooked delicious meals from him, talk with Deku while she had back up and go to sleep without fear of being murdered: to do all of that alone? Why had he walled off his side of their Bond?

She still had a freaking headache.

It was fine. Maybe he was just taking Aizawa’s advice literally, getting a jump on being separated to make sure they weren’t crippled by their weird separation anxiety. It wasn’t a bad idea, she just wished he’d talked with her about it. Then again, it’s not like they’d had a plan to spend the day together, she shouldn’t just assume that he would want to spend 24/7 with her.

She sighed, trying to calm her running thoughts. It was silly, she needed to chill. This was just the effects of the separation anxiety. Katsuki was getting farther away, his shielded mind being pulled away from hers as the distance increased. The anxiety, she was feeling was making her thoughts run faster and faster.

She really should do something about this headache.

With that thought she sighed and gather her things exiting the gym and heading back to Bakugou’s apartment alone.

By the time the doorbell rang in Bakugou’s apartment that evening, Ochako was feeling the separation anxiety full force. She had spent the hour before Izuku was supposed to arrive pacing nervously around the apartment, trying to not read into Katsuki’s strange change in behavior. She had to keep reminding herself that she was only feeling this anxious about his behavior because the gaping hole in the back of her mind was ripping into her nerves, rubbing them raw.

She walked to the door, thankful for a distraction from the gaping void in the back of her mind and opened it to a grinning Izuku. He was dressed in his hero costume, so he must have just gotten off of patrol. In his hands were five more boxes of files stacked one on top of the other in a dangerously teetering tower. Ochako tried her best to be enthusiastic at the fact they had work to do, but five boxes?! Five!

“Hey Ochako!” Deku said brightly, motioning with a shoulder to ask if her could come in. Ochako stepped aside, gesturing into Katsuki’s apartment.

“Hi, Izuku, how are you?” She replied politely as Deku walked in and navigated easily to the kitchen table on the other side of the room, like he’d been here many times before. Which, maybe he had. She couldn’t really say how often he would have need to be over here in the past, aside from the collaborations she knew they had worked on together in the past. They did run an agency together after all.

“I’m doing well, I heard you’re approved for patrols again?” He said running a hand through his unruly curls. She was surprised that the news had traveled that quickly, they hadn’t technically been approved yet, just told it was going to happen. Ochako’s eyes followed his hand, trying to decide how she wanted to approach this conversation. Should she clear the air about their last conversation and the emotional atom bomb he’d just dropped, or just act like nothing had happened?

“Eh, yeah.” Ochako said, “Aizawa said he’d put in the paperwork tomorrow.”

Pretend like everything was okay it was.

Izuku nodded thoughtfully, glancing around Katsuki’s apartment. He was doing that thing where he was acting conspicuously comfortable. Hands resting at his side rather than busily fidgeting, shoulders slightly tensed, a media-worthy fake smile resting on his lips.

“So…” He drawled out rocking awkwardly back and forth from on his feet.

“So?” Ochako asked raising an eyebrow at him, waiting to see if he would choose to act like it hadn’t happened too. She knew he wanted to revisit their earlier conversation, but he was going to have to bring it up. No way in hell was she willingly walking into that emotional trap.

“Uh.” He hedged, nervously glancing at the floor, “so, uh, are you staying here now?”

“Yes” Ochako said simply with a shrug, “Kanayami claims the villains know where my apartment is, so we thought it would be better if I stayed here until we get them.” She tried to ignore the slight downward twitch of Izuku’s mouth at the word ‘we’. She definitely avoided mentioning the death threat, not wanting to add that to the list of things for Deku to worry about. She had it handled.

Ochako suppressed the urge to tap her fingers on her leg, feeling nervous about the conversation and just generally anxious as her thoughts and emotions fell off the cliff in the back of her mind sending echoes of emptiness to the front of her brain.

“I heard about that.” He said, “I can’t believe they threatened you like that! I’ll get them, Ochako, you don’t have to worry!”

“Thanks, Izuku.” She smiled, so much for avoiding the topic, “I know we’ll get them eventually. Heck maybe if they come after me we could catch them sooner.”

She let out a few chuckles at her attempt to break the tension, but Deku’s face turned grave.

“Don’t joke about that. They could seriously hurt you, Ochako.” He said seriously. Ochako just sighed. See this is why she didn’t want to bring it up. Normally, in their usual fights, this would be where she protested that she could handle it (because she could!) and he would insist she shouldn’t underestimate her enemies. Then she’d say he shouldn’t underestimate her and blah, blah, blah, they’d just devolved into chaos. She didn’t want to do that today, so she swallowed her automatic response.

“Yup, well…that’s why I’m staying here, so no need to worry.” She allowed, trying to avoid a fight. She knew he only meant the best.

“You know you could’ve stayed with me too, right?” He said earnestly.

Ochako squirmed as he gave her his best puppy dog eyes, something he was inherently good at doing on an unconscious level. He was hurt she hadn’t asked him, that she’d agreed to stay with Bakugou instead. His green eyes shone with genuine emotion. Curses.

“Yeah, Izuku I know.” She said simply, smiling faintly. Damn her weakness for his puppy dog eyes. He nodded to himself, glancing around again. Ochako sighed internally, she was going to have to talk about this. She couldn’t live in this awkward state with Izuku. Not with the puppy dog eyes.

“Would you like something to drink?” Ochako said after an awkward silence, deciding to grow a pair of ovaries and face this conversation, “How about something to eat? You must be hungry after patrol.”

“That would be great!” Izuku said brightly. Ochako strolled over to Katsuki’s kitchen, somewhat tense, still not feeling at home in Katsuki’s space. Deku followed behind, she could feel his eyes on her back, assessing her. She tried to not let it bug her, he would say what was on his mind eventually.

“What would you like?” She asked amicably, feeling more comfortable talking about something as simple as food.

“Oh! whatever is on hand!…and a coffee…” He answered ruefully. She raised her eyebrows at him questioningly, remembering that last time they’d spoke he was ‘trying to quit caffeine’. He grinned embarrassed and rubbed the back of his head. He gave her a shrug and she grinned back, giving a giggle as she went to start the coffee pot. It was moments like this that she remembered why she loved Izuku. These were the moments she had dreaded after they split, because they would make her heart heavy with pain. Now she just felt happy, she had missed her friend.

Luckily, Katsuki had made enough food last night for leftovers, which Ochako took out for Izuku. She tried to not think about how pissed off it would make Katsuki to know she was giving Izuku the food he had made. She heated up a plate for Izuku, handed him a mug to fill with coffee and headed over to the table, ignoring him trailing after her the whole time like a strange shadow.

“I guess we should talk.” She said as she sat, placing the food across from her. Izuku sank into the chair, his expression flickering briefly. He nodded thoughtfully, staring at the food rather than at her as he took a hearty sip of the coffee.

“You eat,” She said gesturing to the plate, “I’ll talk.”

Izuku nodded and began to eat, green eyes focused on her face intently. Ochako placed her hands in her lap, fingers fidgeting nervously. God, this was hard to do while still feeling the anxiety The Bond was flinging at her. She took a breath, steeling her nerves and trying her best to ignore the gnawing edges of the open psychic space at the back of her mind.

“Izuku,” She said, making direct eye contact, “I will always love you, but I cannot be in love with you-“

He opened his mouth to protest but Ochako just held up a finger, indicating he should wait. She was the one who had to explain this time, not him.

“I can’t be second to your work, I can’t be tossed aside when you don’t have time and picked up again when it’s convenient. And yes, I know that you never meant it to feel like that, but it was. Like, I’m in the Top Ten too and I ALWAYS made time for you! Do you know how many times I stayed up waiting for you to come home? Of course, you don’t, you never came home, sleeping in the office for nights on end. And, God! You are too important a hero to give up your work, the world needs you to be as dedicated as you are! Nothing has changed, except that now I’m Linked to your eternal rival, which WOW not a cool move fate, and anyway, I refuse to be the rope in your and Katsuki’s superpowered tug of war for number one. I won’t put myself through that, I deserve more.” She huffed out, ranting all of the thoughts she’d kept cooped up the past days since Izuku had decided that he was still in love with her. She gulped in a big breath as she finished, out of air.

He listened intently, frowning at parts, but silently chewing Katsuki’s stir-fry fusion masterpiece. She took a few deep breaths, recentering.

“So, yes Izuku, I love you.” She whispered kindly, “But I’m not and cannot be in love with you anymore. For my own wellbeing.”

Deku sighed and put down his chopsticks, once again running a hand through his hair, which was now an absolute disaster. He seemed to be processing all she said, his expression flicking with hurt.

“I don’t know what to say.” He huffed out, slumping into his chair, “I’m so sorry Ochako, I never meant to hurt you.”

Ochako felt her heart break a bit, old fissures that had since healed reopening slightly. He looked miserable, and she hated hurting him like this. Hated what they had become: best friends ruined by love.

She hated how their relationship had been before they broke up more though, so she toughened up and reached across the table, grasping his hand, feeling the familiar scars he had self-inflicted. In some ways Izuku was the world’s biggest masochist, willing to take on immense pain to alleviate as much suffering as possible. She hadn’t been lying, people needed a hero like Deku. She couldn’t take him away from the world.

“I know.” She said simply, giving him a watery smile, tears coming to her eyes despite her best efforts to keep them at bay.

“All Might warned me about this, you know.” He said sadly, staring mournfully at their joined hands. Ochako didn’t have a reply to that, she was sure All Might had warned Izuku about the perils of being the Symbol of Peace. Toshinori had lived a lonely life due to the pressures of the job. She sincerely hoped Izuku would not be doomed to the same.

“I really am sorry, Ochako.” Izuku repeated looking up at her, eyes brimming with tears, “For everything.”

“It’s okay Izuku, I’ve moved on. It’s time you try to do the same.” She gave his hand a squeeze and retracted it, once again fidgeting with her finger pads nervously.

Tears started to leak from his eyes silently, rolling down tanned, freckled cheeks and Ochako lost it. She never could watch him cry without starting herself. They cried together, mourning the loss of their future together and washing their emotional wounds clean with their tears, finally getting closure on the end of Them. Of the We they had been. Of the life they had been building together before they burned it to the ground.

When they both had run out of tears they sat in silence with the weight of this new reality and for the first time in over a year Ochako felt she was in a good place with Izuku. Her heart had fully healed, finally.

Ochako said goodbye to Deku shortly after their therapeutic cry session, she may have been healed, but he was just starting the journey she had begun a year ago. He needed time and space to come to terms with this change, to figure out how he fit into the world now that she wasn’t a central part of it.

She then cleaned up any evidence that Deku had eaten some of Katsuki’s food (she very much-so valued her body intact and not blown up) and began scouring the files. She was looking for any information on the mysterious couple, or possibly anything on the history of any of the other villains. She tried very hard to ignore the raw feeling of not knowing where Katsuki was, or how he was feeling. It was just a side effect. Nothing more.

She had gotten through a box of the files when she’d finally had enough, placing the box and her notes on its contents off to the side. She couldn’t focus with her mind racing so quickly anyway.

She pulled out her phone, resisted the urge to text Katsuki to make sure he was okay, and checked her email. There was one from her agency informing her she was back on active duty with a schedule attached. It seems like Aizawa had gotten on that paperwork much sooner than he had indicated.

She opened the attached schedule and groaned. Looked like they expected her to hit the ground running. Immediately after her press even tomorrow morning (which she was still very much not over being forced into) she was to start 12 hour patrols again. It was good though, she convinced herself, it something to focus on. Being able to actively help against this villain group would make her feel like she was avenging the children that they’d killed. She was gonna take these fuckers down.

There was another email from Anita in the PR department with talking points for tomorrow’s interview. She opened the document and looked over the notes quickly, nodding to herself. She always appreciated how Anita was able to encapsulate Ochako’s opinion in a more crowd-pleasing manner. She knew how to play up the interest just enough to get people hooked, then refocus their attention to the important manners at hand. Normally Ochako would just flounder helplessly, getting flustered and not actually utilizing the exposure well. It also helped that Anita had a bulleted list of what she coined her “No Nos”, a list of all the things Ochako was absolutely not, under no circumstances, to say. They usually included things the police had notified the agency to keep quiet about and inflammatory comments that would only rile the media up more.

All in all, Anita’s notes were a god-send. This set was no exception and Ochako sent an appreciative email back quickly. She was sure to include a postscript demanding payment in fresh coffee for agreeing to go through with this circus in the first place. Never hurts to emphasize the important things.

Then she sat anxiously on the couch debating whether or not to reach out for Katsuki. It was well past 8 pm now and she knew his inner old man wouldn’t let him stay awake much longer. Surely, he would be back soon, right? Would he tell her if he chose to stay with Kiri? Should she ask him? What if he was already asleep? What if he was hurt and couldn’t make it back? What if he’d been captured? Maybe she should just reach out to make sure…

She inhaled deeply, halting her train of thought. She needed to stop obsessing over this, it was just The Bond messing with her. Besides, she had made the decision to give him his space. He clearly was trying to process the whole “soul bond” thing on his own and she had to respect his wishes. He was the Number Two Hero, he could take care of himself, she didn’t need to worry. He was fine. Right.

She started pacing again, attempting to rid herself of her twitchiness. Gah, her muscles felt like they’d been clenched for hours. She seriously needed to relax. Maybe meditating would help? She paused, feeling her thoughts racing. No way was she going to get her mind empty in this state.

An idea struck her: what she needed was a hot bath and a good book. And wine. Yes, lots of wine. It sounded divine, only way it’d be better would be if Katsuki was somehow hiding a hot tub with jets in his apartment that she could use(she didn’t think he was).

Katsuki wouldn’t mind if she borrowed a bottle and used that magnificent bathtub he had, right? She’d replace the bottle tomorrow and clean up after herself. He didn’t even have to know about it necessarily… and she was staying here as a guest. He had said to make herself comfortable…

She bit her lip in indecision. It still felt like something she should ask for permission for. She unconsciously started reaching for him across The Bond and stopped herself short when she realized what she was doing. Arg! This was ridiculous.

Yup. She needed a relaxing soak pronto. He’d understand.

Several minutes later Ochako found herself leaning back in delightfully hot water, glass of wine in hand. She had been right, this was a fantastic idea! She had raided Bakugou’s apartment for a book, grabbing the first one she found, a biography of All Might. She hadn’t even tried to contain her eyeroll at his unabashed fanboy status. She was one chapter in, it was actually pretty good. She had no idea that Toshinori had be a late bloomer, his quirk had taken an incredibly long time to manifest. It reminded her of Izuku’s story, no wonder All Might had seen something special in Deku.

The water was as warm as her flushed cheeks were( thanks to the two glasses of wine she’d finished) when Katsuki decided to unceremoniously appear within range of The Bond. She started, spilling some water over the side of the tub as she scrambled to not drop Bakugou’s book into the water. He was still a fair distance away, but she could feel him without stretching her mind. Once the shock of having him suddenly there wore off she sighed in relief, feeling her anxiety melt away the closer and closer he got. He was still shielded, but anything was better than the raw emptiness of him being away.

She sank deeper into the bath, feeling her shoulder muscles relax in a way the wine and hot water could never accomplish. Ugh, this was stupid. She should not be this happy to have someone else in her mind. But, damn her relief was palpable, literally, in the way her tension melted from her muscles.

I’m walking up, open the door.

His though slid into her mind with a flash of his own relief at being home, back in her vicinity, before his shield went back up. Ochako rolled her eyes at his rude manners. Like, the least he could do is say hello. Or let her reply before slamming his shields down again. She scoffed.

She slipped out of the bath, gabbing her towel and pulling the drain. She dried off quickly, setting the book on the counter with her half full wine glass. Katsuki’s mind slowly sided up next to hers, he must be in the building now. She roughly dried her hair then wrapped her towel around her torso wondering if she had enough time to get her pajamas on before Katsuki-

Oi! Cheeks, open the door!

Apparently not.

She sighed, grabbing her wine and putting the book under her arm before padding down the hall to the front door, feeling tipsy, slightly annoyed and bold. He wanted her to open the door right now, huh? She could do that! It’s not like she’s virtually naked or anything! No need to wait or open The Link so she could tell him to chill. Nope. (she ignored the part of her brain anticipating his reaction, stupid Tsu.)

She slid the lock open and pulled the door open, hip cocked unamused by Katsuki’s attitude and bolstered by the liquid courage the wine gave her. Katsuki was on the other side, arms crossed in the way he did when he was properly annoyed.

There was a beat of silence as Katsuki’s eyes widened slightly, eyebrows raising practically to his hairline in surprise. She didn’t have to be Linked with him to know when a man was surprised to see a woman standing in only a towel at the door. She took a sip of wine calmly, before she met his eyes, expecting an intense Jolt, if past experiences were anything to go by.

She was not wrong, the Jolt rocked up her spine, forcing the breath out of her lungs and raising goosebumps on her entire body. Katsuki made a choking sound and physically shuddered as their minds were flung together roughly.

“What- what the fuck Cheeks?” Katsuki managed to sputter out, giving her a once over as he scrambled to get his brain separate from hers.
He was a mess of emotions, relief, discomfort, embarrassment, curiosity and arousal, all of which he quickly stamped out and pushed down. His shield came back up before she could get a better read on him. Damn his stupid ability to do everything perfectly. The asshole.

Ochako ignored the tingling sensation his once-over provoked in her and gave him a slight frown, trying to not read to much into his mood. She was a girl answering the door in nothing but a towel, of course he felt aroused. Don’t over think it. He clearly did not want to feel that way, given by how quickly he’d snuffed it out. Not that she wanted him to feel anything for her…right? For better or worse, before she could investigate further, he was gesturing for her to move back inside so he could enter his own home.

“Well, you seemed to urgently need me to open the door.” She squeaked in explanation as she stepped back into the apartment to let him in, deciding to head for the guest room straight away, liquid courage of the wine wearing off with his intense stare. Her boldness was quickly replaced with embarrassment. This had been a dumb idea, she was never drinking again. He followed after her, faced flushed bright red, and closed the door.

“I can fucking see that.” Katsuki grumbled, voice taut, finally looking away as she hurried to her room to get dressed.

They would never speak of this again. And she would not be using his bath and drinking wine at the same time ever again. Really, she reasoned, as she got into her Froppy Pajamas, this was all Tsu’s fault. Planting all of those…steamy…ideas in her head, ripe for sprouting with a few ounces of alcohol in her blood. Curse her to the Sahara Desert.

She was happy he’d decided to shield himself for the first time today, at least he couldn’t pick up on her embarrassment and awkward attraction this way. Small victories.

She was pulling on her pajama shorts when she heard him yell, “ROUND FACE, DID YOU FUCKING SPILL WATER ON THE TILE AND NOT CLEAN IT UP?!”

She chuckled, leave it to Bakugou to repress any awkward emotional exchanges as if his life depended on it. Things would be fine, normal. Now if that nervous fluttering in her stomach would just go away…

Notes:

Man, I felt this chapter in my poor black soul. I just felt Izuku's pain. Like damn. Hopefully it came across.

AHHHHH great things are around the corner!

Also I have decided to add smut to this story in the future. No I am not telling you when exactly, no spoilers. But it will happen! You have been warned!

As with last time, I'm leave the chapter 14 title for a bit until next week to give anyone who wants to participate a chance!

As always, THANK YOU <3

Chapter 16: Two Truths, and a Lie

Thankfully, Lilly did come with two fresh coffees when she walked into the small green room Ochako had been directed to at 6:30am the next morning. Plantasma was dressed in her white and pastel green hero costume, which Ochako was grateful for, there was nothing more awkward than being the only person in a room dressed in skin-tight spandex.

“Oh thank God.” Ochako exclaimed from her spot on the worn green loveseat, reaching for the cup Lilly was handing to her an expression of absolute admiration settling onto her face.

“I told you I’d make it happen, didn’t I?” Lilly said brushing her pristine white hair over her shoulder casually. Lilly was, in a word, small. Short, thin with long willowy limbs and delicate facial features. Plantasma fit into Ochako’s brand of “Underestimate me, I Dare You” very well, though in a different way from Ochako’s feminine cutesy vibe.

Ochako took and appreciative swallow of the coffee, nodding with satisfaction at the taste, then put her cup on the worn side table next to the couch. Her nerves were already feeling frayed, thanks to the Bond-Anxiety she was feeling, she needed this coffee on a spiritual level.

Katsuki had left his place early this morning to get to his agency, also having been put back on active duty today, leaving a gaping void in her psyche as he went. Ochako had been trying to ignore the clawing sensation of the empty space beside her mind ever since. She was failing miserably.

Lilly drifted gracefully down to sit next to her, briefly glancing around the green room. Ochako had been to this studio many times over the last few years (much to her annoyance), but Lilly was still a rookie and had yet to do any major press at this studio. Rookies rarely got much press, especially those who were putting in their time as sidekicks. In some ways Ochako was jealous of Lilly’s free pass when it came to media.

“How have things been at the agency since I’ve been…erm… on leave?” Ochako asked her sidekick curiously.

“Oh, um, it’s actually been really great.” Lilly said sheepishly, a slight flush rising to her cheeks, “They’ve given me a lot more free reign- I even went on patrol by myself a few times.”

Ochako let out a delighted chuckle, Lilly was clearly feeling a bit guilty about the advantage she got by Ochako being forced to take a break. Lilly looked up at Ochako’s laugh, nervously taking a sip of her own coffee tucking a free strand of hair behind her ear.

“That’s great Lilly!” Ochako said, reaching out to grab Lilly’s hand that was not holding her cup with both of her own, “I’m so proud of you! You’ve really grown in the last year, I’m so happy the agency can see that too!”

Lilly’s pale green eyes widened slightly in surprise, before a small smile graced her lips. Ochako smiled brightly, she meant every word. Lilly had grown exponentially in the last year, from a small, timid girl into the clever, strong and dependable woman she was today. Ochako trusted her with her life, she deserved all the recognition the agency was giving her.

“Thank you, it means a lot to me that you think so.” Lilly said, bowing her head slightly in respect, before straightening and giving Ochako’s hands a squeeze “I do miss you though, it’s not the same without you.”

“Did they tell you I’m back on patrols today?” Ochako asked releasing Lilly’s hand with a smile. She’d missed Lilly too. Ochako had become rather close with her mentee over the last few months. She missed seeing her everyday, watching and helping her grow into a fantastic hero.

“Yes, though I’m on desk work this afternoon so we won’t be together.” Lilly replied with a slight pout.

“Darn! That sucks! We’ll just have to wait until tomorrow then.” Ochako did her best to wave off the disappointment of not getting to work with her protégé today, “I can’t wait to see how the new responsibility of working solo has improved your skills.” She teased, poking Lilly’s side with a finger playfully.

“EEP!” Lilly squealed at the ticklish sensation, before recovering and giving Ochako an unenthused look, boarding on offended. Ochako laughed happily at her expression, man she’d missed her sidekick.

They spent the next several minutes catching up on the last few weeks. Plantasma had captured a low-level villain by herself on patrol a few days ago and Ochako drilled her for details, giving tips as Lilly told the story. Ochako was thankful for the distraction from the gapping hole in the back of her mind.

After about fifteen minutes later, and well past the end of their respective coffees, there was a polite knock on the door. Both girls looked up as it was opened by a man wearing a headset, who poked his head in the door.

“Uravity,” He said firmly, “It’s time to move to the stage”

“Alrighty.” Ochako said cheerfully, caffeine finally hitting her bloodstream. She stood up and went to the door, where the man waited patiently. She paused and turned around, realizing Lilly was still seated on the couch. Lilly looked at her confused.

“Come on, we’ve got to go to the stage.” Ochako said, smirking as Lilly’s eyes widened.

“I-I, but this is an interview of you, not me?” Lilly stuttered; eyes wide with surprise.

“I think it’s time we got you some press exposure, you won’t be a sidekick for much longer at this rate.” Ochako hinted, jerking her head towards the door in a ‘let’s go’ motion. Lilly shot up out of her seat, hurrying to where Ochako was waiting for her. Lilly nervously wrung her hands, walking stiffly besides Ochako as they walked to the recording stage together. Ochako resisted the urge to do the same from the nervous feeling of not being in Katsuki’s general vicinity. She refused to let this stupid side effect mess up her day.

The next few minutes were filled with a flurry of activity as Ochako and Lilly waited for the show to get ready for the interview. Assistants, make-up artists, producers and stage crew bustled around as Ochako sat anxiously tapping her fingers on her leg in the stiff armchair across from the show host, Hinasa. Lilly was seated in an adjacent armchair, looking nervously around at all the bustling activity.

“It’s such an honor to have you on the show today, Uravity!” Hinasa exclaimed in a bubbly tone to Ochako as a makeup artist brushed some sort of power onto her face.

Hinasa, a tall woman sporting a set of gills on the sides of her neck, was a household name in the Tokyo area. She was well known for being a genuine and authentic show host, able to get guests and the audience invested in her pieces. It certainly helped that she was drop dead gorgeous with flawless dark skin, long dark hair, brilliant purple eyes and a smile that melted hearts. Personally, Ochako was suspicious of her interviewing techniques, Ochako always seemed to say more than she intended to when on the show. She was almost certain that Hinasa had some sort of low powered truth quirk, but she didn’t have any proof to back up her suspicion.

“We’re glad to be here, it’s good to see you again” Ochako replied politely with a slight bow, “This is my side kick, Plantasma.”

Lilly stood up and bowed politely to the host. Hinasa’s smile faltered slightly, but she returned the bow none the less.

“I didn’t realize we were slated to have you both on, what a pleasant surprise!” The host said neutrally, shuffling papers around on her desk. Ochako just smiled brighter and cocked her head challengingly. Hinasa was lucky to have Uravity on at all, given that she was The Number 7 Hero and a media favorite, Hinasa would just have to accept Ochako’s impromptu decision to bring Plantasma along.

“Thirty seconds!” A voice called behind the stage lights. Hinasa nodded, doing some quick vocal warm ups.

Ochako turned to Lilly with a comforting smile, “Ready?”

Lilly’s face steeled into an expression of determination and she nodded firmly. Ochako grinned full-out, before turning to look into the camera, waiting.

“Five, four, three, two…” The produce called, before silently pointing at Hinasa for the ‘one’ count as a red light blinked to life on the camera.

“Good morning, Tokyo!” Hinasa spoke clearly, annunciating each word with a buttery smooth voice, “With your daily check-in, I’m Hinasa Kyoshou. My guests this morning are a renowned Hero-sidekick duo responsible for last year’s notorious Mountain Plane Crash Rescue and currently The Number Seven Hero Team: please welcome Uravity and her side kick, Plantasma!”

At the introduction Ochako waved to the camera, a bright smile on her face, looking over briefly to see Lilly doing the same. The kid was a pro.

“So Uravity,” Hinasa jumped right into the interview, “it’s been a crazy few weeks for you! The disastrous villain attack that had you and Ground Zero on indefinite leave from injury, this mysterious new quirk, all while trying to keep up your duty to the city as a Top Ten Hero! How are you handling the pressures?”

Okay, then… Hinasa was holding nothing back. Ochako took a breath, remembering the talking points Anita had sent her. Refocus the conversation onto what they were doing for the case, promote Lilly and shut down the rumors. She could do this.

“Thank you for your concern!” Ochako said emphatically, “As heroes the most important thing we can do for the public is to ensure we are able to perform our very best, the public depends on us to be ready for anything. As such, these two weeks off of active duty have been essential for my ability to serve the city. It helps me handle the pressure to remember that. Plus, I’ve got my amazing sidekick to hold down the fort while I’ve been out, so I know the city is in good hands.”

Ochako turned to Lilly expectantly, Lilly gave her a slightly panicked look and Ochako winked at her subtly.

“Yes.” Lilly said, straightening her back, “The agency and I have been working very hard to make sure Uravity’s leave has not affected public safety.”

“But the public’s safety was very much compromised in the second attack. How do you justify your leave from service when such a tragic event was precipitated by your failure to catch the villains the first time around?”

Lilly paled, which was impressive given her already ghost-like complexion. Ochako’s stomach dropped, guilt filling her mind. That was a low blow, even for Hinasa. Ochako took a deep breath in, doing her best to relax. She knew this would come up, maybe not with such a vicious insinuation, but it was going to come up regardless. They had failed the city and citizens who put their trust in heroes, she was going to have to take the heat.

“I feel truly terrible for how my incapacitation allowed the villains to take the lives of so many innocents, I think about those poor children every day and carry their deaths on my shoulders…” Ochako said, a frown marring her features. She paused briefly as she felt the guilt settle in her chest, “However, I was incapacitated. I know in my heart of hearts that I would have been little more than another victim had I tried to enter the fight, staying out of it was the right choice.”

“Incapacitated by this mysterious new quirk you and Ground Zero are rumored to been hit with?” Hinasa went in for the kill, a sly smile sneaking onto her face.

Ochako realized that this is what Hinasa really wanted to talk about. She knew that the villain attacks were something Ochako couldn’t have changed, she merely brought them up to set Ochako up to talk about this. The Bond was one of Anita’s No-Nos, the public didn’t need to know the details and potential villains watching definitely didn’t. Ochako needed to dodge this question and get the interview back on track quickly.

“Yes, that’s right” Ochako stated automatically. She frowned; she hadn’t meant to say it that. She had wanted to avoid answering it so directly… Hinasa smirked and Ochako had to resist the urge to glare at the host, ‘no truth quirk’ her ass! This host definitely was using some sort of unregistered quirk.

“Tell us more about that.” Hinasa probed. Ochako resisted the urge to roll her eyes, instead utilizing her years of expertise to settle a polite smile onto her face.

“There’s not much to tell.” Ochako shrugged, “Ground Zero and myself got hit with a villain’s quirk and we’re dealing with the aftermath.”

“My sources tell me that ‘aftermath’ you mention is that your minds are permanently connected, is that true?” Hinasa was leaning forward, as if she was trying to give the impression that whatever was said would be just between the two of them.

At Hinasa’s question Ochako felt a shock of fear roll through her. How did they know that much detail? Who was the source? As she battled her emotions back down, she felt the distinct feeling of Bakugou reaching across the void between their minds curiously, brushing against her mind.

Ochako felt a need to say ‘yes’ in response to Hinasa’s question and opened her mouth automatically, before she forcibly closed it with a grimace. She felt a flair of annoyance at the host, she definitely was using some sort of quirk.

“That is between Ground Zero and myself, Hinasa-san.” Ochako said plainly instead of answering with the compelled ‘yes’ Hinasa was trying to force out of her. Ochako faced her with a tight smile, “The good news is that we are both back to work now, so there’s no need to worry.”

You okay? I felt your fear.

This was not a good time. Ochako was not good at holding two conversations at once, as she’d been told by anyone who’d seen them talking telepathically in the last few weeks. Ochako did her best to keep her face neutral as she reached to grab hold of the tendril of mind Katsuki had extended to her.

I’m fine, in the interview. Can’t talk.

Hinasa was watching her face carefully, one brow quirked. Crap, Ochako’s face was probably giving her away. She tilted her head to look at the host more fully, away from the camera, hoping that she could at least mask her facial expression from the video feed.

“You and Ground Zero have many things between you if the rumors are to be believed. How is Deku, your Ex and Ground Zero’s rival, handling your new closeness with Ground Zero?” Hinasa continued her relentless pursuit of scandalous information. Ochako subtly ground her teeth, feeling a flash of concern from Katsuki.

Don’t let her get to you, you’re better than that.

Ochako sighed internally, trust Katsuki to not be able to follow directions, she couldn’t talk with him right now. He needed to leave her alone! She sent him a mental glare before refocusing on the interview. She felt him scoff mentally at her dismissal, stubbornly holding onto her mind across the distance.

“I’m not sure what you mean, Ground Zero, Deku and I are all good friends and colleagues working together on this very disturbing case.” Ochako answered with false cheeriness, feigning innocence, before turning to Lilly, “Plantasama here has been coordinating efforts between our agencies in my leave.”

At this she gave Lilly a very pointed ‘Help!’ look, to which her sidekick sat up and leaned towards Hinasa.

“Yes, our efforts have been very fruitful.” Lilly spoke, refocusing the conversation, “We’re working all angles of the case and are happy to report that the TYPD have been very thorough with their investigation. Uravity and Ground Zero have been helping with desk work while they were on leave. Rest assured, our efforts are not without reward, though the details must be kept classified for public safety purposes.”

Hinasa nodded politely as Lilly spoke, but her eyes kept darting back to Ochako, who sat with false confidence. This reporter was going to be the death of her, Ochako could just tell that Hinasa wasn’t going to give up.

“Plantasma, tell me” Hinasa started with a slight smile, “Has Uravity and Ground Zero’s work together from Ground Zero’s apartment yielded any news on the case?”

Oh that sneaky bitch.

Lilly’s eyebrows furrowed slightly at the question as she opened her mouth unnaturally quickly, “Yes, their work at home has been very productive.”

Lilly looked over to Ochako, with worry on her face, knowing she’d just admitted that Ochako had been staying with Katsuki inadvertently. Ochako just smiled brightly, trying to impart that Lilly should do the same. Lilly seemed to get the message and gave a small smile to Hinasa.

Ochako was done with this, how dare she manipulate Lilly with her quirk! It was unethical and rude, not to mention that telling the public, and by extension the villains, where she was staying was a big No-no. This interview was over.

I need you to call my work phone. I need an out ASAP.

Shit, that bad?

“So Uravity is staying at Ground Zero’s apartment while they work from home?” Hinasa asked compellingly, doing a poor job of keeping her smugness off her face. Ochako needed to take the control back.

She’s manipulating my sidekick, Lilly.

Fuck her. Hold on.

“Yes.” Lilly answered evenly before her eyes widened slightly, she turned to look at Ochako nervously, clearly not understanding what was happening.

“Oh, you mean a few nights ago?” Ochako interjected jovially, with a large smile, “Ground Zero graciously offered to let me stay in his guest room after we stayed up to late working on the case, it was very kind of him! Exactly what I expect of such a courteous friend.”

Hinasa switched her gaze to Ochako predatorily. Ochako was done with this bullshit. First of all, this was a gross breach of privacy. Second, she was staying with Bakugou because she had a friggin’ death threat ,not because they were secret lovers. Ridiculous, this was putting her safety in jeopardy. Her agency owed her BIG TIME for this interview.

“Wow, you two must be working very hard on this case if it’s keeping you up all night!” The duplicitous host commented, putting a weird emphasis on ‘working’.

At this moment Ochako’s work phone started chiming. Thank god. Ochako made show of looking at the screen, which predictably showed ‘Katsuki’ as the caller. She looked up at Hinasa apologetically.

“Hinasa-san, I’m so sorry.” Ochako said calmly standing up “It’s work, I must take this. Thank you so much for having us on today, I hope to see you soon!”

Hinasa narrowed her eyes, glancing at the screen. Her eyebrows raised almost imperceptibly.

“Of course, you have important work to do.” She said standing to shake Ochako’s hand, “If Ground Zero is calling it must be serious.”

God, she was relentless. Ochako just smiled her best fake smile and hurried off the stage, Lilly following behind her. She answered the call, bring her phone up to her ear.

“You’re so fucking lucky I can read your mind.” Katsuki’s gruff voice sounded across the line.

“Yes, I’ll be right there.” Ochako replied, mindful of the many eyes and ears watching her.

Thank you.

“Whatever.” Katsuki huffed out, “Maybe next time don’t go on a show with someone who has a fucking unregistered truth quirk?”

“I freaking knew it!” Ochako accidentally said loudly instead of thinking it. Her raised voice startled some lighting crew who looked at her with narrowed eyes.

“Yes, I’m on my way now” Ochako bluffed to cover her mistake, cheeks heating up as Katsuki sent her mental impression of an eyeroll.

The rest of the day, being her first of several 12 hour patrol shifts for the rest of the week, passed by slowly. It was a day of little-to-no crime, so Ochako had nothing to distract her from the ongoing anxiety that being apart form Katsuki caused her. She never wished for crime, but she certainly wouldn’t have minded the distraction today. She didn’t even get to have Lilly with her today for someone to talk to. Katsuki, who’s patrols were in a separate district was distant the rest of the day, was presumably busy with work and didn’t bother reaching out to talk with her.

Ochako wasn’t sure if Aizawa’s theory that spending time apart lessened the anxiety. It certainly didn’t feel like that was the case. At the most, Ochako figured that this day apart just made her more used to the situation, as if she had gained some tolerance for the grating feeling. She tried not to be worried about it, but it was hard to think about the utterly horrifying possibility that she would either have to spend all her time with Bakugou or be an anxious mess for the rest of her life. And having no distractions during patrol meant that Ochako’s thoughts tended to circle around that very thought.

All that considered, it was not that she didn’t love helping citizens carry groceries to their cars, but Ochako was ready to be done with her shift by the time 8 rolled around. She walked tiredly back to her agency, knowing that if she didn’t finish the paperwork from today’s menial work she’d regret it later. An hour and a half later she was finally heading back to Bakugou’s apartment, nerves completely frayed and exhausted from the day’s work.

As she rode the elevator up to his flat, she let herself breakdown and reached across the now small distance for Katsuki. She sighed in relief as his mind came up next to hers, finally. It was akin to the sensation of putting aloe on a sun burn, or drinking a glass of water when she was really thirsty. Just instant relief. She felt muscles she hadn’t realized she’d been clenching all day loosen at the sensation.

Katsuki was asleep, given how his mind instantly curled around hers as it always did when he was unconscious. She giggled quietly to herself, he was such an old man- going to sleep before 9pm. She could feel his unconscious relief at the mental contact as she reached his door, getting closer and closer to his physical vicinity.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have a key to his place, you know- seeing as she didn’t actually live here. She paused, not wanting to have to wake Katsuki up. On a hunch she tried the door handle, happy to find she was correct: he’d left it open for her. She smiled at the thoughtful gesture, then frowned in worry. He really should not just leave his door unlocked, there were villains after them. She’d have to broach the topic with him tomorrow. Maybe ask for a spare key? That wasn’t too forward was it?

As she entered the apartment, locking the door behind her, she took off her shoes and headed to her room first, desperate to get out of her hero costume. She padded down the hall and glanced at the door that led to Ktsuki’s room, which was cracked slightly. She felt an irresistible urge to check and make sure he was okay, as if the Bond was telling her she couldn’t believe he was actually alive unless she saw with her own eyes that it was true. Even though she could feel him sleeping, her brain was just whispering ‘What if he’s hurt? ‘ at her insistently.

Ochako shook her head, biting her lower lip contemplatively. It couldn’t hurt to just check, right? Making up her mind, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to move on without just checking, she crept up to his door, carefully pushing it open.

She hadn’t seen his room before, but it wasn’t much different than she expected. Clean and neat, with lots of black. From what she could see in the dark it matched the rest of his house well. Not too focused on the décor, Ochako’s eyes searched the room, quickly locating the large bed. In it, sprawled like a friggin’ starfish, Katsuki was sound asleep on his back breathing slowly and evenly. Peacefully sleeping and decidedly not hurt. Ochako breathed a sigh of relief, her stupid Linked brain satiated at the sight. This day of anxiety had done a number on her.

When her normal brain took over again, she noticed the fact that Katsuki appeared to only sleep in a pair of boxers and she flushed deeply. Her eyes, on their own accord, drank in the sight happily. Ochako blanched at her behavior, ashamed. She literally just walked into Bakugou’s room to make sure he wasn’t dead (when she knew he totally wasn’t) and then stayed to ogle his basically naked body. God this was stupid, and so totally crossing a boundary between them. What was wrong with her? She shook her head and left his room quietly, blush still staining her cheeks.

She quickly changed out of her hero suit, into blissfully comfortable pajamas and headed to her own bed, trying very hard not to think about the planes of Bakugou’s abs. Or his delicious deltoids, quads or forearms. Goddamn it. She was not doing a good job of not thinking about how attractive he was. She tried not to acknowledge how much effort she was putting into not admitting she wanted to climb into bed right beside him and…and… well she didn’t really know specifically what, but they definitely weren’t things that friends do. Her brain seemed to be torn between just snuggling up to his side to fall asleep and actively attempting to have sex with him. Both of which were not an option!

She forcibly shook her head and started deep breathing as she pulled the bed covers up. This had to stop, she was just exhausted, and The Bond was messing with her thoughts. She just needed some sleep and everything would be more clear in the morning. Clearing her mind, rather more forcibly than she usually had to, she drifted off to sleep.

Katsuki smiled at her from his spot on her old leather couch, one of those rare genuine smiles he gave so infrequently. He was dressed in nothing but a pair casual black sweatpants, which Ochako was appreciative of. It was mid-morning, if the bright light shining in from her windows, lighting him in a halo of gold, was anything to go by. She couldn’t help but to grin back, feeling her heart soaring at his unabashed happiness.

Seeing her grin, Katsuki held out his hand to her, gesturing in a 'come here' motion. Ochako automatically reached out, gasping his calloused hand and shivering at the lightning zap that went up her arm at the contact.

“Come here Angel.” He said gruffly pulling her into his lap, arms wrapping around her waist to pull her flush against his chest.

Ochako giggled at the sudden movement, settling happily on his lap, legs straddling his. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer until her forehead connected with his. She stared into his crimson eyes, seeing the pure adoration and contentment she held for him mirrored back at her.

“Good morning, you’re in a surprisingly good mood today” She commented lightly, meeting his mischievous gaze. She twisted some of the hair at the base of his neck between her fingers, tugging lightly.

“Hmmm” He hummed appreciatively, with a slight incline of his head. He moved to burrow his face into her neck as his hands slid down to her ass, giving it squeeze that had her shifting her hips forward into his. Ochako inhaled sharply as his lips ghosted over the pulse in her neck, lightly trailing kisses towards her ear. Sparks of arousal danced from the points of contact down her spine to settle deep in her core, lighting a fire as they went. She tilted her head to give him better access, shivering as he bit down lightly, his tongue following the indent his teeth left with a contrastingly cool and soft sweep. Well this was certainly a nice way to wake up, she briefly contemplated before Katsuki derailed all thought with a rock of his hips against her core.

“OOOhhh, fuuuck” Ochako breathed out, grinding her hips down onto his lap slowly, thoughts completely vanished by the ravishing kisses he was trailing to her mouth.

“Yes, that’s the general idea” He murmured wryly, tilting his head to glance up at her with a bemused expression. Ochako felt her cheeks flush at the thought, excitement curling in her abdomen.

“Ha ha, very funny,” she replied sarcastically, a teasing smile blooming on her face despite her best effort to give him a look to match her sarcastic tone. He just smirked at her and ground up into her pelvis tantalizingly slowly, using his grip on her ass to direct her own movements into him. He was doing a damn good job of proving his point. He raised one eyebrow tauntingly as her breath quickened, she was losing herself to their mutual lust.

She ran her hands through his hair, lightly scraping his scalp before she grasped some of the soft locks, tugging his head back sharply. He glared and growled at her, pupils blown wide enough that the red of his irises was almost gone. He was putting on a show of not enjoying being bossed by Ochako, but his dick told her a different story as she felt it stiffen more fully at her hair tugging.

She smirked down at him, once again pressing down into his lap to illicit that delicious sensation of his now hardened cock against her core. Oh god, this was everything she needed right now.

One of his hand slid up her back from its spot on her ass, to grip her neck and base of her skull, massaging lightly. He stared into her eyes with an enamored expression, bordering on reverent and Ochako felt a resonating feeling in her soul answer. It just felt right.

She leaned in, closing her eyes just before their lips brushed and-

-Ochako bolted upright in bed, pulse rocketing through her veins as her dream clung to her senses.

Holy shit. HOLY SHIT What the hell- What even…?

Ochako quickly realized that she had just had a sex dream about Katsuki. A very hot, very enticing sex dream. One that had her more hot and bothered than she’d been in months despite the fact that there hadn’t even been any actual sex happening in the dream. Holy shit.

Her eyes widened minutely. Oh god! What if Katsuki had overheard through The Bond?! Could they even share dreams? Oh fucking hell, what if they could share dreams and he had seen?!?!

She clasped her blankets in her hands anxiously as she frantically reached into her mind for his, finding it quickly, as it was still wrapped up with hers in his sleep. She, more carefully, brushed against his mind tasting his current state. She breathed out a sigh of relief when she found him to be soundly asleep, dreaming of something to do with a competitive cooking show. He hadn’t seen. Or at least she thought so. Well, even if he had, his dreams had moved on fairly quickly.

Ochako slapped her hands to her burning cheeks in shock. She’d had a sex dream about Katsuki and the best part hadn’t even been the physicality (though, WOW intense much?! Thanks unconsciousness?!), it was the emotional side of the whole thing. How he made her feel loved, how much she felt like the she loved him. She’d never felt so secure in any relationship, not even with Izuku. And yeah it was just a dream but still…

It hit her with a sudden crystal clarity as all the signs she’d been avoiding thinking about lined up in an undeniable fact.

She was romantically interested in Katsuki. She was really interested, if that dream was anything to go by…

Oh fuck it all to hell.

Notes:

Come on, you all knew that this chapter was going to have some sort of smut, right?

Chapter 14 Title "Under The Bridge" suggested by blacktea!

So, I wasn't going to do this initially, but I am obsessed with "Seeing Double" by knifekirby, and with the last update I noticed several comments on it from readers who also read ADP and I thought "What the Hell this fic deserve so much love". SOO here's a link if you're looking for another read. Hell, even if you aren't you should still check it out: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21242459/chapters/50578112

As always thank you for your support! <3

PS we are now officially halfway through this fic!

Chapter 17: A Different Perspective

The universe had this annoying habit of royally fucking Bakugou Katsuki.

It all started when he’d successfully been accepted into his dream school (with the top fucking score, may he just point out), UA, only to find that fucking-quirkless-worthless-Deku had somehow weaseled his way in too. Deku, the same quirkless nobody who’d been a consistent thorn in his side, had been accepted with some sort of bullshit ‘hero move’ with a quirk that had mysteriously popped up over the summer(as if that story wasn’t fuckin’ suspicious at all).

Fucking, and he could not emphasize this enough, DEKU of all people. The kid who’d followed Katsuki around like a puppy their whole childhood. The kid who took notes on how others were great instead of going out and fucking putting in the work to become great himself, as if that somehow would make up for the unfortunate lack of will the broccoli head touted. THAT kid got into UA. Deku, who hadn’t worked hard to become a hero a single fucking day in his entire goddamn life, got into the school Katsuki had been busting his ass to get into from the time he could even conceptualize the idea of a Professional Hero. It was as if the Gods had placed Deku in UA with him just to spite all of the years of soul crushingly hard work Katsuki had put in to be The Best.

Then, much to Katsuki’s bottomless fury, Deku turned out to be just as fucking good as Katsuki at using his insane Ex Machina quirk. And, oh by-the-way it was gifted (fucking what the hell? how is that even possible?) to Deku by their all-time idol All Might because Deku, for some unknown reason, possessed the ‘ideal personality’ to be a hero. As if Katsuki’s years of sacrificing everything for his dream was somehow less than Deku’s. It was such bullshit. Not even to start on the fact that it was Katsuki’s failure to destroy that fucking slime piece of shit villain that allowed All Might to meet the quirkless Deku in the fucking first place. What are the fucking chances?! Huh?! No, really, he’s fucking asking.

This was to say nothing of the whole league of villains kidnapping, holding and attempting to convert him (fucking idiots), all of which led to All Might’s downfall, where Katsuki had to be rescued by Deku and all his shitty extra friends. What the fuck was up with that?! Why the fuck was the universe so intent on just punishing Katsuki by making him destroy his hero, only to be rescued by the idiot that so consistently fucked Katsuki over? Why? Just why?

He’d of course confronted Deku, wanting a goddamn explanation for why Deku was SOO MUCH better than he was. Why, for some unknown reason, every single goddamn person was obsessed with the squeaky boy Katsuki had been crushing until very recently. He had to see for himself, had to make sense of it. Because, surely, if Katsuki was better than Deku, none of this would have happened. Only the best got the kind of gains Deku was miraculously receiving. Katsuki’s whole life up until this point had taught him as much. So Deku had to be better than him, or Katsuki’s entire understanding of the universe was upside down. Deku HAD to be better than him, it was the only thing that made sense to explain the shit show his life had turned into. So Katsuki fought him. And Katsuki won. And Katsuki realized that the universe had some sort of sick, senseless vendetta against him and that everything Katsuki thought he knew was dead wrong.

Then more shit kept happened that just further decimated Katsuki’s understanding of the world and view of himself. The fucking hero provisional license exam and take down of that Yakuza fuck, a bunch of other shit from second year, and to top it all off the destruction of The League of Villains- all of which Deku consistently beat Katsuki out for MVP. All those bullshit moments made Katsuki re-evaluate his world view in some seriously ego destroying, soul searching sessions. And, yeah, it sucked, but he came out with new goals and a better understanding of how far he still had to go in order to become Number One.

For example, maybe there were other traits that led to a great hero, fucking fine. Katsuki didn’t get to be The Best by not admitting his flaws. He got there by recognizing them and the fucking working his ass off to fix them. So, he spent his last year at UA working himself to the bone, not just on the things Katsuki had already identified as crucial skills, but also to mold himself into the type of hero the universe seemed so keen on promoting. And it fucking sucked, but it worked because Katsuki managed to scrape his way to the top, just barely beating out Half n’ Half and, you guessed it, fucking Deku for valedictorian of their class.

This is all to say that by the time Katsuki and Deku graduated from UA, Bakugou was getting used to, hell even expecting, the universe to continually and brutally fuck him. Using what hurt the most, his inexplicable rival Deku. Deku, who seemed to be everything Katsuki was not, everything that stood between him and The Top.

So of course, OF FUCKING COURSE, Katsuki had to notice a stupidly strong girl (then again, who wouldn’t notice a girl who fucking dropped an entire stage of concrete right on top of their heads in a sneaky and smart-as-fuck battle strategy). Then, because it was the way his life seemed to be determined to fuck him, he proceed to constipatedly grasp he maybe wanted to be more than just friends with said tank of a girl, only to realize she was head over heels (literally, the girl fucking floated with her ridiculous adoration) for FUCKING DEKU.

It was a sick joke on repeat at this point.

As their first year as sidekicks came to an end, Katsuki had just decided to fucking give up on trying to best Deku. He’d literally been trying that for decades and clearly the universe was intent on making sure it didn’t happen. Things were marginally better after that. Katsuki accepted that Deku was just always going to be the exception to his efforts and adjusted his goal to being The Best… right behind Deku. It killed a part of his soul to do it, but Katsuki saw no way around it. It helped ease his bruised ego that no one else seemed to be able to touch Deku either, not even Icey Hot, the only other person Katsuki had ever considered a threat. That was something at least, Deku was somehow just the exception to human limitations, for no fucking logical reason, but whatever.

Katsuki swallowed his pride when Deku became the public’s favorite rookie. He bit his tongue when Deku was consistently just one slot above him on the Hero rankings, even when they eventually took the number one and two spots. He didn’t whine, he didn’t complain, he just kept working his ass off- as he always had- to keep that spot behind Deku and keep all those other extras in his review mirror. He crushed his withering heart when Uraraka and Deku finally got together after graduation, hell he even gave Deku pointers on how to win her over. He buried his hurt in one-night-stands and 80 hour work weeks, telling himself that he didn’t need any distractions as floaty and pink cheeked as Uraraka anyway.

Eventually, he even came to respect how incredible it was that Deku was able to beat him. Katsuki began to see the hard work Deku was putting in behind his chirpy attitude, all the sacrifice Deku didn’t show. It made it easier for Katsuki to accept his place behind that loser, seeing first-hand how Deku worked just as hard as he did, if not harder (something Katsuki had previously thought was impossible). Deku seemed to be willing to sacrifice EVERYTHING for his goals: sleep, food, mental state, friendships, family. Things even Katsuki wouldn’t give up. Katsuki had to respect him for that; did respect him. Things were good for a while after that. He and Deku met each other in the middle and opened a hero agency together named after their mutual hero, The All Might Hero Agency, which quickly became one of the most respected agencies in the country.

Then Deku and Uraraka had broken up seemingly out of nowhere and for the first time, Katsuki saw some sort of consequence for Deku’s desire, no his fucking compulsion, to do anything he needed to be the best hero in the history of the world.

Katsuki thought Deku was a fucking idiot. Who sacrificed a girl like Uraraka for something as stupid as besting your own domination over your job? Deku didn’t need to work so hard to beat his own records, didn’t need to put those extra thirteen hours in or save that one extra person or what-the-fuck-ever it was that day that kept him working long after everyone else went home. No one, not even Katsuki, was even close to dethroning Deku and all that extra work was just because Deku was incapable of fucking letting it go. He couldn’t not act, couldn’t stop even if it was self-destructive. It was as if Deku was irreversibly wired to be so self-sacrificing he would give up everything for his work as a hero. If Deku had even a teaspoon of energy left he was working, no exceptions. Not even for the saint that was Uraraka. So yeah, Katsuki thought Deku was a fucking moron.

Katsuki tried not to hope when Uraraka broke up with Deku, he really did. He thought he’d killed off his stupid crush years before when he’d heartlessly stomped out his feelings, but he was never very good at controlling his emotions… so of course his heart fluttered briefly in hope when the power couple of the decade called it off. He smothered that hope pretty quickly when he realized that the breakup had been a nasty, no-win situation with broken hearts on both sides. Uraraka didn’t need some creep trying to swoop in while she was so emotionally fucked up. It wasn’t any of his fucking business anyway, he and Uraraka were casual colleagues at worst, friends at best. And he’d die before he coddled Deku for his own stupid actions, work partners or not. So he let it be, hands off on the whole fucked situation, a deep part of his mind telling him that she was too good for his sorry ass anyway.

But Katsuki, stupidly, had forgotten that the universe had this habit of royally fucking him.

The universe decided to exact its next toll for his existence in the form of a mind melding quirk with Uraraka. Because of fucking course.

When he’d (they’d?) realized what had happened, laying down on the broken concrete that day, Katsuki had been more or less calm about the whole ordeal. This was just one more insult in a lifetime of fucked up shit the Gods threw at him. He could handle it until the quirk wore off, he just had to avoid thinking about any of the repressed emotions he’d been skillfully avoiding for eight years. Then they’d figured out that this new mind-reading quirk was permanent, and the subtle panic started to set in.

He’d spent the next several days doing his goddamn best to keep away from her ever increasingly comforting mental presence, fearful she might pick up on his subtle-as-a-fog-horn infatuation with her. It was exhausting, both physically and emotionally, seeing as his entire being was just screaming at him to curl up against her mind where he had discovered he felt the most at ease. It was intoxicatingly pleasant to be next to her mind. Dangerously so. It was physically painful for him to peel his mind away from where it had cuddled up next to hers when he woke up in the morning to find his unconsciousness had broken his steeled will to keep away. It was some fucked up shit if he was being honest.

Not to mention how it was getting progressively harder to stay distant and deny his feelings the better they got to know each other, as they spent more and more time together. He was constantly reminded of all of the appealing things about her, like how she could so easily pick up on things he did in half the time it had taken him to do them, how she smiled slightly when she was lost in her own thoughts (thoughts he was now privy to, and obsessively attuned to, thanks to The Link), fucking flying together. Or any of the other annoyingly attractive things about her his brain seemed intent on fixating on. There was a fucking reason Katsuki had avoided becoming better friends with her when he’d realized he was hopelessly pinning after her while they were still at UA. He wasn’t stupid, he knew that once he had his heart set on something, there was no changing it and this situation was something he couldn’t wear down with hard work and a ruthless, relentless persecution. It wasn’t a situation he could remedy at all as far as he could tell, so he needed to stop desperately hoping for any sort of resolution.

The way he saw it, Ochako did not want him. Period. Shit, he had fucking felt her heartbreak and love for the Green Haired Idiot first-hand. (which was exceptionally painful for him to experience, by the way, fucking shot through the heart. K- fucking-O.) Not to mention how reverent her thoughts about Deku were, which he was unhappily subject to overhearing. Katsuki needed to fucking let it go, he wasn’t going to win this fight and smart heroes knew when to call it quits. After all, he’d been competing and losing to Deku in every category for his whole career, it’d be foolish to think Katsuki could win in a completion in his weakest trait: personality.

And yes, there was that one moment where he’d woken up to Uraraka’s intense deluge of emotions when she and All Might’s golden boy had been talking in her kitchen, where he could’ve sworn he heard her think ‘I’m not in love with him’. Then again, he often dreamt pathetic shit like that, so who could say. He certainly didn’t trust his own interpretation of how he’d being feeling as a result of her emotions, it was so hard for him to tell what was his and what was hers. One thing was for sure, she’d been feeling trapped by the situation, trapped in a mental Link with someone who was her love interest’s rival. So yeah, he wasn’t betting on his initial interpretation of that particular incident.

As if to put the proverbial cherry on the top of this landslide of shit luck, he was also dealing with the sinister villains that seemed to believe that killing kids was a solution to societies problems. And he was failing. Miserably. He was the goddamn Number 2 Hero, he was not allowed to fail like this, not with so many innocents on the line. It was eating him alive, constant guilt fueling his state of irritation at his current situation. He didn’t have time to be worrying about his lack of a love life (the reality of the situation didn’t stop him from doing just that).

All of this is to say that when Mind Freak had claimed that The Link was actually a motherfucking Soulbond, or some other such bullshit, Katsuki was 100% out of surprise to feel and fucks to give at the incredibly fucked quality his life had. Apparently, so had Shitty Hair because he just turned and laughed at him, threatening to blow his barely-intact cover in his mirth. Katsuki had slammed shields up, in a desperate (and boy did it look desperate) attempt to keep his ironic appreciation and despair from affecting Uraraka.

Because only Katsuki Bakugou would be so unfortunate to be soul bound to someone who was in love with his rival.

Katsuki came into consciousness at the trilling sounds of Uraraka’s unconscious Call, which is what he had unofficially titled the way she seemed to grab his attention with her thoughts. Her Call was unlike any sensory experience he’d ever had before, like a mental tug, the sound of a tingling wind chime and the feeling he got while in freefall. And while not the most uncomfortable way to wake (startling awake after a particularly bad nightmare followed by intense nausea as Ochako floated herself in her sleep took the cake for that one…), it was disorienting to say the least.

Oh fuck it all to hell

Katsuki blearily blinked, staring at the ceiling as he processed Ochako’s thought. His brows furrowed in confusion, trying to separate his mind from where it had predictably (pathetically) curled around hers. He quickly, if not somewhat clumsily, pulled away from her overlap, providing him a necessary buffer between their minds.

Fuck what?

He responded to her thought, still half asleep. He slowly raised himself to a seated position, propping himself up on his hands, an action that brought his attention to his current state of arousal. Fuckin’ perfect, exactly the kind of thing he wanted to have to hide after having not seen her all day. He sighed, rubbing a hand down his face, already exhausted from his heart’s overenthusiastic response at her presence.

Nothing! Nope! Nothing is fucked here, go back to sleep

Are you sure? You’re acting strange…

He started to get out of bed to go check on her, because he couldn’t fucking help himself, before he paused, staring at his rock hard erection. Right. His overenthusiastic dick was probably not something she would appreciate confronting first thing in the morning. He glanced over at his clock, seeing that it was not actually the morning, but the middle of the fucking night. Why the hell was she up at one am?

Don’t worry, I’m fine. Really! Go back to sleep!

He was still working on separating his emotions from her residual influence when she responded sending a burst of embarrassment and… arousal with the thought. He blinked at the wall next to his bed, stunned. That was a new feature, transferred arousal…fucking greeeeaaat.

As he continued the arduous work of separating out the layers of their minds he realized, with even more surprise, that his own, er, state was due to her , not himself (for once). It hit him like a brick wall: he had a hard-on from second-hand lust for fucking Deku. This wake up was officially now on the list of top ten worst ways to wake up.

Ochako’s thoughts were skittering nervously, and he could tell she was embarrassed and uncomfortable with the situation, given her resounding and repeating rambling that was Calling him repeatedly I can’t believe I woke up Katsuki with my..no. I need to focus. UHG it’s so embarrassing though, Katsuki of all people!.

He grunted, assuming his current feeling of discomfort was because she was feeling it, but not bothering to put in the work to determine the source for sure. She was giving him a headache, her thoughts kept skimming down into his consciousness with each unconscious Call, dragging her emotions with them, which was making his heart beat faster on its own accord. One of them was feeling anxious so he was feeling anxious and it was starting to get annoying. If she’d stop Calling him, and therefore dragging his mind up towards her layers, he could separate it out and maybe go back to sleep as she had requested.

Whatever, stop thinking about me so hard, you’re giving me a headache

I..uh yeah sorry, I’ll- uh, stop that! Sorry!

She promptly erected a shield between their minds, cutting off her mind from his. He shivered involuntarily at the feeling, still annoyed that something basic as not having his mind connected to hers made him feel so wrong. The feeling of anxiety, discomfort and arousal faded with her sectioning off her mind and he breathed a sigh of relief as he relaxed, flopping back onto his bed. He made a pact with himself to never think of this moment again, lest he be humiliated any more than by being fucking aroused when his… his Ochako was turned on by Deku. Fuck. It sounded even worse when he laid it all out like that. Yeah never thinking about it again.

Katsuki ignored the prickly feeling of having Ochako walled off from him, it was better than feeling lustful because of whatever thought Ochako was having about Deku. With that that disturbing thought buried six feet under, he promptly laid back in bed and forced himself to back to sleep, never having fully woken up to begin with.

Katsuki woke up for the second time that day at sunrise as his body was trained to do. He peeled his mind from where it had wrapped around Uraraka’s, as he did every morning, with a grimace and got out of bed. He hesitated at the door, weighing the pros and cons of walking around in just his boxers as he usually did when he didn’t have guest, eventually deciding against it and put on a pair of sweatpants.

Ochako was still sound asleep, per usual. The girl was a fucking walking hazard in the morning as he’d come to find out in the past few weeks, he seriously worried for her personal safety due to her lack of general fucking bodily awareness for the first hour after she woke. He’d personally observed her walk right into a fucking wall three days ago, only to rub her forehead sleepily and continue her zombie march towards caffeine. It was disturbing to say the least. How this girl could be both a truly spectacularly coordinated hero and also the girl who did her best to sabotage herself every goddamn morning was beyond him.

He wasn’t a huge coffee drinker, he refused to be dependent on any substance, even one as common as caffeine, so his coffee pot had gone largely unused for the past few years he’d lived in this apartment. However, taking pity on her incapacitated state in the mornings, he’d taken to making her daily coffee, really ‘lifesource’ was a better fucking term for it. He shuffled out of his room, pausing unintentionally outside the guest room door with an urge to open the door and just, make sure she was okay or some shit, before he shook himself out of it and continued to the kitchen.

As the coffee pot brewed, he leaned back against the counter, sighing. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep this façade up, how much longer he could keep Ochako in the dark. Yesterday, Shitty Hair had reminded him of the inevitability of his situation as he listened to Katsuki spill all of the shit he’d been repressing for the past few weeks. She was going to figure it out eventually, she was too smart not to. And as much as he hated to admit it, he couldn’t keep just putting up shields and pushing her away, it was too uncomfortable. The fucking Bond (gag, how fucking cliché) was making sure of it, with all this bullshit separation anxiety.

He had no idea what he was going to do, which was fucking unprecedented for Bakugou Katsuki. Kirishima, that bastard, had told him just to come out with it. Own up to it as soon as possible before things got any more tangled up. Katsuki had set off an explosion in his face in response. First of all, he would die before he publicly admitted that he was second to Deku in yet another fucking category. His ego could only take so much. Second, Uraraka didn’t need that shit. It was bad enough she had to deal with having someone else permanently sharing a brain space with her, she didn’t need to deal with his angsty and shitty luck. No, this was his burden to bare. Third, they had fucking bigger problems to deal with, namely the evil bastards who done this to them in the first place! No one had time for his little soap opera of a problem.

As he reviewed the previous day’s dilemma he felt her mind stir, unconscious mumblings starting to coalesce into concrete thoughts. He pulled away from her further, separating their minds so that they didn’t share everything automatically. He pushed off the counter and started on breakfast, clearing his mind of any thoughts about his predicament.

He felt the exact moment she became fully conscious because she reflexively reached for him across The Bond, as if to check he was still there, with an affectionate stroke. His mouth twitched with the urge to smile at the soothing sensation and his mind uncontrollably leaned into the touch. She was not making this fucking easy for him.

He forcibly focused his mind on the task of making a western style breakfast (for both of them, he wasn’t a total asshole), cracking several eggs into a skillet, pulling out the creamer while he was in the fridge and setting them next to the coffee pot. He set some toast into the toaster oven and put the sugar next to the coffee maker.

Ochako wandered into the kitchen with stumbling steps and dead eyes, making a beeline for the full coffee pot. Her hair was sticking up as if her quirk was active on it, bangs askew. She had sheet imprints on her left cheek and her too long Froppy pajama sleeves obscured her hands as she blearily rubbed her eyes. He felt a flush of affection for her disheveled state and quickly snuffed it out with a wave of annoyance at himself, frowning slightly.

As her sleep clouded eyes met his, he felt the Jolt rock through his spine, causing his entire body’s musculature to tighten as their minds snapped together. He exhaled forcibly to relax the taught muscles and turned himself back towards the stove from where he’d subtly shifted his orientation towards her. The after-effects of the Jolt sent shooting tingles down his limbs. By now he was fairly used to this bizarre sensation and quickly righted their minds, separating them once again. Ochako seemed to be less affected than him this morning, possibly due to her zombie like state, seeing as how only her mouth twitched slightly instead her full body jerking, as Katsuki had experienced. He wondered briefly if she felt the Jolt the same way he did, like all his senses were adjusted to be attuned to her and nothing else. As if he had been caught in a magnetic field centered on her, every input he received pointing him towards her. The evidence seemed to indicate she did not, he could count on one hand the number times she’d reacted as strongly as he did.

“You on patrols today, Cheeks?” He asked, trying to get his mind off the topic of her stupidly distracting cuteness and the way his senses were on high alert right now thanks to the Jolt.

She poured herself a hearty cup of coffee, dumping what was, in his opinion, entirely too much creamer into her mug, topping it off with a metric shit ton of sugar and quick stir. She took a sip looking over to him, faced screwed up in confusion.

“Patrols.” He said annoyed, rolling his eyes and flipping their eggs, “you on them today or not?”

Her eyes cleared up some, then widened and he suddenly felt very uncomfortable. Her eyes did a flitting onceover of him and her cheeks lit up to an even brighter shade of pink with a flush. He felt his stomach drop and narrowed his eyes at her, suspicious. Her thoughts barged into his consciousness as she Called him …Katsuki last night. Oh god. I’ve got to stop thinking about it or he could hear., her eyes darted over to his with her unconscious thought of him. Oh yeah, the whole fucking awkward-ass shared arousal thing last night. He had decided never to speak of it again and he was fucking sticking to it. Luckily, she seemed to be on the same page.

“I uh. You- Katsuki, why aren’t you, um, wearing a shirt?” She tripped over her words, gripping her mug tightly with both hands. His heart pounded in his chest. Or maybe it was her heart. He really fucking sucked at telling the difference. Whatever, someone’s heart was pounding in their fucking chest.

“Didn’t want to.” He answered rolling his eyes with a smirk, deducing after some digging around The Link that it was her heart that was beating a mile a minute. Surely, she should be used to seeing him without a shirt, given how many fucking photoshoots (goddamn PR department) and battles he’d been inadvertently shirtless for, though he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t stoked he could affect her like this, even if it was just because she was more conservative than him. He stifled the flicker of hope that bloomed in his chest with a mental call of ‘DIE!’. It didn’t mean anything, she was just uncomfortable with anyone being half naked.

“I..errrr. okay” She said, switching her weight from foot to foot, trying very hard not to look at him, “uh, what was the question again?”

“Are. You. On. Patrol. Today?” He punctuated each word, speaking slowly for her sluggish morning brain. She took a big gulp of coffee nervously and he resisted the urge to twitch as her nerves washed through him.

“Yes!” She squeaked out, backing away from him, “I, uh, actually, should um- go get ready for that. Patrol. Yeah, go, uh, get ready for patrols. Now.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, feeling a nervous flutter of affection for her strange behavior. She was such a freak sometimes; it would be great if he didn’t think that it was so fucking adorable. He watched as she turned and all but fled back towards her room, before he shrugged and continuing cooking. Clearly, she was not dealing with last night’s awkwardness as well as he was. He knew that she’d get over it eventually though.

When your done being a psycho, I left you some food out

She didn’t respond and Katsuki just shrugged off her weird behavior, scarfing down his own breakfast, getting dressed and rushing out the door towards his agency before she’d even finished her shower. He ignored the gnawing anxiety that bloomed as soon as he got more than 500 feet from her and forced his unruly mind to focus on the day’s patrols and paperwork, reaffirming what he’d ended up settling on yesterday with Kirishima. He had decided, against Shitty Hair’s advice, that was gonna ride this plausible deniability as long as he fucking could. Would she find out eventually, yeah probably. Was he going to speed that realization along? Fuck no! In the meantime, he was gonna do his damn best to just enjoy being close with her before it all went to shit, which it inevitably would as did everything he had wanted in his goddamn life.

Notes:

DO YOU KNOW LONG I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS CHAPTER TO HAPPEN?! I've straight up had the opening line in my head for the past SIX (yes SIX!) chapters!

And next week we will return to your normally scheduled plot development, promise.

Hope you all liked it!

Chapter 15 title modified from a suggestion by Kiko222
Chapter 16 title from Lidaofthepack19

No chapter title this week, it's literally the only chapter title I for sure knew I wanted! Sorry! :( We'll start up again with suggestions next week :D

Thank you, sending love!

Chapter 18: I'll Always Come When You Call

“Ground zero, are you even listening?” The voice of his agency’s administrative director, Frannie, broke through Katsuki’s distracted mind as he processed yet another flair of happiness, presumably from Ochako.

He’d been experiencing flickers of emotion all day since he’d left this morning, with enough frequency and intensity to be sufficiently distracting for him. It was mostly mundane things, like a flash of hunger or a flair of happiness, but it was enough to pique his curiosity. Even stranger still, Ochako hadn’t even tried to reach out to him all day, which was unusual given that up until today any time they were apart she seem incapable of not doing so at least once during the day.

As such, he was currently sitting in his and Deku’s agency’s large conference room for a debrief from the week, the first he’d been to since he’d been put on leave, attempting to get a sense of what on earth was making her so damn happy at the moment. The flares were infuriatingly frequent enough to manage to prevent him from focusing on anything for more than fifteen minutes. The majority of the company sat in comfortable leather chairs around a long wooden table, all paying close attention to whatever the hell Frannie was currently preaching about, while he attempted to ignore the curiosity that his low key infatuation with Ochako caused.

“Of course I was listening” Katsuki snapped with a glare, despite the fact he was not actually listening. He made eye contact with Deku across the conference table and glared as the green haired bobble-head gave him a knowing smirk. Cocky son-of-a- bitch. Katsuki sneered at him in retaliation, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair enough to prop his combat boots on the table with a solid clunk. He returned his gaze to Frannie, who was a thin woman with severe features and an attitude to match. She raised an eyebrow looking pointedly at his boots on the conference table with unspoken disapproval.

“I bought this fucking table, I will put whatever the fuck I want on it.” He scoffed at her irritation at his actions. He was one of the goddamn owners of the agency he would put his feet wherever her damn well pleased.

Frannie sighed, rolling her eyes, “As I was saying, there has been a steady 0.7% increase in crimes over the last two weeks which crime analysts at the Tokyo Police Department attribute to….”

Katsuki tried to pay attention to what the stiff brunette was saying (a feat all on its own considering the dryness of the content), but his attention was pulled away by a sudden flash of unease, and the feeling of his stomach dropping. Katsuki frowned at the sensation, certain it wasn’t his. It was a definite change in tone from earlier in the day and a small, but fucking loud part of his brain worried about her. Which was ridiculous, Uraraka could handle herself, she was a goddamn Pro. She didn’t need him coddling her, didn’t want it. He brushed off the sensation, trying to return his focus to the breakdown of the week’s crime reports. It was just The Bond’s stupid separation anxiety putting him on edge.

“…we have changed our patrol schedules to better account for the increase in crimes between the hours of 4:00am and 7:00am, which you will see implemented starting next week. Moving on to the issue of the incident that occurred Monday…”

Katsuki froze, eye widening imperceptibly as he felt something shift in The Link, felt it empty itself suddenly the way it did when Aizawa was using his quirk on Ochako. Surely, she wasn’t training with him right now? Wouldn’t she have told him ahead of time? What the hell was she doing?

Deku glanced at Katsuki from the corner of his eye, raising an eyebrow subtly, having picked up on Katsuki’s unease. Katsuki grit his teeth, trying to ignore the feeling of the Bond being emptied of Ochako’s presence completely, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off…

KATSUKI! Crap! The villains, they’ve found -

Ochako’s thought screamed into his mind before she was cut off, once again disappearing from his awareness and Katsuki bolted up, flinging his legs off the table, eye wide. His chest heaved in deep breaths trying to recover from the tidal wave of adrenaline and fear that had battered his mind at her scream. He desperately felt around The Link for Ochako, but came up empty handed, she was gone. Vanished from the Bond leaving whistling empty space in her wake. Shit shit shit shit. FUCK!

“Kacchan is everything-“ Deku started to ask, also rising to his feet on instinct. The rest of the employees stared at Katsuki in shocked silence at his sudden movement, but he could care less about what those extras thought. Something was really wrong, he had to get to Ochako, NOW.

“It’s Ochako” Katsuki bit out as he bolted for the door without further explanation. He heard Deku explaining quickly to the members of the company still in the conference room, but Katsuki was already flying towards the stairs, still frantically trying to reach Ochako in their Link. There was nothing. The Bond was silent, the hairs on the back of his neck rose and his stomach sank as he reached the stairwell. He took the stairs three at a time as he ran up to the roof, immediately deciding he would be faster if he blasted himself across the sky rather than run.

He fiddled with his comms unit, roughly putting it into place, thankful he hadn’t changed from his hero costume after patrols for the meeting. He heard the stairwell door bang open several floors below.

“Katsuki, what is it? What’s wrong with Ochako?!” Deku called up to him, his tone elevated in alarm.

Katsuki ignored Deku’s questions, knowing he would follow regardless of whether Katsuki answered his questions or not, he had more important things to do. Instead Katsuki pushed the button on his ear piece, kicking the door to the roof open roughly as he reached it- he didn’t have time for keys. These fuckers were strong and he didn’t think that Uraraka, hell- any of the Pros, could handle them alone.

“This is Ground Zero, I need a location on Uravity ASAP” He shouted into the device into the open channel, which transmitted to both police and heroes in the area. At that moment Katsuki felt The Bond flair back to life and he desperately grasped onto Ochako’s mind pulling her close. He felt her mind latch onto his desperately, spanning the distance they had between then tenuously.

Katsuki! He can suppress quirks! Oh god, Lilly!

She was unnerved, her emotions flooded his system and felt a surge of adrenaline and fear. Her thoughts were skittering around, flying quickly as she tried to multitask. His stomach threatened to leave his body via his throat as he realized she was actively in combat while trying to talk with him. He was vastly disoriented in The Link, completely lost as to what was happening. She said something about those fucking child killing bastards? Had they found her?

WHERE ARE YOU?!

Katsuki sprinted to the edge of the building, Ochako’s adrenaline from The Bond fueling his movements as he frantically searched her thoughts for any piece of information, he could use to find her. She was so far away, he couldn’t get a good read on her. He growled in frustration, why had he thought it would be fine to leave her to do patrols by herself again?

He thanked his stubborn refusal to purchase a building less than 15 stories high when he and Deku had bought the new building for their agency last year, as he flung himself off the edge, quickly free falling several floors before he blasted himself skyward. He released a series of explosions, heading in the general direction of Ochako’s patrol district.

We’re a few blocks away from Misu Lake, send some police back up. Katsuki you can’t-

“FUCK!” Katsuki spat as their connection was broken again. He growled as he let out bigger explosions propelling himself towards the lake as fast as he could. He felt a familiar hair-raising sensation as green lightning danced over his skin, Deku had pulled up next to him, mid jump.

“BAKUGOU!” Izuku shouted through the wind of their speed, “What’s going on? Is Ochako in danger?!”

“YES!” Katsuki shouted back angrily, frustrated at the limits of his speed without Ochako’s quirk removing his weight, “SHE’S AROUND MISU LAKE. GO!”

Deku was faster than him, it made sense to send him ahead, Ochako need any help she could get. Katsuki watched as Deku’s brows descended in worry and determination while the arc of his jump took him back down to a roof top. Katsuki watched, gritting his teeth, as Deku streaked across the skyline in a bolt of green towards Misu Lake, channeling his frustration and fear into his own quirk to propel himself faster.

“Ground Zero, this is TYPD officer Ryu, Uravity and Plantasma are currently on 134th and Misu parkway. Is back up requested?” A calm voice came through his comms. At least he had a definitive location, though the fact Lilly was with her just set him more on edge. She wouldn’t be able to fight as well if she was trying to protect her inexperienced sidekick.

“FUCKING, yes, goddamn it!” Katsuki yelled into the device, “She’s being attacked by those child killing bastards!”

“Oh- crap! Uh, I’ll send back up right away!” Idiot Cop stuttered into the channel. Hopefully any heroes in the vicinity had heard the call and were already en-route.

Uraraka slammed into his mind again suddenly, closer than before as he drew nearer to her location. He desperately grasped her mind, hoping that her could some how keep her there despite whatever sort of erasure quirk the villains apparently now had. He shuddered at her desperation washing through his being.

Katsuki, just send back up! You can’t come here! It’s-

She blipped out of The Bond again and Katsuki unleashed a massive chain of explosions, a thunderous boom echoing across the rooftops. If the villain’s didn’t know he was coming yet, they sure did now…

“Kacchan!” Deku’s unnervingly high-pitched voice came through the open channel, “You have to stay away! The villains here, they’ve recruited one of Uravity’s stalkers, he’s got some sort of twisted vendetta against you. We don't need to take that risk! Ochako and I can handle it.”

Katsuki’s brows lowered in fury, “Fuck him! Ochako, is she okay?!”

“Kacchan stay away!” Deku replied choppily, clearly trying to talk and fight at the same time, “We can handle this!”

Katsuki did not miss how he very obviously avoided mentioning Ochako’s state and his stomach twisted in anxiety. Luckily, he was fast approaching the intersection where she was, it became fairly obvious as a large blot of green lightning illuminated the space between two buildings, indicating the fight was in the street perpendicular and in front of Katsuki. Bingo. Like hell he was staying away, since when did he back down from a fight?!

Katsuki blasted himself towards the street, almost clipping the cement lip of one of the buildings’ rooftops as he barely cleared the edge. His view of the fight in the street below now unobscured by skyscrapers, he quickly assessed the scene on the street below. The first thing he noticed was the glowing oozes of lava that was being haphazardly ejected from a villain on one side of the street in an attempt to catch a lightning fast Deku in a spray. Of course fucking Lava Snot would be here. He forcibly drug his eyes away from watching the magma villain to search for Ochako as he fell towards the street. He released a breath when he located her, she was uprooting a tree from the sidewalk to use as an oversized baseball bat against a small rotund man who was gripping her right arm. His first thought was ‘Thank fuck’ quickly followed by an appreciation of the fact that she was such a goddamn badass.

Ochako released her quirk right as the trunk made impact, causing the unfamiliar villain to be launched away from her, his grip leaving her arm. As the villain lost contact The Bond came back online, Ochako suddenly very close. Very close and VERY angry.

GODDAMN IT KATSUKI! CAN’T YOU FREAKIN’ FOLLOW DIRECTIONS FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE?

Her thought ricocheted through his head with the sting of her irritation and fear as Katsuki loosed two twin blasts to slow his momentum as he fell towards the street. As he jerked to a stop in mid-air, several feet from the pavement, he took another glance around the battle. Plantasma was collapsed, seemingly unconscious several feet behind Ochako, a nasty burn marring her right arm. Deku seemed to be zipping around Lava Snot attempting to get an opening in the streams of blistering rock. It seemed like there were only two villains here, suspicious as fuck.

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME, CHEEKS?!
Katsuki replied to her accusation as he dropped the remaining few feet to the ground, roughly landing before running over to where the gravity user was standing. He mentally felt around her mind, non invasively, just checking to make sure she wasn’t fucking- head injured, or some shit. Her mind shrugged him off, annoyed.

“I’m fine!” Ochako snapped tersely as Katsuki jogged up to her, “ YOU should not be here! I TOLD you to stay away!”

As Katsuki met her furious gaze and The Jolt sparked up his spine forcing him to stumble three steps closer to her, as if pulling him towards her. Their minds collided, immersed, and Katsuki got a good read on her emotional state as they both worked to untangle themselves. She was scared, no- terrified, for Lilly and PISSED that he’d ignored her order to stay away from the battle. PSHH, as if he was just gonna brush off her sudden disappearance form The Link accompanied by her heart jolting adrenaline and fear. For all he knew, she could have been dying. DYING for fucks sake. She was not amused by his assessment of the situation and just as he was getting a good read on her, he was forcibly ejected from her mind, her irritation at him whipping across The Link.

“Tch! Like hell I was gonna stay away!” Katsuki replied, giving her a quick head-to-toe check, she didn’t have any major injuries as far as he could tell, just a bad attitude and clear misunderstanding of what it felt like to suddenly be drenched with fear from someone else without any explanation other than ‘stay away’.

Ochako rolled her eyes at him, ripping out her earpiece, which looked smashed to bits, while glancing to her left towards where the unknown villain appeared to be slowly righting himself from his place on the ground. She sank into a fighting stance as the villain turned to stare at the two and Katsuki mirrored her actions, placing his palms out towards the villain. The stout villain certainly looked worse for the wear, Ochako had already done a number on him, if the way he was avoiding putting weight on his right leg was anything to go by.

“Talking to her like she’s someone important to you. It’s completely unacceptable. You’ve been really pissing me off these past few weeks Ground Zero.” The man said, smearing blood across his face from an obviously broken nose, “You can’t have her, she’s mine.”

“Heh…? What the fuck was that?” Katsuki leered, this guy had a death wish talking to him like that, as if Ochako was some sort of object to be possessed. Fucked up. Who the hell did this guy think he was?

“You don’t get you just swoop in and take her! I love her more than you and we WILL be together!” Yeah, this dude was totally unhinged.

“Shino,” Ochako spoke right as Katsuki was gonna open his mouth to retort, “This is a bad idea, you don’t want to do this.”

Now it was Katsuki’s turn to be surprised at the turn of events. Did she know him? What exactly was going on here? This dude was clearly off his rocker with delusions, he wasn’t in a place for logic or reasoning. He was in a place to get his ass handed to him. Katsuki’s eyes followed the villain’s as he turned a reverent gaze towards the brunette, hanging on her every word. Disgusting.

“NO!” Shitty Fanboy blurted out, a note of desperation in his voice “He doesn’t love you like I do, he doesn’t deserve you!”

“Tch.” Katsuki snorted out, already over this dude’s whole vibe. Obsessive fans and their ridiculous possessiveness, like he had any right to talk to talk about ‘loving’ her. He didn’t even know her. Delusional as fuck.

Cheeks, this bastard isn’t going to back down without a tranquilizer dart, stop stalling.

Ochako’s gaze snapped over to him, sharp and conflicted. He felt a wash of guilt and reluctance, presumable from her. He arched an eyebrow challengingly, trying to shake off the feeling he was at fault. Stupid emotion sharing.

I know that, I just feel...bad I guess.

Katsuki sighed, she would feel bad about kicking a toxic obsessive fan’s ass. Typical. Fine, if she didn’t want to serve this creep some sweet, sweet ass-kickery, he’d do it for her. They didn’t really have time for this half-in, half-out shit. From the quick glimpses of the fight between Deku and Leaky Lava Face, he and Ochako had approximately five minutes before they were going to be in the splash zone, if the steady trajectory the lava villain was carving was anything to go by. Didn't the Long Fingered kid say something about the Lava villain wanting to take Ochako out?

Seriously?! Is that why you haven’t taken out this bargain brand Aizawa?! Give me a fucking break.

NO!... I just feel like. I don’t know, he needs help more than a fist to the face! I could talk him down!

Uraraka fumbled to explain her guilt that was filling up their shared mind space, he felt like he was somehow responsible for this flaming piece of trash. Well she felt that way, so he felt that way. This was ridiculous, she was not fucking responsible for what some fanatic did with his obsessions. She didn’t owe him anything other than a solid fist to the face.

I think the fuck not!

What?! I could! He was starting to listen before YOU showed up and ruined it!

Oh yeah, the tree to the face was real indicative of his amicability… Katsuki sent her the impression of an eyeroll to punctuate his point. This creepy fucker listened to Ochako like a fish listened to music.

I, I-You just.. UGH! Fine!

He felt really irritated now, both of their annoyance at the other magnifying the sensation. She was being illogical and it was pissing him off, especially after all the drama around how this whole mess got started. Fuckin’ disappearing from The Bond in a tsunami of fear and panic, yelling at him to stay away and expecting him to actually do it? Get fucked. Now she was trying to tell him not to blow this fucker to bits? Tch.

Can I blow his face off now, oh benevolent Uravity, Goddess of Mercy to those who don’t deserve it? Katsuki asked sarcastically, making a sweeping motion with his arm towards the villain in a mock bow.

Whatever Katsuki!

She turned away from him and stomped towards Lilly, effectively delegating the task of taking down this trash fire of a villain, which was fine by him. He’d gladly take down this creep any day of the week. At least she was seeing sense now.

“Don’t ignore me!” the queef of a villain screamed at the two of them, “I’ll kill you Ground Zero! You can’t have her!”

Yup. Katsuki was done with this fucker. Time to die.

“Go taste-test some arsenic” Katsuki growled, glaring as he launched himself towards the short villain, what had Ochako called him? Shin Splints? Sure, sounded close enough.

Shin Splint’s eyes widened quickly, before a truly ugly frown formed on his plump face. He raised two stubby arms, ready to intercept Katsuki’s fist. PFFT! As-fucking- if! Katsuki wasn’t an idiot, he knew this half-assed erasure quirk only worked with physical contact, this guy wasn’t laying a finger on him.

Katsuki dropped to the ground instead of going for his classic right hook, grinning at the look of surprise that flashed on the villain’s face. Katsuki’s foot snapped out, sweeping Shin Splint’s legs from under him. Before he could regain his standing, Katsuki lifted a palm from his crouch, pointing towards the villain’s ugly ass face and sparking a blast to blow him backwards. The explosion further unbalanced the villain, causing him to be forcibly flung into the pavement. His head make a sickening cracking sound as it hit the street, and Katsuki felt Ochako’s flinch fly through his own muscles with a twitch.

Quickly standing up he stepped over Shin Splint, who was groaning and slowly rolling back and forth, eyes dazed. Katsuki placed a heavy boot on the man’s chest, effectively stepping on him like the scum he was. Well, that was rather anticlimactic, taking the big talker down in two moves. Bummer, Katsuki had been looking forward to destroying this asshole.

“Just to be crystal fucking clear,” Katsuki spat out in a low voice, “Uravity doesn’t ‘belong’ to anyone, she’s not a fucking dog. And even if she did want to be in a relationship, you would be at the bottom of the fucking list.” He punctuated the point with an increase in pressure with his boot, before leaning down to quickly cuff the obviously concussed villain.

Katsuki glanced up, quickly assessing the status of Deku’s fight with Lava Snot. It didn’t really appear to be going all that well, which was surprising. Deku was clearly holding back in an attempt to minimize collateral damage to the area, because one solid full cowling kick could’ve taken this guy out. Instead, Deku was dancing around the Lava Spewing Freak, zipping through the streams every few second to land small punches. Death by a thousand cuts much, Deku?

Katsuki narrowed his eyes in thought, last time he’d fought this lava villain his quirk had been nullified by the magma, if not fueling it. His hand twitched with the burning desire to go fuck some shit up. Making a split decision, he roughly grabbed Skin Split’s cuffed arm and started to drag him across the pavement back towards where Ochako was kneeling over her side kick.

“Tag you’re it.” Katsuki grunted out as he dropped the villain, who just moaned, roughly. Ochako looked up, mildly surprised at his sudden appearance, then leaned back to look around him at the battle with Lava Snot. He felt the understanding dawn in her mind as she understood his intent to keep out of the fire fight. She turned back to look at her sidekick concerned.

“She’s got some serious burns… you called for backup, right?” She asked as she stood, giving Ghost Gardener’s head a worried caress, her face pale with fear for her sidekick. Katsuki’s stomach clenched anxiously with worry. He wasn’t sure if it was his or hers.

“Yeah, they should be here soon, but I’ll make sure they sent an ambulance” He replied assessing the damage to the young hero, already switching gears from fighting to first aid. She had extensive burns along her right arm that extended up her back, probably boarding on third degree. There was a smell of burnt flesh and melted plastic lingering in the air and Katsuki knew enough about burns (because duh. Of course he did) to know that this was a serious injury.

Ochako gave him a firm nod before she turned and ran towards where Deku and Snot Face were fighting it out, flickers of glowing red and electric green flashing on the building faces that bordered the street. Katsuki watched her shortly, some part of him still feeling weirdly anxious that she was in danger, before he shook the irrational thought and refocused on the task at hand.

“This is Ground Zero, we need an ambulance to the site as soon as possible, Phantasma is down. One villain apprehended the second on the way down.” He spoke into his comms as his eyes raked over Plantasma’s burns with eyebrows furrowed. He split his time waiting for the ambulance monitoring her vitals and watching the fight behind him in case Deku or Uraraka needed him to jump in.

Between Deku and Ochako, the Lava Snot was taken out within the next few minutes as Deku gave Uravity and opening to land an opened handed hit on the Villain’s torso that sent him floating helplessly towards the sky. He’d, stupidly, tried to direct his motions with his lava jets only to end up spinning helplessly out of control in the air in a trajectory that made even Uraraka’s stomach quench, all the while screaming some shit about how he’d make her pay for what she’d done to his leg. Idiot.

After that it’d been a simple matter of knocking the villain out with a precise punch from Deku and cuffing the villain. The ambulance and police vehicles arrived with in minutes of the take down and the incapacitated villains were loaded into the armored police truck quickly. Deku was speaking with one of the officers, a grave expression on his face as he detailed the events leading to the captures. The media vans had arrived shortly thereafter, cameras pointed towards the commotion from behind the police tape, adding to the chaos of the scene.

Ochako floated Lilly into the ambulance, both her and Katsuki’s hearts wrenching anxiously as she worried about her side kick. After gently releasing her onto the gurney Ochako had retreated back to his side, gnawing on her lower lip in a way Katsuki found to be inappropriately captivating. He shook his head to clear it of thoughts about Uraraka’s lips, seriously what the fuck brain? Now was not the time to be thinking about his stupid, fucked up infatuation with her.

“She’ll be okay.” Katsuki said gruffly to Ochako, watching as the EMTs placed and IV in petite sidekicks left arm. Ochako nodded in an unconvinced way, face pale as she shifted from one foot to the other. He was struggling to separate their emotions, feeling guilty and anxious from her current preoccupations. He rolled his shoulder’s stiffly, trying to overpower her emotions with a reassuring confidence. He’d had third degree burns before, they fucking sucked but they healed with the help of some well timed healing quirks. Ochako’s protégé would be okay.

Ochako glanced up at his face in surprise as he let the confidence wash across The Link. He felt her relax just a bit and she gave him a small smile. He felt his stomach drop and the fuzzy feeling of affection fill him. Uhg. He was so fucked. He shook the feeling off, refocusing on the task at hand. Namely, ending this weird ass, long day.

“Let’s go home, we can check on her in the morning.” He said holding his hand out to Ochako and sending her the impression of their badass Rocket Ship move, eyebrow quirked questioningly. It was a bit of a long shot, but would be totally worth it if she said yes. He did NOT want to fight his way through the throngs of reporters being barely contained by the police tape.

To his delight and surprise, she nodded firmly, reaching out and grasping his hand, activating her quirk on him as she did. He fidgeted uncomfortably at the sensation of being weightless, still not used to the strange physics required to coordinate his body. She glanced over her shoulder to where Deku was still speaking with police, hesitating slightly.

He’s got it handled.
What about our reports though?
We can worry about it tomorrow. It’s late and I’m fucking tired.

She chuckled as she turned look back at him activating her quirk on herself and her thoughts Called him: Katsuki is such a grumpy old man, going to bed at 9pm

“EH?! Who you calling old? It’s fucking dark out! That means it’s time to go to sleep!” He shouted as he swung her onto his back and felt her strong legs lock around his waist. He tried very hard not to think about her thighs as her arms wound around his neck. He sent her a mental nudge in the form of a warning before he blasted off, rocketing them across the skyline towards his apartment.

“Oo still ‘houldn’t ‘ave come blasing acroth the city!” Ochako exclaimed, comically attempting to yell at him from her spot in the doorway to the bathroom as she brushed her teeth.

“I TOLD you, I didn’t know what was going on! You can’t just fucking expect me to leave you alone when you suddenly disappear in a cloud of anxiety and fear!” Katsuki called back from the doorway to his room, irate at her insistence that he’d been in the wrong today. He had been changing from his costume into a pair of sweatpants, already completely ready to go to sleep when she’d decided she wasn’t done fighting with him for the night and had started claiming he shouldn’t have come to her aid. He disagreed, and now here they were arguing about the stupidest shit on Earth.

Ochako let out a huff, spinning to return to the sink. And I told YOU that I was worried about Lilly! I had the fight handled! I didn’t need you there, especially since Shino was spouting all that nonsense about wanting to kill you!

She mentally yelled at him as she spit and rinsed her mouth, because of course she couldn’t stop yelling at him just because her mouth was otherwise occupied… Okay that was bad wording. Fuck, refocus.

“Yeah, I got that, I’m not fucking deaf!” Katsuki half-heartedly yelled back at her, trying to rein in his mind’s attempt to plunge his thoughts into the gutter, as he crossed his arms to lean against his door frame, “Still doesn’t change my understanding of the situation!”

Ochako walked out of the bathroom across the hall, pausing to turn and roll her eyes at him dramatically before continuing into his guest room. Katsuki was torn between feeling offended and highly amused at her behavior.

“Why are you so mad about me being there anyway? I fucking came to back you up, I don’t see you complaining about Deku being there!” He voiced, annoyed that she was mad at him for coming by seemingly just on the principle of the thing.

“Stop Making this about Izuku!” She called from her room, irritation flaring in the Bond. She Called him why is everything ALWAYs about Izuku?! God! This had nothing to do with Deku for fricks sake!

“What the fuck is this about then, huh?” He countered, eyebrow twitching in irritation, “Because I sure as fuck can’t figure it out!”

“I, just…UGH!” She huffed out at a loss for words. The Bond was flush with frustration and irritation from them both.

“ ‘UGH’?, that’s all you have to say?” He pressed, “What is with you today?! You’ve been acting weird from the moment you woke up!”

Well the moment she got caffeine into her bloodstream, anyway. He usually felt her checking on him, unconscious or not, throughout the day any of the times they’d been separated up until today, and Katsuki was feeling wary or her intentions. Call it a hunch, but he had a suspicion she had been avoiding him.

Ochako poked her head out into the hall, eyebrows drawn down in contemplation. He suddenly felt hesitant and confused, a sure sign that it was actually her that was feeling that way, though he couldn’t be sure because he was hella confused by her erratic behavior today.

“…It’s nothing.” She finally answered evasively. “You’re right I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you for blasting yourself to the fight. You were just doing you job. I’m sorry.”

Katsuki narrowed his eyes at her sudden change in tune. It felt evasive, like she was trying to occlude her actual feelings. The Link was a jumble of emotions he couldn’t really make sense of, if he had to name it would be something along the lines of ‘flustered’. She stared back at his suspicious gaze, not giving him an inch. Whatever, if she didn’t want to talk about it, that was her business.

“Whatever.” He sighed, relenting, if she wanted to let it go, he’d let it go. They lapsed into a slightly awkward silence, The Bond alight with an awkward high intensity, like they were both anticipating the other would suddenly devolve into yelling again.

“We should probably come up with a code word or some shit so we know when it’s serious.” He spoke, breaking the silence as the idea struck him. Ochako visibly relaxed when she realized he truly intended to let it go, a flow of relief washing across his brain from The Bond. She was happy he’d changed the topic.

“That’s a good idea!” She chirped, the 180 in her tone giving him whiplash. He grumbled under his breath, yeah no shit it was a good idea. He didn’t pitch bad ideas. Who did she take him for?

“What about ‘Kamino’?” She said after some thought, and a frown pulled at his lips. Ugh, that was a little on the nose wasn’t it? Though it fit well, that night had been the definition of ‘a true emergency’.

“Fuck, going for the headshot much?” He huffed out irritated at the uncomfortable memories surfacing from his first year at UA. He felt his palms starting to sweat on their own accord. He uncrossed his arms to wipe them on his sweatpants. Ochaco’s eyes followed the motion, widening slightly and Katsuki was hit with her shock and shame like a brick wall.

“Oh god! I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking!” Ochako blurted hands flying to cover her mouth, embarrassment and shame flowing from her layers in The Bond. She called him again, …Katsuki’s got some serious PTSD from that whole thing. I’m so stupid!

“Tch. I’m not fucking traumatized by it or anything, just not the best memories.” He said defensively. He had definitely been traumatized by that. He watched as Ochako’s eye twitched, clearly picking up on his lie as The Bond hit an emotional minor chord, though she intelligently chose not to comment on it.

He let out a deep sigh, “It fits though. Let’s use it.”

He pushed off of his door frame, turning to go to bed, pushing back bad memories, a skill he’d perfected over the past eight years. One he intended to keep using till the day he died. Fuck therapy, talking about his feelings never did shit for Katsuki.

“Hey, um, Katsuki?” Ochako’s tentative question had him turning back around like a fucking trained dog. He met her gaze questioningly, like the whipped pansy-ass sucker that he was for her. Goddamn it.

“uhm, thanks. For, you know…” She hedged rubbing the back of her neck, embarrassed. She hesitated with her word choice, as if trying to figure out how to phrase it. He pushed up next to her mind, dipping into her thought process, the mental contact making her cheeks light up with a furious blush, and he vaguely got the sentiment of what she was trying to say.

“… fucking showing up…?” He filled in her blank statement quizitively from the general sense he was getting from her layers of The Link, feeling a weird sort of tightening in his chest. She was getting progressively more and more flustered and embarrassed for some unknown reason and it was making his skin tingle pleasantly. It was fucking distracting.

“Yeah. In the end, I’m glad it was you there.” Her eyes darted away from his to stare intently at the floor, feet shuffling. Katsuki’s heart hammered in his chest, embarrassment and nervous energy pulling The Link taught. The air suddenly felt too thick, the apartment to quiet.

“I’ll always come when you call.” The words left his mouth on their own accord.

What. The. Fuck. Was. Wrong. With. Him. Where, in the fucking nine layers of hell, did that come from?!? Bakugou flushed at his stupid brain's decision to lay it all out there like that. He was just fucking asking to be burned.

Ochako’s jaw fell, and she called him for the nth time that night …Katsuki really just say that!? What does that even mean?! Surely not..

Katsuki jumped on the opportunity that was her brain fumbling to find a reply to retreat. Full evacuation! Fucking abort, this was so fucked. He spun on the spot and hurriedly retreated into his room, shutting his door with a firm click. He let out a long breath, pulling back from the Bond as quickly and discretely as he could. Kirishima was right, there was no way he could keep this locked up for much longer, not when his unconscious was determined to fuck him like this. What a fucking nightmare of a way to end the day.

Notes:

Another long week at school! Sorry!

I've got a question for you guys, so originally I was planning on telling the entire second half from Katsuki's perspective, but I'm missing writing from best girl's view. Would you prefer I stick to the plan, or alternate perspectives every chapter form here out?

Thanks in advance for your input! I love that I can get feedback form you all about stuff like this, it makes me happy!

Also I am working through the comments from last chapter, but I actually have to run to class right now, so some of you may have to hold tight for just a few hours! You're feed back is so important to me!
Thank you! Sending love!

Chapter 19: Through The Looking Glass

Notes:

The overwhelming response for both perspectives has been heard! :D I won't be doing every-other chapter necessarily, instead choosing the perspective of the more relevant character :) Thank you for all your input!

Ochako was suddenly on a rooftop floating in the sky as big picture-perfect fluffy clouds floated by the building. She glanced around confused, finding a characteristic spiky blond head seated on a helicopter pad in front of her. What was Bakugou doing here?

Her eyes flickered up at a movement in the sky in front of the building, then she did a double take as she saw a freakin’ blue whale swim through the crystalline blue sky. She looked around once more, confused, eyes focusing on the fact that this skyscraper appeared to not be connected to the ground. In fact there was no ground anywhere in sight.

Her lips formed a small ‘o’ at the realization: this was a dream. Of course, whales couldn’t swim thought the sky. How silly. She didn’t usually have lucid dreams, but it wasn’t something that hadn’t ever happened.

Ochako huffed down next to where Katsuki was resting on top of the downward stroke of the large red H of the rooftop helicopter pad. It wasn’t the strangest place she’d ever dreamed herself in, but it was one for the books for sure. The skyscraper that the heli-pad topped seemed to be floating in thin air, surrounded by nothing but clear sunny skies with the occasional white puff of a cloud. She supposed it was probably just where her subconscious figured Katsuki would be, on the top of some building where he didn’t have to deal with people.

Katsuki glanced up at her, startled, as she plopped down. He sat up from his position leaning back on his hands as she scooted closer, tucking herself tightly into his side. She was still thinking, fuming really, about the stupid text conversation she’d been having with Tsu before going to sleep. She was not trilled about Tsu’s take on Ochako’s unfortunate predicament with the fiery blonde seated beside her, namely her ever increasing attraction to him. Katsuki held back a laugh at her frowning face as he wrapped an arm loosely around her waist, pulling her closer and tapping twice on her hip to get her to look at him.

“What crawled up your ass?” He asked curiously, cocking an eyebrow.

“I’m mad at Tsu” She pouted folding her arms, leaning into his solid frame. He snorted, amused, looking away from her out towards the brilliant cloud spotted blue sky just as a school of fish swam through the air, swarming into fascinating patterns as it moved across the horizon. The color of the sky was more vibrant that Ochako could ever remember seeing in real life. They sat in silence for a minute, until Ochako couldn’t help it and just decided to vent, it was just a dream after all. What harm could it do?

“She keeps insisting there’s more going on between you and me than there actually is.” She caved, glaring at the smirk that bloomed on his mouth, he knew she couldn’t resist talking about it. He started drawing light circles on her hip with his left hand, in a way that Ochako found to be beyond distracting. Dream Katsuki knew just how to throw her off her game, figures.

“That’s funny.” He commented lightly, shaking his head, “Shitty Hair keeps saying the same shit to me.” He reached over with the hand not currently around her waist to grasp her fingers, lightly playing with her finger pads.

“I don’t find it very funny…” She grumbled, “I’m having a hard enough time keeping it straight in my own head, I don’t need her going in and muddling things up further.”

Before she’d fallen asleep Tsu had proposed the possibility that Katsuki was also interested in Ochako, which was ridiculous of course. But it certainly didn’t stop Ochako from thinking about it over and over, hoping against her better judgement it could be right. She’d had to take some melatonin just to get her brain to shut off for long enough to fall asleep. And naturally she was now dreaming about her preoccupation because her brain just had no chill. Sheesh.

“Keeping what straight?” He questioned, brows furrowing, still focused on the feeling of her finger pads on his. His motions were sending delightful tingles up their arms. She sighed dramatically, pulling away from where he’d tucked her into his side, grabbing the hand he’d been using to play with her finger pads.

“This” She emphasized holding up his hand, “All these unrequited feelings, I’ve been having about you! It’s hard enough to remember that it’s one sided without her coming in and whispering about your abs and stuff. Her observations of your attractiveness are NOT helpful in me burring my feelings.”

He let out an incredulous laugh at that, chuckles trailing as he shook his head.

“It’s not funny, it’s a real problem!” She pouted, dropping his hand to fold her arms across her chest again. He placed his now free right hand behind him on the pavement, leaning back on it, tilting his head towards the endless sky.

“My subconscious would portray you this way tonight wouldn’t it?” He stated with ironic mirth.

“Your subconscious?” Ochako’s face scrunched up, confused. He nodded, capturing her gaze with his red eyes, a small smile quirking the side of his mouth.

“Yeah, one’s subconscious is generally the entity controlling someone’s dreams.” He said somewhat sarcastically, left hand at her hip still dancing along the space where her shirt had ridden up distractingly.

“your dream…?” Ochako pondered, “but this is my dream not yours…”

“Pft. Yeah that’s what my subconscious would want me to think.” He scoffed turning to stare at the sky again.

Ochako stared at him for a beat in thought. If he thought this was his dream…

Oh SHIT!

Ochako’s spine snapped straight as her jaw dropped. She knew it! She fucking knew this was a thing that could happen! How could she be so stupid?! Katsuki turned to look at her, alarmed.

“What?” He asked glancing around for a threat, hand at her hip stopping its motions. Finding nothing he glanced back towards her, brows drawn together.

“I…errr…” Ochako said stiffly removing herself from his side and standing, “I’ve got to wake u- Go, yeah, I’ve got go now. Sorry Katsuki.”

She backed away from him towards the edge of the building, ignoring the look of confused hurt on his face.

“I… fucking, what?” He asked dumbly, clearly surprised at the sudden turn of events.

Ochako didn’t wait another second, hurling herself off the side of the building, embracing the clench of her stomach at the sensation of freefall.



Ochako’s eyes blinked open as the falling sensation pulled her from her dream. She stared up at the ceiling, which was just now being lightened by the rising sun.

“Did what I think just happened really happen?” She whispered into the darkness, dumbfounded. She clutched the black bedding as she immediately checked The Bond to find Katsuki curled around her mind. She cautiously pressed closer and got a flash of his dream.

He was laying down on the heli-pad, hands behind his head contentedly as a warm breeze blew through the endless sky.

“Shiiiiiiiiiiiit” Ochako hissed face palming. Oh god, he was gonna wake up and know that she was hopelessly attracted to him, how on earth was she going to explain that?!

No no, it’s fine, people have weird dreams all the time, she could play it off as just being a weird coincidence. Right?

Wait.
What had he been saying in the dream? Something about his subconscious portraying her as someone who was pinning for him? Someone who would let him draw circles on her hip and curl into his side…

Oh. oh
What if Tsu was right? Oh god, what if Tsu was right and Katsuki was interested in her?! What was it she had said about Kiri and Mina?

She fumbled quickly for her phone, blinking as the bright light lit up. She quickly pulled up her conversation with Tsu from the previous night before scanning the messages, scrolling past her own awkward confessions of reluctant attraction and admiration.

There it was:

‘Mina said that one time, when Kiri was wasted he told her that Katsuki had a, and I quote,“big fat Bakugou shaped crush” on you. I think you should go for it, ribbit.’

Ochako had brushed it off last night, too scared to hope that Mina and Tsu’s interpretation could be the case. After all, Mina wasn’t the most reliable source, especially when it came to what drunk Kirishima said (the man was a drunken rambler to say the least). Then Tsu, in a truly unhelpful fashion, had proceeded to list all of the pros to “just going for it”, namely Bakugou’s undeniable physique. Ochako had quickly changed the topic to Tsu’s costume upgrades, which the frog hero had been working on for the past few weeks.

But now after that dream and his weird confession last night…. What if Mina hadn’t just been the final participant in a long line of drunk telephone, what if Katsuki did actually return her feelings?

The thought paralyzed Ochako. She didn’t know what she would do if that was the case. This was all so sudden, even if it felt like she and Katsuki had been Linked for a lot longer, it had realistically only been a few weeks! She herself had only come to the realization of her attraction yesterday, even if she could see she had been crushing for longer in hindsight. Even if he returned her feelings, she had no idea what she would even want to do about it! She pressed her hands to her cheeks, worried to the point that she forgot to leave her pinkies up and she started to float towards the ceiling.

“Eeep!” She squeaked, startled by her own quirk. “Release!” She said firmly collapsing back onto the bed. Oh this was bad. This was very bad.




Ochako took evasive measures immediately after waking up. That is to say, she ran away. She got dressed in a casual pair of jeans and black top( choosing to pack her hero costume instead of wearing it) as quickly and quietly as she could, wrote a note explaining that she was going to the hospital before she went on patrols and all but ran out of the apartment the second she felt Katsuki’s mind waking (which was freakishly timed to the second the sun crested the horizon). She fled even faster when she felt the waves of regret emanating from Katsuki when the realization of the reality of the dream hit him.

She even sacrificed making coffee, instead choosing to pick some up on the way to see Lilly, something she swore she would never do considering the exponentially inflated cost buying a cup of coffee to-go was. On a whim, she picked up a beautiful bouquet of calla lilies for her side kick, thinking the flowers may brighten her spirits. All the while trying to ignore the flaming flares of anxiety, distress and angst she kept getting from Katsuki’s side of The Bond.

As she walked through the hospital hall towards the room the front desk had indicated Lilly was in, Ochako felt flairs of Katsuki’s irritation and unease which, in combination with the separation anxiety, was putting her on edge. She grimaced as each wave of Katsuki’s distress brushed her mind, certain that her departure after their weird shared dream was a major cause.

She just really didn’t know what to do about it all! It was so confusing, only made more muddled by the stupid Bond. What if her feelings were just because of the Bond and nothing more? What if the feelings she suspected he had, based on how he’d acted in the dream, were? In the same way their separation anxiety was?

It was all just a lot to think about and Ochako was hoping to get some clarity on her own, before she talked with him about it. That way she could at least know where she stood before she was bombarded by his emotions.

“Lilly?” Ochako called softly as she poked her head through the hospital door to room 413. Lilly looked up from her place in the hospital bed at the sound, then a small smile broke on her face.

“Good morning Uravity.” She said contentedly as Ochako pushed through the door frame, closing it softly behind her.

“How are you feeling?” Ochako asked, leaning down to hug the small hero before handing Lilly the bouquet of calla lilies and sitting on the bed adjacent to her.

“I’m feeling much better, they’ve healed my burns completely over the last few healing sessions.” Lilly replied accepting the bouquet and taking a deep inhale, “These smell divine, thank you.”

Ochako smiled, “I’m glad you like them. They’re lilies, get it?” Ochako poked Lilly’s forearm playfully at the joke.

“Haven’t heard that one before” Lilly said sarcastically rolling her eyes with repressed mirth.

“I am so glad you’re all healed up,” Ochako continued smile faltering with guilt, “I am so sorry I let them land a hit on you, it’s all my fault you’re here to begin with.”

Lilly huffed out an annoyed sigh, “Uravity, this is not anymore your fault than it is mine, I should have been better to doge that magma spewing jerk and I won’t have you blaming yourself!”

Ochako frowned, stopping her refute of Lilly’s insistence at the look of determination on her face. Lilly was truly going to become an amazing hero, Ochako was proud of her but couldn’t quite shake the protective mothering feeling she felt for the girl.

“They informed me that you, Deku and Ground Zero captured the Villains?” Lilly inquired curiously, setting her flowers on the bed next to her.

“yes, it was…” Ocahko paused thinking back on the fight the previous day, “surprisingly easy.”

Ochako had felt like something was off from the second she’d rounded the corner to see the Magman and Shino waiting for them. Why were there only two of them? And why hadn’t they called for backup? Or teleported away once Deku showed?

“Well I feel embarrassed now.” Lilly mumbled, dipping her head.

“Oh, I didn’t mean it that way at all Lilly!” Ochako protested, “I mean it was confusing that there were only two present at the fight when we know there to be at least 5 of them.”

“Oh. I see. I hadn’t thought about it that way…” Lilly pondered, “I wonder if they were going rogue?”

Ochako cocked her head curious, she hadn’t thought of that, going rogue? That would imply some sort of chain of command…

“They were both saying all kinds of weird things about wanting to harm you specifically, that’s a bit of a change from their previous attacks.” Lilly reasoned, sitting up taller as Ochako nodded in praise, smiling brightly at her sidekick.

“Have I told you lately how brilliant you are?” Ochako asked nudging Lilly’s shoulder with her own affectionately, “You are so right! I bet they were acting on the own in some capacity! That’s why they didn’t call for back up! ”

Lilly blushed as a smile fought its way onto her mouth. At that moment Ochako’s phone rang, startling them both. Ochako shrugged apologetically and answered the phone, seeing that it was the Tokyo Police Department.

“This is Uravity.” Ochako said brightly in form of greeting.

“Uravity-san, it is so good to speak with you again. This is Chief Natsuo.” The familiar voice of the police chief came through the line. Lilly cocked her head curiously, Ochako just shrugged, not sure what the police needed from her at this hour.

“Oh good to talk with you, what can I do for you Chief Natsuo?” Ochako asked pleasantly.

“Well we seem to have a bit a situation here at the department.” He hedged pausing, “It seems that the villains who attacked you yesterday have decided they don’t want to talk. The quirk repressor, Shino, keeps insisting he won’t talk to anyone but you and, erm, won’t stop ranting about Ground Zero.”

Ochako sighed, this fan just didn’t know when to quit. Yesterday he’d been rabid with his belief that Katsuki was somehow stealing her from her fans. That she was destined to be with Shino, not Katsuki. Which, aside from the obvious error that she and Katsuki were not in any way a couple, was a totally insane thing to insist. Ochako knew that some of her fans could be a bit…fanatic, but never had one of them gone so far, crossed so many lines. Part of her didn’t want to give the creep any more of her time, it seemed like catering to his wishes sent the wrong message.

“Oh, I see” Ochako said frowning, “Are you sure there’s nothing else that can be done to get him to talk?”

“Well, we already called in Ground Zero to see if we could antagonize him into speaking and that didn’t work out well at all…. We failed to account for Ground Zero’s, uh, more protective tendencies.” The chief’s voice lowered into a whisper at the last part, as if Katsuki would be able to overhear him speaking.

“p-protective tendencies?” Ochako questioned haltingly at the phrasing. What on earth did that mean? Yeah Katsuki could get a bit snappy when his friends were threatened but what on earth did that have to do with these villains?

The chief coughed surreptitiously, “err, well Ground Zero didn’t really…tolerate … the way Shino Astrua was speaking about you. He sort-of, uh, punched him, which is very much against police policy. So, we had to end that particular strategy.”

Ochako blanched, yup that sounded like Katsuki, going off the handle for something as silly as people insulting his friends. She sighed, resolving herself to facing her creepy stalker fan, ew.

“Okay, well I’ll come in right away then.” She told the Chief before saying goodbye and hanging up.

“Are you being called into work?” Lilly asked curiously, to which Ochako nodded standing up from her seat on Lilly’s bed.

“Yeah, I’ve got to go try and get those villains to talk.” Ochako explained before giving Lilly a firm look, “Now you stay here and rest up. I want you at peak performance as soon as possible!”

Lilly smiled serenely nodding, “I will. Thank you for the beautiful flowers.”



Ochako felt Katsuki’s anger and frustration increasing through the Bond with every inch she got closer to him. By the time she arrived at the police department her cheeks were flushed with his anger. She huffed out, trying to clear her mind of his emotions as she strode up the sidewalk towards the front door. She was not ready to talk about the dream or their confusing mix of feelings, hoping beyond belief he would feel the same reluctance to talk about it. She had too much work to do here to be focused on her muddled feelings.

Luckily Katsuki’s inferno of rage seemed to be working to her advantage today, he was not thinking about the dream at all as far as she could tell as she briefly brushed against his mind when she got within range. He seemed to be pissed off about his interrogation with her Shino, pissed she was coming in to get the answers he couldn’t, from what she could read off her surface skim against his mind.

What the fuck are you doing here?

Ochako rolled her eyes as the thought was flung into her mind with a burst of anger, rolling through her mind, a warm protectiveness following in its wake. The contrasting sensations of Katsuki’s emotions was mildly distracting.

I can tell you already know the answer to that.

Ochako strode through the main doors of the TYPD, walking quickly toward the door for employee access. She scanned her hero badge as Katsuki’s side of The Bond radiated insecurity and anger. She couldn’t tell how much of this was because of her departure this morning, but she suspected at least some of it was.

Oh no, you are not going in there with that sexual predator. Fuck. No.

Well, seeing as how it is literally my job, I kinda have to.

She quickly walked down the hall, already hearing Katsuki’s voice audibly echo to her direction. Several of the officers glanced up at her nervously, shooting looks down the hall. She sighed, leave it to Katsuki to overreact in any situation.

“FUCK NO! SHE WILL NOT BE GOING IN!” His voice boomed from an unseen location further in the building.

She hastened her pace, blanching as the officers going about their day all flinched at his yelling, someone needed to get the explosive hero to chill out. And more likely than not that someone was going to be her. She rounded the corner at the end of the long hall, entering the wide-open room that contained several officers’ desks along with the heavy metal entrances to the holding cells. A brief glance about let her quickly locate Katsuki leaning threateningly over Chief Natsuo’s desk, palms glowing.

“Katsuki!” She said sternly, to which his head snapped up, lip raised agitatedly.

The Jolt shuddered through her as brown met red and she stumbled the last few steps towards him as their mind tangled. Katsuki was a mess of jumbled thoughts and emotions: anger, insecurity, fear, confusion, hurt and irritation were swirling and morphing in his head into some ugly chimera of a bad mood. Yeesh! She hadn’t ever felt him like this! She quickly pulled her mind from his, trying to shake off his monster bad mood, feeling a pang of guilt knowing she was at least in some part responsible for his attitude.

Katsuki glanced between her and The Chief, eventually straightening up and focusing on her, striding the last few meters between them with heavy steps.

That guy is a fucking creep only interested in owning you! This is a fucking terrible idea!

He switched to non-verbal communication, making direct eye contact with her as he came to a halt in front of her, crossing his arms. She had to talk sense into him, cut through the bullshit his mood was causing. He was just reacting to his fear for her and his anger at the villain. He was forgetting that she was a badass, something he was usually not one to forget.

What’s gotten into you today? I am perfectly capable-

Ochako, this guy told me he would literally kill you to make sure no one else could ‘have you’. He’s fucking desperate and desperate people do fucked up things.

What happened to being the only person who didn’t see me as fragile?

She pinned him with a cold stare, pissed he was taking this so far. She knew it was just his emotions running away with him. She felt sort of guilty knowing her absence this morning and the separation anxiety was affecting his actions, but still. The man needed to show a little faith in her ability to handle a ‘desperate person’.

Katsuki’s eyes widened and he froze, emotionally flatlining in The Bond as he went through the shock of her statement.

…fuck…

Yeah. Are you done being a Class A dick now?

Katsuki blew out a long breath, closing his eyes and Ochako could feel him attempting to get a hold on his emotions. Guilt started to swirl around with his tornado of negative emotions, muddling his mood even further. He was frozen with the contradictory emotions raging about his brain, eyebrow twitching as he tried to decide what to do.

Fuckin’.. I just- I think this is a bad idea. Yesterday was too easy and then this sneaky fuck is making all kinds of threats… something isn’t right.

Feeling bad for being so confrontational with him, she reached across The Bond to his mind, stroking soothingly as she attempted to right their emotions. She sorted through his confused state, soothing away his conflict- or at the very least lessening the intensity of all his emotions. He visibly relaxed at the mental touch, arms uncrossing and leaning towards her unconsciously, as if inviting her to mirror he mental touch with a physical one. Ochako’s hand twitched with the temptation, before she clamped down on her instincts.

 

I hear you, I do, but this is my job as much as it is yours. Besides you’ll be here to back me up.

Katsuki sighed, tilting his head back in aggravation. His emotions finally settling somewhat into a low simmering fire, as opposed to the fire storm they’d been earlier. He paused, as if hesitating to say something, before he shut his thought process down, pulling away from her in The Link.

Whatever.

Ochako sighed too, running a hand through her hair. She glanced around to find several officers’ at their desks just openly staring at Bakugou and herself. She flushed then remembered that she hadn’t greeted the Chief yet.

“Good morning Chief Natsuo” Ochako smiled brightly, peaking around Katsuki’s torso to wave at the police officer.

“uhhh… good morning Uravity” Natsuo replied glancing confused between her and Katsuki, seemingly frozen with indecision of what to do next.

“Tch. Enough talk let’s get this shit over with.” Katsuki grumbled turning abruptly and walking towards the cells grumbling something else under his breath. The Chief watching him as if Bakugou was a rabid raccoon.

“Sorry about him, he’s in a really bad mood today” Ochako leaned in, whispering to the pale faced officer.

“I heard that Cheeks!” Katsuki barked as he opened the metal cell block door that must lead to Shino’s holding room, gesturing for her to enter. Ochako straightened up with a sigh and walked briskly towards where Katsuki was holding the door open for her. Chief Natsuo seemed to suddenly snap out of his shocked state standing up at his desk.

“Wait, Uravity, Ground Zero shouldn’t go in there with you-“ Natsuo started to speak before Katsuki interrupted.

“-Tch. We fucking know that.” Katsuki interjected lowly, rolling his eyes at the surprised chief. Ochako had sympathy for the poor man, a fired up Katsuki was a difficult thing to deal with on a good day, let alone a day like today where Katsuki was uncertain about so many things- emotionally balancing on a knife’s edge.

“We’ve got this Chief, don’t worry!” Ochako said lightly with a smile and a wave, ignoring the look Katsuki gave her at the thought of his emotional uncertainty. Shoot, she must have accidentally called him in The Bond again. She sighed again, before continuing on into the cell block.

Katsuki closed the heavy metal door behind him as they entered the small closet sized room with the one-way mirror. Ochako curiously glanced through the glass, seeing Shino sitting chained to the metal table. Ochako held back a smile at the bright red patch in his cheek from where Katsuki must have punched him earlier. The stout man was sitting slumped over, his head resting on the table next to his hands, eyes staring blankly at the glass. The void stare sent a cold chill down her spine, god he really was creepy wasn’t he?

Ochako glanced back to Katsuki behind her, to find him positively death glaring at the fanboy. His mood was best described as alert, anticipatory even, and Ochako nudged his side encouragingly. He turned his glare towards her and Ochako blanched at the dirty look, okay he was clearly still in a terrible mood.

She shrugged off their combined irritation and walked over to the door connecting the viewing room and the cell, opening it and stepping through. Shino looked up at her entrance, eyes widening in shock.

“Ocahko-chan!” The fanatic exclaimed and Ochako flinched at the flame of furry that burned across The Link as Katsuki reacted to the over-familiar use of her first name. Ochako turned to give a pointed look through the one-way mirror, knowing that Katsuki was watching.

I’m going to have to play him. If that is going to be problem, don’t watch.

Tch.

Ochako resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his stubborn reply, turning back to Shino. She leaned a hip against the table, consciously putting her body into a relaxed, if not somewhat flirtatious position, just out of reach of the cuffed creep.

“He’s on the other side of the glass isn’t he?” Shino sneer, sour face glaring at the window that Ochako had just been looking at.

Ochako cocked her head, “Who?” She asked dumbly, to which Shino just gave her a look indicating he didn’t believe her feigned innocence.

Okay, she’d have to change tactics then. Maybe he’d buy a damsel in distress act? Given what the Chief had said Shino seemed to believe Katsuki was some sort of evil womanizer out to steal her away from him.

“Oh, Ground Zero? Yes, he’s on the other side watching me...” Ochako answered her own question biting her lip and furrowing her brows. Shino’s face opened, hanging on her silence as if urging her to say more. She was officially winging this interrogation; she had no idea how Shino would take this next bit.

“He’s a bit… possessive of me. It’s frightens me…” she leaned in whispering waveringly, making sure to put a note of fear in her voice.

Shino’s eyes widened and Ochako watched his gaze bounce back on forth between her lips, eyes and ass, leaving her with a slimy feeling where his gaze landed. Katsuki’s anger lanced through her mind, lamenting not wearing her hero costume to the station. Great. She was really regretting this already, hating to lean on the stereotype of being a woman wantonly in need of saving, but Shino appeared to be buying it. Perhaps he was just desperate enough to believe the lie.

“He…he thinks he has some sort of claim to me…” Ochako whispered, eyes darting nervously, “I’m scared to leave him. I’m scared he’ll hurt me.”

Ochako forced her eyes to tear up, putting a strain in her voice. Gods she deserved an Oscar for this performance. Ochako let out a small whimper and she glanced at her disturbing fan ,a frightened look arranged onto her face. Please, please let this work…

“You know...” Shino said licking his chapped lips, hesitating “I… could get you away from him. You should come with me.”

Ochako’s eyes widened infinitesimally at the rapid flip, this guy cracked in less than a minute. He must truly be detached from reality, desperate for her affection, to be buying her poorly acted damsel in distress act. Fine by her, they needed information.

What the hell?! We were working this guy for over an hour and didn’t get anywhere. What the fuck?

Ochako, ignoring Katsuki’s commentary, glanced dramatically over her shoulder at the glass as if suspicious, before leaning in closer to the rotund villain.

“Go? But how could you get me out of here without him noticing?” she questioned forcing herself to flick her gazed between his lips and his eyes. Ew ew ew ew. Shino paused, looking at the camera in the corner of the room, then over to the window, eyes narrowing. Ochako followed his gaze as if hanging on his every word.

“Well, I’m not exactly sure, but…” Shino paused, hesitation flashing in his dull eyes, “ He told me that they would get me out if anything went wrong.”

Ochako repressed her reaction of suspicion, instead leaning closer intentionally giving this creep a solid view down her shirt. Katsuki steamed in The Bond, boiling with irritation.

“He? Them? We’re in the middle of the police department, how could anyone possibly get us out?” She urged, putting a desperate note into her voice.

“Magnus, the magma wielder. He said his organization had means to break us out.” Shino whispered eyes glued to her chest. Again, Ew ew ew ew.

“You’re part of their powerful organization? Wow so strong…” Ochako sighed dreamily.

“Erm, well not yet, it was just me and Magnus earlier.” He amended lowly, head dropping, before he looked back up changing the topic, “Why didn’t you tell me he was holding you captive? I would never have tried to hurt you if I knew your actions were out of necessity!”

Oh good question. Crap. Yeah Ochako, why hadn’t she told this creep earlier? This was a major plot hole in her story… uh… Ochako was drawing a blank. She had to think of something fast, Shino’s brows lowered as she hesitated.

Tell him that you think I’ve got spies or some shit. Play into his delusions and paranoia.

“He’s got spies.” Ochako blurted, glancing nervously over her shoulder, “I think my sidekick is one of them…”

Shino nodded sagely as if that made any sort of sense. Ochako breathed a sigh of relief, still not believing how lucky she was getting with this guy’s apparent desire to believe that the world was conspiring to keep them apart.

“I see, that makes perfect sense” Shino affirmed, nodding before his face steeled, “I’ll get you away from him, don’t worry.”

Ochako gave him a watery smile, cringing inside at how readily he believed that Katsuki would somehow have a network of spies, like yeah, he didn’t have a reputation of being the most charismatic hero, but he was still an exceptional person. She was surprised Katsuki seemed to not be feeling as offended about the whole ‘Katsuki is the bad guy’ thing as she was.

“Oh I’m so relieved” Ochako had to fight to keep the sarcasm out of her voice, “But Magnus didn’t tell you anything about how this organization would get us out?”

“Nothing specific, he just said that they had a lady with a teleportation quirk of some kind.” Shino replied, his hand straining against the restraint as he attempted to reach for her. Ochako pretended not to notice, “He said they were already planning to break out Kanayami, the guy with the long fingers, anyway. The plan is for the breakout to happen today, that’s why Magnus said we had to act so fast yesterday, he said we needed to already have an exit strategy in place.”

Ochako’s breath stopped and she reined in her reaction. They were planning a prison break today?! And Shino was just spilling this to her? How dumb was this guy?!She didn’t even know where Kanayami was being held until his trial, was it in this building? Katsuki was emanating focus from his side of The Link as she felt his mind start to be pulled form hers as he increased the physical distance between them, presumably to go to some other part of the building.

I’ll go look into it, keep him talking. See if you can get an exact time or plan or anything else!

“Oh good! When was this breakout supposed to happen? The sooner the better, I don’t know what Ground Zero may do if we don’t hurry!” She replied trying to restrain the tension in her voice, not liking this. She knew yesterday had gone down to easily, of course the magma villain would have an exit plan…

“That’s the best part, your timing is perfect!” Shino said grinning widely, “It bound to happen any minute now.”

Ochako’s eyes widened in surprise. Oh crap.

Katsuki! He said it’s supposed to happen any minute now!
Kanayami is fucking gone! They’re already moving! Stay fucking alert, we don’t know where they fucking teleported to.

Their thoughts exchanged in the same instant and Ochako’s stomach dropped. This was bad this was very bad. Her muscles tensed, ready for battle and for the second time that day she regretted not wearing her hero costume to the police station.

The door opened suddenly and Ochako whipped around jumping off where she was leaning against the table and into a fighting stance, Katsuki wasn’t anywhere near her right now, which meant that this was someone else entering the room. She had a bad feeling about this...

“My my, Uravity” A silky male voice floated into the room from the open door, “You are quite the convincing actress, aren’t you?”

A tall man dressed in a three-piece white suit with a large Venetian style mask obscuring his face stepped into the room, hand tipping a matching fedora in her direction. Behind him Ochako saw three other villains peering curiously into the room. She immediately recognized the long silvery hair and thin, boney face of the Teleporter and the twitching fingers of Kanaymi Hito, but didn’t know the third, who appeared to be a woman, her face also obscured by an elaborate mask.

She grit her teeth, realizing that the group of villains were entering the interrogation room through its only entrance...and its only exit. She was effectively trapped in the room.

I think I found them Katsuki…

Notes:

Man I was on the STRUGGLE bus with this chapter. I'm still not sure I'm happy how it turned out, but I'll just cut my losses. If i spend another minute staring at it I'm going to go crazy.

That being said, I am SUPER excited that we've surpassed 100k words. It's a pretty big milestone for me and I'm really proud of how much I've written. Goes to show that if you do anything with consistency you can make big changes :)

Thanks for the support as always! <3

Chapter 20: Masked Intentions

I think I found them Katsuki…

Ochako stared down the four villains that entered the room, the air heavy with anticipation as both sides eyed the other. Ochako hesitated, not sure if she should make the first move or wait for them to attack. She sank into a protective stance, deciding that the best thing to do would be to stall for as long as she could until back up could arrive, then, with her colleagues at her side they could capture them all and wash their hands of this mess. Hopefully.

Seeing Ochako’s stance, the villains seemed to be trying to decide what to do. They were all taking glances out of the corner of their eyes towards the tall man in the mask, which Ochako took to mean he was their leader in some fashion. Good, if she could keep him occupied, they wouldn’t have a chance to get organized enough to leave. Ochako let her focus settle onto the strange masked man, ready for a drawn out battle.

You fuckin’ better not be saying what I think you’re saying

Katsuki’s mood was floundering all over the place, being held together by the focus and attention that only a fight could bring him. He was nervous for her, but contradictorily excited for the chance to ‘beat the living crap out of these pieces of shit’, or so his unconscious monolog told her. Ochako grimaced as his mood hit her, adding to her already jittery emotions. She followed the line of his thoughts, coming to the conclusion that he was dreading the possibility that they had cornered her, fighting with himself to remember she could handle it and not be reactively protective. The result was a strange sort of ‘She’s such a badass and I am so worried about her’ impression leaking across the Bond. It made Ochako’s mouth twitch with a smile before the severity of the situation hit her. She was alone in a room with four villains, well five if you counted Shino, which Ochako didn’t.

Yeah I do. They’re here

Katsuki’s mood fumed, anger and fear rolling across their Link as he frantically thought through scenarios. Ochako pushed herself further from him, she needed to focus on what was happening around her, not what was happening within The Bond. She felt Katsuki’s mind grumble out a protest, though he didn’t think anything directly about it to her.

Ochako watched as the Man in the mask tilted his head slightly in a clear show of curiosity, as if he was somehow privy to that fact she was having an internal conversation with Bakugou, which he probably was, given her apparent lack of ability to prevent the Bond conversations from flashing across her face. Again, the first moment that they have time she had to remember to ask Aizawa for help with that.

Fuck. I’m – just, fucking hold them off until I can get there.

Ochako had to resist the urge to snort and roll her eyes at the comment. Obviously, she was going to hold them off. It certainly was a better option than just bowing her head for decapitation! She chose to not respond to her furious Link partner stating the obvious, knowing that he was just being the control freak he was. She could do this. Totaly. Four on one? Bring it on. It didn't matter that even Deku couldn't take them out right...?

“When I heard the rumors about the effect of Hito’s quirk on you two, I wasn’t sure if I should believe it or not.” The man mumbled, words rolling off his tongue in a way that made Ochako think he’d had some sort of accent or speech impediment at some point in his life that he hadn’t quite gotten rid of. She couldn’t quite place it though, so she filed the observation away for a later time.

“Clearly, they were correct, how very interesting…” The man continued. Ochako caught his gaze through the eye holes in his mask, startled to see the shock of his icy blue irises shimmering intelligently.

Ochako just narrowed her eyes in response, thinking rapidly. How was she going to get out of this one? How could she effectively stall them before the teleporter just zipped them away? They had the exit blocked, but it was probable they were not there for anything other than to grab Shino. They likely weren’t spoiling for a fight, though she didn’t doubt they would take her out now that they had the opportunity. She also couldn’t just let them go…

“Rather stoic, aren’t you?” The Masked man questioned, “Or are you just too busy talking to Ground Zero to respond?” He sounded genuinely curious to hear the answer and the three villains behind him were giving him strange looks, as if they were not expecting his curiosity. She vaguely registered Shino's scandalized gasp from behind her.

Ochako didn’t have time to answer because at that second, a loud repetitive banging sounded from room behind the double mirror, as if someone was knocking repeatedly on the metal door that connected the viewing room to the rest of the police station. Ochako surmised that the officers had been notified of the situation, likely by Katsuki, and were attempting to barge into the room (it had to be the officers, Katsuki wouldn’t have been stopped by a simple door). She guessed the villains had blocked the door in some way, given that the doors in the interrogation room locked from the outside.

The group of villains turned to look over their shoulders instinctively at the sound and Ochako took the opportunity to launch herself at the masked man, fingers splayed. If she could just land a hit they would be incapacitated long enough for either the officers or Bakugou to get there to help her. She just had to get the four of them into zero-G.

The masked villain ducked her outstretched hand at the last second, swinging a leg out to try and trip Ochako. Years of combat experience kicked in at that moment and Ochako pushed off the ground, activating her quirk to avoid the sweeping kick meant to cause her to collapse. She floated up with the momentum for a split second before the other three villain’s seemed to realize what was going on and the teleporter disappeared with a sneer. Ochako released her quirk trying to land on the Masked man’s still outstretched leg bellow her, ideally at an angle that would dislocate his knee. Instead, he just dropped further, rolling further into the room towards where Shino was chained to the table and Ochako landed between him and the other two villains.

Ochako keep her senses open, waiting for the teleporter to reappear, noting that the mysterious masked woman was still standing calmly in the doorway. Her strange calmness caused Ochako to second guess her assumption that the masked man was the one in charge. Kanayami’s eyes flicked around erratically, unsure of what to do, looking back and forth between the masked woman and Ochako. The woman shook her head subtly before nodding towards where Shino was staring open mouthed at the sudden change seemingly at a loss for words. Kanayami lunged forward towards the quirk suppressor and Ochako reflexively reached out, somehow managing to land all five fingers on the psychotic Mind Linker’s standard issue prisoner jumpsuit. She grinned as she activated her quirk and launched the bone thin man towards the ceiling. One down- or rather up.

“You little bitch!” Kanayami screeched, flailing helplessly in the zero gravity.

Ochako didn’t stop moving, bringing her fists up to guard her face against the punch the man in the suit flung at her as the teleporter lady reappeared behind him and next to where Shino was tugging at his restraints. Ochako’s stomach fell when she saw that the teleporter had appeared with none other than the magma user, who was glaring at her, his face reddening with anger. Great, just what she needed a sixth villain to fight off…

They got the magma user.

Ochako quickly sent the thought to Katsuki, trying to impart only the most essential information. She also sent him her steady battle focus in an effort to show she was handling it, her mood would communicate her status better than words would anyway.

She didn’t get a millisecond to read Katsuki’s reaction because the magma user started to leak molten rock from his right nostril. Oh jeeze, why not add molten rock to this already chaotic battle? Ochako lurched to the side just before a targeted jet was flung at her, it splashed past her and narrowly missed the Man in the white suit, who glared furiously at the Magma villain before springing at Ochako.

What the fuck?! Are they all in there with you?

Ochako jumped to the left, activating her quirk and bouncing off the room’s left wall, tucking and flipping forward as she went, dropping her quirk and extending her leg at the last second. Her super cheap civilian tennis shoe flew off her foot as landed the solid kick on the masked man’s head, sending him sprawling to the floor with her transferred momentum. Ochako landed gracefully and spared a glance behind her, looking for the strange woman, who was still just standing calmly watching the fight as if she had all the time in the world. It sent a chill down Ochako’s spine, doubt and suspicion standing all her hair on end.

Yeah, where are you!? I don’t know how long I can hold them off. The officers need help blasting the door open.

As that thought flew across the Bond an explosion blasted in the adjacent room, which shook the walls with its intensity. Some sort of projectile shattered the two-way mirror, allowing Ochako a glimpse into the chaos in the small viewing room. Katsuki had forgone blasting the door open, which Ochako could now see the villains had wedged shut with a chair, instead opting to blast through the wall directly next to the door. The two-foot-thick concrete wall now had a sizable hole with its gnarled edges smoking slightly.

“Times up fuckers!” Katsuki shouted as he jumped through the hole he had created, glaring around the set of rooms to get a sense of the status of the fight, his eyes locating her and giving her a quick once over before darting around the rest of the room. Ochako felt his brain working lightning quick as he took in the scene, making decisions and analyzing the best course of action.

Duck!

Ochako’s eye’s widened as the thought flew at her at the same moment his intended course of action solidified in his mind. She dropped to the ground, pressing the front of her body to the cold concrete floor and covering her head with her hands as Katsuki loosed an explosion through the shattered mirror, over her head, aimed at where the magma user was readying to spray another jet of magma their way.

“Kana!”

Ochako startled as the high pitched voice shouted across the room, filled with authority. She found the source to be the masked woman and followed her gaze just in time to see the teleporter touch Shino and disappear seconds before Katsuki's blast could reach them. His now empty hand cuffs clattered to the table.

They’re teleporting away, We have to get them pinned and fast!

“NO SHIT, ‘CHAKO!” Katsuki replied as he vaulted through the blown out two-way mirror into the cell, moving towards where the masked man was attempting to recover and stand, holding one hand over the left side of his face where the mask had broken from Ochako’s kick.

Ochako activated her quirk on herself from where she was still flattened on the ground from Katsuki’s blast, pushing against the ground with her legs to kick them over her head in a weird zero- gravity back handspring, until she was standing face to face, er face to mask, with the short masked woman. The woman met Ochako’s gaze cooly, quirking a smirk challengingly.

“You’re the real leader, aren’t you?” Ochako said to her following her gut, sinking into a defensive pose. The woman’s grin widened and returned the gesture. Ochako hesitated, still unsure what quirk the two masked members possessed, she hated being in the dark about her enemies abilities.

“You’re a clever one.” The woman commented lightly. Tension held the air in Ochako’s lungs as she waited for the villain to make a move. Behind her she heard the distinct sound of Katsuki in close combat, presumably against the Lava villain. Ochako kept tabs on the sounds of the fight, never breaking eye contact with the woman, waiting for her to determine how Ochako would proceed.

To her shock, the thin teleporter appeared suddenly behind the woman, the frail looking woman’s eyes widening briefly at Ochako’s presence so close to the masked woman. Ochako lurched forward, desperately reaching to make contact, but the teleporter, 'Kana' the masked woman had called her, was faster. Both women disappeared and Ochako stumbled a few steps forward into the space they had previously occupied.

“SHIT!” She screamed reflexively, though whether the thought was sourced from her own thoughts or Bakugou’s she wasn’t sure, seeing as he was currently attempting to out blast the magma user without taking the whole building down. He was equally a frantic and frustrated as she was, they were losing this battle. Badly. Again. She was getting really sick of this pattern with this villain group...

Apparently, at some point in the last thirty seconds before she appeared behind the masked woman, the teleporter had managed to also get the masked man out of the room, leaving only Hito and Magman. Bakugou was dipping and rolling around targeted jets of magma, attempting to send precise AP shots to take the prisoner out, though was having a difficult time aiming and avoiding the streams of thousand-degree rock at the same time. Meanwhile, Kanayami was bouncing off of the ceiling, looking greener and greener in the face by the minute.

Ochako jumped into the fray, literally, as she activated her quirk and jumped over a variant stream of lava towards the villain, who was entirely focused on Katsuki. Perfect, she did her best work when people forgot she was a threat.

Floating quickly over with her momentum from the jump, Ochako flung herself behind the magma spewing villain, only catching his attention when it was already too late. His head whipped around, lava leaking form his eye sockets like some sort of viscous glowing tears as Ochako smacked a palm to his shoulder and activated her quirk with a smirk.

“Catch!” She called to Katsuki and she shoved the now weightless villain at Katsuki, who grabbed the villain by the throat and forcibly dragged his face directly into his metal capped knee. Ochako flinched as the sickening sound of the villain’s facial bones shattering ricocheted across the room. She flexed her hand reflexively at the pain from burn Katsuki has received from the action of grasping the villain where two twin rivulets of lava had been flowing.

“Fuck!” Katsuki exclaimed, shaking the residual magma from his palm before looking up to meet her gaze, “Get them tied down fucking-“

Before he could finish his statement, the teleporter appeared again next to Hito, gasping his arm and dragging him down towards the floor as she started to fall from where she had appeared in the air. Ochako reacted and lunged towards them, desperately reaching our a hand and landing prone on the concrete, a string of expletives flowing freely in her mind as she felt the bruising effect of the impact with floor on her sternum. She managed to intercept the falling pair as they landed….right next to the unconscious magma user. She felt Katsuki’s surprise and the tingling stinging sensation in her palms that she knew meant he was about to set off a chain reaction. The room was chaos as all four of them collided in a desperate race to get the jump on the others.

Ochako and the Teleporter made direct eye contact as she slapped her finger pads on the teleporter’s thigh right as Kana grasped Magman’s foot with the hand not holding on to Kanayami They all activated their quirks at the same time, Kana screaming as if at the end of her quirk’s limits. Ochako watched from her spot sprawled on the ground as the teleporter started floating for a brief moment, Katsuki’s explosion setting off squarely in her face before she disappeared with both the other villains in her grasp. Strangely Katsuki’s explosion seemed to implode upon itself, fire and smoke being sucked into the nothingness with the villains.

“GODDAMN IT!” Ochako screamed in frustration, banging a fist onto the ground. Katsuki, seemingly on the same page, had several small-barely-controlled explosions going off in his hands. She felt a tug on her stomach as her quirk remained active on the three villain's, suddenly some unknown distance away from Ochako. Katsuki hunched over and gagged slightly at the sensation as it rushed across the Bond invading his mind.

"Release" Ochako puffed out, feeling both of their instant relief as her quirk ceased to be strained by what felt like a very large distance. Ochako guessed they had teleported well over 20 miles away, based on her previous limit testing.

“Fucking- how did? I just, HOW did they fucking get away?” He fumbled out through grit teeth. Ochako sat up, running a hand down her face in defeat.

She took a deep inhale, attempting to sort through their shared emotions, which given their mutual fury and disappointment, was easier said than done. She leaned into The Bond, tasting each emotional wave and working to sooth each as they washed across them both. Katsuki’s mind shrugged her off, irritated at her actions.

“Stop that, I want to be fuckin’ mad right now.” Katsuki growled out, glaring at Ochako from where he was standing. Ochako flinched as his anger sent licks of fiery pain across her mind.

“Why would you want to be mad right now, it doesn’t help anything.” Ochako grumbled under her breath, rising to her feet glancing around at the collateral damage caused by the fight. The cell was in shambles, part of the table melted off under a rapidly cooling hunk of lava, glass strewn everywhere from the broken mirror. Not to mention the huge fucking hole blasted into the wall. How they hell had they managed to mess this up so badly?

It fucking helps me focus on what I did wrong.

Katsuki thought at her viciously. Okay clearly he heard her mumbled words. He wasn’t wrong though, one quick press against his mind led Ochako to discover that his brain was in overdrive analyzing every second of the fight and what went wrong, hyper-criticizing his own actions. It was as though the anger was singeing the events into his memory, for future use. Ochako felt her own mouth open in shock.

“…Have you always done this?” She questioned feebly, shook by her revelation that Bakugou had somehow harnessed his anger to be used to make himself better. Why she was surprised by this was a mystery, at this point she should expect such strangely ingenious behavior.

Katsuki’s gaze snapped to hers and she felt the distinct feeling of him pressing against her mind attempting to get a read on her intentions. She felt goosebumps rise on her arms at the sensation, embarrassed to find it was not an unpleasant kind of chill. He seemed satisfied with what her found because he gave her a nod and a stiff shrug before promptly turning and stomping out of the destroyed room. Ochako followed, stepping through the hole the Number Two Hero had blasted into two foot thick concrete, contemplating how she could learn from Katsuki’s efficient use of his flaws. It was like he had hijacked his own brain’s negativity to make himself better, something that had never occurred to her before. She was running through all of the times when he’d failed in the past, suddenly privy to the purpose of his post-loss pouting. He seemed content to let her reevaluate her interpretation of his moody past behavior.

As she and Katsuki reconvened with the cops outside, who hadn’t actually been much help in the end, Ochako’s mind whirred through all of the new information they had received about the villains. There was so much they needed to untangle. For starters, who were the man and woman in the masks? Could they be the two leaders Hito had been talking about, the ones from the old file she and Katsuki had found? What exactly did they hope to accomplish by killing the promising heroes of tomorrow? Why? And most importantly, where were they going to strike next and how could they stop it?





The paperwork after the disastrous prison escape was a bloody nightmare, not made any better by the fact that Katsuki was in a sourer mood than a bottle of vinegar. They were both still at the police station sitting at Chief Natsuo’s desk writing out narratives of the events an hour later, Chief Natsuo watching over them warily from across the desk.

“I just don’t see how our fucking Link is at all relevant to the events!” Katsuki argued, pointing a finger aggressively at the police Chief.

“Well, uh, Ground Zero-“ The Chief started to say, glancing nervously between the tip of Katsuki’s finger and his steadily glowing palm. He clearly understood what a threat from Katsuki looked like.

“-It’s literally the only reason you knew what was going on, Katsuki!” Ochako interrupted, reaching out and slapping Katsuki’s hand out of the Chief’s face, “If I hadn’t told you through the Bond no one would have known there was a prison break at all! Of course it’s relevant!”

Katsuki shifted his gaze over to her and narrowed his eyes. Ochako could feel his mind digging his heels in. He did not want to put the Link into the report, though what he wasn’t saying was his actual reason why. She could tell that there was something about this he wasn’t saying and it was frustrating that he was attempting to get the Chief to change his mind without actually saying what it was.

“It’s not anyone's business what we say to each other in our fucking minds!” Katsuki retorted throwing his hands into the air, “Fuck! Is nothing private anymore?!”

Ochako sighed, there it was. The real reason he didn’t want to put it in the report. Ochako could see the logic now, he didn’t want their mental communication going into the public record. Police reports, unless redacted or kept classified, were public record, anything in them could be read by anyone with a state issued ID and a free afternoon to comb through the file. She could understand why he wanted to keep the details out of the report, having the general public clueing into the intimate details of her thoughts crossed lines for her too, but it didn’t change the fact that they had to report the incident accurately. Their Bond had changed the outcome of the fight and therefore needed to be included in the reports.

Katsuki, the public is going to have to know at some point. I’m surprised they haven’t made us go register this quirk at the registry officially yet. You know Heroes have to have their quirk’s data publicly available.

Ochako switched to thought, deciding that it would be easier to communicate without the Chief butting in and saying all the wrong things. Sometimes dealing with Katsuki was like defusing a bomb, only those with skilled expertise were qualified to do so.

Oi! I object to that! I am not a fucking bomb… other than the obvious- you know what: fuck you and your damn simile.

Katsuki leaned back in his chair indignantly, crossing his arms and baring his teeth to her. His foot tapped agitatedly on the floor and Ochako had repress her own legs desire to do so too as his irritation flowed to her across the Bond.

“Uh… I can just, er, leave…” Chief Natsuo stood up waveringly, gesturing over his shoulder towards where cleanup crews were processing the chaotic scene of the prison break. Katsuki’s glare shifted over to the plump chief, who skittered away quickly.

Metaphor or not-
-it’s a simile

Ochako gave him a deadpan look, not amused by his semantics. He just rolled his eyes turning his head to glare at some poor police officer working at a desk a few feet behind the Chief’s. Ochako took a deep breath working on separating out their emotions, soothing her own and letting him fester in his own, per his earlier request.

Simile or not, Ochako continued her thought, we are going to have to come clean eventually. At this point there is no benefit to keeping it a locked down secret. The villain’s already know we’re fully functioning.

Katsuki sighed, and Ochako felt him start to calm himself down as he thought it through. He turned to look at her again, he faced relaxed into a contemplative expression.

I am fine mentioning the…Bond. But I don’t want to put any specifics in. My thoughts are my own and I don’t want the general public privy to what we do with it. It’s fucking private.

That’s very reasonable, and I completely agree, The Bond is exceedingly… intimate... it's not something I want to share with the public.

Ochako felt a flush of embarrassment as she spoke her mind about the nature of the Bond. Intimate didn’t even cover the extent of ‘in her feelings’ Ochako was about the whole situation. Not to mention her recent revelation of her attraction and him possibly returning her feelings. She had no idea if what she was picking up from his side of the Bond was truly romantic interest, she didn’t want to assume, but she couldn’t help hoping that it was. Even now, he was certainly attuned to her word choice, if the flush of confusion and flustered thoughts was anything to go by. Which could be indication of his interest or just him feeling awkward that she’d been so forwards and clingy. UGH! What a mess. If only they had a spare moment to talk about it the could-

-“Well I suppose this means my guess about who let the ball drop was right…” Aizawa’s bored drawl sounded behind them and they both whipped around to see their former professor looking at them with an eyebrow raised questioningly. Oh crap, Aizawa was here, despite being retired. This was a bigger deal than Ochako had initially thought...

Ochako blanched and slouched into her seat, ashamed that she wasn’t able to keep the villains under custody. Her former teach still had the ability to make her feel as though she’d failed a big test so many years after graduating.

“I’m so sorry Aizawa-san..” Ochako squeaked out feeling the weight of the retired Hero’s disappointment press her shoulder’s down.

“Fuck that!” Bakugou’s indignation lit up their minds, causing Ochako’s spine to snap straight and him to jump out of his chair, pointing a finger in Aizawa’s face, “We did fucking everything we could to try and keep them here, don’t put this on her.”

“On her?” Aizawa questioned challengingly, picking up on Bakugou’s pronoun usage.

Ochako tried not to read into it too much, instead focusing on the tense stand-off before her.
Katsuki just stood his ground glaring at Aizawa. Ochako looked back and forth between the two, waiting to see who would fold first.

Aizawa sighed in defeat, raising his hands in a mitigating gesture, to which Katsuki lowered his finger and crossed his arms once again, though he remained standing. Ochako rolled her eyes at his over the top behavior, Katsuki was such a drama king.

Oi! What’s with the insults today Cheeks?!

“Whatever,” Aizawa stated looking towards their unfinished paperwork, “When you finish up that mess, come up to the second-floor conference room.”

“What’s happening in the conference room?” Ochako questioned tilting her head curiously, ignoring Katsuki’s indignation at her unconscious comment.

“We decided it high time we put together a full time Task Force for this villain group.” Aizawa replied, a glint in his eye. Ochako felt a blossoming hope in her chest. This was exactly what this investigation needed! A dedicated team of heroes and police working together to capture these villains to make them see justice!

“About fucking time…” Katsuki growled, grinning broadly and Ochako had to agree. About fucking time.

Notes:

WOW! I am so thankful for all of your lovely comments from last chapter! I have read them all, but haven't had time to respond to them, I figured you rather have the next chapter than me responding to messages.

I think Chapter 18 is going to be titled with the quote you all seemed to love, "I'll Always Come When You Call", which several people suggested and tons more mentioned in the comments!
Chapter 19 title is "Through the Looking Glass" as suggested by ETRNL4L and seconded by LidaofthePack19

I've got two finals this week in Infectious Disease and Hematology (AKA two very memorization heavy blocks) so I've been a bit stretched for time so I probably wont be very active or able to respond to comments until next Tuesday, just a heads up!!

Oh also I have a twitter now, in case you want updated about why I am not updating ha ha
https://twitter.com/House_of_Pixels

Hope you liked this chapter and it lived up to your expectations!

As always sending my love to you all, stay safe and WASH YA' GODDAMN HANDS!
<3

Chapter 21: His, Her and the Rival's Problems

Katsuki had to begrudgingly admit that the villain group they were dealing with was more competent than he had initially given them credit for. They had somehow managed to break out not one, not two, but THREE prisoners in one fell swoop all the while evading capture from himself and Cheeks. It was fucking impressive, and not a good sign for the future weeks. The paperwork he and Ochako had just finished had been a goddamn nightmare, never again did he want to see “Form 13a Subsection 3- Escaped Prisoners”. They spent over an hour filling out that maliciously complicated and lengthy form. On top of that they’d done all the paperwork he’d convinced Ochako to leave for today from last night when they’d initially captured the fuckers against her better judgement, something Ochako’s mind was subtly radiating ‘I told you so’ about.

This was an abject failure for Katsuki, the first he’d had in well over a year, and he was fucking pissed about it. He kept replaying the fight in his mind, even the days leading up to this event, trying to figure out what he could have done differently to not suck so fucking hard. He was having a hard time coming up with answers, only finding small nit-picking issues about his performance. Aside from being psychic or having Aizawa come out of retirement he was at a loss, a place he despised being. He worked well when there were areas to improve, less so when shit just happened he had no control over, he was not wired to deal with failure like that. Give him something to work with, a flaw or error- not just the random shitty luck he’d seemed to be pulling in from the universe of late. He could change his error, you can’t change fate.

This is all to say that Katsuki was already on edge as he and Ochako walked upstairs to meet with the new Task Force. Ochako was respectfully keeping her distance from his mind, probably a result of him requesting she didn’t nullify his anger, something he was now regretting. He knew he would feel better about the uncertainty of this failure if he could figure out what she was thinking, remove one more uncertainty that had been nagging him all day. Specifically, if he could figure out what they hell had happened last night and this morning with her.

He felt completely off balance with her after the dream he had last night and her behavior today. The dream they had last night, he was pretty sure they had been sharing a dream somehow through the Link. Her behavior today had been classic Ochako-running-from-her-problems-in-denial behavior, and he would fucking know, he had to watch that shit unfold with Deku over the course of their time at UA. He really just wanted to grab her and drag her back to his apartment and talk this shit out. Clear the air and make sure that she hadn’t been saying what he thought she was in the dream so he could crush the wavering hope that had resurfaced in his heart. He needed to napalm that shit ASAP or he was going to go crazy thinking in circles and fantasizing about what could be.

After all, she was still dealing with the fallout from the confidence wreckage that constitutes Deku’s whole being. He knew, from personal experience, that pulling the pieces of one’s ego after a Deku-related identity destruction event took a fuck ton of time and introspection. He knew that Ochako needed space to process. It had only been a year since they broke up, complicated by her suddenly being Linked with Katsuki. She was dealing with a lot of shit right now, she didn’t need him reading into a weird dream they had (probably) shared. Katsuki’s time on this god forsaken planet had taught him one thing: it was always about Deku. Fucking. Always.

So yeah, what he really didn’t need, what he really didn’t WANT was to walk into the conference room, Ochako following close behind him, to see Deku, clad in his hero costume, sitting at the large worn conference table with a serene smile on his face. Katsuki froze in the doorway, eyebrow twitching in agitation. Could he not just have one fucking day of inner turmoil that didn’t involve Deku? Just one?

“Oh hey guys,” Deku said his smile faltering slightly, “I guess we’re the only one’s here so far…”

“Deku you little..” Katsuki mumbled out, not sure what particular insult he wanted to utilize, instead just letting the threat hang in the air. God lately Deku was just pushing his buttons, fuck if Katsuki knew why. Probably something about Ochako, she seemed to be a central theme in his irritation these days. Wouldn’t fucking surprise him, but it wasn’t like he was gonna go soul searching to figure it out. The point was that Deku was a nuisance in his life right now and should fucking cease and desist.

He felt his irritation flair and heard Ochako’s mind grumbling in irritation before he felt her nudge him in the back firmly with what he had a suspicion was an elbow, given how boney and sharp it felt.

“Stop blocking the doorway” She snapped in irritation and he begrudgingly lurched into the room attempting to shake off their mutual irritation.

He scowled and moved out of Ochako’s way as she strolled into the room taking a seat across from Deku, giving him a tentative smile. Katsuki frowned and leaned against the wall behind Ochako’s seat, crossing his arms. He watched the two seated at the table critically, leaning into her layers in The Bond trying to get a read about what she was feeling. Last he knew, she and Deku had some sort of...cathartic coming together. He didn’t know exactly what had been decided, but he got the impression from Ochako that they’d finally both come to terms with their post-breakup status. A sort of emotional truce.

“Good morning Izuku.” Ochako stated brightly, clearly attempting to lighten the mood of the room. Katsuki rolled his eyes at her misplaced enthusiasm, this was gonna suck no matter which way they sliced it. Enthusiasm be damned.

From Katsuki’s perspective, Ochako felt distinctly nervous, like she was walking on eggshells, and Katsuki didn’t know how to interpret it. Ochako’s emotions were nuanced, so much more than his had ever been and Katsuki never knew how to interpret the sentiments behind them acurately. Was she nervous because she was still infatuated with Deku? Was the conversation they’d had not as healing as Katsuki had initially thought? It was obvious that Deku was still pinning after Ochako, so maybe she was feeling this way because she had been the one to move on and didn’t want to hurt his feelings?

He would be lying if he said he wasn’t gunning for the latter and was pissed he cared at all. What was it about Ochako that made him so obsessed with the minute differences in another person’s relationships? It was pathetic and he hated that his heart stuttered when she turned her head to look at him curiously, having felt his not-quite-muted emotional analysis through The Bond. He stared back blankly, not exactly wanting to explain his obsessive need to know the exact nature of her and Deku’s relationship. She tilted her head to the side, furrowing her brows thoughtfully before turning around again.

He caught Deku looking back and forth between him and Ochako with a curious, if not slightly hurt expression on his face. Katsuki gave him his best ‘Back the Fuck Off’ glare which Deku met with a confused look. He waited for the Nerd to break eye contact first before he let his gaze rest elsewhere, just to make sure the Nerd knew he meant it; it wasn’t any of Deku’s business what happened in the Bond.

An awkward silence fell over the three heroes as they waited, and Katsuki could feel Ochako’s mind figiting uncomfortably at the silence, as if she was searching for something to say. His hand twitched at her discomfort with the pronounced silence.

“It’s great that the government is finally taking this seriously enough to fund a task force.” Ochako said suddenly, in an attempt to clear the awkward air. Katsuki let out a barely audible sigh, she really couldn’t just let it go? Fuck. He hated small talk.

“Uhm, they’ve actually had a small group working on this for a week already...” Deku hedged rubbing the back of his neck apologetically. Katsuki’s gaze snapped to Deku in surprise, what the shiiiit…

“Why the fuck are we just now hearing about it?!” Katsuki barked in surprise, totally taken aback by the new information. What the hell.

“I don’t know Kacchan, you’ll have to ask Aizawa” Deku replied firmly, slightly peeved at Katsuki’s tone, which meant very little to the blonde. Deku could go fuck himself for all he cared. He uncrossed his arms preparing to flip off the broccoli-headed piece of-

Aizawa-san probably didn’t want to put too much onto our plates Katsuki, don’t shoot the messenger.

Ochako’s thought interrupted the carefully crafted insult on the tip of Katsuki’s tongue, unleashing a wave of tranquility tinged with what Katsuki would title ‘Chill the fuck out’ with the thought. Katsuki’s muscles loosened on their own accord, relaxing into the soothing feeling she was pushing through the Bond. Grumbling, he let out a sigh and begrudgingly returned his half stretched out arm back across his chest, snapping his jaw shut.

Whatever.

Deku gave Katsuki a quick concerned look, eyes sweeping between him and Ochako suspiciously. Katsuki felt a flare of irritation at the Nerd’s probing gaze, but didn’t have the all-consuming desire to viciously mock the hero thanks to Ochako’s reinstated influence. She had apparently decided that enough was enough and had moved back close to his mind, attempting to help him calm down from his hours-long tirade of anger and self-loathing. It was… well a fucking relief honestly.

The three lapsed into another prolonged silence as they waited another two minutes before the door to the conference room opened. The Mind Controlling Freak strolled through the door calmly, as if he had all the time in the fucking world, though Katsuki could see right through that fucker, he could read the mind freak’s eye bags like the 500 page novels of stress they were. Katsuki was still slightly put off by his dyed brown hair and scowled as he took the seat to Ochako’s left. So that’s what the fucker’s ‘undercover mission’ had been. Katsuki should have guessed he be working on this case, Aizawa had a hard-on for the guy’s quirk.

“Shinsou?” Ochako questioned surprised, before the realization Katsuki had come to already solidified in her head, “oh! This is what you were working! Shinsou why didn’t you tell us you were working undercover for this case?!”

Shinsou sighed and melted into his chair trying to avoid Ochako’s gaze, instead looking at Deku.

“It really doesn’t matter, you know now right?” He muttered tiredly rubbing a hand down his face.

The dude looked dead on his feet, like he could fucking faceplant on the table top at any point. Not that that was particularly unusual for MK Ultra, in the years Katsuki had gotten to know him, after he was moved into the hero class their second year, Katsuki had come to learn that a side effect his quirk basically gave the dude insomnia. So if he was on a mission he probably was operating on very little sleep.

“I guess so…” Ochako said pouting slightly, crossing her arms in dissatisfaction and Katsuki pointedly looked away in an effort to not stare openly at how her crossed arms pushed her boobs up in the most enticing way. Fuckin’ fuck he needed to get laid soon or somehow annex the part of his brain intent upon being infatuated with Ochako. One or the other, preferably the first, seeing as it sounded like a fuck-ton more fun.

It seemed like everyone arrived at the same time because Kirishima and Mina strolled in together not a minute after Shinsou. They were talking to each other with fierce expressions on their faces and were followed swiftly by Momo and Tsu. Katsuki tuned out the inane chatter of his colleagues, he really couldn’t give any fewer fucks about the small talk they were all making, only opting to nod to Kirishima in a terse greeting.

Instead he leaned against the wall and lost himself to thoughts of combo moves for him and Cheeks. It was an idea he’d been mulling over for the past several days, since they’d blasted across the city really. He’d partnered up with Ochako many times before The Link, but they’d never really consistently trained together. Since realizing that she could increase the sheer power he was able to generate his brain had been whirring with the possibilities. Just how fucking fast could he get going? What kind of insane jet fueled stunts could the pull off? How many attacks could he fire off in a minute without the resistance of gravity? They were all fucking intriguing questioned to be asked, not even dipping into the hand to hand combat coordination they had the potential to execute now that they could communicate ideas silently, perfectly and without language in less than a millisecond thanks to The Bond…

He was broken out of his thoughts as Aizawa, holding a large stack of papers, walked through the door swiftly, followed by some member of the police chain of command who’s name he hadn’t bothered to remember. The room fell quiet as Aizawa walked around to sit at the front of the table.

“Hello everyone, glad you all could make it today.” Aizawa stated glancing around the table before pausing to catch Ponytail’s gaze, “Where is Shouto?”

“Oh, uh Reijuko is sick so he’s at home with him.” Ponytail responded quickly, fidgeting nervously, “I’ll keep him up to date on what happens here though.”

Aizawa nodded, as if already bored with the conversation, mirroring Katsuki’s feeling about the little brat Ponytail and Iceyhot had spawned into the world. As if the world needed another rich dude with daddy issues and a stick up his ass, which this baby very much was. Katsuki had met the squirmy little fuck once and that red haired kid had not stopped glaring the entire time Katsuki was there. Like a clone of Todoroki, the kid seemed to have a general disdain for life itself. Fucking typical.

“To start out I’d like to get you all up to date on what we’ve been doing thus far and what we’ve learned.” Aizawa plowed on, seemingly unaffected by Iceyhot’s absence, “Since last week the preliminary team has been gathering intel and doing research on these villains. Shouto and Deku have focused on past case files finding some promising history that may lead us to better understand their motives while Shinsou has been undercover at the records department working our top suspects: Musai and Shounji Nukona”

Aizawa held up two photos, clearly screen shots from a security camera, of a tall man and shorter woman, both clad in business casual clothing with lanyards and ID tags around their necks. It was too far away of a shot to get a good look at their faces though Katsuki felt a flash of recognition at their body positioning, a part of his brain flashing back to the masked man and woman in this morning’s prison break. At the mention of the couple’s names, the ones who had been named by the Finger Freak during his and Ochako’s interrogation, Katsuki raised his eyebrows. Had they really already found the two of them? So quickly?

“These two are higher level administrators at the quirk registry, married for the last twenty years and are the only “couple” with the names Kanayami gave to the police that we could find.” Aizawa continued then gestured with a hand to the Purple Haired Bastard who was sitting next to Ochako. MK cleared his throat lifting his head from where he was letting it rest on his palm.

“Yeah,” The Mind Freak rasped, “My time undercover has revealed that these two are by all accounts a totally normal, borderline boring set of adults. They’ve worked at the Registration offices for the better part of the last two decades, without so much as a verbal warning on their records. All of their coworkers commented on their kind attitudes and dedication to their work. They apparently have spent the past few years working insanely hard, to the point of staying late to finish up work off the clock.”

Katsuki raised a brow, working off the clock when everyone else went home? Big fucking red flag. He felt a wave of suspicion and looked to Ochako to see her looking towards Shinsou with brows furrowed.

What are you thinking?

“We have no idea if they have any contact with the others in the villain group, from what I’ve seen they rarely go anywhere but home and work.” Shinsou continued dryly, as if reading furniture building instructions rather than detailing a covert operation. Katsuki looked towards Ochako expectantly, waiting for a reply.

They work at the records department, what if that’s how they’re choosing targets? They’re finding children with strong quirks and targeting them specifically?

Ochako didn’t turn as they conversed, only briefly tilting her head to make a quick eye contact with him before turning her back to him once again. Katsuki tuned out the rest of the meeting to focus on the Link, he still hadn’t fucking figured out how to do both at the same time. It took too much energy to sort out his feelings from hers when they pulled in closer like this to also listen to a complex conversation around him.

I don’t know… why go through all of the trouble of attacking them at school and killing a bunch of random innocents if they’re targeting specific kids?

His stomach dropped in an echo of Ochako’s guilt and grief for the sheer amount of lives lost. He mentally reached out and gave her the equivalent of a squeeze of her hand in mental support and was pleasantly surprised to feel her leaning into his mental touch with what could only be described as a mental nuzzle. He retracted quickly, worried about how good it felt to have her leaning into his touch, fuck he couldn’t deal with it. He couldn’t stop himself form imagining it was real when it felt like that. He felt a lightning quick flash of confused hurt before she refocused.

You have a point, they have been targeting hero preparatory schools, maybe they target groups of students rather than individuals?

There’s a thought… schools like the two that had been hit were private institutions that prided themselves in producing alumni perfectly staged to get into hero schools like UA and Shiketsu. It was a more recent development that was complicating the process to becoming a hero, one that was becoming more common, counter to what most Pros, including himself, recommended. It certainly hadn’t been a thing when he’d applied to UA, he and his class all got in on pure talent and fucking grit, well with the exception of ponytail and Iceyhot, the fucking cheaters.

It’s possible… it just doesn’t explain everything. Fucking why now? They’ve been married for an eternity and they just now decide to start indiscriminately killing strong kids? Why?

I’m not sure, but I feel like we have the answer right in front of us. I’ve just got this nagging sense we’re not seeing this in the right perspective.

Ochako’s lips pursed in that stupidly attractive way they did when she was lost in thought and Katsuki leaned into her through The Bond instinctively, unconsciously before he could catch himself. He smirked slightly at the way it made her emotions get flustered and flighty, before he realized what he was doing and pulled away somewhat. He allowed himself the briefest thought that maybe there was some truth to what she’d confessed in their dream before he schooled his expression and shut his fluttering heart down. Fucking idiot, he had to stop doing this to himself.

Refocusing himself he dipped into her layers and followed the surface most of her thoughts that converged into his own layers, confused to find that her thoughts seemed to orbiting around the idea ‘their bond.’ He brows drew together in confusion. Their Bond? What the fuck was she on about?

What do you mean ‘Their bond?’ Aizawa didn’t a thing about them being fucking Linked

Ochako turned her head to meet his gaze again, and Katsuki felt himself being pulled closer to her in the Bond as her concerned look sucked in all of his attention. Goddamn she had beautiful eyes.

Not like that, though you do make an interesting point…

Katsuki psychically nudged her as he felt her mind wander down the possibility that the villains could be Linked like she and Katsuki were. Which, as intriguing as it was, didn’t seem to be likely; surely someone would’ve noticed it by now? And Kanayami hadn’t mentioned anything about the villains being Linked during their interrogation, if anything he’d seemed devastated that his quirk could be survived at all. No, Katsuki didn’t think the villains could have been Linked like he and Ochako were.

Focus Cheeks, what do you mean ‘their bond’?

I mean, what brings them together? Couples don’t just stay together through a crime spree after 20 years of marriage, what happened to them that would allow them to go on this horrific murder spree and stay together? The acts these two have organized would break most relationships before the murders even started…

“Uraraka.” Aizawa said sharply. Katsuki felt a zap of surprise go through him as Ochako’s attention snapped to Aizawa, caught off guard. Both he and Ochako whipped to look at Aizawa at the same time, pulled out of their internal world together. He felt her cheeks heat in embarrassment and he scowled in an attempt to keep the blush she was feeling from spreading to his cheeks as well.

“I’m sorry what was the question?” Ochako asked blushing furiously at being caught red handed. Aizawa took a second to send a glare towards Katsuki, which he gladly returned two-fold, before Aizawa explained.

“I asked if you had any notes from the escape this morning, any detail you hadn’t mentioned in the reports.” He repeated pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation.

Ochako paused in thought, Calling Katsuki unintentionally, …Katsuki and my Bond. They seemed weirdly intent on it.

Katsuki cocked his head, not sure where the fuck her thoughts were headed. He was used to at least following her thoughts on the most basic levels, but her thoughts today were all over the place right now.

“Well,” Ochako started sitting up straighter and looking around the room, “Katsuki and I were just discussing the possibility that there is something unique, or particularly strong about their relationship. Not many couples would randomly decide to go on a murder spree together. They must have a particularly strong bond, or some sort of commonality that allowed them to devolve to this state without separating.”

That was fuckin’ not what she had Called him about. Why wasn’t she bringing up her true thoughts? Katsuki narrowed his eyes again at her, deciding to ask her about it later on.

“Like a trauma or something?” Mina spoke up tilting her head, “I know that those sort of things can cause people to get closer”

Didn’t they fucking know it. Class 3A had been bonded together through a string of traumas strong enough to keep them as a unified group even six year later, compared to most classes which scattered to the winds the second they left the school.

“Yes,” Momo said speaking up with the confidence of someone with years of research under their belt, “Ochako is right, people don’t just watch as their spouse heads over the deep end. They divorce if they aren’t anything short of stuck together at the hip. I’d bet my bottom dollar that there is some sort of traumatic event in their past that both triggered and allowed this co-dependent relationship to happen.”

“Something like their kid dying in a tragic accident?” Mind Freak spoke, sitting up in his chair for the first time, his eyes locking onto Aizawa’s at the head of the table.

Silence fell on the group as all heads turned to stare at the mind controller.

“And when the fuck were you planning on bringing that bit up?” Katsuki snapped. What a fucking idiot, that should have been one of thee first things brought up in the conversation. For fucks sake.

“It was like ten years ago!” The purple eyed freak said defensively turning to glare at Katsuki, “We were looking for more recent triggers.”

Katsuki growled at the incompetence of the idiots who formed this early task force, they should have brought him in sooner. Fuck the Bond, he and Cheeks could’ve consulted. Could’ve done more than just look through fucking files. Maybe if they’d been pulled into the brainstorming session they’d have caught this massive fucking idea sooner. Idiots.

“We know now.” Aizawa said succinctly, effectively shutting up the two arguing heroes, “We need more information on this. Yaoyorozu, you and Todoroki are on research. I want to know who this kid was, how he died and what the hell happened after with these two suspects.”

Made sense, the two idiots had an infant at home, they weren’t exactly available to both be in the field everyday. Fucking shame. As much as Katsuki hated to admit it, they could really use their expertise for this one, these villains were slipper fucks. After all, it’s hard to fucking teleport your shitty friends out of a battle if your incased in 30 feet of solid ice… Whatever the Todorokis could be helpful in research at least, Katsuki would handle the battles.

“Shinsou, I want you to nail down the date of the next attack.” Aizawa continued, “They haven’t been involved in the last two attacks, but something tells me the next move will be different. Look for any changes in behavior or suspicious leaves of absence. Midoriya, I need you on double shift patrols around District 2-4, focusing on the schools in that area”

Deku nodded frowning as his eyes flashed over to Ochako. Katsuki felt a lead weight settle into his stomach and a sad sort of nostalgia flood his side of the Link. He shook his head subtly, pulling away from her in the Link to lessen her influence.

“You two,” Aizawa said nodding toward where Ochako was seated in front of Katsuki, “Are on the schools in districts 5-9.”

Katsuki nodded, feeling and seeing Ochako do the same. Thank fuck Aizawa had decided to keep them together, Katsuki didn’t want to have to battle the stupid anxiety the Bond caused when there was such a high ranked villain society to catch.

“Okay let’s get down into the details, I want to know everything we’ve got so far on these two in excruciating detail.” Aizawa said looking around the room pointedly.

The greater portion of the day was spent in that stuffy-ass conference room going over every single minute detail the police and heroes had collected on this villain group. Katsuki had broken down at the two-hour mark and finally took the seat on Ochako’s right, leaning into the comfortable leather as Ponytail detailed the exact nature of the Villain couple’s jobs at the registry. Thank fuck he had Ochako there to sooth his rising irritation, he wasn’t sure he would’ve made it through the whole thing without her calming presence and frequent soothing strokes of her mind (something he refused to think about too deeply lest he be thrown into a futile spiral of ‘Could she be interested?’ thoughts). That and Kirishima’s brilliant idea to order Thai food three hours in, even going so far as to foot the bill for everyone, being the generous fucking golden person he was. Which of course Kirishima was, Katsuki didn’t make a habit of surrounding himself with Losers.

They all split ways after about four hours of detailing the plan, most of which Katsuki wasn’t paying attention to, determining it to be unhelpful background details. Like fuck if he cared what these fuckers brought for lunch everyday, they fucking KILLED CHILDREN, a daily tuna sandwich did not fucking matter. For fucks sake. So he was relieved when it was time to split, finally time to get out of a fucking chair and get onto the streets. Katsuki specialized in ass kicking, not in boring ass meetings.

I gotta go rearrange the patrol schedule at the agency, meet you in district 5 in an hour?

He sent the thought her way as he stood up, reaching his arms up to work out the kinks in his shoulders and back from sitting for so long. He fucking hated sitting still for so long. What he needed was a long ass run. Or better yet: a killer fight. He grimaced and deepened the stretch of his tense muscles, making an unhappy sound as his right shoulder popped loudly. Fuck he was too old for this conference room shit.

Uh… yeah. Uhm see you in a bit

Katsuki brought his hands back down, looking at Ochako, confused at the flood of nervous energy he was suddenly feeling. He was surprised to see her blushing and pointedly ignoring his look. Fuck she looked cute when she blushed. Fuck stop thinking about it you idiot.

Why the hell are you nervous?

Ochako’s eyes flitted to his quickly, before she waved her hand in a show of ease. Katsuki raised an eyebrow in disbelief, who the fuck did she think she was kidding with this act? He could read her fucking mind, she was not fooling him. She was flustered and nervous, facts.

“Don’t worry about it” She said in a slightly high-pitched tone, avoiding his gaze “Go get your employees’ scheduled sorted.”

With that she stood up suddenly and walked stiffly over to where Frog Girl and Ponytail were talking quietly. Katsuki stared after her, confused, before shrugging it off. Whatever, she’d been weird for the last few days, fuck if he knew why. She’d tell him if it was important.

The good news was he had a fucking excuse to blast himself across the city and not be in some stuffy-ass conference room for the next half hour. He started heading toward the exit, excited to be away from all the extras he’d been forced to play nice with for the past four hours. His optimism immediately flipped when he noticed Deku jogging up to his side as Katsuki walked out of the conference room.

“Kacchan!” Deku called raising a hand, “Wait up!”

“The fuck do you want Deku?” Katsuki growled, increasing his pace as he headed for the stairwell to get down to the first floor so he could blow this joint.

“Jeese, do you always have to do the exact opposite of what I ask?” Deku huffed as he too increased his pace, to which Katsuki just rolled his eyes.

"What do you want Deku?” Katsuki asked sharply as they entered the stairs. He really did not want to top this shit day off with a fucking Deku conversation.

“I wanted to ask you about Ochako.” The broccoli head said calmly and Katsuki’s heart stuttered a beat in terror. How did Deku have such an uncanny ability to find the exact topic Katsuki wanted to talk about the least?!

“What about her?” Katsuki asked guardedly, giving Deku a side eye suspiciously. This was dangerous territory for him. Perilous.

“I just..” Deku started, then paused as if searching for words, “I guess I just want to make sure she’s okay. We haven’t… well. It’s complicated right now with us and I think she needs some space before we can be friends again, but... I worry about her.”

Katsuki gave him a skeptical look over his shoulder as he took the stairs two at a time in an effort to escape this conversation. He did NOT want to talk about the girl his stupid-ass heart seemed intent on obsessing over with her ex. Nope. Fucking pass.

“I…I heard about the death threats against her and I know she’s been staying at your place.” Deku started rambling at Katsuki’s lack of response, “And I know you two have this, like mind Link or whatever, which by the way is fascinating and I would love to sit down and talk about it with you two sometime, anyway I just worry that she’s not handling all of this well, she’s never been awesome at lots of personal life changes in a short period of time-“

“-Deku, for the love of all holy, shut the fuck up.” Katsuki interrupted, stopping abruptly on the stairs to spin and face his agency co-CEO. Deku, who was not an idiot, stopped talking with an audible snap of his jaw, his green eyes imploring Katsuki.

“She is fine. Stop babying her, she a full-grown adult and the Number 7 Hero, in case you fucking missed it.” Katsuki said shortly glaring at the green haired hero. It was something that had always bugged him about their relationship, Ochako was a big girl she could handle her own shit, “She’s got it handled.”

Deku sighed, looking away from Katsuki wringing his hands and opening his mouth, before closing it abruptly with furrowed brows. Katsuki waited, crossing his arms waiting for the Number One Hero (fuck, it still hurt to admit that) to speak.

“I know that.” Deku mumbled making eye contact again, “Just take care of her, okay?”

“Fuckin’ shit Izuku,” Katsuki said with a sigh, “I’m not her fucking Dad, yeah we’ve got this Soul Bond or whatever but I’m not-“

“-Soul bond?” Deku interrupted eyes widening in shock, “wh-what do you mean ‘Soul Bond’…?”

Katsuki narrowed his eyes at the green haired man’s reaction. Fucking Deku. Katsuki was sooo not the right person to explain the nuance of the Bond to Ochako’s ex, his rival, who was very obviously still in love with her. Literally anyone but Katsuki would be better at this. But….fuck it. The Gods seemed intent on making shit like this keep happening to the two of them, why should this be any different.

“That’s what the Mind Freak called it.” Katsuki stated avoidantly, if not somewhat carefully, gauging Deku’s reaction.

Deku was silent, staring at the ground before he heaved a huge sigh and looked up to Katsuki, eyes wet with unshed tears. Ugh gross. Katsuki was not equipped to deal with Izuku crying, even after all these years.

“I always suspected, but it’s different finally facing it.” Deku said with a sardonic grin on his face.

“The fuck you talkin’ about?” Katsuki said confused at the cryptic message. This Nerd was all over the place. Who the fuck cries and smiles at the same time. The idiot had fucking lost his mind. Shouldn’t he be all weepy about the fact his ex-girlfriend is in a soul bond (whatever the fuck that means) with his eternal rival?

“It’s nothing Kacchan.” Izuku said shaking his head firmly and brushing tears off his cheeks and taking as shuddering breath, “Don’t worry about it, you’ll figure it out soon enough anyway, you’re too smart not to.”

Deku let out a few incredulous chuckled, before devolving into full fits of hysterical laughter. Katsuki stumbled back down a few steps, not sure how the fuck to handle this. Izuku had lost his goddamn mind, what the fuck…

“Ah…” Deku said as he took a deep breath in and straightened up, shaking his head ruefully, “Sorry Kacchan, sometimes the Gods make me laugh with how much they, pardon my French, fuck my life over.”

Katsuki could do nothing but stare at his rival in a strange mix of confusion and shocked solidarity, before they both silently collected themselves and exited the building headed towards their agency. They had some schedule changes to make to adjust for their absence as they worked on this case together after all. Katsuki tried to ignore Deku’s cryptic words, not daring to dive into the shit that they implied.

Notes:

Thank you all! <3

Chapter 20 title by Catharanthus

Chapter 22: Miss Communication

Notes:

This chapter was the cumulation of a lot of bad decisions on my part so hang in there.

Ochako’s eyes lingered on Katsuki’s form as he left the conference room, followed quickly by Deku who called after him. Ochako stood up, pushing her chair back as she did, still glancing out the door where she could faintly hear Deku’s calls followed by the low timbers of Katsuki’s irritation wavering down the halls. She frowned in thought, mulling over the information today had brought her regarding the blonde.

She had decided that she was going to talk with Katsuki today during the district patrol shifts about the dream. They needed to clear this up, preferably before she lost her goddamn mind. She was fairly certain she had felt Katsuki get superbly distracted by her, like multiple times during the meeting in a way that had her cheeks flushing, heart racing and thought process flatlining. That or Ochako was projecting to an extent previously unseen in this century. Either way, she had to know by the end of today.

“Ochako!” Tsu called, strolling over with bouncing steps to where Ochako was standing staring after Katsuki like a dumbass. Ochako snapped her head over to Tsu giving her a pleasant smile, attempting to rid her thoughts of all things Katsuki.

“Hi Tsu, it’s so good to see you, I feel like it’s been forever!” Ochako said with a smile, reaching out to hug the green haired girl tightly. She had missed seeing the frog hero in the last few days, both had just been so swamped with their own lives they hadn’t had a girls’ night in what felt like forever.

“Ribbit, I wish we were meeting under better circumstances.” Tsu nodded sagely then looked past Ochako’s shoulder. Ochako turned to see Momo approaching the two with a small smile on her face.

“Good afternoon.” Momo stated with a slight bow of her head. Ochako laughed and dragged Momo into a hug, much to her surprise if the small squeak she let out was any indication.

“Momo, we didn’t really get a chance to talk at the whole Link announcement thingy last week, how are you?” Ochako said releasing her friend with a concentered look, “You said Reiyko was sick? Is he going to be okay? Maybe you should have-“

“Thank you for your concern, but he’s already recovering,” Momo interrupted with a wave of her hand, “just a small cold. Besides, I doubt that Shouto would ever let anything short of a sniffle go uninvestigated, that man is an overprotective menace.” She finished the last bit with a deadpan look of annoyance.

Ochako giggled at the image of Shouto fussing over the small child, she had always suspected that he would be an overbearing parent. Hopefully Momo could talk sense into him. It had been such a fascinating experience to watch her two classmates’ transition from young adults to full blown parents in the past year, Though they were both handling the change with grace that Ochako was slightly envious of. She doubted she would be as relaxed about something like having a child as the Todoroki’s were.

A sudden high-pitched shriek was the only warning Ochako had of an impending impact with Mina, as the three heroes looked up to see the pick hero running towards them. Kirishima, who was watching his girlfriend hurl herself across the room, shook his head and left the conference room with a rueful grin, dramatic roll of his eyes and an attitude that screamed ‘I don’t get paid enough for this’.

“I don’t know what I just saw between you and Bakubro, but I’m pretty sure it was mind sex?” Mina rushed into the circle of girls with the bold statement. Ochako made a choking sound whipping her head towards the acid hero.

Momo and Tsu all turned to stare at the pink hero in shock. Ochako’s jaw hung open for a few seconds as she recovered her airways integrity, before she closed it, feeling the heat of her blush roll across her cheeks.

“M-Mina!” Ochako squeaked raising her hand to her warm cheeks, “You can’t just say stuff like that!”

Mina just cackled, tilting her head back and looping an arm around Ochako jovially. Tsu gave Ochako a pointed smug look. Ochako thanks the Gods that the girls were the only ones from the meeting still in the conference room, lingering after the rest of the Task Force had left to complete their various assignments.

“See, this is what I’ve been saying, ribbit.” Tsu croaked rather unhelpfully, putting a thoughtful finger to her mouth. A pose Ochako knew Tsu used to seem more innocent than she actually was, the devil frog. Ochako narrowed her eyes threateningly at her best friend, who pointed ignored the glare.

“We were talking about the freaking mission!” Ochako whined in protest before turning to look at Momo, “Come on Momo give me some support here, you know I’m not like that!”

“Well…” Momo hesitated, glancing away from Ochako, “I’ve known you too for a long time and-“

“- AH forget it!” Ochako huffed interrupting the dark-haired woman, “You are all traitors!” Ochako pointed a finger accusatorily at the other three.

How could her friends betray her like this! She needed at least one person to believe that she and…her link partner weren’t actively having mental…er intimate relations… at any given moment! During a meeting about child killing villains for christ sakes! She would have hoped at least Momo wasn’t such a pervert to believe Ochako would stoop to that level. Besides Ochako didn’t even know if that was possible, like sure they could probably exchange dirty talk and maybe some steamy impressions-

Oh my god she could NOT be thinking about this. For fucks sake. These girls would be the death of her integrity!

“Oh come on Ochako, we’re just teasing!” Mina said leaning in to give Ochako a sloppy kiss on her flushed cheeks, “You two just have this, like, intense sexual tension right now and it’s so easy to tease you about it!”

“I-I..” Ochako started, all three girls watching her intently, she left out a defeated sigh, “I have no defense. We have really intense sexual tension right now.”

“I KNEW IT!” Mina screamed loudly in Ochako’s ear, causing her to flinch.

“Yesh Mina, a little chill please?” Ochako mumbled, rubbing her ear and shaking the pink woman’s arm off her shoulders lest the event repeat itself. Mina retracted her arm with a pout.

“But you are gonna jump on that, right?” Mina asked seriously and Ochako sighed running a hand down the side of her face.

“ I don’t know…” Ochako said tiredly, not knowing how to answer that question. Yes, she couldn’t stop thinking about going a round in the sheets with him, but no she didn’t want to ruin their current relationship. It was something that had been bouncing in the dark recesses of her mind, despite her best efforts to run away from her realization that she was, without a doubt, undeniably attracted to Katsuki. At this point she was pretty sure that if he offered to sleep with her she wouldn’t hesitate to accept. The dream last night certainly hadn’t helped. What she needed was to talk with Katsuki. Soon.

Crap, what if he was listening?! Ochako leaned into the Bond nervously feeling out where Katsuki’s attention was. His mind unconsciously caressed hers in greeting at the contact, more of a reaction than anything else. Tentatively she pushed a bit closer, just trying to get a faint idea about where his focus was, hoping he wasn’t aware of her thoughts. She breathed out a sigh of relief when she found him to be otherwise occupied. Wait, was he talking to Deku…about her? Why on earth-

“You’re imagining sex with him aren’t you.” Tsu said lowly with an insidious grin on her face.

“Tsu! What the fuck, no!” Ochako said offended as her attention snapped back to the present, shivering at the sudden lack of Katsuki next to her mind.

Tsu just shrugged with a rueful smile at Ochako’s choice of curse words. Katsuki was rubbing off on her more than she had thought. Ochako facepalmed dramatically before looking between the attentive women, who were giving each other knowing looks. Great just what she needed, the females of the Task Force thinking she and Katsuki were having some kind of mental affair at inappropriate times. An idea that was way more enticing than it should have been.

“I mean if Kiri and I had a mental Link you bet we would-“ Mina started before Ochako abruptly slapped a palm over Mina’s mouth in horror at what was about to come out of her mouth. She did not need that image in her head.

“Look, Katsuki and I have some stuff we need to discuss before anything even remotely close to what your describing could happen.” Ochako stated firmly using her hands to cleave the air like Iida did to make her point.

“Do you want to be with Bakugou in that way?” Momo asked thoughtfully after considering Ochako’s words, “It seems like quite the change from Izuku, Bakugou is just so…”

“Abrasive?” Mina chimed in at the same time Tsu said “Rude?”

Ochako sighed rolling her eyes at their responses. Katsuki wasn’t that bad, he just had a protective barrier of bullshit and attitude around him at all times. You just had to get past all that and the dude was softer than fro-yo.

“I was going to say ‘emotionally unavailable’.” Momo said with a small smile before continuing, “It is rather sudden too… and what about the Mental Link you have, do you think it’s a good idea to cross that line in a situation where you can’t take it back?”

Ochako stared blankly at Momo as the logical woman brought up flaws Ochako hadn’t even considered yet. Ochako felt her stomach drop with anxiety. Oh god, what did she want? If they got together, even casually in a friends with benefits type of situation, and it ended badly they couldn’t take it back. They were stuck with each other for better or worse, they had to be sure. And if she was one thing right now it was ‘Not Even A Little Bit Sure’.

“Jeez Momo,” Mina said casually waving her hand, “Why the doom and gloom? They’ll be fine, right Chaks?”

Ochako gulped and looked at the floor, thoughts about the signs pointing to the fact that her decision to talk with Katsuki this afternoon was an absolutely terrible idea swirling in her head, “Yeah, we’ll be fine…”

“Don’t sweat it!” Mina cheered, “You two were destined to be together, it’s all gonna work out. Trust me”

Ochako looked to the pink woman, frowning at the certainty of the last phrase, to find Mina looking at Ochako with a gleam of secretive knowing in her eyes. Ochako furrowed her brows, not feeling even an ounce as confident as Mina was about this.

“Whatever you say Mina.” Ochako said skeptically, before changing the subject hoping they would all just drop it, “Have you guys considered the timing of our patrol shifts yet? Aizawa-san kinda skimmed over that part.”

“I was thinking about that” Momo said nodding, “I think we should have one group on patrols at all times, even though we’ll be in different districts, just so that at least one team for the task force is on active duty at all times.”

Ochako nodded and let thoughts of her plan to talk with Katsuki fade to the back of her mind, focusing on the more important issue of the scheduling patrols for the task force. The Katsuki conundrum could wait.




Ochako left the conference room after finishing a very detailed patrol schedule, which Momo said she would send out to the rest of the task force. Ochako changed into her hero costume and headed towards the group of districts designated to her and Bakugou by Aizawa, even though she knew Katsuki wouldn’t be done at his agency for at least another 20 minutes. She worried her lip thinking over the doubts in her mind about her conversation with Katsuki, which had stubbornly resurfaced once the task of making a rotating schedule had concluded.

One the one hand, she really wanted to just get everything off of her chest and tell him what was going on in her guttered mind. He was going to figure it out eventually, especially considering how often she slipped up and broadcasted her thoughts to him. It would be such a relief to just get it all out so they could both move forward and she could stop worrying about being found out.

On the other hand, she was terrified of ruining the tentative working relationship they’d developed in the last few weeks. They’d made such progress in their friendship, had freaking overcome a death sentence together. She didn’t want to put that in jeopardy over her stupid feelings. Especially because she wasn’t even sure that these feelings were just a manifestation of the Bond, like the separation anxiety. What if she wasn’t actually attracted to him? What if it was just a weird psychological effect of the Bond? How would she be able to tell either way?

As she entered district five, she settled upon her decision to talk about the dream. She’d told herself this afternoon that she would bring it up during their patrol and she was sticking to it, but she didn’t have to confess fully, right? She should play it safe and see how the conversation went. She could just play it off as a weird dream if things went south, but she would bring it up. That being decided, she forcibly focused her mind on the job ahead, looking around for any sort of suspicious activity.

There were several people milling about, being about 4pm meant it wasn’t busy with the afternoon rush hour, but was busy enough that she wasn’t alone on the street. Several citizens waved or pointed at her as she patrolled the streets, something she was used to at this point.

Luckily the rest of the time passed quickly and Ochako was happy to note she wasn’t too anxious while she was separated from Bakugou. It seemed like Aizawa was correct in his assumption that time apart would make the separation anxiety lessen considerably. She was able to wander the general area around the middle school in this district, Rising Academy, without any of the twitchy irritation she’d come to expect when she was more than a few miles from Katsuki. It was a relief, one less thing to worry about.

She was surprised to note that she got no flairs of emotions from Katsuki’s side of the Bond while she patrolled alone, she would have expected something as mundane as being forced to do office work like rearranging schedules would irritate Katsuki enough to have a least a few burst escape to her across the Link. Soon enough though, Katsuki’s mind reached across the void their distance created.

I’m on my way, where are you?

Ochako jumped slightly at the sudden pressure of Katsuki’s mind on her own. She hadn’t been expecting him to come up guns blazing so close. She quickly realized, thanks to the close mental contact that he was currently blasting himself across the city, elated and therefore not in a place with a terrible amount self-control. Hence his sudden and very intrusive mental presence without warning.

Corner of Ichigo and 56th she replied after a quick look at the nearest street signs and felt his affirmation ripple across the Link.

Seconds later she heard the tell-tale sounds of him rocketing across the sky, the sounds of echoing explosions growing progressively louder as he drew nearer. Ochako looked to the sky in the direction of the sounds seeing Katsuki’s form grow from a tiny black dot to a distinguishable blonde maniac hurling headfirst towards her location.

How do you catch any villains when they can hear you coming from literal miles away?!

Ochako covered her face as Katsuki flipped in the air to change his orientation so his feet, rather than his face, were pointing towards the ground and loosed two twin explosions towards the ground to slow his momentum. He grinned at her as he dropped the remaining few feet to the pavement. As she made eye contact with him, she felt a tingling pins and needles sensation run throughout her body in the smallest of Jolts. It was almost pleasant, like the Bond was buzzing excitedly that they were back together rather than punishing them for being apart. She’d take that Jolt over the whole-body convulsion Jolts they’d had in the past any day.

“It doesn’t really matter if they can hear me coming if they can’t outrun me” Katsuki quipped walking up to her with heavy steps.

She glanced down to find he’d changed his shoes from his basic combat boots to his heaviest pair, designed by Mei to mimic Deku’s steel soled boots. He must be expecting a fight, if he was in those. Ochako’s gaze paused on the twin blackened scorch marks on the otherwise pristine pavement at Katsuki’s feet, remnants of his explosive arrival. Sometimes, Katuski was a public menace, she was sure the citizens living in this district did not appreciate the noise disturbance and blackened sidewalks he left in his wake.

Oi! I am a fucking benefit to the community and these extras should be grateful I protect their weak asses!

Yes, and to increase your benefice you could take the train like everyone else instead of disturbing the community’s peace with your desire to avoid people at all costs.

Katsuki scoffed at that, arriving at her side, giving her a quick once-over, which had Ochako blushing. His gaze felt like flames licking her skin, making Ochako question her own sanity for a brief moment. What was wrong with her today? The corners of his mouth quirked up into a smirk and he gave her a mischievous look.

Or you could fucking use your quirk on me and we could fly together without the need for the huge explosions needed to overcome gravity, if your so fucking invested in me moving quietly.

Ochako rolled her eyes at him, shaking the feeling of his gaze, before starting her spritely pace of patrol again. She expected him to fall into step with her, which he did without complaint. Ochako noticed that basically everyone on the street was staring at them, which she supposed should be expected considering Bakugou had literally just blasted across the sky, landed and started walking with her as if it was normal. Which, maybe it was for him, but it certainly was a shock to people not used to his dramatic entrances.

They fell into a comfortable silence as they walked a few blocks around the area of the academy and Ochako struggled to come up with something to say to bridge the conversation to the dream. She could just come out and say ‘hey so let’s talk about my ridiculous and irrational attraction to you and how I basically fell into your lap in our shared dream. I’d like to consider doing that in real life’. Eventually, she gave up and settled on the first thing that came to her head.

“Did you get your schedules sorted?” She asked in a somewhat forced way, glancing over at him.

Ochako knew she was only asking in an effort to procrastinate the questions she really wanted to ask. She was still trying to build up the guts to ask him about the dream, and her mind was skittering nervously the more she thought about it. She felt his curiosity pique at her emotional tone and he pressed closer to her in the Bond, making her cheeks blush furiously as the mental contact made her stomach clench and her fingers tingle. That was new. Greeaat.

“Yeah.” He replied returning her gaze, narrowing his eyes at her. Shit shitshit he could totally feel her nerves. Ochako took a deep breath, trying to calm herself and focus on the task at hand. This was just a conversation to get the facts. It didn’t have to be weird. She would not make this weird. It wasn’t a big deal, she just wanted to clear up what had happened. It didn’t have to be a big deal, right?

“Spit it out cheeks.” Katsuki interrupted her train of thought bluntly, “You’re making me feel all tweaked out.”

Ochako let out a groaning sigh. This stupid Link was such a pain in the butt sometimes, couldn’t a girl just second guess her decisions without the object of her insecurities knowing about it and making her proceed?

“Right…” She hedged, avoiding his glance, “Iwantedtotalkaboutthedreamwehadlastnight.”

“I’m sorry what the fuck was that?” Katsuki said and she felt his utter confusion as he tried to process her words, “Did you just have a stroke or some shit?”

Ochako let out a nervous laugh before she gulped some air and stopped walking, turning to face him. He stopped too, brows furrowed in a perplexed expression as he leaned into her mind again trying to read her thoughts. She pushed him back to a more acceptable distance with a sigh.

“We really should stay a bit distanced for this conversation.” She explained as his expression morphed into a mix of bewildered curiosity at her pushing him away.

The last thing she needed in this conversation was him getting a clear picture as to why she wanted to talk about this, namely that she would very much enjoy jumping his bones. She didn’t even know what she wanted to do about that desire, let alone discover what his opinion on it was. She just wanted to clarify where they stood now, maybe talk about her weird attraction to him, not confess she would like to climb him like a tree. That felt like it was definitely a step too far from where their relationship was now.

Katsuki just crossed his arms and quirked a brow at her actions, planting his feet on the pavement, though he respectfully kept the distance she had put between them in the Bond. He remained stoically silent, waiting for her to continue. Ochako took a deep breath, calming her nerves and bolstering her confidence to the best of her ability.

“I want to talk about the dream we had last night.” She started again, this time much more slowly. She looked anywhere but his face, suddenly becoming very interested in the cracks in the sidewalk bellow her feet. She felt his unwitting hesitation waver across the distance between them in Bond and heard him take a deep inhale.

“What about it?” He responded stiffly, putting more distance between their minds in the Bond. Well at least he wasn’t denying it…

“Uh, I guess I just think we need to address the, uh…” Ochako stammered fiddling with her toe beans nervously, face contorting in awkwardness at the next phrase, “intimacy we had in it… I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’ve been thinking about it all day and I really need some..uh clarity about what…uhm….”

He was silent and Ochako felt echoes of emotions in the Link, too faint and changing too rapidly for her to pin down, distracting her mid-sentence. She thought she caught flashes of embarrassment, confusion, hesitation and maybe hope? They were too faint and short lived for her to get a really good feel on it, though, and she mentally cursed herself for distancing them before this conversation, that had really backfired on her. She looked up seeing him staring at her face critically, frown marring his features. Her stomach dropped.

Oh god. She had been wrong, Katsuki wasn’t even remotely interested. This was a mistake. Ugh she was such an idiot, she should have just let it lie and not messed around with the good thing they had going. She was so stupid to believe that he could…, to hope that he returned her feelings (whatever those feeling even were had yet to be untangled in her brain, but still). Okay how on earth did she fix this, oh no he was tilting his head at her. Oh shit, his mind had moved right next to hers when she hadn’t been looking. Fuuuuuck… had she called him? She really was an-

“Ochako, shut your loud-ass brain off for a fucking second.” Katsuki barked reaching out suddenly to grasp either side of her head as if he could manually stop her thoughts from racing. Ochako’s mouth fell open stupidly staring at his face as his eyebrow twitched in irritation. He seemed to be thinking about something intensely and his side of the Link was radiating a strange mix of tension, hope and unrestrained irritation. She didn’t know how to interpret that particular mix.

“Uh Katsuki…” Ochako said after a beat where he still hadn’t released her head, “Can you let go of my-“

Katsuki’s eyes widened as his gaze snapped back to her and he dropped his hands, leaving a lingering smell of burnt sugar in their wake, his palms must have been sweating a lot. Her hair was gonna smell like his sweat for days now, she couldn’t decide if that was a good or bad thing.

He quickly ran a hand through his own hair in agitation and Ochako felt his intense focus. He was strangely calm, almost like he was forcing his emotions to stop existing. It was a strange feeling and Ochako struggled to interpret it on top of her own chaotic emotional state.

“What’s there to say?” Katsuki said defensively with a scowl, returning his hands to their position across his chest. Ochako blinked at him in confusion. There was soooo much to be said about the dream.

“…Katsuki,” She started, pausing to take a deep breath, no time like the present… “We basically cuddled and confessed our mutual attraction, er well I think it’s mutual.. I don’t really..” Ochako’s cheeks felt like the surface of the sun as she flubbed through her awkward restatement of the dream.

“What the fuck are you trying to say Cheeks?” Katsuki interrupted with an expression that was essentially a cross between a frown and a grimace, as if the question pained him. Ochako paused, doing a sort of double take, second guessing herself. She felt her stomach drop in nervous energy, this had been such a mistake. He was clearly trying to downplay the dream, forget about it.

“It doesn’t have to mean anything.” Ochako quickly back-peddled, “It was just a dream, our guards were down. It’s probably just The Bond acting up.”

“The Bond acting up?” He asked, his voice somewhat distant as his eyes trained on her face. Crap crap crap. Why did she decide to bring this up again?

“ er, yeah. Like the separation anxiety?” Ochako stated, “Just a side-effect.”

“Side effect.” He deadpanned, voice almost bordering on a growl.

Muted irritation and disbelief was rolling off of him in waves, whatever he’d been doing earlier to suppress his reactions was slipping from his control and his emotions were flaring to life. Ochako blinked in confusion, totally lost as to what he was thinking. Somehow the Bond was making this more confusing for their communication, sending her mixed signals. Was he irritated or glad she had said they could forget it? He seemed to feel her reaction to his emotional deluge and swiftly pulled away from her mind, almost to the point of shielding himself, but not quite.

“Maybe?” Ochako said her voice had been rising in pitch steadily throughout the conversation, “Besides, it doesn’t have to mean anything, we probably should just forget it.”

There was a beat of silence as they looked at each other.

“To be fucking clear,” Katsuki started slowly, eyes narrowing, “You want to ignore last night and pretend it didn’t happen?”

“Er, yes?” Ochako answered cautiously, her voice picking up at the end and Ochako felt the Bond hit a minor chord, which made Katsuki’s eye twitch. Ochako mentally kicked herself, of course the stupid Bond would pick up on her lie. He stared at her for a few agonizing seconds and Ochako was sooo tempted to lean across the Link and try and get a better read on his emotions, but he had pulled back so thoroughly she felt like at this point it would be a breach of privacy. So she just stared into his eyes, trying to make sense of how this conversation had gotten so derailed so quickly.

After several tense seconds he shrugged suddenly, if not some-what violently and resumed walking. Ochako stared after him before hopping into a jog to catch up to his long strides. She was so confused, what was he thinking? How was it that they could literally read each other’s thoughts, yet she still had no idea what he thought about the confessions that the dream had pulled out of her? At this point she kinda just hoped they could forget she even brought it up and pretend it never happened. An even smaller, but insistent, part of her wished he would not let it slide unresolved and would just start making out with her instead.

“Whatever.” He stated over his shoulder, “We can forget about it.”

Ochako felt relief flood through her system, tainted with disappointment. Thank god, he was going to forget all about this and her terrible confession of attraction, clearly this was a one-sided thing. Ugh this had been a terrible idea, why had she wanted to do this?

Oh yeah because she was hopelessly attracted to her Bond partner, who apparently had no interest in her. At the most he was just experiencing some sort of side effect from the Bond itself and had no real interest in her. Tsu had been wrong. Of course, Katsuki must know that she was pinning after him now, a position she wished she hadn’t put herself in.

Ochako sighed. She was going to have to take some serious time unpacking this later. She glanced up at where Katsuki was plowing forward ahead of her. His back muscles were tense and rippled as he stomped forward and Ochako felt her jaw slacken briefly as she watched them move, mesmerized, before she realized what she was doing. She shook her head blushing furiously. Oh this was so out of hand. She had literally just been told ‘not interested’ by him and now she was oogling his back muscles like a creep!

She pulled out her phone and quickly typed out a message to Tsu: ‘Emergency Girls night tonight. I am in so much trouble.’

A reply text came through within a few seconds ‘Come by mine right after your patrol, ribbit.’

Ochako sighed and put her phone back, put up a wall in the Bond and steeled herself for the rest of the evening with Katsuki. At least she was now certain about one thing:

She was so fucked.

Notes:

Okay so don't be mad ha ha I promise this chapter serves a purpose. I know the slow burn is killing me too and yes Ochako is an idiot, but she's and idiot with the best of intentions.

Haven't picked Chapter 21's Title yet, as I always wait a week to ensure everyone has had a fair amount of time to read it :)

I'm on break and in isolation so I'll probably be writing a lot. Unless I get dragged into reading a bunch of other fics then not so much, but my goal is to finish at least chapter 23 before Sunday! I also hope to go back and do some editing/proofreading this week of the whole fic so hopefully any little typos get fixed. It's a continuous process though so bare with me.

Thank you all!!! Don't hate me too much for this chapter! <3

Chapter 23: Stole the Words Right Outta My Mind

Notes:

This chapter has depictions of PTSD flashbacks if you want to skip these stop reading at the asterisks ********* and resume at the second set of asterisks **********

Bakugou was seated on his couch in an empty apartment, staring at the wall about his TV, thinking. Thinking really hard about the past few days and having a hard time processing what he had learned over the course of the afternoon. The cumulation of several weeks of cryptic and confusing signs he’d been too stupid, or too willfully ignorant to see for himself. Of course, Shitty Hair had hinted at as much, with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. His mind briefly flashed back to their discussion after the fucking stupid meeting with Mind Fuck where he’d told Katsuki that Ochako wasn’t as into Deku as he thought. But who listens to people with an emotional subtly equivalent to a wrecking ball? It had seemed logical at the time to ignore his optimistic best friend. But now…

Ochako was attracted to him.

Ochako wanted him.

Ochako didn’t want Deku.

Even just thinking about the clarity her Calling had brought him today had Bakugou’s mind sputtering and attempting to deny it, years and years of repressing his feelings causing him to habitually shoot down any possibility of her affections. And yet, the fact remained that she had admitted, through their inexplicable Soul Bond that she was helplessly attracted to him( a small part of his mind cheering ‘Fuck yeah she is’ at the thought). And now all he could think about, what his brain kept circling back to was a single question: What the fuck was he supposed to do now?

She had made it clear, in her hard-to-watch- stumbled-through-confession this afternoon, that she wasn’t ready to actually move forward with him, at least not romantically, going as far as to request that they pretend that nothing had changed between them in the past few weeks. While her brain had been proclaiming her inexplicable attraction, he had watched Ochako stand and lie to his face that she didn’t want things to change. How exactly was he supposed to fucking interpret that cryptic-ass message?

He legitimately did not know, so he’d stood there and let her have her way. Or at least the way she was verbalizing out loud. He had so many questions for her that he had no idea how to ask without breaching her privacy and digging into something she clearly didn’t want to share.

She had left his side this evening stiffly, quickly explaining that the Frog Girl was hosting a ‘Girls Night’ or some shit. He’d surmised that she didn’t want to see him tonight or stay at his place. Which was fine, he needed to get the expectation that she would be there, the sick playing-house-façade, out of his head.

He really shouldn’t have been surprised, but when his door burst open and Kirishima hollered a greeting, Bakugou jumped as he was rudely ripped form his intense thoughts. Of course, Kirishima would come over. In the years that they’d been friends Katsuki had quickly discovered that Eijiro was what Katsuki liked to call and ‘obligate extrovert’, meaning that the dude could not fucking stand to be alone. After they graduated and moved in together Katsuki had been driven up the fucking wall by the red-heads incessant need for interaction, suddenly more apparent when her didn’t have his other classmates living in the same space to share the burden. Then a year later Shitty Hair had moved out, opting to move in with Pinky instead, but Katsuki was far from free from his annoyingly needy tendencies because any time Pinky was out Kirishima would just decide that it was a good time to drop by Katsuki’s place unannounced. Hence why he should have expected it. It was fucking Girls Night, which meant no Raccoon Eyes to distract the attention whore that was Hair for Brains.

“Bakubro!” Shitty Hair called from the hall and Katsuki rolled his eyes.

“I should have fucking guessed you’d show up…” Katsuki replied watching as Kiri rounded the corner, his hands holding two bags of Chinese takeout. At least the idiot came baring gifts, smart of him. He had learned after all.

“I brought Chinese food as a sacrifice.” Shitty Hair said, grinning and heading immediately into Katsuki’s kitchen. There was a profound silence, always a bad sign when the red head was involved, and Katsuki began to wonder what incriminating evidence Cheeks had left in the kitchen. The only time Shitty Hair was comfortable with silence was when that stupid brain of his was trying to work out some basic-ass problem.

“Hey Katsuki,“ Eijiro said knowingly, poking his head out from the wall separating the kitchen from the living room, “Why do you have about eight unwashed coffee cups in your sink?”

Katsuki fumed, of fucking course Cheeks left her coffee cups in his fucking way. Goddamn slob.

“Round Face must’ve left them out like a fucking asshole.” Katsuki replied with a twitch of his eyebrow. Irritated that Cheeks had made a mess and hadn’t thought to fucking clean it up and annoyed at the red head for using said mess to insinuate some non-existent bullshit. Or maybe not-so non-existent…

Shitty Hair finally rounded the corner and Katsuki looked over the back of the couch at the sound of his footsteps to see a toothy grin being flashed at him. Katsuki resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his friends unbridled excitement.

“So you would say she’s made herself at home?” He prodded suggestively as he vaulted over the back of Katsuki’s couch feet first, chop sticks and takeout in hand. The movement made the frame of the couch pull backwards and the front feet of the couch lifted off the ground before slamming backdown as the huge man landed, ass first, on the seat of the couch. Katsuki’s very expensive, not Red Riot proof couch.

“Oi! Fucking watch it you Human Wrecking Ball!” Katsuki barked out, watching the frame groan from the force of Shitty Hair’s rough landing on the cushions. Katsuki grabbed one of the takeout containers from Kiri’s hands.

“I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.” Kiri said from his newly established spot next to Katsuki, wiping away a fake tear in jest, “But don’t change the topic.”

“I know what you’re fucking trynna do and I am not going to talk about Ochako with you.” Katsuki said stubbornly, he had enough to work through on his own and didn’t need the idiot filling his head with romantic nonsense notions.

“Oh so I guess you don’t want to know what Mina told me then...” Shitty Hair said, his shark-tooth grin widened knowingly as Katsuki’s gaze snapped to his.

“Because Mina, the love of my life, most fashion forward hero of the decade, melt your heart acid-slasher-“

“Kiri get to the fucking point.” Katsuki clipped, not wanting to hear the extended title Rock-for-Brains had bequeathed to the pink-skinned pain in the ass.

“Oh so you do want to know?” A single red eyebrow raised in mockery.

Katsuki sighed and pinched his nose. He could give in and save himself a lot of time or he could hold out and save his pride. He not-so-subtly looked up to the large mirror-backed clock hanging on his wall. It was already 8:30pm, time saving it was.

“Fine. “ Katsuki bit out, glaring, “What did Pinky say?”

Kirishima took a deep breath and Katsuki braced himself for the deluge of information immanent.

“Well! This afternoon Mina and I went out for lunch after the meeting, which by the way we have to talk about whatever the heck was going on between you two during that, and she was saying that the girls had cornered Ochako about the Bond. And Mina said that Ochako was very much so hinting at a distinct, oh what did Mina say- quote an ‘undeniable attraction of a deeply sexual nature’ to you! And I was like 'Oh my god, that’s so funny because Katsuki has been in love with her for like 7 years!' And Mina-“

“Yeah I know.” Katsuki said with a huff, watching with satisfaction as Rock for Brains reeled back in surprise.

“…wait what do you mean ‘you know’?” Kiri asked, his face screwed up in confusion.

“I know Cheeks has got the hots for me, I heard her thoughts about it today.” Katsuki admitted begrudgingly, adverting his eyes.

“DUDE!” Kirishima shouted, “This is so great you guys are gonna have the cutest babies!”

Katsuki reached out and set off and explosion in the red-head’s stupidly excited face to remind him that he was getting way ahead of the situation. Kirishima, having been Katsuki’s friend for plenty of years to be able to read Katsuki’s body language, hardened his face at the last second, effectively protecting himself from the explosion.

“Yeah but she lied about it.” Katsuki countered, folding his hands over his chest.

“What do you mean she lied?” the grin melted off Kirishima’s face along with his hardening.

“She kept insisting we should just forget about it, like it never happened… so I asked her point blank if she wanted to put this all behind us and she said ‘yes’, but I could tell she was fucking lying.” Katsuki explained in a huff of annoyance.

“…And you know this because-“

“The Bond, it-“ Katsuki paused, trying to find the right work, “sours when one of us lies. Ochako describes it as the Bond clanging in a minor chord, though it feel more like a mouth full of lemons to me.”

“Oh.” Kiri’s face fell, “so she’s scared.”

Katsuki narrowed his eyes in confusion, scared? No, she was trying to forget whatever it was that was happening. What had she said, ‘A side effect?’ or whatever. She didn’t think her feelings were real, she believed them to be part of the Bond. Katsuki would be inclined to believe her reasoning if he didn’t already know that it wasn’t the case. He felt the exactly same about her he always had. Stupidly infatuated. If anything, the Bond made his infatuation take a back seat as he moderated his emotional response to her in an effort to keep his feelings secret. This wasn’t a side effect, whatever she was feeling was real. He was certain of it. But he couldn’t exactly go telling her that.

“What do you mean scared?” Katsuki questioned sharply.

Kirishima blinked innocently at the blonde, cocking his head. Katsuki hated when he felt like Kirishima knew something he didn’t, it was insulting.

“Dude, she’s scared that she’s the only one with feelings. Isn’t it obvious?” Shitty Hair stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“How do you fucking figure?” Katsuki challenged, “because to me it sounds like she is attracted to me against her better instincts and wants to forget the whole thing.”

Kirishima shook his head giving Katsuki a look that read’ Are you really this fucking dumb?’. Katsuki resented the implication and bared his teeth.

“Bro, you are the smartest dumb person I’ve ever met.” Kirishima said with a chuckle, “Look, you are not the easiest person to read and you actively push people away. Given all of that and the fact that her only experience is Izuku, the literal definition of affectionate, she’s probably feeling pretty insecure in her feelings.”

Katsuki blinked, his gaze shifting to his lap, processing. He had a point…. Of course it came down to Deku fucking everything up. Katsuki almost rolled his eyes at the thought. Before he put it aside and thought about what Kirishima was actually trying to say, that the problem was Katsuki’s attitude. Like he hadn’t fucking heard that before. He battled with his instincts, one half of him stating it was too dangerous to lean into his discomfort and admit his feelings, the other elated at the possibility that opening up to her would give her the confidence to act on her feelings… for her to care .

“Katsuki,” His eyes snapped up as Kirishima grasped his forearm, “You gotta be vulnerable with her, that’s the only way this will work out.”

Katsuki yanked his arm back, scoffing. He couldn’t do that, was Shitty Hair really that dumb? After how much the world had fucked him, opening up to Ochako was just asking to get his heart crushed. And his track record with sharing his feelings was not promising…

“Fuck off.” Katsuki said, shoving the Red-Head weekly, “No way, you know how that shit ends for me.”

“What, with a life -long friendship repaired and the most successful agency in Tokyo?” Kirishima deadpanned, eluding to how Katsuki had bared his goddamn soul to Deku their third year, “Or were you talking about the elite one-on-one training from one of our former teachers and the world’s best tactician?”

Katsuki glared as Kirishima mentioned Aizawa (on top of mentioning Deku for fucks sake), unamused by him sarcasm. Then he took a bite of his food, chewing thoughtfully.

“Look,” Kirishima implored and Katsuki met his gaze to find a look of deep sincerity, one that Kirishima reserved for when he was being serious, “Just tell her how you feel. Trust me.”

Katsuki swallowed his food, wincing slightly at the loud sound it made in the relative silence of his apartment.

“I will fucking think about it, okay?” He finally replied and was happy to see Kirishima nod firmly, “Now get the fuck off my back about it, yeah?”

“Whatever man.” The toothy grin returned, “Hey did you see the news article about All Might’s greatest rescues?”

Katsuki aggressively shoveled food into his mouth, “Fuckin’ ‘corse I ‘id” He responded with his mouth full. After which the conversation shifted to the importance of being dual focus in the modern hero workforce, something Katsuki was thankful for. He’d had enough hours of thinking about Angel Face for the night.

Kirishima stayed later than Katsuki would have liked, finally allowing Katsuki to kick him out at 10pm. Katsuki drug his feet as he slumped down the hall. He shut his door and started shedding clothes, throwing them on the floor in a dramatic show, before going back and picking them up to throw them into his laundry basket.

Despite the good conversation he and Shitty Hair had, his mind had been swirling around Kirishima’s instance that Katsuki explain his feeling for the last several hours. He didn’t know what the fuck to do. A position he hated being in; he’d spent the entirety of his career making sure he was never unprepared. It fucking figured that his neglect of his personal life would bite him in the ass one day.

He eventually calmed his swirling thoughts however, and fell asleep.




Katsuki blinked the sun out of his eyes, squinting in the bright sunlight. As his sight adjusted, he glanced around, finding himself in the middle of a field of blooming sunflowers. The stalks ended just below his chin in admittedly beautiful blooms of golden yellow petals and dark black centers. He looked around, surprised to find that he could not see the end of the field any direction, it seemed to go on forever underneath a cloudless blue sky. A gentle warm breeze carried the scent of summer and imminent rain as it brushed across his face.

“Katsuki?”

He whipped around to find a Ochako clad in a billowing white sundress with a wide brimmed red sun hat strolling down the trough of dirt between rows of plants towards him, the top of her head just obscured by the height of the sunflowers around her. Katsuki sighed, closing his eyes, realizing exactly what was going on.

“This is your dream isn’t it?” He asked opening his eyes to see her looking at him cautiously.

“I suppose so…” She affirmed giving a tentative glance around and he considered the fact that she couldn’t see over the stalks, probably having no idea how far her sunflower field went. It was a shame.

Katsuki watched her looking down at the rich brown soil as she drew random lines with the toe of her pink sandals, and he awkwardly shoved his hands in his pockets, noticing for the first time that he was wearing a worn holy pair of faded jeans and a white top, of all things.

“Tch.” He rolled his eyes in irritation. Ochako’s gaze snapped to his at the noise questioningly. Katsuki cleared his throat awkwardly.

“You would put me in a fucking white shirt with jeans like some sort of K-Pop nutjob.” He clarified, gesturing towards his outfit. Katsuki noted that the words seemed to roll off his tongue before he’d had an opportunity to think them, he had no filter here. No control. Shit.

Ochako cracked a smile before gesturing to herself, “We match.”

Katsuki took in her lacy white cotton dress and wide brimmed sun hat and had to agree. He nodded, looking away awkwardly. Fuck she was cute.

“But I didn’t do it.” She said hesitantly, an inquisitive finger going to her lip, and Katsuki had to drag his eyes away from the sight, “At least, I didn’t do it on purpose… it just sort of happened…”

Katsuki nodded, so she didn’t have any control either. His brain immediately flashed to her controlled lying this afternoon and wondered what her response to his question would be here. He eyed her and watched as she met his gaze, pupils dilating slightly before a lovely pink blush bloomed on her cheeks and she looked away. They stood in silence once again.

Fuck this was awkward. Having had enough of this disaster of a confrontation, he spun on his heals and started walking along the row of sunflowers.

“Katsuki!” Ochako’s surprised voice chirped behind him before he heard her footfalls following him, “Where are you going?”

Katsuki shrugged, head glancing around, sight skimming the top of the stalks. He heard Ochako huff, annoyed, and he cracked a smile. He loved it when he could rile her up. It was almost worth it to spin around to get a glimpse of the pouting face she made when annoyed with him, but he’d already tested fate enough today. No reason to torture himself with the image of her plump lips pushing against each other in that tantalizing way they did when she pouted at his ribbing.

“Can you see where it goes?” She changed tactics asking a more specific question. He once again pondered the fact she was too short to see over the stalks. Sucks to suck.

“It looks like it goes forever…” He pondered automatically, gaze following the lightly swaying spots of yellow surrounding them, “Like it’s never ending…”

“I wish I wasn’t so fucking short.” Ochako’s voice whined behind him and he cackled at her choice of words, swinging to look back at her just in time to see a delightful blush spread across her perfect round cheeks in her embarrassment. Her saying ‘Fuck” did something to him.

“Watch your fucking language.” He quipped in mock irritation over his shoulder, “wouldn’t want me to rub off to you.”

Ochako’s mouth opened in shock and he froze at his Freudian slip, meeting her wide brown eyes with his own surprised gaze, before he whipped his head around. Fuck if he would let her see the blush spreading up his cheeks.

“err, Rub off on you I mean.” He corrected into the silence, feeling the embarrassment and shame rolling off him. To his chagrin, Ochako started giggling, the tinkling sounds of her mirth quickly progressing to all-out guffaws of laughter over the next seconds. Katsuki whipped around in irritation at her laughing at him to find her bent over, hands on her knees for support. She wheezed, waving one of her hands in his direction as she attempted (and failed) to regain her breath.

Katsuki harrumphed and crossed his arms, averting his eyes form her laughing fit, cheeks burning still. Fuck him. Ochako continued to laugh for several breaths before she seemed to recover, wiping tears from her eyes in mirth. As their eyes met, his heart stopped at the glow Ochako radiated: pure happiness. His heart stuttered at the look and he mentally kicked himself. Fuck he was dumb.

“Sorry, I guess it just hit my funny bone. I needed some tension relief I guess.” Ochako explained, giving him a smile that felt so special, so intimate he could feel the air leave his lungs against his will. Fuck.

He cleared his throat again, attempting to put a scowl on his face, but knew that he failed as the corners of his mouth twitched with the threat to burst into a grin. Ochako gave him a knowing smirk and he ‘tch’ed, turning away from her again. He started walking forward again, ignoring her snort of amusement. He heard the slapping of her sandals against the dirt pick up again behind him.

They walked in contented silence for several minutes and Katsuki suddenly noticed a large storm cloud forming in the distance, the large white clouds billowing into a huge column several miles high. His nose started picking up the smell of rain on the horizon, the air held an electric energy around them. This was a strange dream.

“Why do you think we’re here?” Ochako asked, as if she was on the same train of thought he was. Katsuki shrugged. Fuck if he knew, this was her dream after all.

“I mean why the heck are we dreaming together again?” Ochako explained, “We didn’t have dreams together before, and now we have two in a row? It’s just kinda weird”

Katsuki’s thoughts were brought back to last week, when they’d both been woken up in a cold sweat from one of his nightmares. A crack of lightning flashed through the storm ahead of them, which was quickly darkening. After a few second thunder rolled across the fields ominously.

“Fuck if I know, but it’s super inconvenient.” Katsuki grumbled annoyed, “Yesterday morning I woke feeling like I hadn’t slept at all because I’d been lucid dreaming all night. I’m gonna be pissed if I wake up feeling like shit again.”

He heard Ochako sigh behind him and Katsuki felt the increased pressure he’d come to associate with Ochako’s brain going into overdrive. Katsuki stopped and turned to look at her again.

“What is it?” He demanded roughly, then softened at her reflexively hurt expression, “I can feel you thinking about something.”

“I don’t know if I should say…” She hesitated, glancing nervously at him. He watched her eyes flick behind his shoulder towards where the thunderstorm was intensifying.

“Whatever.” He drawled, holding her tentative gaze. She pressed her lips together before opening her mouth. Nothing came out and she closed it again. Katsuki spun on his heals again to resume their pace but faltered when he saw the thunderstorm.

Somehow in the last few minutes the storm had grown exponentially, dark black and green-tinged clouds swirling ominously as rain poured out the bottom onto the fields below. A bolt of lightning splintered across the sky followed by an immediate deafening BOOOM! Ochako launched herself towards him, wrapping her arms around his right arm and he heard her yelp echoing in his mind-space, realizing after a second that he couldn’t have hear her audible through the din. He glanced down to see her eyes wide with fear at the looming storm. They had no-where to go, they were in the middle of fucking open field. Shit.

Katsuki’s eyes widened as the wind from the storm started to whip around them, and he saw Ochako’s hair flying around wildly. What the fuck kind of dream was this?!

The storm was upon them in a surreally short amount of time, reminding Katsuki that this was a dream and wasn’t real. The realization didn’t stave off the clenching of his gut as his mind fought to figure out a way to get out of the dream. He glanced down at Ochako to see her head swinging around, also looking for an exit.

“HOW DO WE GET OUT?!” her voice yelled over the din of the storm and Katsuki grit his teeth in answer. He had no fucking idea. Last time Ochako had flung herself off a fucking building to wake herself up. There was nothing to fall off of here. They were stuck in an endless field of sunflowers.


**********************************
Lighting flashed, whiting out Katsuki’s vision and in the patterns of negative color left on his vision Katsuki saw the form of All For One striding towards him. His stomach dropped, memories upon memories of experiences with the villain flashing across his mind. With each memory the storm got louder, the wind stronger and the lighting brighter. Ochako’s grip on his arm tightened, though Katsuki barely noticed it as the image of All for One moved incrementally closer with each flash.

Ochako was yelling something at him, tugging on his arm, but Katsuki’s ears were ringing and his eyes were locked in a staring contest with the scarred eye sockets of All for One. Coming towards them. For him.

Suddenly Ochako’s grip on his arm disappeared and Katsuki’s head whipped around to find the woman gone. Fuck. He was all alone. Just as he’d been that night…

The next flash of lightning blinded him, the visage of All for One mere inches from Katsuki’s own face, the scared and featureless patchwork of a face somehow forming into an ominous smirk. Katsuki’s stomach dropped and his brain flipped into fight or flight mode. He felt his heart rate increase and blood pounded behind his ears. What was he going to do? What could he do? How did he avoid this?

When the spots from the last lighting clash cleared, Katsuki blinked found himself in a dark damp room. The sound of a pipe dripping onto concrete filled the silence left behind as the thunderstorm disappeared completely, absorbed into the horrors of the room he was now in.

Drip.

Looking down Katsuki found himself bound to a hard metal chair, the edges of heavy-duty quirk suppression cuffs biting into his wrists painfully. He knew this place.

Fuckfuckfuckfuck.

“Mmmmph” He voiced, realizing quickly that he was gagged with some sort of cotton, fibers coating his tongue. Katsuki felt his breathing rate increase in panic, his body flushing with adrenaline. How did he get back here?! Why was he back here?! Fuck.

Drip.

The sound of a door scraping on the concrete floor sounded behind him and Katsuki’s eyes widened. Not again. He couldn’t fucking go through this again. He would break.

The sound of stiff dress shoes clicking against the solid floor echoes in the room, each sounding like a gunshot in the suffocating silence.

Drip.

“Mr. Bakugou.” A deep smooth voice sounded behind him and Katsuki turned his head trying to get a view of the respirator-bound mad man he knew to be behind him. A harsh mechanical inhale punctuated the image of the villain in Katsuki’s mind.

“Tomura informs me that you have decided not to join our ranks…. Yet again.” The voice of All for One reverberated around the room, suffocating any hope Katsuki had of getting out in an oppressive velvet sound. Katsuki began to struggle against his bonds desperately. Not again. Please. Not again.

Drip.

“Well you know what they say,” The villains voice took on a lighter, almost ironic tone, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” A dark chuckle.

Katsuki could feel the cold sweat dripping down the back of his neck, his body reacting to the stress. Then the sensation of nausea hit him like a wrecking ball, and he gagged with the sensation, bile rising up his throat with nowhere to go thanks to the gag. He choked the vomit back down panicked.

Drip.

“No matter. If you are not going to willingly give yourself to the cause…” Katsuki’s breath hitched in his lungs as All for One walked into his field of vision. Katsuki’s wide eyes zipped around the villain’s scarred and sunken face, noting the sickening way his skin pulled over his empty eye sockets.

Drip.

“The only thing left to determine is where that pesky Izuku Midoryia is.” All for One’s tone clearly indicated that it was a demand for information. Katsuki’s mind worked in overdrive as he considered his options, a clarity that only panic brought him crystalizing his thoughts. He could tell All for One where Deku was and get his quirk fucking drained and his body Nomu-fied or he could hold out the information and hope All for One kept him breathing long enough for the little shit to show up. Not really great choices.

Katsuki made up his mind, resigning for the pain he knew was coming and glared viciously at the skeletal fuck face. He hoped that All for One’s goddamn mind reading quirk was still working for the asshole, because he had some choice words to impart into the motherfucker’s brain.

Drip

All for One chuckled darkly, “My what a mouth you have on you.”

Katsuki’s eyes widened as red finger-like projections erupted out of All for One’s fingers, his body jerking to move out of the way reactively, only to be held in place by the restraints. The ten blade-like projections punctured Katsuki’s chest and a scream ripped from his throat, muffled as it was absorbed by the gag.

It was agony, feeling the projections branch off into his tissues as they entered his body cavity. Splintering into smaller and smaller pieces as All for One infiltrated his body. Katsuki’s vision whited out briefly with the sheer intensity of the pain.

Drip

“Blood based Memories and Mind Reading buffed to three times” Katsuki barely registered the words as the feeling of All for Ones ground-glass textured mind raking aggressively across his own, filling his entire awareness with the sensation of his consciousness being ripped apart. He screamed again before it was choked off by the feeling of All For One forcibly dragging his memories up one by one for review. He ceased to exist as a being, he was only a collection of agony.

Katsuki

Katsuki’s brain stirred as the voice ran across his awareness, soothing the intense pain away. He regained a piece of himself with the voice. Ochako…

Drip

Ochako? Help…please- I can’t I can’t I can’t

His mind rambled off into oblivion as it was dragged back into the fucking concrete room.

All For One’s face was leaning towards him and Katsuki was sucked back into the whorlpool of pain that was this encounter, he brain forgetting Ochako had been there at all. A blip of serenity in an eternity of agony.

“Don’t be so stupid to think you can escape me so easily” All for One’s voice lanced across his ears and he felt his claws dig in deeper.

Drip

Katsuki wake up! This isn’t real!

Katsuki’s awareness once again shifted to the voice of Ochako. Not real? Oh right, this was a nightmare, reliving his worst memories. It wasn’t real. It wasn’t-

Another twist of All for One’s hand. Katuski’s brain was on fire. Please god, just let it stop.

Drip


*******************************
“KATSUKI!”

Katsuki bolted up in bed heaving breaths, sparks flying from his palms as he looked around in panic. His heart hammered in his chest and he wheezed out an agonized breath. He realized his lung were clear, no claws in his chest. No knives in his head.

“Oh, thank god!” Ochako said as she flung herself at him, “I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to wake you up!”

Katsuki looked around confused, explosions dying in his palms. He was in bed, at home. Safe. All for One was dead. He still had his quirk. Fuck. It wasn’t real. It was all in the past.

Ochako was currently wrapped around his torso, half in his lap. Her shoulders shook with quiet sobs and she gave him a quick squeeze. Katsuki’s pulse was still pounding in his ears as he wrapped his arms around her, reflexively rubbing circles on her back. Wait what is she doing here? Wasn’t she supposed to be somewhere else? Right, at Mina and Kirishima’s place. How was she here?

“What are you doing here?” Katsuki voiced, confused as his brain oriented itself more fully. Fuck that had been a bad one. He hadn’t had one that horrific in a long time. Ochako’s hold around his ribcage tightened briefly. He couldn’t even start to think about separating their layers out.

“I came over after I woke up and couldn’t get through to you.” Ochako said pulling back from him, “You were screaming through the Bond. It was… it was horrible.”

As she finished speaking, barely whispering out the last bit, he met her gaze and The Jolt electrified his nerves. It rocked down his spine, forcing him to shudder and his breath to leave him. His head bent forward with the convulsion, his forehead connecting with the delicate curve of her shoulder in a not-so-gentle way and he felt her fingers dig into his the bare flesh of his back. His mind was flung into hers and he could feel her terror and fear for him. A residual throbbing lasted in his extremities after it finally ended and Katsuki sucked in a deep breath.

“I was so worried” She huffed out with some effort, speaking what was on both of their minds. He began separating his mind from where it had intermingled with hers. He then noticed that she was still sitting half in his lap, arms still loosely wrapped around his chest. He liked it more than he should admit. He cleared his throat and disentangled their limbs as she retracted her arms from her impromptu and gripping hug.

“Ugh.” He grumbled, trying to shake the residual adrenaline from his system, “Fuck. I’m sorry Ochako. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a night terror that shitty.”

Ochako was looking at him with a critical gaze and Katsuki got the distinct impression that she could read the underlying message: you shouldn’t have seen that.

“…Katsuki”, Ochako started, her voice pained, and he tried not to think about the fact that her knees were still brushing his thigh, “How long have these been going on?”

Katsuki shrugged. She already knew the answer to that. She’d see what the room was, she knew the date that his imprisonment with All for One had happened at the end of third year. He sighed and ran a clammy palm down his face, trying to ignore the fact that it was shaking. Fucking adrenaline. Ochako remained silent and Katsuki felt disgusted at the pity for him he saw shinning in her eyes.

Well he was gonna be up for the rest of the morning now, might as well get the fuck out of bed. It was drenched in his sweat anyway. He moved to pull the covers back. A run would do him a lot of good right now. He felt surprise waver across the Bond as Ochako shifted on his bed.

“What are you doing?” She asked hesitantly as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and rested his head in his hands. He could swear he could still hear that goddamn pipe dripping, though he knew it was just his mind falling into the echoes of a time past.

“I’m not going to be able to go back to sleep,” He explained straightening up and glancing back over his shoulder, “I’m too fucking keyed up.”

He felt Ochako press against his mind and felt her heart start racing, matching his pace once she’d gotten a taste of the liquid fire running through his veins. He heard her suck in a startled breath and felt his stomach twist painfully. Or maybe her stomach. Fucking whatever.

“Oh! I see...” She said, retreating from the side of his mind to their usual distance once more. He felt her mind hesitate and watched her open her mouth. Nothing ended up coming out, Katsuki sighed and gave her an inpatient look over his shoulder.

She sighed, scooting closer to him and Katsuki jumped she touched his shoulder.

“Here, lay down.” She directed tugging on his shoulder gently and Katsuki narrowed his eyes, abdominals flexing in resistance as she tried to tip him backwards back onto the bed.

“Why?” He asked confused.

“I’m gonna help you relax again. Now lay back.” She demanded stubbornly. Maybe it was the fact that the lights were still off, or just that Katsuki’s mind was fucking out of resistance or will-power, but he gave in and fell backwards slowly, landing with his head in her lap. His eyes narrowed in suspicion as he gazed up at her, before he felt her fingers start running through his hair and his protests faded with the pleasant feeling.

“My mom used to run her fingers through my hair after a nightmare until I fell asleep again” Ochako explained softly, words falling around them delicately. Her fingers ran lightly through his hair in calming strokes, and Katsuki felt her mind side up next to his, pushing calming emotions through his layers.

With each stroke Katsuki felt the tension leave his body and his heartrate slow. The Bond glowed warmly and he noted how meshed the layers of their minds were becoming, both content and relaxed. It was as if their thoughts were lazily floating together in parallel drifting streams of satisfaction, and Katsuki felt a sense of togetherness he hadn’t ever felt before. It was addictingly pleasant.

“mmmm” Katsuki hummed, focused on the feeling of her fingers lightly scraping his scalp. The Bond was positively humming with contentment and Katsuki wondered at why he’d never asked her to do this before. This felt amazing.

“Yeah” Ochako breathed softly, and Katsuki knew she was agreeing with his thoughts. They were so intertwined mentally it was impossible to find where her mind ended or started. It was just there, permeating all of his layers in a way so natural that it made Katsuki wonder if this was how it was supposed to be. Katsuki found himself drifting in the place between wakefulness and sleep. He felt safe and comfortable. He felt like everything was right with the world.

At some point Ochako shifted his head, stirring him from his half-asleep state briefly and he felt her lie down next to him. She fussed around for a few seconds before her fingers resumed their caresses delicately. His brain seemed to resonate with a feeling of rightness at the action and he drifted to sleep again.




Katsuki woke, for the second time that morning with his mind wrapped around Ochako’s, something he was expecting at this point. What he wasn’t expecting was for his body to also be wrapped around hers. His eyes flew open at the feeling, immediately recognizing the feeling of another person sleeping on his bare chest.

A quick glance confirmed it was Ochako, her breathing even and deep against the arm he had warped around her, keeping her on him. The Bond hummed with the same contented glow it had last night and Katsuki was so relaxed he found it hard to even consider moving his muscles. Shit what had he gotten himself into?

Katsuki sighed, mostly in annoyance of how much fucking harder it was going to be to let his infatuation with Ochako go now that he knew what this felt like. Fuck.

He took a deep breath, mentally preparing to separate himself from her and ruin the quasi-euphoric feeling the Bond was bombarding him with.

“Fuuuuuck” he groaned in dissatisfaction as he moved her off of him begrudgingly. The Bond faded back to normal as he slid her onto his bed (don’t think about it. Fuckin’ do not think about it) and sat up. He glanced down to see her slumbering away happily. He cracked a malicious grin at the drool that was starting to drip from her mouth. She looked ridiculous. He never wanted to stop looking at her. Shit.

He snapped his gaze away, determining that looking at her was bad for his whole ‘give her space to figure her shit out’ plan. And with that he got out of bed and left his room, closing the door behind him to make sure the light from the rest of the apartment didn’t wake her up. The sun was just cresting the horizon, as it always was when he woke, and he knew she wouldn’t want to be up until the last possible second.

He walked down the hall and started the coffee maker, setting out her disgusting liquid cancer of a creamer and sugar before he turned and heading towards the shower. It seemed his dick had caught up to his brain and realized that Ochako fucking Uraraka had been sleeping with him in his bed and he needed to deal with that issue PRONTO, before she woke up and inevitably brushed against his mind. He did not want her to be scared off by his baser instincts.

He tried to not think about her when he was stroking his cock under the hot spray, he really did, but he could still feel her heartrate beating steadily in his chest and he could still feel her toned thigh resting across his waist. At least he managed to keep his mind walled off as he came, palm resting against the cool tile, his head tilted back with her name on his lips, something he’d been practicing for weeks at this point. He contemplated whether he should be proud that he could keep his mental shield up while coming or disgusted as he let his head fall towards his chest. His chin rested on his chest for only a moment before his head whipped up at the sound of the bathroom door opening.

“Katsuki” Ochako mumbled in her distinctive morning croak. Fuck! When had she woken up?!

“Ochako, what the fuck?!” Katsuki yelled across the frosted glass of the shower door. What the hell did she think she was doing barging in the bathroom while he was jacking off to- er, showering, while he was showering.

“Aizawa called, the villains are attacking. Get out and let’s go.” She said solemnly and he heard her shut the door firmly behind her.

Fuck.

He and Cheeks dashed around his apartment yelling at each other from across the space separating them in an attempt to communicate. He realized that having to yell at the top of their lungs at each other was ridiculous seeing as they could literally communicate telepathically, before he realized he still had his walls up. The fact she had barged into the bathroom made a lot more sense now, fucking duh. She hadn’t been able to reach him through The Link.

He promptly lowered his mental shields, something that she embraced readily, siding up to him and giving him a mental head-to-toe check in a frenzied manner. After she seemed satisfied that he wasn’t about to self-destruct or some shit she backed off a bit, but not before she gave him a mental caress unconsciously, followed immediately by a flair of embarrassment.

He was ready to go in record time and she was waiting for him, clad in her hero suit, at the door not even five minutes after she had barged into the bathroom. She looked at him expectantly, sleep still hazing her eyes slightly and Katsuki cursed her stupid caffeine addiction, this right here was the whole fucking reason he never got addicted to the shit in the first place. Growling at the dead look in her eyes he shoved a bunch of nervous excitement at her, hoping that the emotional wave would wake her up. He watched with a grin as her spine snapped upright and her eye widened, clearing with the eclectic mood he flooded her senses with.

What the hell Katsuki.

No time for coffee and I can’t have you fucking falling asleep on me.

Ochako paused contemplatively, then nodded in understanding, turned and walked out his door. She started heading towards the elevator but Katsuki shook his head, sending her an impression of their Rocketship method of travel insistently.

“We should have been there five minutes ago, we got no time to waste.” He said and she pivoted and started walking towards the stairs that lead to the roof, nodding quickly in affirmation. They bounded up the stairs and Katsuki felt the familiar build of excitement and focus between them as they mentally prepared for battle.

He unlocked the roof access door, reaching around where Ochako was standing waiting. She opened the door and took off running for the edge sending him an impression of him following her lead and meeting her in the air. He grinned toothily in excitement and broke into a run after her, watching as she gracefully launched herself off the edge of his apartment building, activating her quirk on herself just in time to send her flying up and out with the momentum of her jump. His brain did some lightning fast calculations as he predicted her trajectory and he blasted himself towards her.

Ochako He called out through the Link to give her a heads up that he was about to make impact with her and she turned to look at him as he loosed a series of explosions to propel himself. He felt her press closer to his mind and he did the same as they both focused on the other’s intents and movements, syncing their thoughts somewhat to be able to coordinate their movements.

She did some sort of weird twisting flippy thing as she floated in the air, the movement serving to bring her legs above her head so she was hanging upside down, drifting slowly upwards. She reached her hand out just as he got in range and he felt her hand grasp his shoulder tightly. His gravity evaporated and she swung herself around his shoulder in an arch, wrapping her legs around his waist in a piggyback with the grace of an acrobatic gymnast. Katsuki marveled at the smoothness of the entire maneuver, though having a fucking mental Link probably made shit like this easier to coordinate.

Let’s go

With her affirmation that she was locked and loaded, he blasted them across the skyline. Admittedly he was pushing her ‘not-faster-than-90-miles-an-hour’ rule, but if she noticed she didn’t mention it. Her mind was laser focused on the attack and getting there as soon as possible.

He wasn’t entirely sure that he knew where the school was, some place in district 6, but turned out he didn’t need to know because a billowing thick black smokestack pinpointed the location well enough. He growled at the sight, there had to be an absolutely massive fire creating the column of smoke and he knew that it wouldn’t be the villain’s property burning.

His comms came alive with the chatter of the heroes already on the scene when they got within two miles of the scene.

“There’s too many of them, where is the backup?!” Todoroki’s voice called across the line.

“We’re almost there Shotou, hang tight!” Ochako’s voice called across the channel in response, “How many are we talking?”

Katsuki grit his teeth and loosed two big explosions, propelling them towards the battle at an INSANE speed. He felt Cheeks tighten her grip around his torso, he would probably have bruises tomorrow. Still, she remained silent about the reckless speed they were approaching the location with.

“I’ve seen the Strong Quirk, Teleport Quirk and Kanayami-“ Icy Hot’s voice called across the channel before being cut off abruptly. Katsuki narrowed his eyes as he watched a glacier erupt over one half of the school. Great, Icy Hot was already relying on brute strength. Not a great sign.

They were rocketing toward the ground and he felt his muscles tighten with Ochako’s anxiety about the landing. He could already see that the fight was inside the building, Icehot’s ice having shattered the west wall of the school building. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about frying anyone with the ridiculous amount of fire power he was going to have to launch to slow them down.

“Impact coming, all units brace!” Ochako called across the comms, apparently coming to the same conclusion as him that the amount of force they would have to generate to come to a stop was going to cause some damage and literally fucking rock the ground.

Chaks, our momentum!

He felt her fingers steeple against his sternum, and he felt their gravity return all at once as they started to arch towards the ground at an alarming rate. Then he felt her palm spread across his chest, fingers gripping ever so slightly as his stomach tried to exit his body via his toes indicating she was pulling at their masses to slow their momentum. He felt, more that heard her grunt of pain at the shear amount of deceleration she was pulling them with and they began to slow drastically, but not fast enough. Katsuki watched as the school yard flew towards them and moved his arms in front of him, bracing for impact. This was gonna hurt tomorrow.

The explosions he released were MASSIVE, even by his standards. Twin firestorms of epic proportion scorched the ground, heating the air all around them and melting a fucking swing set nearby. The kickback jerked his shoulders painfully and he felt Ochako scramble to stay on his back and not go flying. There was a second where they hung in the air as column of ash and embers rose around them, floating on the rising super-heated air before they started to fall back towards the ground.

Ochako recovered her grip on him and quickly slapped a palm to herself and to his chest activating her quirk to stop their fall. Thank fuck for her insane control over her quirk.

He heaved a breath, exhilarated and slightly terrified by the insanity that their quirks produced together. Ochako gradually released her quirk, allowing them to float back to the ground at a much more manageable speed before canceling it a foot or so off the blackened ground. A part of his brain grimaced at the collateral damage, knowing he was going to get chewed out for this by Frannie later.

Ochako dropped off of his back and he met her eyes briefly, seeing a hardened battle focus reflected back to him, before the both took off running toward the school.

“Someone tell us where the fuck we’re going!” Katsuki barked into the comms, not trusting himself to be able to navigate the school.

“Red Riot and I are in the northern side of the school!” Ponytail’s voice called.

“I’ve got the East side, Kacchan!” Deku’s voice grated across Katsuki’s com.

“South side is being used for evac” Tsu croaked and Katsuki could hear Pinky’s high pitched voice shouting orders in the background.

“If you can’t figure out where I am, I can’t help you.” Icy Hot quipped and Katsuki rolled his eyes, Half and Half was such a drama king, how no one else saw that befuddled Katsuki regularly.

Ochako reach the entrance to the building and straight up kicked the doors inward, hardly pausing before rushing in. Fuck she was hot.

Let’s go back up Shotou, he seemed stressed

She took a sharp left turn, heading westward towards where the ice mound had been conjured. Katsuki rolled his eyes at her assessment, the last thing Todoroki would want was help from Bakugou. The dude usually had it handled, but he could see (literally thanks to the Bond) Ochako’s logic that Deku could hold his own and Ponytail and Shitty Hair had each other while The Half and Half Bastard was all alone, so he followed her lead.

The only thing he sounded like was a pain in my ass

“Katsuki!” She barked in annoyance sending him the impression of ‘focus’. He grumbled as they wound their way through the halls of the school. His head was whipping around keeping an eye out for any villains, luckily it looked as though the students had evacuated.

Suddenly, he felt Ochako’s thoughts shutter to a halt and she tripped on one of her feet as shock wracked through the Bond. She stumbled to a halt eyes glues to something inside a classroom on their left. Katsuki followed her gaze as she recovered her footing, peering through the window of a classroom.

It was a fucking bloodbath. His stomach heaved at the sight of several bodies clad in school uniforms sitting in pools of their own blood. He shuddered, and shook his head forcing his brain to move past it, box it up for review later. He had to focus. Ochako was staring, pale faced at the room full of dead children. He could feel her thoughts spiraling in shock and grief.

Ochako He reached out and grasped her shoulders firmly, forcibly turning her to look at him. Her wide eyes flittered over to meet his gaze.

Pull it together

He shoved his focus and resolve though the Bond at her and she swallowed, closed her eye and took several deep breaths through her nose. He pressed into her layers, watching as she pushed her horror and heartbreak away, focusing on the job ahead. She opened her eyes, staring into his own and nodded firmly.

I’m going to fucking kill them

Katsuki would have cracked a smile in any other situation, but this was so fucked up his face morphed into a grimace instead. Fucking right they were gonna kill them. He felt a flare of pride burn in his chest for her, she tilted her head furrowing his brows at him but he just waved off her mental questioning breaking into a jog down the hall again.

They took off once more. Within a few meters they started to hear the sound of the battle ahead. They rounded a corner and saw Todoroki down the length of the next hallway, if you could still call it that. Walls of the various classrooms had been knocked down and there was burning rubble strewn across the ground. Todoroki was holding off the strong villain Katsuki had completely forgotten about. Fucker must have been trying to recover from the first fight. He grinned when he noticed that the dude was missing a hand from where Deku had kicked it off a few weeks ago.

“Behind you!” Todoroki suddenly called and Katsuki spun on his heels, palms already heating up in expectation.

The creepy Finger kid was back at it, running towards Cheeks with a manic glint in his eyes. Katsuki’s eyes caught the flash of silver reflecting off of the knife clutched in his hand.

“Don’t even fucking think about it!” Katsuki called stepping between the psycho and Cheeks, letting an explosion fly in the guy’s face. The Kid reeled back with a screech and Katsuki got a solid nose full of the scent of burning flesh. Gross. Ochako nodded in thanks before she took off towards where Todoroki was trying to encapsulate the one handled Strength Quirk. Fucking Greasy-ass mother fucker didn’t stand a chance.

Take Kanayami out!

She instructed him and Katsuki ignored the flash of annoyance at being told what to do. He swung his gaze back toward Finger Kid, grinning maliciously. Kanayami was stumbling backwards, a nasty third-degree burn melting the skin on the left side of his face nicely.

“You made a bad choice today.” Katsuki said glaring with intent to kill, this kid was going to die today for his crimes “ Fucking coming after Uravity like that… I’m going to cremate you and then I’m going to vaporize your ashes”

Kanayami’s eye’s widened and his face paled. Katsuki watched as the fucker turned a fled back the way he and Cheeks had just come from. Fuck he hadn’t expected the asshole to run.

“Oi!” Katsuki barked out, taking off after the villain, “You fucking slimy coward!”

He regretted wearing his steel soled boots as he chased, the things made running about five fucking times more difficult due to the heavy amount of weight they added to each of his feet. He tensed as Finger Fuck pulled out a walkie talkie from his pocket and brought it up to his mouth. Katsuki only caught every few words, but he heard the word ‘evacuate’ and knew that teleporter bitch was gonna get here soon.

Katsuki fired off AP Autocannon shots attempting to catch the back of the villain as he ran away, but this guy was insanely agile, zipping and curving all over the hallway. The majority of Katsuki’s shot missed. Goddamn it. The fucker made a sharp left turn, heading toward where Katsuki knew Deku was.

“Herding a sheep towards you Deku.” Katsuki growled into his coms in a low voice, “Fucking clothesline this asshole.”

“Got it!” Deku chirped back just as the Finger Freak rounded another corner, his shoes slipping out from under him slightly as he took the corner too fast. Katsuki heard the crack of Kanayami’s skull connecting with Deku’s forearm and turned the corner to find Deku grinning at him, arm out with Finger Fuck on the ground passed out.

Katsuki grinned at Deku ferrally in return and Deku whipped back around just in time to dodge the stream of lava heading his way. Great, this guy was here too? A quick glance around as Katsuki knelt to cuff Kanaymi showed him that the teleporter witch was just behind Lava Leaker. Bingo. If they could take her out, they had the lot of them stuck without a way out.

Finger Freak is down. I’m staying here and take out their exit strategy

Once he was certain that the Finger Freak was adequately cuffed he jumped up launching into battle beside a green lightning clad Deku, who, Katsuki determined, was definitely was pulling punches. Probably to avoid collateral damage. He was such a kiss up.

Good, keep him down. Shotou has pushed the Strong Quirk outside, we’re still working to bring him down

They seemed to be on the same page as Deku, trying to prevent collateral damage by forcing this fight outside. Katsuki had to agree.

“We gotta take this outside.” Katsuki grumbled lowly to Deku as the two sides stared one another down in this hallway.

“The hallway ends just past them.” Deku whispered back, “Make me a door and I’ll force them out.”

Katsuki nodded, an eager grin spreading on his cheeks. Like the well-oiled team they had become, both he and Deku launched forward together, Deku streaking towards the teleporter in a bolt of green lightning and Katsuki blasting himself past the Magma maniac. Just for the hell of it, he flagged his left foot out, grinning at the fact he was wearing his steel boots rather than his combat boots, catching the Lavaleaker’s face in a brutal kick. Okay so he was 1:1 for Steel Soles being a good idea.

He heard Deku start to engage them both, and Katsuki knew he was attacking with the intent to keep the teleporter from being able to disappear. A task uniquely suited to Deku’s lightning quick speed.
Katsuki focused on blasting a hole through the wall of the school so they could take out this trash. He took a knee, planting his feet to give him leverage, aimed his gauntlet at the wall and took a breath, knowing that all the Oxygen in his immediate vicinity would soon be completely consumed by the explosion.

Then he pulled the pin.

An explosion ripped from the support weapon, incinerating the wall and anything behind it with the heat and intensity of the blast. Katsuki’s body recoiled backwards, skidding on the linoleum floor. He exhaled, eye squinting to see through the smoke to make sure he’d cleared the wall (you only make the mistake of running face first into a solid wall under the assumption you’d sufficiently blasted a hole once).

Not wasting a second of time when he’d confirmed the wall was down, he stood and pivoted back to Deku’s containment battle. They had the two villains flanked, Katsuki blocking a straight shot out of the building. He had to move out of the way so Deku could get them out of the fucking building. He growled, watching Deku bounce off the four walls in rapid succession, seeing that he left a very small window of space between his trajectories along the wall on Katsuki’s left. He bounded towards the opening between the streaks that were Deku’s jumps. Once he was back on the other side of the villains, who honestly looked like they were having a fucking riot of time trying to keep up with Deku’s speed, he raised both his palms towards them preparing to blast them outside in one go.

Deku beat him to it, of fucking course. Landing in a flash at Katsuki’s right, fingers posed for a flick.

“Smash!” Deku called like a fucking Pokémon as he released the flick. The air from the force of Deku’s quirk ripped through the hallway, effectively launching the two villains out of the gaping hole Katsuki had made.

“Deku, you asshole!” Katsuki yelled at the green haired man who had the gall, the fucking nerve to smirk at him before launching himself out the hole after the villains in a streak of green. Katsuki snarled in irritation and ran after him, boosting his speed with explosions.

Arriving outside the building, Katsuki watched the two villains attempting to right themselves from their spots on the pavement where Deku’s Smash had deposited them. The Teleporting bitch was bleeding from one of her ears. Serves her right.

“Time to get serious.” Katsuki rumbled, excitement spiking acutely at the thought of doing some of his more destructive techniques. He never got to use those anymore! No villain group had been deadly enough to warrant them….until now. He couldn’t stop the psychotic grin from spreading on his face.

The Lava Quirk was up at this point and positively erupting with molten hot magma that Deku and Katsuki dipped and dodged, Katsuki using precise blasts to break the jets apart before they could hit him. Who said you couldn’t fight fire with fire?

And then, just when Katsuki was really gearing up for a good explosion, fuck all happened because suddenly a giant fucking iceberg erupted around the Lava Villain and Teleporter. Katsuki whipped his head around in the direction where he knew he’d fine the Icy Hot bastard. And sure enough, there he was sliding towards them like he hadn’t just massively fucked up.

“You Half anf Half bastard!” Katsuki fumed, head whipping back to the iceberg, just able to make out the teleported distorted form disappearing from her ice cocoon.

FUCK!

“FUCK!” Katsuki yelled, gesturing toward the glacier, “You let the Teleport Quirk get away!”

Todoroki skid to a halt next to him and Deku zapped adjacent. Katsuki ran his hand through his hair angrily. At least the fucking Lava Quirk was trapped still, though he was making steady progress at melting down the ice.

“Ah.” Was all the asshole had to say for himself, as if he hadn’t just single handedly fucked Katsuki’s plan to take out their only chance of escape. Then Katsuki froze, realizing that The Half and Half asshat was alone.

“It’s okay Shouto, let’s cuff the Lava Quirk.” Deku was talking but Katsuki wasn’t listening, his head whipping around looking for a familiar pair of obscenely pink cheeks.

“Where the fuck is Round Face?!” He demanded reaching through the Bond at the same moment.

Where the hell are you?

“ Uravity went to back up Creati and Red Riot.” Icy Hot explained cooly with an frigid glare, as he started to strategically melt the ice over the Lava Villain.

Outside the north side, the Shield Quirk and two leaders are here.

Sounded like this Icy Hot- Deku-filled-hell-hole wasn’t even the main stage. Fuck this, he was out. Without a second’s thought he angled his palms down and blasted off, faintly hearing Deku’s surprised squeak. A sonic BOOM rocketed through the air away from him as he generated the force necessary to get his body air-born.

Okay so, clearly you are on you way

He could feel her amusement tinged with annoyance rock through him as she heard the sonic boom and realized it could only mean he was blasting himself to her. He smirked into the air as he released chains of explosions to keep his trajectory on course, avoiding the large billowing smoke of the fire somewhere inside the school.

Crap these guys just keep hiding behind the Shield Quirk, we can’t get a hit in!

His mind worked quickly, trying to solve the problem of a shield quirk, when an idea struck him like a battering ram. Oh HELL yes.

Get air born
uh, why?
You’re gonna turn me into a human nuclear warhead

The Bond flatlined for a beat as she processed what he said. He quickly followed up with the Impression of his plan. It was simple really, Howitzer AP Impact in Zero G for the maximum acceleration possible. If his calculation were right, no substance known to man should be able to withstand such force. Well maybe Deku, but Deku had a certain Ex Machina quality about him so Katsuki never counted him.

…Are you sure that’s a good id-
Trust me!

He felt her heart stutter in his chest and for a minute the Bond hummed euphorically as their minds aligned, thoughts running in tandem, unified by a singular intent. Then it faded as she refocused on the present and she sent and Impression of affirmation and moved to get herself up to his altitude. Just in time too, because he could see her floating upward with the momentum of her weightless jump. She twisted in the air, hovering upside down again as her head snapped to his location at the sound of a few more large explosions.

As they had earlier today, she held out a hand and he felt her side right next to his mind. He embraced the contact as they each read each other’s intent and coordinated the plan within the next few milliseconds. He grinned ferrally at her as he adjusted his course to better fit the trajectory changes she was thinking through in her mind. Fuck she had such an amazing understanding of how bodies moved in zero-gravity. The physics equations her brain did on autopilot were riveting to watch.

He reached where she was hanging in the in the air, going somewhere close to 40 miles an hour, and he grasped her forearm and felt her do the same on his own arm, both agreeing silently that hands would slip apart too easily. His gaze met hers as she activated her quirk on him immediately after full contact, slowing his momentum at the same time as she yanked him up and around, twisting herself in the process to ensure that she was the axis on which the both turned. He could feel her muscles straining to control and direct the speed he’d come at her with, but she successfully swung him 360 degrees and then some so that when she released his hand he was weightless and heading towards where, as he could now see, the Shield Villain was bracing against hits from Ponytails cannons and Hair for Brain’s fists.

He grinned, adrenaline pumping through his veins and he released the large directional explosions needed to whip up his tornado of fire, rocketing himself at speeds he’d never have been able to accomplice on his own towards the Shield Quirk.

“IMPACT!”, He could faintly hear Cheeks shouting into the comms, hopefully those idiots moved the fuck out of the way, because he was pretty sure he was capable of taking out an entire district of a city at this point. That’s how fucking much Cheeks buffed his quirk.

He made impact and reveled in the feeling of raw power that loosed from his palms directed at the barrier the Shield Quirk seemed to think would somehow protect the group of villains around her.

Fucking nope.

The shimmering force field shattered, bits of psychic energy blasted from the force. The white-hot explosion continued, blasting everything in its path like a fucking high-powered laser. Goddamn if it wasn’t a fucking sight to behold.

Katsuki heaved breaths, still weightless, as the smoke and debris started to settle from the explosion. His brain was on fire with the power trip he was on. Fucking HELL that was amazing.

“Release!” Katsuki turned his head to see Ochako fall gracefully to the ground and felt his own weight return.

“That was unbelievable…” She wondered in awe as she ran towards him. He grinned, buzzing with excitement and the feeling of their mind’s so intertwined. The Bond was doing that fucking Glowing thing again as their thought synced up, still working together to coordinate their movements. He flashed back to the way she’d fucking broken the laws of physics to preserve his movement and shoot him directly at their targets. God she was incredible.

She reached him at that point, rushing up in a flurry of excitement reaching out and wrapping her arms around his waist, a huge grin on her face. He instinictively wrapped his arms around her, yanking her closer to him. After a few seconds of contact she pulled back, looking into his face and Katsuki met her warm chocolate gaze.

Fuuuuuuck he was a goner. She was breathtaking, flushed with excitement, hair askew and what could only be described as bedroom eyes pinning him in place.

Their hearts both skipped a beat. And he felt his stomach drop, no her stomach drop. His eyes dropped to her lips on their own accord and he was suddenly very aware of how close they were, both physically and mentally across the Bond.

I want him to kiss me her

They both froze and stared at each other as the thought crossed both their minds at the same time, Bond still singing in a euphoric glow, as the smoke and embers from their insane quirk compatibility shifted in the wind on its way to the ground. Katsuki felt her hesitation, fear and insecurity and watched her thoughts start racing trying to interpret his thoughts and react correctly. She wasn’t sure of his feelings. She could be such an idiot.
Katsuki tried to reason his way through avoid it, but he couldn’t argue with the ultimate logic:

Fuck it.

“Fuck it” He growled and crashed his lips onto hers, hands dragging her closer again, reveling in the electric feeling of her body resting against his once again. The sensation of every inch of her skin that was in contact with his reminded him of the Jolt, magnetic and electrically charged, serving only to make him want to bring them closer still. Shiiiiiiiiiiiiit this was-

She pressed forward, lips opening in a gasp, which he took full advantage by slipping his tongue into her mouth and deepening the kiss. Her hand snaked around his neck, a hand burrowing into his hair. He would fucking die is she just- She fisted her hands in his hair immediately in response to his unconscious thought. He growled and pulled back to nip at her lower lip, as he read her desires real time. It was like the best fucking feedback loop ever.

Fuck this was even better than he imagined. Each brush of her plump lips sent electric shocks down his spin and he felt his blood leaving his brain to serve an arguable more important function. He groaned as she rocked her hips into his, lips moving in perfect synchronization with his.

Fuck, he should have done this ages ago, she was so fucking per-

“Look, I’m really happy for you guys, really, but we aren’t done here.” Kirishima barked roughly.

Katsuki was shocked out of the black hole the Bond had become, his consciousness rising back to reality at the harsh growl of Krirshima’s voice. He pulled back from Ochako, both of them panting heatedly and he blinked as he came back to reality. Goddamn the Bond had completely absorbed his entire awareness.

Fuck! They were in the middle of a fight, right. Katsuki looked around, loosening his hold on Ochako, who was blushing so furiously he was pretty sure he could cook and egg on her face. He smirked at her, reveling in the way it made her thoughts fizzle out.

Kiri and Ponytail were standing next to them both grimacing at the sight of the masked man and woman standing stirring up the ash and smoke around them. They walked forward stepping over the burned shallowly breathing body Shield Quirk. The pair of them sported so ozzing burns and Katsuki felt a flair of pride.

“Ready to go again Angel Face?” Katsuki quipped, a sly smirk sliding onto his face as he held his hand out to Ochako. She shook her head, as if to clear the residual lust he could feel pulsing between them. She met his gaze, nodded and grasped his hand, activating her quirk on them both.

Notes:

HOLY SHIT YOU GUYS! IT HAPPENED! ugh so you may have figured out, but this chapter positively ballooned into this meaty monster, but those on twitter voted I keep it all together.
I hope you enjoyed it!
I'll go back and do titles in a hot minute, I need some sustenance in the for of a tall glass of wine before I can stand to look at this some more ha ha
Sending love and hoping this can lift your spirits in these trying times.

Chapter 24: F=MA and Other Laws of the Universe

“Look, I’m really happy for you guys, really, but we aren’t done here.” Kirishima barked roughly, dragging Ochako’s attention from where it had wrapped around Katsuki mind. Oh crap, Ochako had completely forgotten about the rest of the world! Oh this was so embarrassing!

As they untangled themselves, both physically and emotionally, Ochako realized more fully exactly what was going on. She was making out with Katsuki on the battlefield. ON THE FRICKIN’ BATTLE FEILD. Like a common floozy or some horny teenager drowning in hormones. The worst part was how okay with it all she was, how a small but loud portion of her mind was insisting she ignore the world for a bit longer and continue one of the best kisses of her life! Ridiculous!

Her lips tingled with the remnants of their kiss and she felt her face burn in embarrassment. What was wrong with her?! She made eye contact with Katsuki who was smirking so thoroughly she was sure his head would explode with the swelling of his ego. Smug bastard.

Looking around and taking a hasty step back from Katsuki, she collected her thoughts and refocused. It helped that Katsuki had quickly changed gears from ‘make out with Ochako time’ to ‘gonna kill some assholes’, his subconscious's words not hers. His mood had done a 180 so completely and so potently that Ochako found her own mood being influenced to shift away from the kiss to the fight as well. Ochako was once again amazed at the speed at which his moods changed, thankful she could leech off of him for a bit to quell her growing embarrassment and arousal. She didn't need that particular baggage for this fight.

Kirishima and Momo were standing next to where she and Katsuki had separated, now a respectable two feet apart, and both Red Riot and Creati were in fighting stances. Ochako followed their gazes, seeing the two ring leaders step forward, over the body of the Shield Quirk. They completely ignored their fallen follower, as if she, who was unconscious and looked to be in dire need of medical attention, was nothing more than ground to step on. The sight of such disregard revolted Ochako, though she supposed she shouldn’t have expected more of the child killers.

“Ready to go again Angle Face?” Katsuki quipped, a sly smirk sliding onto his face as he held his hand out to Ochako.

His lips were still slightly swollen from their kiss and Ochako felt the ridiculous desire to kiss him again. She shook her head, attempting to clear the residual lust pulsing between them. She met his gaze, nodded and grasped his hand, activating her quirk on them both.

Katsuki once again swung her onto his back, and Ochako locked her legs around his waist, wrapping her arms around his shoulder. It felt totally natural to be perched on his back ready to be blasted into the stratosphere, even more so when they leaned into each-other through the Link like this. She felt more in control than if they weren't close, she was more aware of what he was doing and planning to do this way.

She sent him the impression ‘ready’ and he blasted into the air without a second to spare because at that instant the masked woman slapped the ground with both palms. Ochako watched the resulting chaos from over Katsuki’s shoulder as they exploded off the ground. Beneath the woman's splayed palms the ground began to ripple, more like water than cement. Then a fissure formed through the waves, cutting jaggedly across the pavement in a saw-tooth pattern. The pavement jostled and shuddered, the fissure widening. It was as if the ground had…grown a mouth. Ochako realized that was exactly what had happened as the jagged mouth began attempting to bite Kirishima and Momo, who jumped away, faces marred with confusion and horror.

What the hell!?

As she spoke to him, Katsuki looked down from where he was directing their flight and she felt his thoughts stutter with surprise. Ochako could only stare at the ground bellow equally shocked. She'd never seen a quirk like this. It was like the ground had somehow been rendered sentient by the woman's quirk. It was bucking and ripping as it lunged for the two heroes that Ochako and Katsuki had left on the ground.

Does the ground have…a fucking mouth?!

I think it's...alive? It's that woman's quirk.

Ochako glanced back to the woman and man, who were both walking forwards towards Momo and Kiri. The woman started running, dipping down to touch objects along the way, and Ochako watched as they all began to move independently, wiggling and shuddering haltingly, limited in their ability to move based on the objects' form. It almost looked torturous, the object attempting to move without any limbs, driven by the woman's quirk to attack without the means to do so. Still, they crawled, jumped or rolled towards the two grounded heroes.

“The woman, her quirk appears to be able to-“ Momo started over the comms but had to stop in shock when the woman reached out grasping a rather sad looking soccer ball, which immediately started squirming in her hands. The woman chucked the ball towards Momo and Ochako could just make out the gaping toothy mouth that appeared on the ball. Which was now snapping viciously in the air as it flew towards Creati.

What the FUCK kind of quirk IS this?

Momo created a broadsword and slashed the ball in half, which lay still on the ground for a beat before each hemisphere started twitching and moving, still attempting to attack Momo. The flaps of the ball flopped around on the ground agitatedly and Momo skipped back a few steps.

Ochako watched the scene bellow as she slowed her and Katsuki’s momentum when they’d reached a good altitude. They were hovering in the air, indecisive as to what they should do while Momo jumped away from a wave of toothy pavement. Kirishima in the meantime was pulverizing the ground, which shuttered as it attempted to move and swallow either him or Momo.

“The Woman has the ability to animate objects!” Momo finally got out into the comms just before a stretch of fence came barreling at her full speed. She dipped and dogged out of the way as it attempted to wrap her in a strangulating hold.

“I’m sorry she can do what?” Todoroki’s voice came through the radio feed, a note of concern in his tone. Ochako whipped her head around to look towards where the giant glacier was still dividing the sky. She hoped their fight was going better.

“Fucking, bringing objects to life, with gross pointy teeth!” Katsuki shouted into the coms.

Ochako looked over to the villains, horrified as the woman looked up at the sound of Katsuki's shout, before she reached out and grasped a metal pole, activating her quirk on it. It immediately launched itself into the air like a targeted spear, headed straight for Ochako’s forehead. Holy crap that thing could move!

Can I get a little fire power Katsuki?! Ochako asked frantically as the pole sped towards her at an alarming rate.

Katsuki lifted a palm at her thought, firing off and explosion, which melted the pole a mere foot from impaling her skull. Ochako watched the now deformed metal, glowing bright red from the heat, fall back to the earth, once again stilled and lifeless. Ochako swung her gaze back to the woman, who was dashing around touching any object in range, which then immediately began moving and actively trying to attack the heroes fighting.

Alright time to take this bitch out.

Katsuki sent the thought as he reached out to blast a series of the chain-link fencing, that had previously been bordering the school yard, flying at them. He sent her an impression that had her mentally raising her eyebrows at him through the Link. Pulling a move like that off, well, it would require them to get close together in the Bond again and Ochako wasn’t sure her focus would hold if they fell back into…whatever… the state was that they’d been in during their last combo-move. It was asking for trouble to do that again in the middle of a fight without training it, Murphy's law, bad karma or something. It was too intense to be that close, too all-consuming. For frick’s sake, she was blushing now just thinking about it!

Get ahold of yourself Chaks

Katsuki sent her a wave of chilling clarity, the equivalent of a bucket of cold water poured over her psyche. Ochako sputtered from her spot on his back at the strange sensation.

“ and you say I’m bad at controlling my emotions…” He mumbled under his breath.

Ochako sent him a harder-than-necessary mental poke in retaliation. He had one thing right though, the emotional wave of clarity had helped her banish any thoughts of kissing from her mind, she was now solely focused on kicking ass. They would be fine to try this new move out, right? The new move they'd tried had worked last time after all. She just had to trust Katsuki.

Right, let’s go take her out!

That was all the notice Katsuki needed and he blasted them off headed straight for the pair of villains. Ochako pulled closer to him in the Link, once again syncing up their thoughts and intentions. The Bond hummed happily at the contact and Ochako tried to ignore the way every point of contact with Katsuki's body light up like it did during a Jolt.

I'm gonna send you left of the Woman, she's the biggest threat right now!

Ochako sent an affirmative, following along with his thoughts as he calculated trajectories. Essentially, the plan was for him to launch her ahead, slightly off-target when they were in range so that she ended flying by the left side of the villain. She would then slow her momentum to a stop just to the left and slightly behind the villain, in the perfect position to activate her quirk on the villain. Katsuki would be arriving by that point loosing an explosion in the villain's face to rocket them weightlessly in any direction he so chose. It was a move his mind had just dubbed 'The Flanking From Hell'. (She made a note to have a combo name brainstorming session later, because that was truly horrible)

Plan solidified and trajectory well underway, Ochako watched as the woman and man looked up towards the sound of Katsuki’s explosions. Ochako’s blood drained from her face as she watched the masked man smile sinisterly. Something was wrong. They were expecting this, wanted this.

Katsuki it’s a tr-

There was no time to react, Katsuki was already initiating his front flip, to change their momentum. His body spun, taking her with him and throwing her at the last second launching her ahead of him. She flew towards the left side of the woman, as planned. They'd perfectly executed the momentum split and Ochako was poised to activate her quirk on the villain in just a few seconds. Problem was, Katsuki and Ochako had stupidly, rashly, forgotten to account for the fact that they didn’t know the Male villain’s quirk.

Ochako made eye contact with the man, his ice blue eyes sending a shock of apprehension through her as she flew past the left side of the woman. Time seemed to slow as she watched his pupils dilate and she felt an intangible thread of connection between them.

“Reverse.” The man’s words whispered into her ears and Ochako’s mind wondered at how he was able to do so when he was several yards away. The whisper echoed through her mind, propagating through the Link to Katsuki and she felt his split second of shock as his mind registered the fact the man had hijacked the Link to activate whatever quirk he had on both of them.

The sound seemed to reverberate in the air and Ochako realized several things all at once. Firstly, her stomach clenched and she felt her quirk become forcibly activated, similar to how All for One’s had felt during that fateful final fight, though weaker in nature. Second, she realized that the pull gravity on herself, rather than continuing to be canceled, was suddenly exceptionally strong. Double, no, triple what it normally was. Third, the Bond evaporated to a small whisper and Katsuki’s presence disappeared from her Mind. And lastly, the woman had spun on her heels and was booking it away from them.

Ochako slammed into the ground as her gravity increased exponentially and she felt her breath leave her in a wheeze. Ouch. As she attempted to recover her breath with iron heavy lungs, she watched in horror as the explosion Katsuki had already started to release sparked into existence in the woman’s face. HIs mass had also increased and he was careening into the space where the explosion was sparking uncontrollably. Something was off about the way those sparks looked, but Ochako didn't get the seconds needed to process what was happening.

“FUCK!” Katsuki screamed terror on his face. Ochako didn’t understand. Crap it hurt to breathe.

The air in front of his palm shimmered before she and Katsuki were suddenly, violently, sucked in towards the point in front of him. Ochako felt an excruciating pain in her right hand, realizing that Katsuki’s hand was breaking from the force generated as the air contracted rapidly in front of it. The Bond fizzled to life briefly, though she got nothing from him other than the blinding pain as his hand folded into an impossible space. Then, the hyper-dense area, that was still sucking anything and everything together, seemed to reach a critical mass, because it promptly exploded, flinging them apart again with a deafening BOOM and blindingly bright light.

Ochako felt herself being launched back the way she had come, the Earth's gravity still pulling her far too strongly. Then she felt a hard impact against the back of her head, pain blossoming and rattling across her skull. Her vision blacked out in coalescing blotches.

Ochako wasn’t sure what happened in the next several seconds, only aware of the ringing in her ears, the feeling of the world pushing on her chest, a disorienting swaying of space and the excruciating feeling of her right hand being torn apart.

Ochako attempted to groan, then gasped for breath as her lungs attempted to collapse in on themselves. Oh god she was suffocating. Her lungs started attempting to hyperventilate, fluttering helplessly against the weight crashing in on them.

“-chak-you ok-….” A voice cut through the noise and Ochako stared blankly up at the whirling sky above her uncomprehendingly, ears ringing. She coughed, struggling to push the air from her lungs. A heaving breath, followed by more short shallow ones.

“-rela…Ocha…-an you- …me?” The voice said, Momo’s voice, Ochako realized belatedly. Ochako blinked as a hand turned her head. Oh, God that movement was horrible. A wavy, spinning Momo was looking at her. But Ochako couldn’t breathe. A gasp, from two sets of lungs. Oh Katsuki wasn’t breathing either. Oh this was bad.

Ochako! You’ve got to release your fucking quirk on us!

Her quirk, that's right! Where were her hands again? They should be at the end of her arm, but she was pretty sure her body was a nebulous blob swinging and swaying through space-time. How could she release her quirk if she couldn't find her hands?!

Suddenly Katsuki was there, in her mind with her. Oh! he was REALLY here, like, occupying the same space in her mind she normally would, rather than next to it. He seemed to examine her mind frantically. Her heart started racing faster. Crap, something was wrong. She was sure of it, Katsuki was panicking. She could feel his mind scrambling, his heart racing as he tried desperately to pull air into his lungs. Oh god she couldn't breathe. They couldn't breathe.

Then the strangest thing happened, Katsuki nudged her out of the way, desperately. Out of her own mind. It was a bizarre feeling, like watching Shinsou puppeteer her body, but better somehow? It felt more like he was co-steering her actions rather than suppressing hers. She let him take the controls of her mind, figuring that she was incapable of doing anything. She couldn’t even figure out where her body was in space, let alone remember how to release her quirk and coordinate her body to do that. She watched as Katsuki told her body what to do. Her fingers steepled.

“Fucking Release!” Her own voice yelled with an uncharacteristic grumble, the sound piercing the continuous ringing.

With the motion, the weight disappeared and Ochako heaved in air. Oh god, air was so good. The ringing in her ears faded somewhat and Ochako felt her head clear a bit. She opened her eyes and saw the horizon tilt and spin in horrifying distortions. She shut her eyes again and went to roll over onto her side to prepare throw up from the vertigo.

Don’t fucking move! Katsuki’s voice cut her off sternly and Ochako froze, which surprisingly helped alleviate some of the nausea gripping her.

You hit you head pretty hard, you’re probably concussed.

Oh that made sense, Her brain seemed to be working moderately better now that it actually had enough oxygen to do its job. Her thoughts were still fuzzy and disjointed though. That and the vertigo was enough to make her believe Katsuki. Crap a concussion. That was not good. What about the villains?

…Katsuki, the villains... where? Uhg the ground is moving

Ochako held back a wave of nausea as her brain told her that the ground around her was swaying and spinning her around. Oh, she definitely had a concussion, she remembered this feeling from the time she’d had the bright idea to headbutt Kirishima in a spar. That hadn't been this bad though, she felt like she was inside a blender.

“Is she okay?!” Kiri’s voice spoke somewhere around her, “Oh god is all that herblood!?”

“Fucking go chase them Rock for Brains!” Katsuki shouted near her, she couldn’t stop spinning enough to figure out where, “I’ve got her, GO!”

Ochako heard footsteps sprinting away. Then someone's hand was feeling along the back of her skull, hitting a wound of some kind because Ochako felt the sharp pain she had come to associate with a deep cut spark form the probing.

"Shit, that's deep." Katsuki said and Ochako struggled to put the pieces together, "PONYTAIL! I NEED GAUZ! NOW!"

More footsteps and then something was pressed against her head. Ochako felt somewhat like she was fading in and out of attention, not compehending on what was happening. She was having trouble focusing, and she had come to realize that she had some sort of head injury that was bleeding profusely. Maybe she had a concussion? That would explain why she was spinning out of control through space.

“We have to get her to a healer.” Momo’s voice floated across Ochako’s ears.

“I agree, I think I might have- “ Ochako gagged slightly and heard Katsuki do the same, somewhere next to her. She felt the back of her mind, instinctively trying to reach for him, then stopped. The Link was developing into a jumbled and confusing mess as more time passed. It felt like hurling herself into a kaleidoscope. She decided not to even attempt to reach for him through it.

“-a concussion.” She finished lightly, doing her best not to move her head and squeezing her eyes shut tighter.

“Yeah, not shit Angle Face. Your brain is like an amusement park ride right now.” Katsuki huffed a slight note a fear in his voice, “And not the fun kind.”

Ochako groaned, feeling the ground swell unevenly. She must have a head injury, maybe a concussion? Definitely a concussion. That explained the dizzying trajectory her brain was taking through space. She was regretting getting rid of her costume’s helmet last year. That was a dumb mistake. Yeah it was messing with her peripheral vision but, it had done an excellent job at preventing concussions.

“How are you not as dizzy as me right now?” She asked Katsuki, genuinely confused, she felt like she had no control over the Bond, it was just spinning around her like she was a sock in a washing machine.

Katsuki chuckled humorlessly, almost hysterically, at that, letting out a tense breath, “Well I’m doing my best to shield us but your brain keeps digging in and dragging me to you, so if you could fucking not do that, that would be of great help.”

“I don’t even want to try doing anything with the Bond right now.” Ochako moaned from the ground, “Like a kaleidoscope form hell. I think I've got a concussion.”

Katsuki went quiet above her sucking in a breathe. The pressure on the back of her head increased. Ochako felt her focuss fading. Man sleep sounded good right now.

"Cheeks!" Katsuki's loud voice snapped her fully awake again, "You can't fall asleep. Fucking gotta stay awake."

Ochako moaned, but the world was so topsy turvy right now. Being asleep would make it feel better, right?

“I called the hospital, they’re sending someone over now.” Momo said somewhere above Ochako. She could sort of make out a red-ish blur swinging across her vision when she cracked her eyes open. A wave of nausea hit her with the vertigo and Ochako slammed her eyes shut again. Oh, it was gonna be a long couple of hours, she was pretty sure she was concussed. She told Katsuki, he agreed his voice tense.


Several minutes later(hours later? who was to say, space-time was out of wack), during which time Ochako was just trying to not fall unconscious at Katsuki's insistence, Ochako was vaguely aware of a person placing their hands on her face. The feeling of not having the faintest of clue where her body was in space faded as the healing quirk took effect. Ochako felt the itching sensation of a cut on the back of her head healing too.

Ochako's thoughts clarified some what and she began to process the fact that she was on the ground, covered in a sticky substance and the symptoms of what could only be a concussion were fading.

“Oh thank god ” Ochako breathed out in relief as the wobbling and spinning of the world around her stopped. She heard Katsuki heave a relieved sigh too.

"That should heal the majority of the damage, though you will likely still have a headache for a day or so." The healer said kindly.

When she felt solid again she finally opened her eyes. Her head was still killing her, but at least she could stand to open her eyes without vomiting everywhere. The horizon stayed flat and Ochako thanked the gods for healing quirks.

Above her Ochako saw the kind face of an older man, who was removing his hands from her head. He gave her a small kind smile. Ochako assumed he must be the healer. Her eyes shifted to the side and saw Katsuki standing and looking critically at her, his face pale and taught with fear. He was cradling his right hand with his left. Ochako did a double take at the bright red blood that covered his left hand, drips sliding al the way down to his elbow before dripping onto the pavement below. Ochako reached out for him through the Bond, thankful that it was no longer a mental version of an LSD trip, and ran into his shield. Katsuki arched a brow at the sensation of her pushing against his solid mind.

“Not a good plan Angle Face.” He said firmly, lifting his right hand up.

Ochako caught the look of confusion on the healer’s face as Katsuki answered the unvoiced probe. Katsuki’s hand was motted with purple and blue bruises and Ochako noted that his index and middle finder were bent at an impossible angle. Just looking at it sent a sympathetic throb through her own hand, apparently Katsuki’s shield wasn’t strong enough to block out all of his pain.

Ochako sighed, she knew he was right, opening himself up would just put both of them in pain, but still it felt weird to not be connected in such a tense situation. She wanted to make sure he was okay . She had so many questions. How had this happened? How did she end up on the sidewalk covered in, she reached a hand up to touch the sticky substance on the back of her head, bringing it in front of her to find....blood? Why was she covered in blood?!

“Is this my blood?” Ochako asked bewildered and Katsuki nodded slowly, as if he wasn't sure she truly understood him, “What the hell happened? It’s a bit fuzzy after that… was that an implosion?” Ochako asked as her mind made the connection.

She remembered the man had said ‘Reverse’ and then her quirk had acted as if she could add gravity to things rather than take it away. Whatever Katsuki had done had yanked any objects in their general vicinity towards his activated palms, before spontaneously exploding. As if he had made the space in front of him rapidly condense, imploding. The reverse of exploding.

“Yeah.” Katsuki said solemnly, “The guy can reverse quirks. He somehow got you and hijacked the Bond to get to me too. The fucking resulting implosion followed by the explosion blasted you headfirst into the concrete.”

“Oh.” Ochako said confused, “I don’t remember that.”

Katsuki’s eyes found hers again, a worried slant in his brows. Ochako knew why, loosing memory after a head injury was a bad sign, though Ochako knew they’d have to wait for a few hours to see if the memory loss was permanent. The healer said she was healed though, so Ochako was sure she'd be fine. Her brain just needed time to recover.

“Fuck.” Katsuki said incredulously, guilt flashing across his face, “I was hoping it wasn't as bad as I thought... At least that explains why it took us both down.”

“What do you mean?” Ochako asked concerned. If her concussion had taken them both out, it would have given the villains just enough wiggle room to escape. They hadn’t hit her that hard, had they? Enough for Katsuki to also feel the effects through the Link?

Katsuki sighed irritated, “Shit. Guess you get the play by play of how this all went to shit really fast.” A pause as Katsuki drew in a long breath.

“Once they’d managed to effect both of us with the reversal quirk, it was too late to stop my chain reaction and we both got sucked in then subsequently blown backwards, hard. Your quirk was still active on us and reversed so when you hit your head… we both stayed down. The effects of your concussion echoed across the Link to me, fucking with my senses. You were fucking out of it and we were both being crushed by your reversed quirk so I…” Katsuki paused struggling for words, “took control of your mind for a bit, I guess. It’s hard to explain. I made you release your quirk. Which was fucking good because then I could actually fucking move, though the whole world was spinning and hurling around thanks to your scrambled-ass brain and my hand was pretty much fucked from the explosion. So I made a half-assed shield in the Bond to mitigate the effects. By this point the fuckers had turned tail and fled, dragging the Shield Quirk with ‘em. I sent Ei after them, but it was too late. The escaped. Ringing any bells?”

Ochako stared at Katsuki shaking her head, she didn’t remember any of that. She didn’t think she’d ever heard him speak this much at one time. He stared back, a strange mix of concern and relief on his face. The healer, who had been moving towards Bakugou, intent to heal his hand had frozen, his mouth hanging open at the story.

Ochako realized that they had singled handedly turned the battle around, in favor of the villains, because of one stupid, ill-thought-out move.

“So basically, we royally fucked up.” Ochako said and Katsuki cracked a small, sarcastic smile.

“Yeah. Big time.”

Notes:

Well they can't all be 12k long and fabulous. Originally this was longer, but I liked the way it ended better this way, so the end portion of this will just start off the next chapter.

WOW the outpouring of support was overwhelming (in the best freakin' way) last chapter! <3 Thank you all so much!!!

I am still working through comments for chapter 23! Please be patient while we all fan girl over these two idiots. :D

I went through and did chapter title this week as well! As always, it was such a tough decision for each chapter, thank you to everyone being the creative minds I can't!

“His, Her and The Rival’s Problems” by Kiko222 for Chapter 21

“Miss Communication” by Blacktea for Chapter 22

“Stole the Words Right Outta My Mind” by Catharanthus for Chapter 23

A modified suggestion from ch 23 by Blacktea “F=ma and Other Laws of the Universe” was used for this chapter, because my little nerd heart couldn't not use it <3

 

THANK YOU ALL! Hope this could make you day just a smidgen better <3

Chapter 25: The Hot Lasagna Incident

The task force met in the conference room at the police station after the scene at the school had been wrapped up and the heroes had been sufficiently healed. Ochako still had a headache for the record books and Bakugou’s hand was throbbing across the Bond, but at least they weren’t bleeding out on the pavement anymore. The healer had explained that Katsuki would likely have some scaring on his index and middle finger from the healing process, but that he should have full function of his hand within 24 hours.

The debriefing had been brutal, listening to Aizawa chew them all out for their failures and the resulting casualties. 26 children. Gone from this world. Because they hadn’t been able to do their jobs. Between that and the collateral damage to the school and the deaths of innocents, Ochako was counting this as one of the biggest failures of her career, not even taking into account that somehow the villains had escaped again.

The good news, if it could even be called that, was that they’d confirmed the identities of the woman and the man. Their Quirks, Reversal and Object Animation in combination with the blaring absence of two quirk registry employees had confirmed their suspicions. The ring leaders of this prolific villain group were Musai and Shounji Nukona without a shade of doubt.

The members of the Task Force were seated around the familiar conference table, various shades of bruised, both physically and emotionally. Ochako desperately wanted a shower, she still had her own dried blood in her hair and down her back, and she felt a deep desire to scrub the metaphorical blood on her hands away too. Katsuki, seated to her right, was covered her blood too, his left hand and forearm coated. He had dirt and soot on his face and she could smell the caramel sweat that dripped down his neck, his body still coming down from the fight. Momo and Shouto sat across from them, with Tsu, Mina and Kirishima taking the remaining seats. Aizawa had elected to ignore the plush chair provided for him, preferring to glare down at them from his position leaning against the wall behind the Todorokis.

“This is everything we know about these two as of right now.” Shinsou said from his position at the head of the table as he distributed folders of all the known information on the two villains. He looked like he hadn’t slept for days, his normally dark circles somehow even more salient than usual.

Ochako took the folder that slid across the table to her and flipped it open, seeing the images of both villains paperclipped on top of their respective files on either side of the folder. She shuddered at the cold blue stare of the man, seeing the rest of his face for the first time.

The man who stared back at her looked like an average man, black hair, slight stubble along his chin. He was smiling at the camera and there was a warmth to the look, something that took Ochako by surprise. There was no evidence of a child killer in any aspect of his face, except perhaps in his eyes. The cold blue color of his eyes stared right into Ochako’s soul and there was a hardness there that was hard to pin down.

She looked over to the woman to find a rather beautiful blonde, with warm chocolate eyes. She too was smiling, but her smile wasn’t warm like her husband’s. No, the woman’s smile was tolerant. As if she couldn’t believe she was being asked to do such an outrageous thing as smile.

Underneath each of the images was a stack of information, presumably what Shinsou had dug up during his time undercover. Ochako flipped through it briefly, not really reading anything. She would need some time by herself to read through and digest all of this information.

“I expect you all to review that information on your own time.” Shinsou stated calmly, “However, I think it’s important to go over some details right now to make sure you don’t miss them.”

Ochako nodded and felt Katsuki do the same, a thoughtful hum just barely audible vibrating in the back of his throat, annoyingly tickling her own throat through the Link. He hadn’t let them return to a normal distance since he’d been healed, instead keeping himself pressed right next to her in the Bond. She could feel his watchful mental gaze, worry about her permeating through every one of his psychic head to toe checks that he seemed have a compulsion to do every few minutes. It was as if he expected her to suddenly go spinning into her concussed state at any given second. Ochako found the whole thing to be rather endearing, if not somewhat annoying.

“We believe we have uncovered the motivation of these villains” Shinsou said, “We think they are targeting children with the potential to become heroes, with stronger than average quirks, as a means to stop the Quirk Progression Theory from coming to fruition.”

They were trying to stop the Quirk Progression Theory? Why? What exactly were they hoping to accomplish by doing that?

Ochako knew of the theory, it was one that the philosophical types of society were constantly debating. It essentially posited that quirks were getting stronger each generation, mixing and combining together in ways that were significantly stronger than the previous generations’. Depending on which proposed theoretical framework you subscribed to this either meant that all of humanity would eventually be super powered with the same, insanely strong quirk or humanity would reach a power ceiling soon or any other number of endings, some worse than others. It was purely theoretical and there was no real-world evidence for any of those things to happen as far as Ochako knew. More of a thought experiment than anything else.

“They’re killing children for an unproven theory?” Mina asked disbelievingly, a note of deep sadness permeating her voice.

“We think so.” Shinsou said simply, nodding at her, “Their son was killed because of the social ramifications of his own powerful quirk. We think the event and the subsequent grief threw these two off the deep end.”

A dark silence filled the room, no one willing to ask the question all on their minds. Ochako had a strong inkling what the ‘social ramifications’ Shinsou was referring to were.

“What happened to him?” Momo voiced from her seat finally. Shinsou sighed, briefly glancing away from the group in front of him to stare out the windows.

“His quirk was Command Word Kill.” Shinsou said pausing briefly, before continuing, “He was in training to become a hero, despite the insistence that his quirk was not suited for hero work. Apparently, from the school reports, he was being bullied heavily and got into a school yard fight. At some point the kid had enough. He killed a fellow classmate with a single word and the other students present retaliated in fear. They killed him in desperation to prevent him from taking out any of the other bullies.”

Ochako stared at Shinsou, her mouth hanging open slightly. Why hadn’t she heard about this?! Surely it would have bene on the news? But she had no memory of such an event.

She could only imagine how awful Shinsou was feeling about this, having been in a similar situation growing up. To have someone like him, with a dangerous and sinister quirk be vilified in such a way, to have them cross such a line, must be jarring to say the least. It was everything Shinsou had been working to put an end to by becoming a hero. Ochako could see the tension from the implications in Shinsou, the way he held his shoulders and the darker-than-usual circles under his eyes.

Katsuki was also feeling very tense, waves of guilt and regret rippling lowly across her awareness. Oh, right. He’d been that bully in school, the one with an overpowered quirk picking on the kid who didn’t seem to have a chance of becoming a hero. Ochako glanced at him from the corner of her eye, reaching across the Bond and giving his mind a comforting touch. His eyes darted over to hers and he gave her a slight nod, shoulders relaxing.

“That’s horrid.” Momo said emotionally and Ochako saw her subtlety grab Shouto’s hand under the table.

“Yeah, Well.” Shinsou said, staring at his hand fisted on the table, “There is more information in your files, should you care to look at it.”

That’s why they went after the school kid. From the file you found, I bet he was the one who put their son down.

Ochako felt the revelation hit her. Of course! They had started out just wanting to get revenge on a single kid, but they must have not felt satisfied after the attempt on his life. Somehow the attempted murder hadn’t given them the closure that they needed. Then it had just been a matter of building up from there.

But didn’t that kid survive? Wouldn’t they have gone back for him when they found out he survived?

Ochako puzzled over the fact. From what she remembered the kid had been attacked, put into a coma and then had dropped out of school. If he was the target, surely they would have come back for him? At least attempted to finish the job? What made them leave that kid alive and jump to slaughtering other innocent children? Could the file she found and the tragic accidental death of the villains’ son be related?

I don’t know, but I sure as fuck want to find out.

Ochako nodded, meeting Katsuki’s eyes briefly. That was something they could look into later, in the off chance it could be helpful. She was pretty sure she still had some notes on that file laying around Katuki’s place. She made a mental note to look for them once they got home.

“We have a few leads on the location that their operation is based in. ” Shinsou continued, his composure back in place, “We expect to have a raid within the next few days and we will send you all the details once we have confirmation.”

Ochako nodded, good. It was about time they got to have a fight on their terms. A surprise attack on the hideout would be exactly what they needed.

“For now, go home. Clean up. Read the file and be ready to be back here within the next few days.” Shinsou said with a sigh, glancing around at the dirty, worn out heroes around him.

The group got up and moved to the doors, the mood somber. Mina and Kirishima were talking with one another in hushed tones as they stepped out of the conference room’s double doors, Kiri’s head bent closer to Mina’s shorter frame.

“Not you two.” Aizawa’s sharp voice made Ochako freeze in her steps towards the door and she felt Katsuki sigh next to her. Shinsou looked up questioningly at Aizawa, who just shook his head.

“We need to talk.” Aizawa said ominously as Shinsou got up and left the room, gently closing the doors behind him.

Ochako cringed and turned back around, withering into the conference chair she had just vacated, as Aizawa pushed off from the wall he had been leaning against to stare her and Katsuki down. Katsuki remained standing, positioning himself slightly in front of her with his arms crossed.

“What they hell were you thinking?” Aizawa’s voice was cold as ice and Ochako could hear the disappointment in it.

“We thought we could handle it.” Katsuki said tensely, defensive grumble resonating in the air.

“Clearly that was not the case.” Aizawa said flatly, “When exactly did your judgement go out the window?”

“The Link clouded our perception of the situation and we weren’t prepared for them to have figured out its weaknesses so quickly.” Katsuki replied tersely.

“What do you mean they figured out it’s weaknesses?” Aizawa said eyes narrowing. Katsuki sighed and Ochako jumped in with his pause.

“They figured out how to, uhm, hijack the Bond” Ochako said, barrowing Katsuki’s wording form earlier in the day, “The man used the Link to affect both of us with his quirk rather than just me. I felt him… use it to his advantage.”

“That was about when everything went to shit.” Katsuki added with a humorless chuckle.

Aizawa’s eyes darted back and forth between the two of them quickly before he loosed a tremendous sigh.

“This is exactly what I feared would happen. Why didn’t you use any of the techniques you learned with Shinsou?” He asked, clearly less upset at them so much as upset for them.

“There wasn’t enough time, he was in and through to Katsuki in under two seconds” Ochako explained, “By the time I realized what was happening it was too late. Then everything just kind of…snowballed out of control”

“It’s probably because we were so closely Linked to pull of that move that he was able to make the jump to me so fast.” Katsuki reasoned out loud, “But we wouldn’t be able to pull off any of the combo moves I have planned-“

“-You have more combo moves planned?!” Ochako interrupted suddenly excited at the prospect. Katsuki nodded, giving her a smirk at the wave of her excitement that washed through the Link.

“We need to be hyper-coordinated to pull of the types of maneuvers I have planned at the speeds I want to. We need to be so coordinated we don’t even have to think to communicate, there’s such a small margin for error with the type of force we would be generating.“ Katsuki finished the thought.

Aizawa was listening closely, eyebrows drawn together in thought. He nodded to himself once Katsuki had finished.

“Very well, but I think it is obvious you two need more practice with Shinsou.” Aizawa commented decisively, “We can’t allow another mistake like that to happen ever again. You will meet up with myself and Shinsou every evening at 7 until you get it under control. We start tomorrow.”

“We’ll be there.” Ochako confirmed, a desire to eliminate this weakness burning across the Link.

Aizawa sighed, nodding one last time towards the them before he strolled out of the room, an aura of frustration and sorrow left behind in his wake.

“Come on, let’s get home.” Katsuki sighed, shaking his head agitatedly.

“I call dibs on first shower” Ochako said standing up, wincing as she felt the sticky mess that was the back of her head as she stood up.





They had to take the long way home, due to Katsuki’s right hand still being in the early stages of healing and not stable enough to reliably produce explosions. Ochako’s pounding headache added into the mix, courtesy of The Link, would make for an uncomfortable flight. They took the train instead.

Riding the train with Katsuki, both of them still suited up and covered in blood, dirt and sweat, was…interesting to say the least. Katsuki was in a foul mood and she was very conscious of how much she looked like absolute shit. Everyone else in the train car realized it too, if their stares were any measure. She and Katsuki had both given up their seats for some elderly folks and as a result she was sure they looked like sad wet cats hanging from the handrails. Ochako supposed the citizens in the train car weren’t super used to seeing heroes ride in their costumes, let alone in such a state. At least no one was so shameless as to take photos of them, that was the last thing Ochako needed today- a front page picture emblematic of their failure.

Ochako was also very conscious of the fact that there was a thick tension in the air between herself and Katsuki, thanks to the impulsive (and admittedly super hot) kiss between them during the battle. Katsuki was still close to her mind, on the lookout for any signs that she would pass out or spontaneously start bleeding again or some other such nonsense, and he was hovering over her as if he was ready to catch her at any minute. Not that Ochako particularly minded the last bit. He could stand this close to her all the time. Her brain flashed back to how it had felt to be pulled against him and flushed. Yeah, she didn’t mind Katsuki being this close at all. When he overheard that particular thought he smirked and Ochako felt a wave of smugness from his end of the Link.

The awkward train ride ended though, and eventually they stumbled back into his apartment. He unlocked the door, opening it and motioning for her to pass first then entering himself, kicking the door closed behind them. She turned the lights on, it was now well past dark thanks to the excruciatingly long meeting.

“You should really lock your door, you know” Ochako commented, seeing that Katsuki was just going to leave it open.

“Anybody fucking dumb enough to break into Ground Zero’s apartment wouldn’t be stopped by a simple deadbolt.” Katsuki deadpanned, not getting the point. Ochako stared him down and he sighed turning and sliding the deadbolt into place.

“Happy?” He asked turning around to face her again. Ochako nodded and headed into the apartment when she got slammed with a wave of longing, appreciation, and a distinct sense of arousal. She furrowed her brows and turned, catching Katsuki very obviously staring at her ass.

“Eep!” She squeaked out, jumping slightly at the unexpected sight.

Really, she should have expected it, with they way their collective mood had been the whole day. His eyes immediately snapped up to hers and she felt a small burst of embarrassment that was quickly bulldozed by a smug sort of satisfaction.

She met his eyes and felt a shock of want go through her. Oh lord, they hadn’t even made it past the entry way. The Link hummed with the energy between them, thick with all of the unsaid things they needed to discuss. It was like the Link was pulling them together, much like it did during a strong Jolt, though entirely more pleasant than the Jolt's electric sensation. Ochako leaned further into the pleasant feeling across the Link, pressing against his mind as the Link coaxed her in closer.

Katsuki’s side of the Bond was very carefully regulated, balancing on a knife edge between being upset about the horrid day and his ‘make out with Ochako’ mood, as Ochako had dubbed the strange mix of excitement, arousal and longing. He seemed to be waiting for her to make the call how he would fall, which gave Ochako entirely too much power.

“I’m gonna…” Ochako cleared her throat and swallowed dryly, “…go, uh, shower.”

She would postpone this conversation. If she stood here much longer with the feelings the Link was bombarding her with, they would not be talking so much as just making out. Maybe the shower would help her collect her thoughts and clarify exactly what had to be said in their talk. There were a lot of factors to consider, and she needed to not be a ball of Link-driven-hormones when she talked with him about said complexities.

“Hmm” He hummed, following along her thought process as she rationalized her decision. The sound hit her in a way that was entirely too enticing and Ochako narrowed her eyes at him critically. The corner of his mouth twitched and he tilted his head back slightly, opting to cross his arms. He totally did that on purpose. The smug devil.

He grinned ruefully, picking up on her wave of attraction. Her eyes darted to his lips on their own accord. The Link pulled tighter and both their hands twitched towards the other in response. His smirk turned into a grimace and he took a step back away from her, forcibly ignoring the desire she could feel from him. The distance cleared the tension somewhat and the Link relaxed a bit. She shook her head, then froze when a painful throb ached down her spine. Ouch, note to self, do not move her head suddenly.

Katsuki’s mood flipped like a switch, immediately shifting to concerned as he felt the throbbing ache echo in his own head.

“Before you go you should take some medication for your headache.” He grumbled, mood shifting into ‘busy-body mothering’. He hurried past her and into the kitchen to fish for some acetaminophen. Ochako let out in incredulous huff. This man and his crazy mood swings were going to be the death of her.

“Here. Take these, you head is fucking killing me with us this close.” He said, referring to how close they were Linked, handing her two pills marked ‘Tylenol’ and a glass of water.

A shock zapped through her hand as she brushed his to grasp the pills. Her eyes snapped up to his knowing he’d felt it too. Her fingers tingled they way they did after The Jolt and Ochako stared at them accusingly. Just like that, Katsuki's ‘ready to ravish’ mood was back, his emotions doing yet another dizzying 180.

Katsuki’s eyes bore into her and she felt just how much effort it took for him not to crash his lips onto hers. She took a shuddering breath, more than halfway convinced that making out with Katsuki was the thing she should be doing right now. Which it very much so was not.

He seemed to snap out of it, presumably having heard her thoughts, and he drew a deep breath, backing away from her rapidly, running his uninjured hand through his hair. Ochako drew in a deep breath then downed the pills. This was going to be harder than she thought.

“Go get cleaned up… then we’ll talk” Katsuki said with restrained tension in his voice. Ochako felt him pull back slightly from her in the Bond, returning to their normal distance. Apparently Katsuki trusted her enough not to accidentally drown in the shower. The Bond's pleasant humming stop immediately and Ochako let out a sigh. She wasn’t sure if she was relieved or upset that the glowing feeling was gone.

“What, not concerned that I’m going to slip and die in the shower?” She teased him sticking her tongue out, before turning and heading to her room to gather her pajamas before heading into the bath.

“I FUCKING AM NOW!” He yelled, feeling very torn between worry for her safety and determination to give here privacy.

Ochako just chuckled as she closed the guest bathroom door. She turned the shower on, making sure the water was just shy of scalding, hoping the hot water would help clear her mind and wash the residual blood off her hands.

Her shower was not nearly as enlightening as she would have liked, though she did feel LOADS better after she had detangled her hair and once the medicine had kicked in, her headache diminishing down to a manageable throbbing. She passed Katsuki in the hall as she left the bathroom, toweling her hair dry, being mindful of the still tender, partially-healed scar on the back of her head. The relief in being clean and medicated was palpable, she sighed happily.

“You feel better already.” He commented lightly and Ochako let out a giggle about how weird that sounded. He rolled his eyes at her as he headed into his room, towards the private master bath.

You know what I mean. You better not have used all the fucking hot water.

Ochako didn’t respond, just sending the impression of an eyeroll to him and hastily backing away from his mind as she felt him start to undress. She did not need that temptation.

While she waited for him to finish his own transformation back into a human, she decided to dig around for her notes on that file, the one detailing the attack on the middle schooler. She checked around the living room, remembering that the last time she had seen it she’d left it on the coffee table, which was, of course, now clear of any clutter. She looked in the side tables drawers and around the cabinet containing all of Katsuki’s gaming stuff but found it nowhere. She blamed Katsuki’s type A obsessive cleaning, the man couldn’t leave anything out for more than 6 hours, a day max. He’d probably moved it a while ago. Where though?

“If I were notes top secret police file in Katsuki’s house where would I be?” she pondered to herself, contemplating just reaching out and asking him through the bond, but deciding against it in fear that she would get to close and…well. Yeah that was entirely too tempting a thought.

Instead she searched the kitchen for the next several minutes, chuffed to find that everything was meticulously organized, with everything in its proper place. The man didn’t even have the standard stack of papers and mail on the counter or even a junk drawer! Ochako shook her head, marveling at how he didn’t have a junk drawer, that was basically an essential location in every home. What did he do with all of the things that didn’t quite have a purposeful place? Where did he keep his duct tape?

“Any particular reason you felt like opening all of the drawers and cabinets in my kitchen at once?” Katsuki’s voice startled Ochako, she had been purposely ignoring him in the Bond to give him the same privacy he had given her.

He walked into the kitchen, dressed in a pair of his more form fitting black sweat pants and a wife beater, which Ochako had come to recognize as his ‘pajamas’(she had noted that he didn’t actually sleep in these, instead wearing just his boxers, something she was very much so actively avoiding thinking about.) He raised an eyebrow as he walked towards her with a smirk at the plethora of open cabinets and drawers she’d left in her wake. Ochako flushed and reached up closing them quickly.

“I was looking for my notes on that file.” She explained blushing.

“And you thought you would find it in my silverware drawer?” He asked, barely repressing a smile.

“…See when you say it like that.” Ochako stammered. Yeah now she could see how dumb an idea this was, but at the time it’d made sense.

Katsuki chuckled, shaking his head and siding up to her again in the Bond, doing a mental head to toe. Ochako’s blush deepened at the feeling of his mind tenderly wrapping around hers as he examined it. When he was done, he nodded, satisfied that her brain hadn’t spontaneously shut down.

Only someone as disorganized as you would think the kitchen was a reasonable place to look for work notes.

Ochako sent him a half-hearted glare, finishing closing all the various parts of his kitchen cabinetry she’d left open. They fell into an awkward silence, both knowing what needed to be discussed but not knowing how to start. Katsuki cleared his throat, the Bond wavering uncertainly as if it was waiting to see how they would handle the situation.

“Grab the tomatoes and an onion out of the fridge.” Katsuki directed suddenly, reaching down and opening a cabinet containing his pots and pans. That was not what she had been expecting. Weren’t they going to talk?

“uh, grab the-“ Ochako started confused.

“-You can talk and cook at the same time, right?” Katsuki interrupted, pulling out a large sauce pot and a glass pan, “I’m hungry and you need to eat something after puking up your guts and losing about a liter of blood.”

Ochako continued to stare, still confused and…turned on? There was something about the unusual mix of bossy and caring he was right now. The combo of being in charge, but using the power play to take care of her and make her dinner was… Oh god, did she have a Daddy kink? No, no way that’s not what this was, right?!

Her brain short circuited, the alarming thought process halting as he dipped down to preheat the oven. Ochako’s eyes followed the line of his gluts into his quads appreciatively, thankful he’d worn a more form fitting pair of sweats rather than some of the baggier pairs he had.

Oh god was she really standing here getting turned on watching Katsuki preheat an oven? Nope she was blaming this on the concussion. She would not admit to being turned on by being bossed around the kitchen by Katsuki.

Katsuki’s gaze snapped up to her surprise and his lips slowly spread into a smirk that Ochako felt in her core.

….crap…. you heard that didn’t you?

Of course, he had head that. Ochako sighed, blush rising to her face. She tried really hard to be mad about the fact he had heard her not-so-quiet excitement and found herself coming up short.

Katsuki stood slowly, stalking towards her, raising a brow and Ochaco almost drowned in the wave of playful, flirty and aroused emotions that he was feeling. Oh this had NOT gone according to plan.

He stopped, just in front of where she was frozen, trying to decide what to do, how to use the situation to his advantage. He tilted his head down to look at her, close enough that she could feel the heat that emanated from his body, but just far enough away that they weren’t quite touching. The Bond pulled tight in anticipation and Ochako let out a breath haltingly. Katsuki leaned forward ever so slightly and Ochako’s eyes fell to his lips as the opened slowly to speak.

“Chaks.” Katsuki said huskily, watching through the Link as her brain malfunctioned, his own mood entirely too self-assured. She stood, staring at him, her cheeks heating.

“Grab. the. Tomatoes. and the Fucking. Onion.” He chanted slowly in a low voice, just barely repressing the mischievous smirk threatening to break out on his face.

Ochako met his gaze, her cheeks hot enough to rival the oven Katsuki had just set, and nodded, spinning to grab the supplies. Oh he was devious.

He started cackling under his breath and Ochako fumed slightly, both from irritation at him being such a tease and arousal at him being such a tease. Really, the common denomination was she was that she was frustrated with his behavior.

She grabbed the requested ingredients, one-upping the request and grabbing the other ingredients his brain was running through from the fridge as well. She dumped them onto the shelf with a huff.

“Thank you, that wasn’t so hard now was it?” Katsuki asked lightly and Ochako rolled her eyes at him. She was about ready to slap the smirk off Katsuki’s face. Or maybe kiss it off. Either way really.

“Shit Cheeks, your brain is a hot mess right now.” He commented lightly at her thought, thoroughly enjoying her flustered state, reveling in it. He took out a cutting board and knife and began chopping the vegetables for the marinara sauce rapidly.

“I blame the concussion.” She whimpered out with an embarrassed sigh.

His mood flatlined, guilt slowly creeping in and surpassing the playful mood he had been in. She looked up at him with the change. His knife had paused its rapid movements.

“Shit.” He said lowly. Ochako cocked her head, confused. With a sigh he placed the knife down, bracing both his hands on the counter and leaning into them.

“You’re concussed. I shouldn’t be fucking taking advantage of you not being in your right mind.” He said turning his head to look at her seriously. Ochako felt her eyebrows furrow.

“I mean, I was concussed, now I’m just headachy.” She hedged, confused. It didn’t feel like her brain was still concussed, mostly she just felt confused by his mood swings.

“Regardless we said we were gonna fucking talk about it and not just bulldoze ahead.” He argued with a strangled sigh, staring down at the half-cut vegetables.

“Well technically we never said that out loud, it was more of an unspoken agreement in the Link. “ Ochako mumbled, just to be contrary. Katsuki sent her an unamused glare, but picked up his knife and resumed chopping. His guilt faded somewhat with her blasé attitude and was quickly replaced with a antsy sort of nervous. There was silence for a beat as he collected his thoughts, Ochako waiting for him to speak.

“What exactly is it that you want?” Katsuki asked plainly, avoiding her gaze, still rapidly preparing the ingredients for his home-made marinara.

Not sure what exactly he meant by that, Ochako leaned into his mind across the Bond, feeling how strangely nervous he was. Nervous and longing. Oh he meant what did she want from their relationship, if she wanted a relationship. His gaze snapped up to hers as he felt her probing, a defensive slant in his eyebrows. Ochako sighed.

“I don’t think it’s that simple.” She said tentatively, leaning one hip against the counter.

“Bullshit.” He said, picking up the cutting board and sliding the ingredients into the sauce pot. Ochako narrowed her eyes at him.

“It is not bullshit! There are a lot of factors to consider!” She retorted, watching as he riffled through various spices, adding them one by one to the sauce in imprecise amounts. She distractedly wondered how Katsuki was able to always get a perfect balance of flavors when his measuring was so haphazard.

It’s an instinct, I go with what feels right. That’s how.

He answered her question about his cooking, but she could feel the way he had intended it to apply to their verbal conversation too. He was dead serious about it too. Ochako bit her lip, hesitating.

“What if it doesn’t work out?” Ochako voiced quietly, “What if we get together and break up but still remain Linked? How would we possibly manage that?”

“That won’t happen.” Katsuki stated. Ochako was surprised to feel how certain he was about it.

“How can you be so sure?” Ochako questioned, doing her best to not let his confidence sway her emotions. He seemed to debate something, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

Katsuki sighed and turned to face her, crossing his arms, “Look, I don’t know what is gonna happen, but it feels fucking stupid to make decisions based on events that haven’t happened. You can’t know how you’ll feel in the future. All you can know is how you feel now.”

Ochako listened closely as he spoke, his eyes locking onto hers imploringly.

“So, what is it that you want? What do you want right now, not however fucking far in the future.” Katsuki finished, his confidence in her answer growing with each second she contemplated it.

A part of her brain was screaming at her to just tell him the truth, that she wanted him. That she wanted to be with him and have him be with her, but the more rational part of her mind was in control now and she had one more fear holding her back. One she couldn’t quite shake.

“… but what if it’s just a side effect from the Link? What if it’s not real? What if we just feel like this because the Bond is making us feel this way?” Ochako asked, eye darting away from his.

“Okay for the arguments sake, yeah sure, this is all just a side effect. How does that change what you want?” Katsuki challenged scoffing and crossing his arms, “From what I can tell, we’re stuck with this for the rest of our lives. If it’s changing how you feel so drastically you aren’t sure if it is really you or not, it seems pointless to fight it.”

Ochako thought it over. He had a point, but it still didn’t alleviate her concerns. She couldn’t just put aside her fear that she was being emotionally manipulated by the Bond, or worse that he was being emotionally manipulated by it to have feelings for her. It wasn’t fair to either of them to just give into every little whim this strange shared quirk demanded of them.

“But if you’re really so concerned about it, we can have Aizawa erase the quirk tomorrow and you can see for yourself that it’s not.” He said with a shrug, “Either way that’s a problem for tomorrow.”

Ochako sighed, his confidence about this was wearing down her confusion. He was so certain that he was right, Ochako wanted to know why. How could he be so sure? Silence filled the kitchen again, this time Katsuki waiting for her to process all he had said. He busied himself with setting the sauce up to simmer on a back burner.

“What do you want?” Ochako asked him his own question, peering up at him curiously.

Katsuki stopped his motions and stared at her, eyes roving over her face. Ochako waited for an answer, chest tight. He seemed to be biting his tongue, holding back. Then rolled his eyes, playful mood coming back in full force.

“Well right now I want you to stop being a fucking idiot and admit you want me.” He quipped, smirking, and Ochako rolled her eyes with a pained groan, “I want to stop having this conversation and focus on making lasagna and make out while it’s in the oven.”

Ochako blushed as he stepped closer. She tried and failed to suppress a grin from spreading across her face. The smirk fell from his face as he looked at her, his mood shifting out of a teasing, if not slightly irritated one, to something else. Ochako’s own smile melted away in anticipation, hating the three inches of space between them. He swallowed, reaching forward to tuck a still slightly damp piece of hair behind her ear.

…but mostly I just want you. He settled on finally, an intense look burning in his eyes. The thought felt somehow more intimate than if he had voiced it, somehow more vulnerable. Ochako’s stomach dropped with the intensity of desire and adoration he was feeling. The Bond vibrated with the strength of his emotions and Ochako felt herself reciprocating the feelings unconsciously.
Yup she was a goner, she was in way over her head… and yet, she found that she didn’t really care, didn’t want to care. She just wanted him.

The Link pulled taught in anticipation.

“Fuck it.” She whispered across the distance between them quietly, watching his eyes widen in surprise before she surged forward to kiss him.

Notes:

Thematic mirroring anyone?

You can thank KnifeKirby for what I have dubbed "The Hot Lasagna Incident", as it was her specifically worded challenge that made me write it.

I have decided that this upcoming week instead of updating twice or three times I am going to go back through and edit every chapter up until this point. Lord knows they need it. So next update will be at least a week from now.

Sending you all lots of love of plenty of lasagna!

Chapter 26: This is Fine.jpg

Chapter 26

Katsuki wasn’t an idiot. In fact, he prided himself on being the opposite of an idiot. He was a rational being when it came down to it. He built up his tolerance of ignoring his own emotions, his own instincts for years to become the hero he was just so he wouldn’t become the hotheaded idiot everyone expected him to be.

Because of that, he was good at setting aside his own personal feelings to achieve goals. Good at shutting his own internal discomfort in order to do an external feat. A broken bone? No problem, he could ignore that pain and keep on fighting. Exhaustion for staying up all night working on research or paperwork? A cup of coffee would solve it. Pissed off at a villain? Some calming breaths to refocus and prevent himself from barreling headfirst into a fight.

Never in a million years did he think he would have to resist something as delicious as Ochako’s lips though, and the universe seemed to have found his weakness. When it came to Ochako Katsuki was an idiot. Not that he was fucking complaining.

Ochako surged forward and the Link tugged aggressively on Katsuki’s mind, humming with tension. Katsuki reacted instinctively, meeting her halfway, savoring the dangerously delicious feeling of her lips moving with his. Her hands snaked up his chest, winding into his hair and he grasped her hip dragging her closer until she was flush against him. The electric sparks of contact he’d come to associate with The Jolt snapped and crackled at each contact, setting his nerves on fire in the most pleasant way.

Her fingers fisted in his hair and he growled lowly as the feeling sent the blood that had been in his brain straight to his dick. He barely noticed how close her mind had gotten, so distracted with the physical sensations of her. But he noticed now, her mind was encroaching upon his own layers, melding and merging in the most fucking harmonious way. He was pleased to note that her mind looked way better than it had earlier today. It was much more stable both in thought process and consistency-

Wait wait wait.

Fucking. Goddamn it. She was recovering from a brain injury- he shouldn’t be making out with her. He’d decided this already earlier. He would feel like absolute shit if she woke up tomorrow fully healed and pissed off that he’d taken advantage of her confused brain. He wasn’t that guy, he could control himself.

Katsuki started to pull back, but Ochako’s hand that was fisted in his hair pulled his head back, exposing his throat to Ochako’s wandering lips and his resolve wavered. The Bond dragged him back under, her mood overwhelming his paper-thin desire to resist. Her trailing kisses reached the juncture of his neck and shoulders and she bit down sharply on his trapezius.

Fuuuuck. His control slipped slightly, and he reacted by yanking his head back up from her grip, connecting their lips again furiously. The Bond hummed, filling them both with a sweet tension, full of desperate desire for them to be closer.

Katsuki’s mind came back to him briefly as one of his hands found its way to her lower back, slipping under her shirt so he could elicit the hair-raising electric feel between their skin. Hold the fucking phone, he was supposed to be stopping-

Katsuki she moaned into his mind, an avalanche of lust and desire smothering any coherent thought he might have been hanging on to, resulting in Katsuki losing all semblance of control.

He gripped her waist lifting her off the ground, as she read his intent across the Link and wrapped her legs around his waist. He nipped at her lower lip as he groped her ass (and my oh my what an ass she had), walking them out of the kitchen with all intents to get to his room. She seemed to agree, her mind egging his movement towards a bed on. Their thoughts seemed to be working in tandem, instantaneously asking and answering each other without consciously forming thoughts.

want to go to the bedroom stumbling steps. yes, should already fuckin perfect be there. take my shirt yeess off. A break in kissing while he ripped his shirt over his head and she moved her kisses down the column of his neck again- ohhh you like it when I pull your hair don’t you- A devious smile as she pulled his mouth from hers with a sharp tug on his hair. ughn The remainder of his independent thought fizzled briefly, no way we're making it wall then to the bedroom. He walked them back to the nearest wall, pushing her back against it supporting her weight with his hands on her ass fuck, you have the best ass-

On and on their minds went spiraling around one another as they seamlessly asked and received. Their breath synced and Katsuki didn’t think he’d ever had a kiss feel this fucking good. Fuck, he’d had orgasms less enjoyable than this, whatever the fuck she, or the Bond, fucking- or both, were doing was fucking-

“Shiiiiit.” He groaned out, his thoughts stopping at the motion of her hips grinding directly on top of his cock. Feeling the echoes of his electric pleasure, she repeated the motion and he had to stumble slightly as his legs turned to goo, tempted to let them slide to the floor.

He moved from her mouth to trail under her jaw and down her throat, savoring the way her breathing hitched and her hips ground desperately into his. He slid his hand up the delicious curve of her ass, slipping it under her shirt to grasp her breast over her bra. Fuck she had great tits, he couldn’t count the time he’d spent thinking about them.

shirt off don’t have to ask me now twice

He yanked her shirt over her head, barely pausing to admire the spectacular view before him before returning to his ministrations. He bit down on her neck, feeling the shock of pain and bliss echo on his own. Oh, that was interesting. He did it again slightly higher and groaned at the feeling it elicited across the bond, electric.

“Fuuuck..” He mumbled out as he kissed the lingering sting away from them both.

Suddenly, a loud hissing sound filled the apartment and Ochako jerked back from his mind feeling abruptly more alert. He pulled back to look at her confused, seeing alarm in her eyes. He felt like he was clawing his way through a landslide of lust and arousal as he tried to focus. Why did she stop kissing him-

“Katsuki, the marinara!” She exclaimed, eyes round in emphasis.

The fucking what-

Oh shit.

He pulled back sharply, stepping back and allowing her to unwrap her legs from his waist, groaning at the sudden lack of contact. Fucking hell, he was hard. He ran a shaky hand through his hair stepping away from her and taking a deep breath. He had royally fucked up and completely lost control. This fucking Bond! Even now it was tugging on him to return to her and remove any distance between them with an insistence unlike anything he’d ever experienced.

He glanced over to her, smirking at the way her hair was sticking out from the feverous kissing. His gaze tracked down to the two hickies on her neck, his mind rumbling with the feeling of ‘mine’, which he belatedly tamped down. She cocked her head curiously at the possessive feeling, her small hand snaking up to delicately feel the marks.

Katsuki heaved another deep breath, physically willing the blood to return to the rest of his body.

“Fucking shit.” He ground out annoyed, glancing over his shoulder towards where he knew the pot of marinara was boiling over. He somehow managed to scrape his self-control back together from where it had been incinerated, shoving her mind away from his. He was pleased when the Bond’s incessant yanking stopped as her mind settled a normal distance away.

“You,” He pointed to Ochako then to the couch, “Sit. Stay.”

Ochako narrowed her eyes and he felt a flash of ire, and she opened her mouth to speak but he beat her to it.

“If you don’t fucking keep out of the kitchen, I am going to burn my fucking house down while making out with you. Now sit.”

Ochako frowned, the indignation and irritation he was feeling giving way to arousal as she walked over to the couch and sat. He groaned as her arousal undulated across the Link, making his cock twitch eagerly.

“Happy?” She asked, crossing her arms which only served to draw his attention to her chest.

“Fuck no. You are disastrously irresistible and now I have to cook with a fucking hard on!” He bit out, begrudgingly dragging his gaze from her tits to her eyes, noting that her pupils were still dilated.

He felt amusement wash over the Link as he spun on his heels and stalked into the kitchen, immediately turning down the burner on the marinara sauce, which had boiled over, and removing its lid. The lust and desire between them clouded the layers of their minds and he worked to clear the mental horizon between them. He grumbled unhappily as he got to work getting the rest of the lasagna ingredients prepped and cooking, feeling Ochako’s brain go into overdrive. Her thoughts were buzzing around, not loud enough for him to be able to distinguish what she was thinking, but loud enough to annoy the hell out of him. It didn’t help that his traitor of a mind was reliving the experience of having her grind on his dick while he mercilessly attacked her lips. If he wasn’t so damn hungry, he’d be tempted to just say fuck it, but he could feel his own hunger as well as hers and he knew he’d regret not eating later. That and the whole concussion thing.

Hey, so where are my notes? You never told me, and we got a bit … uhm distracted earlier

Katsuki snorted as her thought floated into his mind a wave of nervous embarrassment rolling down his spine, presumably hers. ‘Distracted’, yeah that’s one way to put it.

It’s on the dresser in your, er.. the guest room

When had he started thinking of his guest room as belonging to her? He shook his head, reminding himself that she was only staying here for a bit. Until they finally caught these villains.

Thanks! I figured I’d try to be productive while we, ehm… cool down… or whatever

Katsuki sent her the impression of a nod before pulling away from her in the Link. If she wanted to ‘cool down’ he needed to avoid thinking about her for some minutes. His neck twinged as she tentatively touched her neck somewhere in the other room. His cock twitched. He pulled back further from her, maybe more than a few minutes…





When he finally put the casserole into the oven, he was much calmer. Probably because he couldn’t actively see Ochako and he’d satisfactorily separated their minds so he wasn't Bond-drunk on the Link’s euphoric glowing.

Closing the oven door, he braced his hands on the counter, thinking. On the one hand, Ochako had a concussion. While he was pretty sure she was sufficiently healed for him to trust her decisions, he wasn’t one hundred percent certain. It would be a dick move to take advantage of her jumbled brain. That, in combination with the earlier marinara catastrophe, made him inclined to avoid going back into the living room. Plus, he’d just managed to relax enough to not be painfully aroused. He would like to avoid being that hard only to have to calm the fuck down again once the lasagna needed to come out of the oven. And no way in hell was he going to be done with Ochako in the 20 minutes it would take to cook. On top of all that they should probably discuss boundaries beforehand. Something told him that he would have fucked her against that wall, and she would have happily reciprocated had they not been interrupted by the threat of setting his apartment on fire. Which would have been fine if she wasn’t concussed or if they weren’t Bond-drunk at the time. It was hard to think rationally when the Link sucked them into each other and showered them with dopamine like it had been.

On the other hand, making out with Ochako.

It was a really tough call as far as he was concerned.

He sighed, rolling his head around his shoulders to try and relax the tension he held there. He could see that the cons outweighed the pros, barely. Making a compromise with himself he decided to go talk with her while the lasagna cooked. Might as well cross off one of the cons while he waited.

He pushed off the counter, grimacing at the dual spots of sweat that he left, quickly grabbing a paper towel to wipe it up. Fucking adrenaline. The last thing he needed right now was to make his kitchen into an explosion waiting to happen.

He walked out of the kitchen, freezing when he saw Ochako seated on the couch, a yellow notepad in her hands. Still only clad in her bra, which he was just now noticing was a lacey light purple color that really flattered her creamy skin tone. He felt a flush of arousal. Goddamn it.

“Why didn’t you put a shirt on?!” He accused, pointing at her from where he’d rooted his feet halfway to the couch, not daring to get any closer.

She turned her head and he felt a not-at-all-subtle wave of appreciative lust as her eyes raked over his form, before meeting his daringly.

“You didn’t either!” She flung back at him, rolling her eyes, “I got distracted and I forgot, okay?” She shifted more on the couch turning so he had a better view. Jesus fucking Christ.

He narrowed his eyes at her and she sighed, standing up and walking over to where her shirt had been thrown on the ground earlier. She bent down to pick it up- Katsuki almost choked at the sight of her bending over, before he darted his eyes away. She slipped her shirt on and returned to the couch as if she hadn’t the slightest clue what she did to him, even though he could feel her smug victory over his reaction. Little minx.

Katsuki pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling forcefully. He forcibly pushed his emotions away, smothering his desire and appreciation. He took several deep breaths as he did, more as a vent for his frustration than a meditative exercise. In and out. In and out.

Once he had reined in his wild imagination, he picked up a kitchen chair and carried it to a spot a safe distance away from where she was sitting on the couch. He set it down and she looked up. She cocked her head quizitively.

“Yes?” She asked when he failed to explain his actions. He felt her press into his layers, probing for more information. The contact was strangely comforting. He sighed, there was no way around it.

“We gotta talk about boundaries.” He grumbled out begrudgingly. Her mouth popped open and Katsuki tried not to get distracted by the swollen look her lips had. As if he needed reminding of what he was choosing not to do in favor of fucking talking. Fuck him and his stupid outstanding morals.

“Uh, yeah I guess that’s a good plan” She acquiesced, setting her notes down and turning her full attention on him. Ochako took a deep breath before continuing, “I totally understand if you want me to back off. I didn’t mean to push you so far.”

Bakugou’s mind stuttered to a halt. Wait, she thought he was being pushed beyond his boundaries?

“What?” he asked chuckling at the irony that was their miscommunication, “What part of me almost fucking you against a wall because I couldn’t wait till we walked the extra 50 feet to my bed made you think I was uncomfortable?”

He watched delightedly as Ochako’s cheeks flushed at his word choice and her mouth opened and closed as she tried to answer.

“But you didn’t…?” She tried to explain, “You left suddenly when we came to our senses, then you ignored me for twenty minutes and came back saying we need to talk about boundaries.”

“Yeah, your boundaries idiot.” Katsuki replied with a smirk, “I left because I wasn’t going to be able to stop if I didn’t get some air. You’re the one who seems to be tentative about how you feel. I didn’t want to push you.”

Ochako fell silent again, bringing a finger to her lips contemplatively. Katsuki tried very hard to not think about her lips.

“Oh.” She said plainly.

“You’re gonna need to give me something other than ‘oh’ to go off of.” Katsuki said deadpanning. No wonder they had miscommunications; the woman was a fucking enigma.

Ochako cleared her throat and Katsuki resisted the temptation to lean into her layers to figure out what she was thinking. She had been strangely good about not Calling him this evening and he was not used to the lack of information. Normally he’d get several insights into her thoughts every hour or so, it was strange to have radio silence, but he didn’t want her to think it was ‘the Bond influencing them’, or whatever other bullshit she thought was going on.

“When you say boundaries you mean…?” She hedged, twisting her fingers together in her lap.

“Sex, Cheeks, I mean sex.“ Katsuki rolled his eyes.

He knew the kinda stuff she and Deku got into (fucking gag!), that nerd had told him all the details Katsuki really hadn’t wanted to know against his fucking will (which was a story of years and years of immense torture for another time…). Ochako was hardly a shrinking violet, if Deku was to be believed.

Ochako didn’t reply, her flush spreading down her throat in an entirely too enticing way. Katsuki’s eyes flicked to the marks he’d left there earlier, a flash of possessiveness burning through him before he squished the feeling back into its box in the back of his mind where it’d dwelled for the last half decade.

“…. I have no qualms with having, hem, sex...with you.” She choked out.

Katsuki sighed, leaning forward and resting his forearms on his knees. He knew very well that was an understatement of how she felt about it, The Bond didn’t let her hide something like that with how close they got when they kissed. Since the metaphorical damn had broken earlier today, he was all too aware of just how much she was ‘unopposed to sleeping with him’.

“Being unopposed to an idea is not the same thing as actively fucking wanting it.” Katsuki said, “And I refuse to fuck you unless you are actively wanting it, preferably begging for it.”

Okay so maybe the last bit was overkill, but it slipped from his tongue before he had fully processed it. Fuck it. It was already out, and it was true. He preferred consent to be more of blinding, guttural need than a resigned yes. Sue him.

Ochako’s mouth hung open in shock and Katsuki smirked uncontrollably. She Called him for only the second time that night, much to his delight: did Katsuki really just say that? Oh my god, why do I think it’s so hot? What’s gotten into me?

Yes, I did and I’m making a mental note to explore that particular kink later…

He sent the thought at her, smug feeling just surpassing his general excitement at the thought of exploring power play with her later. He sat back quickly, clearing the thoughts from his head. He was getting ahead of himself, first they needed to establish ground rules. Now, if she would fucking just admit what her brain was screaming at them…

“Okay fine.” She huffed, resigned look setting on her face, her lip jutting out in a pout, “I would very much like to have sex with you. In fact, I think I’d like to date you, despite my better judgement.”

He made a face at the insinuation that dating him was a bad idea. Jesus Round Face, fucking harsh much? She just gave him a mischievous grin before her face fell into a more contemplative look.

“Though I am not entirely convinced it’s not just the Bond doing some crazy emotional manipulation to us.” She tagged on the end of her thought, crossing her arms irritably and he raised a brow at her behavior.

“We’ve been over this.” He replied, thinking he’d put the issue to bed earlier.

He knew for a fucking fact that this was not just the Bond making them feel like this, he would want her- fucking had wanted her- before they got Linked. Sure, the weird pulling together and the euphoric glowey sensation was new, but he wasn’t gonna fucking complain. He’d never had a make out session that intensely pleasurable in his fucking life. No way in hell was he going to look that gift horse in the mouth. It made him curious to see just how mind-blowing sex with her would be-

Ah. He was getting fucking ahead of himself again. He shook his head to right his dangerously careening thoughts.

Regardless, he couldn’t exactly tell her all of his reasoning, that was a conversation for a long way down the road. The last thing he needed was her freaking out about how long his idiot heart had been fucking bleeding out on the pavement for her. Nope. He was not opening himself up for that pity fest, no fucking way.

“Well, I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.” She replied, searching his face.

Oh, shit she probably could feel his unease right now. Katsuki steamrolled the emotion with some irritation, the easiest emotion for him to find and flame to life.

“Hmmm” He hummed in agreement, staring at her, “We’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see then.”

He sighed standing up, his internal clock estimating that the oven would be beeping in a few seconds. He’d gone for years without being with her, he could last another day.

“Where are you going?” Ochako asked and he felt confused all of a sudden. Well she felt confused, so he did. Freaking Soul Bond.

Just then the oven started beeping loudly and he pointed towards the source.

“Lasagna.” Was all he said as he headed into the kitchen. The second he entered the space his nose was wrapped in the delicious aroma of the food and his mouth started watering. Fuck he was starving.




Food seemed to take her mind entirely off the possibility of fucking him, which was nice because he was about out of will power to resist both their desire. As they ate, she explained how she wanted to make a stop at the records office to pick up some more information regarding the file she had found two weeks ago. He agreed that they could swing by the records office before meeting up with Aizawa and Mind Freak.

By the time they were done it was late, almost midnight, and he was dead on his feet. He normally didn’t stay up this fucking late and it had been a long-ass day. Ochako was also exhausted, dragging her feet as she cleared the dishes and started to wash them.

“Oi!” He called as he stuck the leftovers into his fridge, “leave them.”

She turned and blinked owlishly at him, “what?”

“Leave the dishes, I’ll get them tomorrow.” He instructed standing and crossing his arms, “I’m exhausted and you’ll keep me up with the noise.” Yeah that and he could feel that she was dead on her feet. She should go to bed, dishes could wait.

She nodded, leaving the dishes in the sink for a later time, crossing in front of him and heading towards her bedr- fuck- the guest bedroom. He followed her, passing her in the hall as he walked into his own room.

Part of him was tempted to ask if she would stay with him again, just to sleep. Those few hours he’d gotten when she’d been next to him had been some of the most restful hours of sleep he’d gotten since they’d been Linked. It was the same separation bullshit, like the Bond couldn’t stand them being apart. He hadn’t even realized how restless his sleep had been until she’d slept next to him. That and the fact that he was completely and totally infatuated with her led him to want her with him. It was so fucking stupid.

He didn’t ask, knowing that it was a weird request, something he wasn’t even ready to fully admit he wanted to himself yet. So instead he gave her an awkward nod as she wished him goodnight, disappearing into his room. He settled into bed after hastily brushing his teeth and stripping clothes haphazardly, falling asleep quickly thanks to the sheer exhaustion of the day.

…

Drip

“Blood based Memories and Mind Reading buffed to three times.” A deep voice. Too long fingers digging into his chest, draining his life. Pain, immense pain, as memories are drug forcibly from him. Ripped from the recess of his mind.

Drip

The cold hand of death enclosing upon his heart, squeezing as All For One drained him of everything that made him who he was. All of his memories, his whole being ripped from his soul mercilessly.

Drip

A stuttered gasp as the faceless man went in for the kill. He found what he wanted. He got it, Katsuki let him win, he wasn’t strong enough, he-

“Katsuki!”

Katsuki startled awake, palms crackling sharply as he heaved in heavy breaths in the darkness.

It took him a few moments to realize that he wasn’t tied down in that horrible basement. No, he was in his bed. At home. His eyes darted around the room, straining to see in the darkness as his heart raced in his chest. He searched for the threat, before realizing it was just in his mind. There was no threat other than his own mind, his own memories.

He stopped at the sight of Ochako sitting on his bed and he realized that she was gently wiping the tears that were traitorously falling down his cheeks. Her finger pads scratched lightly against his cheek as she gave him a worried glance, biting her lip anxiously.

He reacted on instinct, grasping her around her waist and pulling her to him. She folded herself into his side with a surprised squeak and he buried his face into her neck, breathing in her familiar scent- some weird mix of strawberry and vanilla.

“Shhh, it’s okay.” She breathed out as one of her hands started to stroke through his hair, her mind mirroring the physical touch across the Bond. He heaved a faltering sigh as his heart rate slowed. They sat in the darkness together as he calmed down from the terror of the dream.

She moved to leave after a few minutes and Katsuki tightened his hold on her waist, pulling back to look at her. Her face screwed up in a confused look as his arms locked around her.

“Stay.” He croaked out, “Please.”

She paused for a second then smiled fondly at him and his heart stuttered, traitorous thing it was.

“I was just trying to lie down.” She whispered and his heart ached with affection. He released her as she slipped under his covers smoothly. She laid down, placing a hand on his shoulder tugging him from his seated position back down next to her. He fell back, a part of him disbelieving he could be so lucky and the other part just infinitely grateful that she existed. Fuck he was an emotional wreck right now. When did he turn into such a whipped pussy? Oh right, the second she’d almost taken him out during the first sports festival.

He breathed out a tense sigh, full of all the overwhelming emotions he was feeling, as she curled into his side, an arm resting across his chest and her head on his shoulder. She reached her hand up, returning to running it through his hair as she had the previous night. He found it to be exceptionally relaxing. Her mind sent calming waves of emotions across the Link, effectively melting his tension and turning him into a pliable puddle of goo in her hands. If she only knew the kind of power she held over him he’d never hear the end of it.

“Thank you.” He breathed out as his muscles unwound and he melted into her. He felt her smile against his shoulder before she pressed a light kiss to the skin there, the Bond making the area light up with electric tingles which ebbed away pleasantly.

He fell back into a dreamless sleep with the thought that his other half was right where she was supposed to be, too far gone to question the strangeness of the thought.

Notes:

WELL. I didn't do any editing past chapter 3 because my lizard brain doesn't like it. I watched all of Haikyuu instead. *sigh* I have no self control.

Thank you to my fabulous new beta Wonduhhwoman, see her work here: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonduhhwoman/pseuds/wonduhhwoman

Thank you for all the support as always! I will be going through comments over the next few days as well and picking out a chapter title for ch 25!!

<3

Chapter 27: Event Horizon

Ochako woke up to the feeling of Katsuki nudging both her shoulder and her mind in a wildly disorienting combination of sensations. After the mandatory couple of seconds it took her to untangle the physical sensation from the mental one, she came to realize that Katsuki, fully dressed in casual workout clothes, was leaning over her with an annoyed expression on his face.

“I know you sleep in a lot, but for fucks sake Round Face, it’s basically the afternoon at this point.” He commented wryly, no real bite to the words.

Ochako blinked the sleep from her eyes, sitting up in his bed which was strangely overly-familiar at this point, given that she’d only slept in it twice. The sheets smelled like him; burnt sugar and his distinctive spicy yet somehow musky scent, something she found to be entirely too comforting. He entered the room with a coffee mug in his hands, sweaty workout clothes indicating he just returned from a workout. Oh lord did she hope that mug of coffee was for her. She glanced at the clock: 10:30am.

“It is not.” She pouted, looking back to him with a grouchy glare. He just handed her the mug of coffee. The gesture and influx of the scent of freshly brewed coffee perked her up and she gave him a smile.

You read my mind. She joked as she took an appreciative sip.

“Booooo.” He jeered, though he couldn’t resist the smile that pulled at the corners of his lips or the flush of affection that drifted across the Bond from him. She smiled at him brightly over the rim of her mug as he settled on the bed next to her legs.

You wanted to go to the records department this morning, right?

Yes, to look into the kid the Nukona’s attacked. Another sip of coffee.

Get your ass in gear then, you’ve already slept half the day away. He reached out and patted her thigh, sending a zap of electricity up her nerves making her jump slightly. He grinned at her reaction.

Look, not everyone feels compelled by Satan to rise with the sun.

Oh, a part of me felt compelled to rise by Satan this morning, but it wasn’t my desire to get out of bed… A suggestive smirk graced his face, eyes sparking with mischief.

What do you-? She paused following his thoughts before his flush of arousal hit her. Oh. OH. Katsuki!

When the hell had he gotten so bold?! He cackled, head tilting back as she blushed furiously.

“Now, get up Lazy-ass. I’m gonna go shower. There are waffles in the oven if you want some.” He said with a shit-eating grin, before standing and leaning in to give her a feather light kiss.

Before she could process the last few seconds of time, he was out the door, leaving her disheveled with tingling lips. What the hell? Were they doing casual kisses now? When had she missed that conversation?

Ochako shook herself out of her stupor, nodded and took a decidedly larger gulp of coffee. She stumbled as she was getting out of his bed, not quite fully awake yet. Something had shifted in their relationship in the last 36 hours, and while she wasn’t unhappy with the development (quite the opposite in fact) she was still left with the now familiar feeling of unease at how natural the shift felt. They had essentially gone from friends to… in a relationship… in under two days. She should be feeling more strange about the rapid changes, but all she felt was content. It was worrying just in the fact that she wasn’t worried about it. It made her believe that these changes HAD to be the Bond manipulating their feelings. Right?

A serene feeling emanated across the bond as she walked to the kitchen and persisted as she pulled the waffles out of the oven, where Katsuki had put them to keep them warm for her. It was disgustingly domestic of him. She loved it.

The rest of the morning passed quickly, Katsuki joining her in the kitchen as she ate, detailing the morning workout he’d completed with a few teasing remarks about her getting out of shape from skipping so many workouts this week. She didn’t bring up the change in their relationship status, but neither did he. The Link felt light, content and above all else- effortless. It was such a nice change from the continuous back and forth pulling they’d been battling up until this point. It was almost as if the Bond was finally content with their level of relationship.

Ochako was blissfully able to forget the reality of the outside world until it was time to leave. When Katsuki gave a pointed sigh indicating it was time to go, her heart sank a bit. Katsuki’s mood crystalized with the harsh reality of what they were facing, which in turn doused Ochako in his grim mindset. They wordlessly left the reality-defying-bubble of his apartment and headed towards the records department.

On the train, standing slightly too close to Katsuki to be considered anything less than affectionate, Ochako had the notion that they should be talking about the shift in their relationship. They certainly could clear up exactly what their relationship was now, but she really didn’t feel like she had to, she just knew . Her heart seemed to be tamping down her doubts with a steady mantra of ‘togetherness’. They were together, of course they were together, who else would she be with? That was it, no definitions needed. Or at least that’s what she felt...Her brain was having a harder time processing the whole change. It wasn’t so long ago she had felt similar to this about Izuku, albeit less intensely. It was hard to trust herself in this with her record of falling in love too fast. She didn’t bring up her concerns though, they had talked and decided to test out her theory already. Katsuki would be annoyed at having to revisit something he didn’t even think was a problem in the first place.

As they entered the records department, Ochako immediately felt the oppressive silence that encompassed the space. The lobby had a distinct feeling of ‘old musty governmental building’, with low ceilings and dated furniture to match. Usually the lovely staff working here made up for the drab environment, but today the mood was hostile.

The employees were all downcast, with looks ranging from anger to disappointment and Ochako had to assume they had been informed, either officially or just through the gossip mill of the actions of their co-workers. Katsuki seemed to feel the tension in the air too because his mood soured, and his face morphed into an expression of gritty anger.

Can you imagine finding out two of your coworkers were serial child murderers? Fucking grim.

Yeah, no kidding… everyone here looks positively exhausted with grief.

Ochako averted her gaze from the stare of a young woman who was watching her and Katsuki with a scowl. Katsuki saw the interaction and sent the woman a retaliatory glare. Ochako elbowed him in the ribs, ignoring the echo of the jab she felt on her own.

“Let’s just get this done as soon as possible.” Ochako mumbled hurrying towards the information desk.  

As they approached, the bespectacled man sitting behind the computer screen at the desk looked up expectantly, recognition flitting across his features as he correctly identified them as Uravity and Ground Zero.

“How can I help you?” The man asked politely.

“Good afternoon,” Ochako responded in kind, feeling Katsuki resist the urge to roll his eyes through the Link, “I was hoping to access more information regarding file number-“ at this she paused to check the scrap of paper she had written the file number on, “1035A6”

The man nodded, typing the file number into the system, scrolling his mouse wheel as his eyes read the information.

“This case involves a minor.” He said, glancing away from the screen to give them a closed-off look.

“Yeah we need to bypass the sealed records.” Ochako affirmed with a nod. The man sighed.

“Alright, I need your hero licenses.” He said holding a hand out.

Ochako and Katsuki handed over their cards, which the man took with what appeared to be an attempt at a smile saying “I’m going to go make copies and enter the request into the system. It should be ready in a few minutes, you’re free to-“

“-Wait here.” Katsuki interrupted, “Yeah, not our first rodeo.”

Ochako elbowed him in the ribs a second time, wincing as she felt her own ribs ache, also for the second time. Katsuki snorted at her reaction, shaking his head to try and keep a straight face. The man behind the desk eyed them with a stare that seemed to say ‘I don’t get paid enough for this shit’.

Ochako grabbed Katsuki’s hand and pulled him away from the desk forcibly with a glare. He just smirked at her, thoroughly amused by her irritation at his callous behavior.

They waited for a few minutes in silence as the request was processed, Ochako working to control her ire at Katsuki while he entertained himself observing her efforts to do so through the Bond. He could be so condescending and smug sometimes. It never hurt to be kind, for God’s sake. But nooooo! He was laughing at her polite language and sunny disposition as if it was pointless and comedic. What was she supposed to do? Yell at the kind man?  

She did manage to control herself, much to Katsuki’s disappointment. She would swear the man liked it when she lost control, if it weren’t for the admiration she knew he felt when she did manage to douse her irritation.

Her irritation at Katsuki fizzled out not a moment too soon, when the man at the front desk caught her gaze and waved them back over.

“The request has been approved.” He said tiredly as he handed their cards back, “You should have access to the files now with your professional accounts. Anything else?”

Ochako shook her head, “No, thank you.” The man gave her a nod and Ochako smiled her best crowd-pleasing smile. She felt Katsuki roll his eyes at her insistence to win this man over. The man blinked at her, slightly dazed. Ha. Never fails.

She turned to Katsuki, who was shaking his head with a reluctant smile as they walked back toward the main entrance.

What?

Ochako questioned him and he just gave her that same rueful, reluctant half-grin, like he had some sort of inside joke about her he didn’t want to share. The Link offered no insights, his mood was a steady ebb of content with a hint of teasing and that slightly abrasive Katsuki-brand affection.

Nothing.

Ochako gave him one last skeptical glance at his response, but his grin only widened. She shrugged the weird interaction off.

“Back to my office until it’s time to meet with Aizawa?” She asked, giving him a smile and a ‘thank you’ as he held the door for her.

“Yeah, I figure that’s the best option.” He affirmed, “Worst case scenario we practice some combo moves.”

Ochako grinned, leaning into his mind through the Bond, catching glimpses of the ideas he had for those combo moves. They involved a lot of aerobatics and intense G-forces. She felt a flutter of excitement from either herself or him, maybe both, at the thought of the physics defying stunts.

Speaking of which….

Ochako’s excitement morphed into trepidation in response to his shift to what can only be described as ‘scheming’. She had a bad feeling about this, and she narrowed her eyes at him, expectant.

Let’s skip the train and take a Rocketship instead.

She should have guessed. The man was a freaking addict! Ochako groaned, stopping in her tracks and tilting her head back to glare at the sky. It was a deliberate move to avoid his hopeful gaze. The spark of genuine, child- like excitement in his eyes was a weak point of hers.

“Please?” He pleaded, grabbing both her hands and tugging on her mind with his. Ochako met his gaze and felt her resolve waver. God she was weak enough by this stare alone, let alone when he also used his manners!

He leaned into her mind through the Link, nudging insistently. Ochako paused, eyes narrowing at his mood, amplified now that he was closer. He was feeling far too confident for someone putting on a show of begging. Almost mischievous- conniving, even.

 

“You figured out I’m weak to you saying ‘please’, didn’t you.” She said suspiciously and his amusement flared in response. He was so using her compassion against her! The devious little-

Pretty please..

“Ugh!” Ochako huffed, “You are insufferable. Yes, fine, we can blast across the damn sky!”

“Fuck yeah!” He yelled, earning a few stares from civilians walking by on the street. The excitement and appreciation he had steadily been feeling in the records department doubled, making her heart flutter in response and she couldn’t resist the grin that spread across her face to match his.

And blast across the sky they did.

 

 

 

Once Ochako and Katsuki arrived at her hero agency (and after Ochako had smoothed her chaotically wind-blown hair and Katsuki had come down from the adrenaline high), they settled at her desk. Katsuki had to pull up a chair. It was a tight fit with both of them vying to see her work computer’s screen. Katsuki had offered to have her sit in his lap, poised as a joke, but she could feel the spark of hope that he felt at the notion. Ochako had responded with a glare, to which he just grinned sharply, totally unfazed. He was pushing his luck today at any given opportunity and she wasn’t sure how seriously to take him.

She logged into the Police network portal and navigated the confusing website to the records catalog. It had taken her an embarrassing amount of time when she’d been a rookie to figure out how to use the network. She prayed they never changed it too drastically lest she have to spend more time trying to figure it out again.

They read through the information together in silence. The previously unnamed first child victim of the Nukona couple was named Kuro Ichirou and had definitely been a bully in the years leading up to the incident. Katsuki and Ochako sifted through years of school reports for the kid and there was a trail of detentions and parent teacher interventions a mile long, all of which stopped abruptly after the attack.

Ochako dug through the disciplinary actions, searching for the missing piece: the event that had started it all- a school yard fight gone wrong. Her breath caught and she heard Katsuki’s reflexive intake of breath when her eyes found what she was looking for.

The report was long. Very long. Whichever officer had written this had been exceptionally thorough and Ochako was grateful to them.

It detailed the encounter that had resulted in two of the students dying, as told from the five children who had been present- or at least the five that had survived. The two who had been killed in the altercation, Denji Nukona and another student named Ria Ganji, had apparently been long-time enemies. They had come to blows more than once, until- at least according to the survivors- Denji had made eye contact with his bully and commanded Ria to die. Which she promptly did thanks to his Command Word Kill quirk. The officer detailed how it appeared to be a rivalry gone wrong, backed up by the accounts of the students, teachers and parents involved.

All of which was absolutely horrible to read for Ochako, but was worse for Katsuki. She could feel that he was drowning in his guilt and shame, obviously thinking about his own relationship with Izuku, something a brief brush against his mind confirmed.  

Fuck.

He stared at the report, a stricken expression on his face, gripping the edge of her wooden desk tightly. Ochako’s heart clenched at the sight, wrenching further as his emotions overwhelmed the Bond. It was a weird mix of regret for the past and anxiety spurred on by what could have been.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay.” Ochako said coaxingly, reaching up to rest a palm on Katsuki’s cheek, “It’s not you and Izuku, you were better than that. Are better than that.”

His gaze snapped to her, and he pulled away from her touch. Ochako grimaced at the feeling of rejection at the motion. He, somehow, managed to feel it through his swirling emotions and sighed, looking away from her.

“I know, but it’s still a painful reminder of what I fucking could have become if that little green shit was anything less than what he is.” He said as explanation, guilt heavy in his tone.

“What do you mean?” Ochako asked quietly, brows furrowed. Katsuki tensed, face flickering with the storm of emotions flowing across the bond. Ochako caught regret, anger, trepidation and… was that jealousy?

“The only reason Deku and I didn’t destroy each other in any of the numerous fights we had was because he never meant any of it maliciously. He only did what he did because he wanted to make me better. I can’t say the same for myself and that kills me.”

Ochako understood what Katsuki was getting at, thanks to some combination of his words and the emotions that went with them. The jealousy and shame in particular, told her that Katsuki struggled with accepting who he had been as a teen, especially when compared to Deku. He struggled to take the ego hit that was Deku’s influence in his life. Both grateful and resentful to Izuku for forcibly making Katsuki consider changing.  

“I get it, you hate who you were back then,” Ochako said kindly with a small smile, “But you couldn’t be who you are today without being who you were then.”

Her smile melted when she felt an unanticipated flair of anguish at her words rather than the comfort and acceptance she was trying to elicit. Katsuki sighed again, shaking his head somberly.

“That’s not true though. I wouldn’t have changed without him. He forced me to be a better person, but I can’t say I did the same for him. It kills me that I know I would have never changed, would have been a second coming of Half-n-Half’s fuckwad of a father, had the person I despised the most not been selfless enough to fix me. I can take no claim in the fact I’ve changed, just admit that it happened against my will due to Izuku’s fucking benevolence.”

Katsuki looked down, unlatching his hands from where they gripped her desk and staring down at them as if they’d been personally responsible for who he’d been in highschool. It was such a striking image to see Bakugou, the person who practically worshipped his insanely powerful quirk for all it did for him, glare at the source of his power with such contempt. Ochako’s heart broke a little seeing him, Katsuki fucking Bakugou, cheapen his accomplishments. It felt so wrong, like the antecedent of everything he believed had somehow taken root in his self-image.

“That is such bullshit.” Ochako scoffed, pulling away from where her hand rested on his cheek, irrationally furious at him. His head snapped up in surprise, emotions pausing before irritation and indignation resurfaced.

“Fuckin’ rude.” Bakugou barked out gruffly, mildly offended, “I’m fucking baring my soul here and you say it’s bullshit? I’m sorry, are you privy to some in-depth knowledge of myself I am not?”

“Yes stupid.” Ochako replied with an eye roll, “you may not have realized this yet, but there are a lot of things about your mind that I am better at understanding than you.”

“Fuck off.” Katsuki sneered.

“Okay then name the emotion you're feeling right now.” Ochako countered crossing her arms obstinately.

“I’m irritated at your presumptuous ass.” Katsuki growled.

“Yes, you’re almost always irritated.” Ochako drawled, delighted at the way his eyes narrowed, unable to refute, “But you’re feeling WAY more than irritated. And I know for a fact that you struggle identifying, responding to and controlling those other emotions.”

“What is your point?” he hissed through gritted teeth.

“My point is that I understand those emotions, and I get you in ways you don’t because of that.” Ochako said sharply, sending a hard poke through the Bond, “And because of that understanding I know that you would have changed. You seem to think that Izuku forced you, but I know you, and you are probably the most stubborn person I have ever met. No one could make you do something you didn’t want to do, not without you deciding to change first. Just because you didn’t recognize the desire to change, the empathy and regret for what they were, doesn’t mean you didn’t feel them. And it sure as fuck doesn’t mean they didn’t drive you to change, would have driven you to be better with or without Izuku.”

Katsuki stared at her as she rambled, brows raising as she punctuated her point by poking him in the chest.

“You don’t realize it because you are as emotionally stunted as you are stubborn, but you make emotional decisions waaaay before you make conscious choices. Izuku didn’t make you grow, YOU did. He just eased the path you were already on. Emotional lubricant.”

Katsuki stared at her in shock, and she rode along with his emotions as he processed her words. She felt the moment he resigned himself to agree with her when the figurative weight on his chest lifted, easing the tension in them both.

Then an unexpected electric bolt of mirth had her grinning reflexively, though she didn’t know what had spurred the emotion in him until he opened his mouth.

“Did you just describe Deku as lube?” Katsuki cackled, looking at her incredulously.

 Ochako was torn between feeling embarrassed and horrified at letting Katsuki’s delight take over. She felt her cheeks heat up and she sputtered. “I- I mean, like- Figuratively, yes!” She defended and he just barked out more laughter, “That’s not the point though!”

He gave her a toothy grin, not responding. Ochako blushed further at the flush of appreciative affection he sent her way. Her stomach dropped with the warm emotion and glowing eye contact he gave her.

Thanks, Cheeks.

Ochako nodded, clearing her throat and willing her cheeks to return to a normal color. She turned back to the computer, attempting to dive back into the records. Katsuki’s mood refused to calm down though, and she would occasionally hear him chuckle over her shoulder, devious delight flaring across the Bond. She assumed his thoughts were reliving the conversation, but really didn’t want to risk getting dragged into his emotions, so she didn’t check. Instead she continued to read the unredacted report of the Couples retaliatory attack that had happened to the surviving kid, K uro Ichirou.

Unfortunately, this report was not nearly as thorough as the one about the inciting incident. This was largely due to the severe head injury the kid had suffered from the attack. Ochako winced as she read the brief medical reports that had been filed with the police report, recalling her own recent head injury. It seemed that the kid only vaguely recalled that there had been an adult male and female attacker, with no particular details to report. The office had noted that he was planning on following up in a few days to see if he had recovered any memories of use, though when she and Katsuki searched for the follow up, they were disappointed to see it never happened. It was obvious what they had to do next: go talk with the survivor of the suspected first attack of the Nukona couple.

Ochako and Katsuki spent the rest of the afternoon before they were supposed to go see Aizawa digging through records to try and track down Kuro, a task that proved to be incredibly difficult. More difficult than it should have been. It made Ochako suspicious that Kuro had purposely tried to disappear, hiding from the very people who had tried to off him.

Hero licenses came in handy for this kind of work, allowing them access to bigger data banks than the general public, though manually sorting through the data to create a timeline of Kuro’s activities since the attack was time consuming. The most important piece of information they found was that he had donned an alias two years ago through unofficial channels, something that explained why he appeared to have disappeared from the record since then. He had closed all his accounts and activities under his birth name, instead operating with the fake name Kanu Inki. Ochako had to hand it to him, the job he did was very methodical, but not enough to lose the trail of people with access to as many servers as Katsuki and Ochako had, thanks to their status in the top ten. Still, it took the better part of six hours to finally figure out where the guy was living now and Ochako was disappointed to find it was on the outskirts of the city, too far for them to travel if they wanted to make it to their training with Aizawa on time.

She and Katsuki decided to try tomorrow. She saved the appropriate information to her work computer’s encrypted cloud storage for later reference should they need it, but also wrote the address down on a slip of paper for tomorrow. Then they headed to the train station with an hour to spare, Ochako immediately turning down Katsuki’s idea to Rocketship across the city before he could even ask. They had time to kill, they could take the freaking train.

 

 

 

“What exactly are we planning on telling Aizawa?” Katsuki questioned suddenly as they walked up to the front doors of the police station.

“What do you mean?” Ochako questioned glancing up at him, “I was just planning on telling him everything.”

“I don’t think he’d be particularly interested in the details of last night’s make out session, Cheeks.” He replied with a snort. Ochako blushed, yes that was probably true.

“Oh, well yes.” She said nervously tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, “I mean we don’t have to share...erm… everything. Just the broad strokes.”

“So you want to tell him about your undying infatuation with me?” He teased with a smirk as they crossed the lobby.

“Yes I would love to detail our most intimate desires to our mentor.” She retorted sarcastically.

“I don’t know what you’re fucking planning to do, just trying to make sure we are on the same page.” He said lightly, though there was a note of uncertainty in the Bond, indicating he was genuinely trying to understand what she wanted to tell Aizawa.

“Well I’m on the page of explaining that I think the Link is causing us to be more… fond… of each other and that we wanted to test it.” She said simply as she reached out to swipe her hero license to let them into the back section of the station through the access door.

He seemed to debate saying something, but ended up just nodding and following her as she walked down the hall to the stairs. She ignored the curious gazes of the officers they passed in the hall, but she did wave to the chief as they walked by his desk.

Despite the fact that they had arrived at the station slightly early, Aizawa was already waiting outside the conference room that had been unofficially delegated to the Task Force. He was wrapped in an electric-purple fuzzy blanket with eyes closed and Ochako had a flashback to their UA days when he’d show up to class in his ridiculous yellow sleeping bag.

“Oi!” Bakugou called, startling Aizawa awake, “This isn’t a fucking hotel.”

Ochako shot Katsuki a scandalized look. He just gave her a ‘yes, and..?’ look in response. She harrumphed at his unbothered attitude.

“Ah. Lovely.” Aizawa said with a deadpan face, eyes bloodshot.

“Sorry about him, he’s just hungry.” Ochako said, shaking her head sadly. Katsuki grumbled unhappily, but didn’t refute the claim.

 “I’ll ask Shinsou to pick something up on his way over.” Aizawa drawled, pulling out his phone and typing out a quick message. Once the message was sent, he rebundled in his blanket and began to shuffle away, “We’re going to the gym today.”

“There’s a gym in the police station?” Ochako asked, blinking in surprise. Aizawa nodded. Why hadn’t she ever heard about it?

Yeah, they’ve got it for the officers to use, though heroes have been known to utilize the space now and again.

Oh well that makes sense. Geeze, I wish someone would have told me sooner, I could’ve saved so much time! And money! I could cancel my gym membership!

Katsuki snorted in amusement, the light emotion echoing to her across the Bond.

You would see this as an economic opportunity.

Ochako sent him a glare as they followed Aizawa’s winding path through the second floor. She was surprised to find him turn up the stairs rather than down. So that was how she’d missed the gym! It was on the third floor, a place she never really went seeing as it was mostly comprised of the police Human Resources Department. That was sneaky of them to hide it up there…

It turns out the “gym” was actually a rather convoluted maze of small connected rooms, clearly remodeled offices. Each contained an assortment of workout gear, and Ochako could only imagine trying to find a particular item would result in a sort of scavenger hunt where she would inevitably get lost.  

Luckily, Aizawa seemed to know the layout well and led them through the twisting maze of rooms to a relatively larger room lined with sparring mats. Two windows on the outside wall overlooked the entrance to the station, casting the room in the glow of the incoming city lights, which faded as Aizawa flipped the lights on. It was quite a quaint space, nowhere near as expansive as Katsuki’s quirk training gym, but perfect for hand to hand practice or, in their case, mental acrobatics.

“I was thinking about what you said Ochako,” Aizawa started as he slumped down into a seated position along the wall between the windows, “about how the quirk crossed the Bond in under a minute”

Ochako nodded, “yeah?”

“That implies you could feel when the quirk took effect and feel its progress…” Aizawa stated in that way that Ochako knew was actually a question.

“Yeah, I guess I could feel that.” She puzzled, ignoring the curious buzzing of Katsuki’s mind around hers.

“ Hmm. ” Aizawa hummed before falling silent in thought. 

Ochako looked over to Katsuki. He usually understood where Aizawa was going when he did this whole questioning thing. Katsuki met her gaze and just glared at the blanket burritoed man, which Ochako took to mean he had no idea what Aizawa was on about.  

After a few seconds of silence Katsuki’s patience was spent and he scoffed, shooting Aizawa a glare, “Does this line of questioning have a fucking point?”

Aizawa served Bakugou the same deadpan glare that was single-handedly responsible for controlling the volatile man, all of 3A really, through their entire time in UA. Unfortunately for Aizawa, Bakugou wasn’t in UA anymore, and the look wouldn’t curb his attitude at this stage.

“Oi! Not all of us are retired with unlimited time to sit around staring at each other! Out with it!”

He gave Aizawa a challenging look, raising an eyebrow.  Ochako facepalmed.

Katsuki, can you please shut up?! You’re gonna make him leave!

Ochako looked up glaring at Katsuki, shoving her irritation at him, just so he’d know how annoyed she was with his crap.

He shouldn’t use these stupid power trips on us. If he knows shit, he should tell us. 

He didn’t back down, returning her irritation with some of his own piled on for good measure. Ochako twitched as the flame-like feeling licked across the Bond.

Maybe he’s thinking about it, you ever consider that? Not everyone is a genius capable of compiling comprehensive theories in seconds. 

She rolled her eyes at him. His irritation paused as his brain interpreted her words.

You think I’m a genius?

His ego swelled, a smirk crawling onto his lips, previous irritation forgotten in favor of preening.

“Oh my god!” Ochako shouted, throwing her hands in the air with a rage-quit level of frustration. Of course that’s what he would take away from that thought.

Aizawa raised an eyebrow in question at their mental exchange and her subsequent outburst. Ochako shook her head in answer, cheeks flushed with her and Katsuki’s combined irritation.

“Take your time Aizawa-san, Katsuki was just being rude.” Ochako started, ignoring the flair of spite from Katsuki, “We actually wanted to ask you for a favor and now’s a good time, I mean considering that Shinsou isn’t here yet, I figured-“

“What is it you need, Ochako?” Aizawa interrupted her rambling.

“Oh, uh, sorry. Yeah.” Ochako summarized unhelpfully. 

When she had told Katsuki she was going to tell Aizawa what was going on, she had failed to account for how awkward this was. The man was like a second father to them. She sighed and took a deep breath trying to center her emotions. She glanced over to her…er.. to Katsuki, pleading for his help with her eyes.

Katsuki grinned, enjoying her flubbering and maliciously not offering a life-line for her.

You’re the one who doesn’t believe it’s real. This is all you, Angel Face.

Aizawa waited patiently for her to explain with the dead eyes of someone who served as a high school teacher for a decade. Ochako sighed, resigned to her fate of making a fool of herself.

“Can you use your quirk on us to erase the bond for a bit?” Ochako asked, fidgeting with her finger pads.

“Why?” Aizawa asked without preamble.

“Because I’m worried the Bond is having other.. hem.. psychological effects.” Ochako hedged, chickening out of telling him what was truly going on. Katsuki snorted and she caught sight of him shaking his head in amusement, crossing his arms in her periphery.

“What other effects?” Aizawa said, a note of concern entering his tone. Ochako fell silent, meeting Aizawa’s piercing gaze with foreboding. She opened her mouth. Then shut it again, trying to find the right phrasing.

“Ochako here doesn’t believe that she could possibly be interested in me unless under the influence of the Bond.” Katsuki interrupted, something like irritation and hurt slipping across the Bond.

“I never said that!” Ochako said, whirring around to give Katsuki a pained glance, “I just said I was concerned it was amplified to an unnatural degree by the emotionally manipulative properties of the Bond!”

“Right.” Katsuki drawled, and Ochako furrowed her brow at the conflicting emotions of the light-hearted teasing and genuine hurt that he was feeling.

Aizawa broke her concentration (at trying to untangle the contradiction of emotions that was Katsuki) with a cough. Ochako looked back over to the man to see his unamused gaze.

“Let me get this straight,” Her former teacher started, “You want me to erase the Bond so you can figure out if you’re attracted to Bakugou. How, pray tell, is that a good use of my time?”

Ochako blushed and stuttered, “I-I mean It wouldn’t be, except that the Bond has manipulated our emotions before.” She reasoned thinking of the separation anxiety, “We need to know if there are other, uh, emotions that it’s doing that to. If it is, we need to find a counter so it can’t be used against us like how our mental connection was by the Reverse Quirk.”

Aizawa nodded slowly, “Okay.”

Ochako released a breath heavy with relief, then sucked another one right back in when Aizawa’s gaze sharpened and his hair started to float, activating his quirk on Ochako.

The shock of having the Bond ripped from her mind hit Ochako harder than it ever had, like someone had ripped off a limb. She heard a hiss escape Katsuki’s clenched teeth. She had forgotten how horrible that gaping pit in the back of her mind, where Katsuki usually existed, felt. Like the raw edges of a gaping wound, stinging, burning and aching all at once.

“Oh, I forgot how much this hurts.” Ochako forced out. Aizawa quirked an eyebrow in impatience. Right. She needed her focus.

Ochako looked up, finding Katsuki’s eyes and felt her stomach drop as he gave her a cocky smile, knowing look in his eyes. His grin widened at whatever face she was making and he gave her a decidedly flirtatious wink. Her pulse thrummed in her ears as her heart rate sped up. Curse him for being undeniably attractive! He tilted his head at her curiously as if he could hear her thoughts, even though she knew he couldn’t right now. He looked like a goddamn snack. A goddamn snack who was looking at her like he saw right into her soul. A snack she loved spending time with, appreciated and admired. Oh man, she could kiss the daylights out of him right now.

“Oh crap.” She said as the reality of her feelings hit her. She actually liked Katsuki. Ochako without the bond felt exactly the same way as Ochako with the bond, minus the tortuous gaping hole in the back of her mind.

“That’s what you say?!” He exclaimed, aggravated, if not slightly offended.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to.. I just thought that-“ She fumbled, wincing at the offense that twitched across his face. She didn’t mean it like he was unworthy, or not fit for that type of attention from her, she was just genuinely surprised. She hadn’t planned for this reality, hadn’t allowed herself to.  

“-yeah yeah, I know.” Katsuki grumbled, catching on to her distress at upsetting him, closing the distance between them quickly. He pulled her into a bone crushing hug cutting off her stumbling speech. The sensation of hugging Katsuki without the Bond was strange, but not unpleasant. Sort of washed out, like how drinking bubbly water compared to drinking soda. Good, but not as intense or delightful.  

“You two are disgustingly cute.” Aizawa grumbled under his breath in a way that Ochako suspected they weren’t supposed to hear.

“Oi, you can give us back the Bond now.” Katsuki spoke to Aizawa from where his chin was resting on the top of her head.

The Link exploded back to life with the intensity of a Jolt and Ochako jumped as her spinal cord was lit on fire, effectively ramming her head into Katsuki’s jaw.

“AH fuck!” Katsuki exclaimed, reeling back from her while rubbing his jaw. Ochako’s hand flew up to cover her mouth in shock and pain as the sensation of having a head rammed into one’s jaw flew to her across the Bond. Her jaw ached and there was a throbbing pain in her tongue, or rather in Katsuki’s. Aizawa cackled from his spot on the floor.

“Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!” She said from behind the cover of her hands. Katsuki just glared and mumbled incoherently.

“I am SO glad I got here when I did.” Shinsou’s smooth voice sounded from behind her. Spinning around, Ochako saw him entering the room, an entirely too pleased grin on his face and paper take-out bags in his hands. Ochako dropped her hands and smiled at the man, pain already starting to dissipate.

“Your hair is purple again!” She said happily. Shinsou smiled dimly in response as he walked over to Aizawa.

 The metallic taste of blood trickled across her tongue and she pulled a face, realizing after a beat that it was coming from Katsuki’s side of the Bond. She spun to look, finding him glaring bloody murder at the mind control hero, completely oblivious to the taste of blood in his own mouth.

“Are you bleeding?” She asked, stepping up to him and lightly grasping his jaw, turning it to look at the bruise already forming along the border of his jawline.

“Well someone rammed their thick head into my jaw and made me bite my tongue.” Katsuki explained in a thick voice indicative of a swollen tongue and Ochako caught a glimpse of red stained teeth. Oh god he was bleeding a lot more than she thought. He caught her concern floating through the Link and rolled his eyes at her.

Come on Cheeks, I’ve had way worse than this. I’ve had my jaw wired shut before, for fucks sake.

Ochako looked at him horrified. He grinned bloodily and swallowed dramatically. Ochako tasted the rusty liquid go down his throat through the Bond and she gagged. He laughed at her face and thus ensued an argument about what he should do to staunch the bleeding (he won, and they did nothing). Aizawa and Shinsou had merely watched them go at it, opting instead to start unpacking their food.

Eventually Bakugou’s bleeding stopped on its own and they all sat down to eat while Aizawa explained what he wanted to do. Shinsou had brought sushi, bless him.

“Aizawa,” Shinsou spoke, “what exactly is the plan for tonight?”

Ochako’s gaze hung on Aizawa as she devoured a slice of sushi. She was annoyed to find that it didn’t rid her of the residual ‘blood flavor’ that lingered in the Link. Aizawa looked up, his unbridled interest in the rolls in front of him clearly distracting his thoughts. He saw the three heroes looking at him expectantly and he sighed, setting his chopsticks down.

“I’m going to be honest,” He started slowly with a note of defeat in his voice, “I don’t really have much. A lot of it is going to depend on how you three decide to improvise from my theory.” A pause as Aizawa collected his thoughts, “I think it may be possible for you to either reject the effects of a quirk that hijacks the Bond or perhaps shield against it.”

“You can’t resist a quirk once it’s active on you, not at the level of villains we fight, at least.” Bakugou countered.

Ochako had to agree. While it was possible to resist a quirk’s effects, depending on how well trained the quirk’s user was, heroes rarely fought villains with anything less than a solid grip on their ability.

“You’re right.” Aizawa said, “but I’m not talking about who gets hit with the quirk initially. I’m talking about the other one, the person on the other side of the Link.”

Ochako paused in thought. Oh. So Aizawa thought that with the advanced warning that if Bakugou had been hit she could somehow resist the same happening to her? Or shield against it?

“That may work…” Shinsou said pensively tapping the end of his chopsticks against his mouth, “when I do take over the other person through the Link, my control over them doesn’t have the same…feeling? Substance? It feels different than it does to take control of the person the normal way. Almost more slippery, like I’m only controlling them through proxy, not actually having a grasp on them.”

Katsuki was sitting in silence and Ochako could feel his thoughts whirring as he processed and presumably came up with theories of implementation.

“Okay let’s try it.” Katsuki said with a nod, apparently having come to a conclusion about the realistic implementation of the technique. Ochako considered it as well. It was doable in theory, but in practice…

She just wasn’t sure she could ever get her reaction speed up to the level of speed the reverse quirk had jumped from her to Katsuki. It was nearly impossible to react to anything in under 2 seconds, let alone something that required as much mental effort as shielding as the Bond did.

Katsuki didn’t seem to have the same qualms, or at least he wasn’t letting them hold him back as much as Ochako was. He was glaring at MK Ultra, as if daring the man to try it. Shinsou grinned lazily at the intense ‘come at me look’ Katsuki sent him and shook his head.

“I’m going to finish eating first, I’ve had a long day.” Shinsou said in a self-satisfied tone, clearly enjoying the frustrated look that pulled Katsuki’s brown down aggressively. Ochako giggled slightly at the tension and silent power struggle between the two of them. Aizawa just sighed unhappily.

Bakugou tapped his fingers on his crossed legs impatiently as he watched Shinsou finish his meal, the latter taking a suspiciously long time, savoring every bite almost as much as the rabid look his slow eating elicited from Katsuki. Ochako knew he did it just to piss Katsuki off, and from the budding anger crashing into her in waves through the Bond, it was working.

Finally, Shinsou swallowed his last bite, licking his lips slowly as they spread into a grin.

“Are you ready Bakugou?” He asked.

“Fucking finally! Yes I-“ Katsuki responded and Ochako didn’t have time to chastise him for being so stupid as to answer Shinsou’s question so readily, because MK Ultra was already in Katsuki’s brain. 

She could feel Katsuki’s emotions being snuffed out by Shinsou and felt the creeping fog start to reach through the Bond. The tendrils numbed her mind and she felt the vague flicker of Katsuki’s frustration at being caught off guard.  

Ah crap.

 

 

 

Despite their best efforts Katsuki and Ochako couldn’t seem to achieve what Aizawa was describing. They did have success at creating the half-shield they could temporarily erect while Shinsou’s quirk drifted across the Link, but nothing short of Aizawa erasing their quirks seemed to stop the fog of control completely. Shinsou however, was making excellent progress at increasing the efficiency with which he took control of their minds. He was down to five seconds to have both her and Bakugou down for the count. It was good, Ochako kept reminding Katsuki, because that meant they were increasing the challenge, training under higher pressure. He begrudgingly agreed, spurred on by his competitive nature.

They worked with MK Ultra for four hours, Aizawa passing out just thirty minutes into the session. Bakugou and Uraraka switched off who was working on buffering after the quirk took the Link and who was being the initial contact. They made no discernable progress. By the time the clock struck 11pm, Katsuki was grouchier than he had been when they arrived. They decided to call it a night. Well, Ochako and Shinsou called it a night, and Katsuki was forced to follow suit, despite not wanting to finish before measurable progress was made.

They said their goodbyes to Aizawa (who they had to wake) and Shinsou, Katsuki’s brain half present in the moment and half absorbed by his attempts at solving the problems presented during this training session. It ended up being just as well, because Aizawa was basically sleep walking and Shinsou was worn from such intensive quirk use. Ochako waved goodbye to the two men with assurances they would return tomorrow to continue training.

As she and Katsuki crossed the empty station lobby Ochako was suddenly struck with an anxiety about where she would be sleeping tonight. Because, sure, she’d spent the last two nights in Katsuki’s bed, but was that a thing now? She wanted it to be a thing. But did he? Did he want her there when he wasn’t in the throws of a nightmare? She would assume so, but how could she be sure? She could ask Katsuki she supposed, but that would mean-

“Ask me what?” He asked and Ochako’s eyes went wide. Man, she had to get better at not calling him. Well it was now or never.

“Uh, where am I sleeping tonight?” She blurted. An officer entering the doors as they exited gave her a strange look.  

“My apartment?” He said in the tone someone else would have said ‘duh.’ He emanated a mildly irritated vibe across the Bond, though it was mitigated by the distraction his thoughts about the training session provided.

“No, I mean yes, but-“ Ochako started, getting lost in her answer before taking a breath. She huffed. It really shouldn’t be this difficult to talk with someone who could literally read her mind.

“I mean, am I staying in your bed?” She asked evenly, proud with how steady her voice was.

He stopped walking, his thoughts of quirk training halted in their tracks. She stopped with him, eyes roving his face as she felt a storm of emotions light up in him. Confusion, insecurity, desire all on top of a flame of possessiveness. He seemed to be contemplating how to respond, hesitation lingering on the back of his tongue. She felt the pressure of  the implications of the question in the tips of her fingers and toes, goosebumps raising on her arms.

“I guess that depends…” He hedged, leaving the sentence hanging. Was his voice lower than it normally was?

“Depends on what?” She asked breathlessly. He swallowed, leaning into her mind, whether unconsciously or to try and get a taste for what she couldn’t say.

For some reason, Ochako felt like this would be a tipping point, though she couldn’t have explained why in any comprehensible way. The cocktail of emotions between them was thick with tension. It was different from how the Bond felt when it pulled them taught, which was more instinctual, with less conscious control. No, this felt more like she’d felt right before Izuzku had told her he loved her for the first time. Cognitive. A decision that would shape them going forward.

It depends on whether or not you actually want to get some sleep tonight.

The thought brushed against her mind and Ochako’s breath caught in her throat. She stared into his eyes. His desire, no his need , for her was palpable across the Bond. The Link seemed to react to their thoughts and wanted alignment, awakening that strange tension that had been intermittently present between them in the last few days. The tension that seemed to only be satisfied when they removed any and all space between them. Ochako forced the cold night air into her lungs, grateful for the reprieve from the intensity between them brought to her by the chilly air.

Oh, so NOW you’re not worried about my concussion all of a sudden.

She desperately reached for teasing, hoping to disarm some of the tension between them. If she didn’t, she was going to start making out with him in front of the police station. Which would be wildly inappropriate. And terribly tempting.

He rolled his eyes, levity and amusement crinkling the Bond. Ochako breathed in a sigh of relief as the Bond lessened it’s magnetic pulling. The moment of comedic release lasted but a few seconds before Katsuki’s mood returned to the tense expectation. He cocked his head, silently waiting for an actual response to his proposition.

She realized he was asking her for permission. Permission to fundamentally change their relationship, cement the recent shifts from friends to more . Permission to let go and fall into…whatever this was. Something told Ochako that there would be no going back from this. The Bond was too intense for this change to be anything other than foundationally shifting.

The look in Katsuki’s eyes and the incredible depth and spectrum of emotions he was feeling lent itself to the notion that he understood that too.

“Sleep is overrated anyway.” Ochako meant for it to sound light and teasing, but it came out more as a whisper as her mouth dried up at the suffocating importance of her decision.

They were a respectable distance from one another, but she could see his pupils dilating and his mood plummeting into the throws of his desire.

“Fuuuuck,” He rasped.

There was a beat of silence as they gazed at each other, paralyzed with the intensity between them. Then she felt Katsuki’s mind snap to attention as he reached across the space between them, grasping her hand roughly.

“Fuck the train. Get on me.” He commanded as he tugged her towards him. 

She unintentionally released a high pitched chuckle at the double entendre, but complied with his meaning. She jumped, activating her quirk on herself and let him sling her onto his back. She pressed one of her hands to his chest on their way to wrap around his neck. He was blasting off the next instant, weightless, with her wrapped around him securely.

Ochako had to admit, rocketshipping across the Tokyo skyline had its advantages. Namely, getting home quickly and expending some of the physical and sexual tension between them in the form of adrenaline. Nothing like defying death to get her to pump the breaks, take time to recover and collect her thoughts. Or so she thought.

Turns out, adrenaline has the opposite effect on Katsuki. Which, in retrospect, she should have seen coming. Leave it to the resident explosion murder king to mix up ‘I almost just died’ with being horny.

The second they landed on Katsuki’s roof and she’d disembarked from her spot behind him, he was on her. His hand caught her waist as she steadied her footing, pulling her to him. She let out a startled “eep!”, which was promptly cut off by a searing kiss and an avalanche of his jittery arousal.

“mm- Katsuki-“ She mumbled between kisses, gasping at the sheer depth of his desire for her. Where had he been hiding this?

He hummed distractedly in response, trailing kisses along her jaw and down her throat. Her eyes fluttered closed. Her pulse thrumbed and her mind blanked out at the feeling of the Bond glowing to life. Her hands snaked up his shoulders to fist in his hair, answering some unknown, unspoken request from his side of the Link.

What was she trying to say?

The Bond pulled taught, electric tingles following the trails he forged with his touch. He nipped at the juncture of her neck and shoulder, and she felt the echo of the bite on his shoulder. He groaned and bit down harder, a shock of pain zipping across their shared nerves.

The pain cleared her head briefly. Her eyes snapped open to the hazy glow of the city in the night sky. Oh right. For fucks sake, she was not going to have sex with Katsuki for the first time on the roof.

“Kat-suki.” She said, though it came out hitched as his hand wound around her hip to grope her ass. His desire swelled at the sound, threatening to drown her conscious thought in the ocean of want.

She held on though, the thought of how uncomfortable the cement would be for whoever bottomed her lifeline in the Bond’s overwhelming pull to get them closer. She supposed she could always just bend over, plus he had the upper body strength to theoretically fuck her standing up with her wrapped around his torso-

“Ah shit, stop.” She interrupted her own thoughts as the images sent a pulse of want straight to her core. He froze at the words and feelings of restraint she was pushing at him, pulling back to look at her, hands falling to his side in concern.

You okay?

She nodded and he stepped back into her space, hands dragging deliciously across her waist to pull her to him before both gripped her ass.

 She held up a finger to his lips and shook her head, groaning as he nibbled on her fingertip playfully. He raised his eyebrows in lieu of speaking his question, curious and impatient as to why she stopped him.

“We. The roof.” She huffed out, out of breath. She was desperately trying to not get sucked into the desire pulling at them both. Screw verbal communication, she was too worked up for that level of coordination.

We are NOT having sex for the first time on the roof of your apartment in full view of all of Tokyo. I demand a bed. Or couch. Or at least a fucking wall.

Katsuki’s mouth twitched with… amusement? Irritation? Bewilderment? Then she felt his brain consciously work to release her ass from his grip and step away from her. The frustration he was feeling gave her a clue as to just how difficult that distance was. She totally got it, the pleasant glowing of the bond wavered as he put distance between them, an almost dissatisfied tone echoing in the space between them. It was screaming at her to reinstate physical contact with him.

He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair in an obvious attempt to calm down. It didn’t put much of a dent in his mood and Ochako chuckled. He was so bad at regulating his own emotions. She leaned across the psychic distance between them to douse the flame of arousal that was burning his restraint away. He gave her an appreciative nod, spinning on his heels and heading to the roof’s door.

She followed after him, taking calming breaths of her own. Some part of her was scared by just how badly they wanted this, the insane intensity the Bond was eliciting in them. But she couldn’t really see past the overwhelming rightness of it, past the fated draw of everything Katsuki.

They rushed down the stairs, forgoing the elevator entirely. She made a conscious effort to distance herself from him in the Bond and in the stairwell, not trusting that she would be able to resist the all-consuming nature of the Bond again.

Katsuki’s hand was remarkably steady as he removed his keys from his pocket and unlocked the door. Ochako was impressed. She would’ve been a shaking mess. He opened it and stalked forward, tossing his keys vaguely in the direction of his key bowl, missing completely and ignoring that fact.

She had expected him to turn and resume their activities, but he didn’t pause to so much as look at her as he made a beeline for his bedroom. Her sluggish brain caught up, realizing that he also didn’t trust himself to be in control again. They didn’t want a repeat of the Lasagna Incident. If they didn’t start on a bed they weren’t going to finish there. Literally.

She followed him down the hall, anticipation building with every step. The Bond pulsed like a heartbeat, waves of magnetic pull demanding she get closer to Katsuki.

“On the bed.” Katsuki commanded as she crossed the threshold into his room.

 She complied, crawling onto the black duvet, eyeing him as he followed suit, shucking his shirt off in the process. Screw him. For real, who even had a body like that?! Ridiculous.  

He gave her a rare, soft smile that clashed with the absolute carnal look in his eye, “Good girl.”

A shiver traced each vertebra as it slid down her spine. There would be no going back.

“Last chance, you’re sure about this?” Ochako asked, eyes wandering the planes of his chest hungrily. She wanted to lick his abs. Or did he want her to do that? Hard to say. She’d be happy to comply either way.

Last chance for what?

He purred into her mind, unbuckling his belt and swiftly pulling it through his belt loops. Seeing her enraptured gaze following the movement, he folded it and gave it a quick experimental snap, watching her reaction. Her brain short circuited. He grinned, but dropped the belt off the edge of his bed. Ochako watched it fall before her gaze snapped back to him as he moved toward her. He paused, hovering just out of her reach.

“Last chance for what Ochako?” He reminded her of her question with a smirk. Her brain came back online. Her mouth did not and she fumbled out her explanation. 

“L-last chance for you to, erm, back out. I don’t think I can take it if we decide-”

Shut up. 

He interrupted her with a bruising kiss, covering the distance between them. His momentum had them falling back onto the bed, one of his hands burying in her hair, the other resting against her throat. She went still in shock before the Bond tugged on what felt like her very soul and she surged forward. He groaned as her hands roved his back, nails biting into the skin. She hissed against his lips as the sensation was mirrored on her own back through the Bond and she felt him grin viciously in response.

Don’t say I didn’t one of her hands wound into his hair gripping just the way he had unconsciously requested fuck, Ochako if you warn you truly think that I would want to fucking stop- A growl against her collarbone to finish his thought, as if words couldn’t convey the sentiment.  good then don’t. She punctuated the thought with a roll of her hips against him. The feeling of his already hard cock rocking against her sent a shock of pleasure through them both.

Their discussion stopped being so coherent after that, more unconscious communication than fully formed thoughts. Her shirt was pulled over her head, briefly breaking the contact between them, agonizing even with its brevity. One of his hands unclasped her bra and she pulled it off, his hand immediately replacing the fabric against her left breast. She made some sort of incomprehensible sound as he rolled her nipple between pinched fingers.

The Bond glowed euphorically at every brush, kiss and touch, dragging their minds closer together incrementally. Their thoughts coalesced and mingled until the distance between their minds seemed negligible. Their skin zapped and tingled with each skin on skin contact, echoing and bouncing between them in a maddening cycle.

They were as close as they could possibly be while still having separate minds, yet the Bond demanded more. It nagged at their respective minds in a ceaseless chant, not so much in words as in some language inherent to their connection. It felt like it was demanding they get closer closer closer

Somehow, they lost his pants and her leggings, some combination of her and his hands dragging the offending items down and discarding them somewhere out of view. It was hard to focus on anything that wasn't him , that wasn't getting closer , with their minds and nerves overlapping like this.

Ochako palmed his dick through his boxers eliciting a moan and lip bite from Katsuki. She slipped his boxers off and sought out his pleasure, moving according to his responses across the Bond. He shot her barely formed requests, a bit tight-, fucking do- ,shit Ochak- just like- only to be interrupted as she complied before he finished thinking the request. He didn’t really even have to ask, his intentions and wants were so easy to pick up on with them both angling for the same goal.

closer closer closer

“Jesus fucki- nnghh." He started to say, only to have his words swallowed by a strangled moan as she perfected the strokes of her hand. Ochako knew what he meant with his unfinished sentence, the phantom pleasure washing across her causing her toes to curl. Damn she was good at this when she got immediate and visceral feedback, when she could feel Katsuki falling apart at her touch. 

It amazed her how aroused she was just from the pleasure he emanated into the Bond. She felt her core ache with want, the desire to be touched overwhelming her senses. He followed her thoughts and reached down to cup her sex, eliciting a groan from her as she pressed into his palm in a desperate attempt to create friction. 

closer  

His cock twitched in her hand and his arousal flamed into an inferno when he felt how wet she already was. “Fucking hell.” 

He began kissing down her neck before traveling down her chest, pausing to give her breasts some well deserved nips and sucks. His hand pulled away from her core to all but rip her underwear down her legs with an irritated growl. 

closer

  Once the offending article of cloth had been removed, he resumed his ministrations, stroking her clit, as she continued to run her hand up and down his shaft. Ochako squirmed under him, small sounds escaping her in gasps and groans. She was desperate for some sort of relief, not just of her sexual frustration but of the insistent yanking of the Bond.   

closer closer closer

Ochako distractedly tried to figure out what in hell the Bond was trying to do, a vague location inside her chest felt as if it was caving-in with the Link’s yanking. It was hard to focus on the feeling with Katsuki’s tongue swirling around her nipple though, and the tugging feeling ebbed away briefly. Her hand on his cock hesitated as she became overwhelmed by the sensations Katsuki’s mouth was masterfully eliciting from its spot around her nipple. She leaned into the touch, falling with him into the delightful sensations for some unknown  number of moments before Katsuki seemed to overcome his distraction with her breast and started kissing down her sternum.

Gonna eat you out until you can’t think straight. 

Katsuki didn’t so much send her the thought as think it way too loudly to be contained by the flimsy barrier between their minds. Ochako fisted a hand and bit down on her knuckles, because shiiit did that sound like the answer to all her problems...but there was something about the way the Bond was whispering to her that she knew it would have to wait or her chest would be yanked out.

closer closer Closer 

She bit her lip and reached down, grasping his jaw firmly and dragging him back up to her mouth. 

Closer 

His eyes burned with questions and she felt his confusion. She did her best to send him an impression of how she knew the Bond would not relent battering her (and him too, though he wasn’t as privy to it due to his current one-track mind) until it got what it wanted. 

Closer  

He just furrowed his brows further, gripping her hip tightly. She felt like her chest was on fire with the Bond’s glowing.

Later. I think the Bond might rip out my soul and burn the pieces to ash if you don’t put your dick in me in the next minute.

Comprehension dawned on his side of the Bond. 

Closer 

The grip on her hip tightened and he captured her lips in a rushed kiss, settling between her legs.

Is that what that is? Fuck I thought I was going crazy.

Their thoughts fizzled out briefly in a pleasant haze of pleasure as he reached down to circle her clit. His cock slid along her inner thigh, slick with the fluids from her entrance.

CLOSER       CLOSER       CLOSER

Their nerves felt like they were on fire, the Bond’s demands singing to their consciousnesses. She couldn’t tell if it was pleasurable or punishing. Probably both.

A flair crested and her empty core positively ached. She felt the painful throb pressure of increased blood flow to Katsuki’s cock, which forced him to pause his pressure on her clit and the rutting against her thigh as they both groaned into their kiss. Katsuki pulled away, meeting her stare, teeth grit with the intensity of the sensations. 

There was a moment of time-stopping clarity as their minds aligned perfectly in understanding, and the breath stilled in both their lungs. His eyes burned, their fiery color never more appropriate. She could feel him seeing the same in hers. The world hung in the balance and Ochako would swear that their souls brushed as they came together.

CLOSER

He slowly entered her, stretching and filling in an oh-so satisfying way and the Bond went silent in bliss, finally satisfied. Ochako, conversely, was not so silent, making a primal sound as she reveled in the sensation. Katsuki seemed to have lost all thought, his brain flat-lining across the Link. 

The relief of finally having Katsuki in her,  from her own blissed out brain but also from the Bond and Katsuki himself, was short lived. She shifted, demanding that Katsuki move . He seemed to break out of his euphoric stupor, and started to rock against her, slowly at first, then more urgently, his head rolling along his shoulders as he relaxed into her and she met him thrust for thrust. The Bond started to tense again, calling for more. 

She felt the moment he surrendered to the magnetic, insistent call of the Bond, letting it drive his actions. His inhibitions fell away and Ochako felt his conscious thought taper off as he surrendered to whatever it was the Bond was demanding of them. It called to her. Whispered urges of surrender, vulnerability and acceptance. 

Yet, some part of her held back. She could feel the siren call of the Bond, of Katsuki’s mind, begging her to let go and just… she didn’t know. Just fall? Crumble? Explode? Some part of the draw of the Bond scared her. It was whispering unconscious promises, ones Katsuki seemed to have already accepted, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t lean in and just give into whatever it was the Bond wanted. 

They both basked in the sensations of sex under the influence of the Bond. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced. It reminded her vaguely of the first moments they were Linked, but instead of pain bouncing back and forth magnifying it, it was the sensations and pleasure they elicited in each other. 

Some part of her didn’t trust it, wary from the dangers of losing control of it. The synchronicity between them, caused by their intimate understanding of the other’s intentions, was aiding in the ability to elicit pleasure. That, in combination with the fact that Ochako felt everything that Katsuki did and vice versa, meant they settled into a pace and angle that gave them each exactly what they needed. It was a borderline religious experience. 

More than that, there was something about the emotional flow between them that graduated the experience from ‘really fucking good’ to God-tier. They spurred each other’s arousal and excitement on, and there was a building feeling of…something between them. Affection maybe? Ochako couldn’t focus on it for too long, each thrust and brush of his lips or hands made her brain stutter with pleasure, halting any train of thought. Katsuki’s side of the Bond, whether conscious or not, was reveling in the fact that holy shit this is Ochako , as if he couldn’t believe she would have ever been here with him. 

Ochako’s brain kind of just…went away, buried under the trance-like eb and flow between her and Katsuki. It was an almost out of body experience, her entire being drawn to the edge of losing herself in the Bond. She could feel Katsuki in a similar state. She felt more like one entity working towards some sort of melding of their beings than a person taking pleasure from sex with a partner.

Her entire focus was on him, stroking, kissing, and pulling him closer both physically and mentally. She could feel the tension of her orgasm building in her core and felt a similar, but fascinatingly different sensation in Katsuki across the Bond. The feeling of him hitting her G-spot, with accuracy that only someone who could freaking feel it, had Ochako crying out for release. God it was agonizing, what was stopping her from cumming? 

She made eye contact with Katsuki above her, his hazy gaze clearing slightly, consciousness separating somewhat from whatever trance the Bond had him in. He sifted through her thoughts, tasted the fear of surrendering control to the Bond, to him. 

Please, Katsuki I just- she pleaded with him, gripping him to her.

Ochako, you have to let go. 

He bumped his forehead against hers and gave her a painfully delicate kiss. And then he let the floodgates open, and she was submerged in the warm of love he felt for her. Her brain faltered, stunned and confused. He loved her? Since when? What the-

Trust me.

He interrupted her confused spiraling of thoughts, nuzzling into her neck as her nails dug into his shoulders. 

She surrendered.

And the Bond absorbed her, taking her soul and-

Her orgasm hit her hard  and Ochako forgot she existed with its intensity. Katsuki was pulled into his own orgasm, unable to hold it off as he felt hers crash through him. There was just them, the Bond and the sensation of finality between them. Something had crystalized, cemented and solidified between them. 

Euphoria exploded behind her eyelids.

Time ceased to have meaning. Ochako wasn’t sure how long they stayed in that strange not-real-but-more-real-than-life state, bodies seemingly eternally rigid as they rode through wave after wave of pure ecstasy. As she came back into her senses, she realized Katsuki had collapsed on her in a surprisingly pleasant, weighty sensation. A less pleasant sensation was the stinging feeling on her neck, where he must have bitten her at some point. 

Katsuki seemed to come back into his own body and shifted off of her with a groan as his softening cock slipped from her. He fell onto his back for several seconds breathing and trying to collect their thoughts. She tentatively felt along the Bond, somehow knowing it had changed from their surrender to its sway.  

The first thing she noted about the Bond was that it was...secure. There was no other way to describe why she felt as though the subtle anxiety of ‘what if’ that had been a constant nagging in their minds had faded to a comforting whisper of ‘of course’. 

She reached for Katsuki’s mind and was startled at the ease of the action. It was akin to suddenly having a paved road between them when all she had previously known was having had to fight through the wild thicket of space between their minds. It was as if the Bond had...matured? Or developed into a more stable state somehow, and that change was facilitating ease of communication between them. She could feel Katsuki feeling out the new changes as well.

Their breaths stilled and Ochako was surprised to find that they had synced their inhales and exhales.  

“Holy fucking shit.” Katsuki whispered, chest rising and falling with his body's demand for oxygen post-exertion.

“Yeah.” Ochako sighed contentedly, turning to look at him. His head turned, cheek pressing into the pillow as he met her gaze.

“Why the fuck didn’t we do this sooner?” He asked, a chuckle escaping him at the end of the sentence. 

Ochako’s mouth split into a smile at the sight of him, cheeks flushed, eyes alight and hair somehow more explosive than it normally was. A post sex glow that she had caused. She didn’t think it’d feel this good to let her inhibitions go. Not just their orgasms-though those had been spectacular- but the feeling of letting herself lean into and encourage her feelings about Katsuki. She had stopped resisting the pull of the Bond, and the relief of just letting herself trust this thing between them, let it bring them together, was making her giddy. Her very soul was singing in contentment.

“I don’t know, I feel dumb for resisting it.” She grinned, reaching out to stroke his cheek, her fingers tingling at the contact. His eyes fluttered shut and he leaned into the touch. The Bond was completely satisfied, glowing happily between them.

“Mhmm.” He hummed, turning to give her palm a delicate kiss, before he turned it back  to interlace their fingers.

Her heart sputtered and skipped as a beat of arousal throbbed in her core. She didn’t want this to end. Not yet. Her brain kept circling back to the promise of ‘no sleep’ Katsuki had made on their way home, something she had been skeptical of at the time. She rarely chose sex over sleep. Only once or twice when she’d been with Izuku had she stayed up because she hadn’t been satisfied, something Izuku was more than happy to fix. Not that she wasn’t currently satisfied, the opposite in fact. She just wasn’t done. She wanted more, more of the euphoria the Bond allowed them. She wanted another round.

Again?

His gaze flicked to hers, a smirk growing on his face. Her intentions a catalyst to a reciprocal thrum of excitement in him.

I need a couple of minutes, Angel Face.

She felt a mix of disappointment and anticipation, and his eyes wandered over her face as the emotions crept into his side of the Bond. In response, his emotions lit up with that mischievous, playful mood of his, an undercurrent of desire and affection- no love - running through the other emotions. 

He loved  her. She had no idea, which was surprising given how terrible he was at handling his emotions. Ochako made a decision to unpack that particular emotional bomb later as he leaned in, giving her a heated, lingering kiss. She used their linked hands to pull him back on top of her, earning a groan from the back of his throat.

I plan on keeping my promise of not actually getting any fucking sleep tonight.

He began trailing kisses down her throat and she squirmed at the sting as his lips ghosted over the bite mark he’d left earlier, a flair of possessiveness overtaking him. His lips lingered over the spot, gently pressing, guilt and apology at the pain, soothing her across the Bond. She moved her free hand up to stroke his hair, pouring affection into his mind to ease the guilt he was feeling.

You better.

The thought was cheeky, affectionate and rousing all in one and she felt him smirk against her throat. Her breathing hitch as he descended further down her body.

You owe me a meal first, Cheeks.

Ochako bit her lip in excitement. Her heart fluttered in her chest, the Bond giving a half-hearted tug at the vague location next to it, and Ochako knew that Shinsou had been right about the whole Soulmates thing. The night had been a night of surrenders and emotional trust-falls, and somewhere along the way she’d come to terms with the reality of what they had. They had a Soulbond, undeniable and potent. A tidal wave of affection and euphoria crashed over her, and not just because she was learning that Katsuki’s mouth was really good at more than just forming cuss words, but because, holy shit-they were Soulmates.

Notes:

FINALLY!

If you follow me on twitter you know that this chapter has been a STRUGGLE. Mostly because I apparently have no idea how to write smut.

Thank you to Knife Kirby and wonduhhwoman for helping me figure out how to do this, there are several amazing phrases and additions due to their contributions. For real you guys, this wouldn't have happened without them, go show their work some love.
https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonduhhwoman/pseuds/wonduhhwoman
https://archiveofourown.org/users/knifekirby/pseuds/knifekirby

Chapter title for chapter 26 This is Fine.jpg by pyroprude!!

 

As always, I'm sending you all my love!

Chapter 28: Darling, Deku Can Suck It

Notes:

*bows* Thank god for Wonduhhwoman

Also go read Seeing Double: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21242459/chapters/50578112
I may or may not be in a hype war with Kirby RN.....Will keep you updated.

The first thing Katsuki noticed when he woke up, just like every morning, was the annoying sensation of sunlight beaming directly through his eyelids. How anyone could sleep after the dastardly ball of fire began shining deadly lasers directly into their corneas was beyond his reasoning.

The second thing he noticed was his mind’s usual position wrapped snugly around Ochako’s, something he’d come to accept as necessary for his ability to achieve the deep sleep only Ochako could bring him. He paused in his attention, feeling a strange fluctuation in the Bond just on the skirts of his awareness, where his mind met Ochako’s. That was a new and fucking strange feeling.

He came into a fuller state of wakefulness, blinking blearily and running a hand through his hair. The memories of the previous night came back to him in waves of images and sensations. Oh fuck yeah. He grinned smugly, his mind fluttering excitedly and his dick twitching at the memories of their escapades last night. The Bond shivered in a slight, barely noticeable way and Katsuki froze at the new sensation.

He sat up, face furrowing in confusion as he glanced over to where he could feel Ochako sleeping next him. She was on her stomach, arms flung wide, with a gnarly head of sex hair. He smirked faintly at the tangled mess. She was going to be so pissed to have to go through that later today to detangle it. Hell yeah, they’d done that. Deku could suck it.

He refocused his attention on the strange feeling in the Link. It was almost as if… wait. Was the Bond breathing? What the actual fuck. He prodded lightly along the mental tether tentatively. The bond flexed and wavered faintly, as if it was ebbing and waving with energy. Katsuki experimentally stretched his mind, feeling the Bond respond in kind, accommodating and sending small ripples across the layers with his mental activity. The minuteness of the action and response stumped him.

It was if the rigid layering had somehow become liquid. Or maybe it had always been liquid, he just hadn’t realized it before. No, it couldn’t be? This had to be new right? Or else he and Cheeks had been attacking their connection with the subtlety of an atomic bomb. This was a direct result of whatever the fuck that weird moment had been last night, when they’d both surrendered power and control to the Bond. Right? That or they were both oblivious idiots.  

He experimented with the increased sensitivity and reactivity of the Link, finding that the increased responsiveness led to better control. He could more easily reach out and skim just the surface level consciousness Ochako was having, even separating the emotions emanating from her side. Fucking hell it was sensitive. He carefully pushed further towards her layers, testing out the limits of his control over the new texture the Bond had.

 He was surprised to find Ochako completely dead to the world, random flickers of memory or emotion occasionally surfacing. A flash of light, a strange tang on his tongue, random words thrown together in nonsensical phrases. He scrunched his eyes in confusion and surprise. That was new, they’d only ever been able to see the other while dreaming, not during deep sleep. Strange. Not only did the Bond have an infinitely more complex and detailed sensation, but it seemed like they had expanded the limits of how much they could pick up from the other.

He pulled back, baffled at the new changes. It was if they’d been trying to do brain surgery with a baseball bat and suddenly had access to scalpels, the change in control was that drastic. He considered how much this would help with their ability to control the Link. He was excited to see Aizawa and Shinsou for training later today, this change may be what they were missing to get their reactions down to milliseconds. 

Well fuck. He sighed running a hand down his face. They should have slept together so much sooner if this was the result. It completely recontextualized their understanding of the Bond. On a purely functional level they should have seen this sort of thing coming, the Bond seemed to have a sort of sick pleasure in fucking with them. Then again, maybe they hadn’t been ready for the level of intimacy the new changes gave. The tiniest of movements, thoughts and moods seemed to have an effect. It was probably for the best it hadn’t started like this, he could imagine how overwhelming it would have been to have this amount of information about each other if they hadn’t already built up some control.

A part of Katsuki was upset he hadn’t had sex with Ochako before the Bond. Mostly because he had a sneaking suspicion that sex with her before they were Linked would still have been some of the best sex of his life, but it would now be impossible to determine without Aizawa staring at them the whole time, which was something he was not intent on trying. (though if Cheeks demanded he’d probably cave…probably. Maybe.)

As it was, the unfortunate fact of the matter was that sex with the Bond blew all of his other past experiences out of the water- and he’d had a lot of other experiences to compare it to. The intensity of emotion and sensation the Bond brought to the table just couldn’t compare. For fucks sake, he got to feel not only his orgasm but hers as well, how the fuck could normal sex compare to that now?!

Katsuki found himself whispering a begrudging thank you to that Freaky Fingered Fuck for giving them the Bond. Fuck him, but also damnit if Katsuki wasn’t elated how it’d all turned out. He supposed without Finger kid he probably wouldn’t have even had the chance to be with Ochako, in any capacity. He was too much of a fucking coward to have built up the courage to approach her, even after she had realized she wasn’t in love with The Nerd. Hell, without the Bond, Ochako may have never realized that Deku was all wrong for her and she may have gotten back together with that Green Haired Maggot that fateful night in his kitchen. Goddamn it. He hated owing his current inexplicably good luck to a psychotic villain.

He ran a hand through his explosive hair while Cheeks was still oblivious to the world in a deep sleep. Never in his life did he think he’d have to thank a villain for sex, but then again, never had he expected to have a soulbond with one of his classmates. Life was fucking bizzare sometimes.  

He glanced over to where Ochako was sleeping still, smirking at the puddle of drool forming on the pillow under her. He should not find that as endearing as he did. His stupid heart-  

He froze, the realization of how much he’d let her feel last night hitting him squarely in the chest.

Fuck.

She knew.

She knew how stupidly head over heels he was for her. Fuck him. How was he going to explain that? ‘Oh, yeah by the way I’ve been fucking pining after you for years while you were fucking my rival’. Yeah, that’d go over well. No, she could never know just how far gone he was. It would just complicate things. Best to just leave it be and claim it was a recent development.

He shook his head, the beginnings of a headache gripping his temples. He usually didn’t do this much thinking first thing in the morning. He gave one last glance to Ochako, brushing against her mind to find her still completely dead to the world. He gave a slight uncontrollable grin at her ridiculous sleeping habits and forced himself out of bed. A run would clear his head of all this introspective bullshit.

 

 

 

He was just turning the corner back towards his apartment when he abruptly felt Ochako’s brain pressing against his rather sloppily. He repressed an affectionate grin at her typical morning tactlessness. He could feel how sleep was clinging to her mind, confusing and confounding her awareness. 

Katsuki? Where are you? Why does this feel….weird?

He stumbled a few steps as he felt her mind prodding and poking about the Bond, shocked with how strange the currents and ripples her actions washed across his mind, different in that it felt more like waves brushing against the shores of his layers rather than a pressure of the whole of her mind against his. She slowly figured out how to use the new sensitivity and her exploration became less jarring and more pleasant.  He grinned, feeling her sluggish brain working to wake up and come to terms with the reality. She was rather baffled by the changes, not equipped to think through the complexities so early, it was almost like she was unconsciously exploring the changes, less intentional and more reactionary. 

I’m almost back to the apartment, coffee is on the counter.

He smirked as he felt the shock hit her, getting flashes of her memories about their night. Then he frowned as her thoughts stuttered and snagged on the feelings he’d bombarded her with. He tried not to feel hurt at the flash of confusion that she felt at the memory and drew back, not wanting to feel her ambivalence about his ridiculous infatuation with her. Instead he focused on the pleasant feeling of tightness in his legs, a sign that his run had been truly productive. Ochako’s disbelief at his love for her was not something he wanted to think about. 

He could vaguely feel her rousing and moving about, her mind turning the revelations of the night over. He was sliding the key into his lock when he felt the rich aromatic taste of coffee glide down her tongue, echoes of the taste pickling his own sense of taste. He smiled at the sigh of relief as the taste in and of itself evoked a placebo effect waking her up from the sheer association of coffee and being awake. Her addiction to the substance was astounding. It was new being able to distinguish their emotions this way and he wondered if this was how she had experienced his own emotions up until this point.

He felt her mind brush his, feeling where he was and he watched her head poke around the kitchen wall to look at him owlishly as he toed off his shoes. A small Jolt zapped up their spines, something that seemed to wake her up further. He stumbled slightly before recovering, all the while watching her oogle him. He did not miss the way her eyes dragged up his body nor the increased fluttering of her heart. He smirked at her and walked to join her in the kitchen.

“Thank you for making me coffee” She offered demurely as he entered the room, her hands wrapped around a steaming mug as she smiled serenely at him over the rim. His thoughts veered into a possessive stint as he took in the sight of her wearing one of his shirts, which she had presumably picked out of his drawers after waking up.  

Yeah I may have raided your closet. They’re just so soft, you know?

Katsuki stared at her, he hadn’t realized she was listening to his thoughts so closely. She blushed at his realization and he felt her pull back from the Link somewhat.

“Right, sorry.” She said fidgeting with the handle of her mug, “I didn’t realize I was that close either.”

“It’s fine, given how… different… the Link is today.” He said, waving his hand and crossing the room to get a glass of water. Ochako watched him, a thoughtful slant to her lips as she considered. He felt her dipping and exploring the Bond, this time with conscious intent thanks to the caffeine in her bloodstream, seeming to verify his statement.

“It’s so strange.” She said dazed, “It’s so much more sensitive now. I feel like we’ve been totally ignorant of the reactiveness. I almost feel dumb for how tactlessly we’ve been using it. We were basically taking a wrecking ball to it.  

Katsuki grinned at the analogy, having used a similar one earlier. It was another of those bizarre moments when he felt like their minds worked the same way, even without the Bond. It took him back to their school days when she’d been the one to immediately understand what he was trying to say, without needing a long drawn out and fumbled explanations from him.

“What?” She said at his expression, leaning into his layers and tasting the vein of his thoughts.

“Just thinking about how I thought a similar thing when I was first exploring it earlier this morning.” He said lightly leaning back against the counter.

What do you think it is? Why is it different? It’s not because of the…sex, is it?

She looked almost shy to consider it, glancing away from him briefly and bashfully. She was fucking adorable. He loved how flustered he could make her, it was one of his new favorite pastimes.

Less the sex and more the surrendering control, I think. We aren’t holding anything back now. 

He smirked over at her, giving her a long look, dragging his eyes down to her exposed legs and back up. He greatly appreciated the fact she’d omitted wearing pants. He wondered if she had forgone wearing underwear too. His eyes flipped back up to her just in time to catch the blush that spread across her cheeks.

A gentle tug from her brain informed him of her own wanton mood and he inhaled sharply at the intensity of her emotions. He felt the blood rush away from his head, in a way that was entirely unhelpful after having finished a run. It left him somewhat light-headed. She seemed to pick up on the fanning effect her emotions were having on his desire and her blush intensified. She rubbed her thighs together in an anxious sort of way that he was now realizing was alleviating more than just her nerves.

Fuck.

His thought and accompanying arousal sent shockwaves through the Bond with the subtlety of a fog horn. He watched enraptured as Ochako’s lips parted slightly as she went slack-jawed with lust at the emotional bomb. Yup, they were gonna fuck. His other new favorite pastime. This was turning out to be a truly stellar morning.

With that notion, Katsuki sauntered forward, enjoying the way Ochako’s eyes tracked his movement, widening in anticipation as he closed their distance. He expected her to back up at his advances, ideally to the point where she was cornered against the counter, but she just leaned forward slightly in anticipation. He found it was infinitely more exciting for him this way.

She gave him a grin as she felt his desire double and he reached out running his hand up the side of her neck before cradling the base of her skull and dragging her forward to connect their lips. She leaned into the kiss, wrapping her arms around him, dragging her nails along the skin at the base of his neck before burrowing into his hair in the way he liked. She tugged him forward with her grip in his hair, causing him to cascade into her and push her into the counter with the momentum. He wasted no time, running his hands down her sides, following the curve of her waist to her thighs. He gripped the toned muscle and slid his hands around to get a grip on her before lifting her up onto his counter in a swift move. She gasped against his lips and he smirked as she shimmied her hips closer to the edge, hooking her legs around him and urging him toward her. He happily obliged, stepping into her and grinding into her pelvis, utilizing his grip on her thighs to maneuver her how he wanted.  

She pulled back from their fevered kissing with a furrowed brow, “Wait we’re gonna get the counters dirty if we-“

“The counters. Have never served. A greater fucking purpose. Than this.” He said between the kisses that he trailed down the column of her neck. She moaned as he bit down on her pulse point and he mirrored the sound as the sensation echoed across the Link, stinging his own neck.

She fell into the Bond, meeting him in the nebulus space between their minds and embraced his consciousness, her mental caresses mirroring the way his hands roved over her body. She gasped and he felt the sparks of electric arousal that raced across her skin with the movement of his hands. He ran a hand up her toned thighs then under the shirt she donned, reminded once again that it was his shirt that she wore. He was even more delighted to find no interruption on the trail he blazed towards her ribs with his hands, confirming that she was not wearing underwear.

Little minx. Did you plan this?

I may have considered the possibility we would wa- want to-  

She stuttered as the Link was doused in his all-consuming desire. He grinned wolfishly against her neck, nipping and biting back to her mouth to cut her off.

His hand paused briefly over her hip, massaging her lightly where the lack of underwear was most apparent before continuing on to her breast. He inhaled against her lips as his fingers brushed against the curve of her breast and she sighed sharply.  He lightly circled a thumb around her nipple, relishing in the gasp she released. He trailed the hand not fondling her breast over the curve of her hip to cup her ass, which could he just say: her ass. He had never considered himself an ‘ass guy’, but she had converted him and he would gladly worship his new lord any time.  He kneaded the flesh and used the anchoring position to move her closer to him, rubbing his, at this point, painfully hard cock against her. At the contact she let out a low keel and he dropped his head back in exaltation as the sensations they felt bounced back and forth between them in the Link.

Taking advantage of their pause in kissing, she made to remove his shirt, tugging on it with a simple impression of ‘off’ to clue him into the intention of having them both naked. There was an urgency to the impression, he was all too happy to accommodate her demand and quickly shucked his shirt over his head, noting the hungry gaze she gave his bare chest. He picked up the corners of his black skull tee shirt she had chosen to wear and pulled it off, tossing the garment somewhere behind him. He paused for a ragged breath as he stepped back to take in the sight of her, seated naked on his counter, bare chest huffing as she looked at him from under her lashes, a blush staining her cheeks. Pride and a possessive sense of ‘ mine’ filled his subconscious which was answered with a resounding ‘ yours’ from hers. Fuck yeah she was his and she knew it. He gave her another appreciative once over, doing his best to solidify the image to his memory.

Fuck, you’re gorgeous, spread out on my counter like this.  

Her blush deepened and she overtly returned his once over, following it up with a salacious look.

The view isn’t so bad from up here either.

He could feel her appreciation of his physique emanating through the Bond and he leaned into her thoughts, curiosity overcoming his hesitation. He was not disappointed as he dipped into her consciousness as she considered his sweat glistened chest, fetishizing the sight. He picked up the thought of ‘ lick his abs’ and amusedly leaned back from her, she followed, a mischievous glint in her eyes as her tongue slipped between her lips only to drag down his torso. Fuuuuuck. She held intense eye contact with him as she left a feather soft kiss at the end of her tongue stroke. His dick gave a twitch of want.

What I wouldn’t fucking give to have you look at me like that with your pretty little mouth around my cock.

She cocked an eyebrow, seemingly amused at the almost unconscious filth that his mind churned up. He wasn’t even sure he wanted a blow job at the moment, it was more of a note for later than anything.  

That can be arranged…

Well fuck. She could hang with the dirty talk. If he wasn’t already in love with her he would have fallen twice over in the last few minutes. She grinned giving a playful nip at his abs before she noted the fact he was still wearing shorts. 

He felt her indignation at the offending item of clothing and he quickly opted to take them off and kick them away from himself, something that had her mind purring. She reached a hand down and wrapped delicate fingers around his cock, eliciting a shocked inhaled through his nose followed by a rumbling groan. He wasn’t certain anything would compare to the illicit feeling of her finger pads against his dick. The velvet, textured sensation caused his head to tilt back and she hummed in satisfaction, feeling his pleasure second-hand in the Link.

“Ah fuck.” He growled out on impulse, enjoying the electric jolt that shimmied up her spine from his tone.

She leaned down, hot breath fanning against his erection and his breath stuttered. She paused, and he watched her mind try to figure out the logistics of how to fold her body on the counter to satisfactorily suck him off and- Katsuki choked on his inhale. No one could claim she wasn’t fucking determined…

He growled at her, burrowing a hand into her absolute nest of morning hair and dragged her up to his lips instead. He gave her a bruising kiss and she fumbled with confusion as to why he was pulling her away from his dick. Which, was an excellent question. Why the fuck was he-

Katsuki I swear to god if you don’t make up your mind and fuck me in the next five minutes-

Oh right, because he was not going to waste this perfect situation on an awkwardly positioned blowjob, he was gonna fuck her stupid on his counter and memorize every moment to relive every fucking time he entered this room. Right. That seemed like a much better plan.

Oh, someone is getting impatient...

  He gave her a smirk and she huffed in frustration, hooking her legs around his hips and trying to pull his hips into hers again. He resisted, a part of him registering how strong her legs were, which caused a dizzying amount of blood to rush downward. She glared, the twitching corner of her mouth the only indication she was teasing.

Come here you stubborn ass!

He caved with a chuckle and moved between her legs, gripping her hip and sliding his cock against her entrance teasingly. That wiped the glare right off her face and she groaned. Fuck she was wet. He ground against her, kissing her lips bruisingly as he teased her, paying special attention to the jolt of sensation as he hit her clit. He repeated the motion, leaning into her mind so he could feel the dopamine dump that his actions provoked. Her façade of being coy faded as she squirmed against him, trying to line him up. She whined in frustration as he repeatedly thwarted her efforts. He grinned, enjoying this way more than he probably should. He couldn’t help it, she was just so fun to tease like this, so fun to watch her beg.

 Katsuki… please.

He pulled back from her desperate kiss and met her gaze. She was imploring him with large and round eyes, begging him. He caved. Fuck he would give her the world if she asked with that doe-eyed look.

As he slid back from her clit he entered her tight pussy, savoring the feeling of her clenching cunt around his dick. He struggled to hold onto his own mind and not fall into the strange group-think space they had both inhabited last night after surrendering to the Bond. He held out in part because the Bond was no longer insisting on their unconditional surrender to its draw. Instead it was just him and Ochako, soulmates engaging in some rad bare back fucking on his kitchen counter- something he would be insisting they repeat. Many times. 

He let out a primal groan at how unbelievably tight she was. Fuck she was perfect, it was as if they were made to fit each other. His head fell against her shoulder as he thrust into her, her mews of approval and sensation of her pleasure spurring him on. Fuck fuck fuck, he couldn’t stop the adoration he felt for her from spilling across the Bond, and he begrudgingly felt her reactive keening as his emotions hit her wave after wave.  

She leaned back on the counter and his hand followed the curve of her body to grip her breast, thumb lightly circling her pert nipple, earning a loud moan of appreciation. Her hand snaked up to cover his, spurring his movements on, her breath coming out in pleasured pants.

He forcibly dragged his gaze up from the image of his shaft disappearing into her cunt, trailing up her body to meet her heated gaze. A shock, not unlike the Jolt snapped his spine straight, driving their torsos together and his cock deeper into her. Her leg hitched higher and he grasped it to hook it over his shoulder. He didn’t waste time ravishing her, tongue and teeth teasing her mouth to draw out as many moans of pleasure as he could. He coveted each and every noise as a personal achievement, much in the way he relished each and every spark of pleasure he elicited from her with his thrusts against her cunt. He was particularly smug about his accuracy with which he hit her G-spot, each plunge of his dick against the sensitive flesh raising the hairs of her neck and incrementally building her to a breaking point.

I uhg, fuck, Katsuki… more please I can’t-

Her mind was an incoherent rambling string of want and praise, complementing and mirroring his own.

Please what?

He dragged a hand down between her breast to her clit, hovering over the bundle of nerves with punishing stillness. She bucked against his hand, serving to draw both it and his cock further into her. She gave him the deepest glare, laced with all the impatience and irradiation she was currently feeling.

Katsuki stop being such a tease! Please I can’t-

Fuck she was incredible, the ferocity and feistiness she displayed almost tossed him over the edge and his thrusting stuttered as he fought the impending orgasm off. She groweled, actually fucking growled at his slowed paced and used her heels to spur his pace back on.

Ask nicely, please what?

He raised a brow at her coyly, resisting her insistent nudging and her resolve wavered, his hand still brushing frustratingly against her clit. He drew great pleasure from the consternation that his lack of stimulation drove her to, enjoying the edging that his pause gave them both.  

Please.. I just- make me cum.

He couldn’t stop his mouth from erupting into a devilish grin. He began circling her clit, leaning into the motions that sent shocks of electric pleasure through her and drifting from the ones that didn’t vibrate across the Link. All the while he continued his thrusting, enraptured in the feeling of her curling around his dick, responsive fluttering of her walls as he angled his tip to drag against her. Soon she was mindless in the sensations and it was all he could do not to fall into her mind and ride out her building orgasm along with her. For fucks sake, someone had to keep them upright and conscious.

She broke with a tidal wave of endorphins, which rippled across the bond in a tsunami of white hot pleasure. The sensation of feeling her orgasm along with the incredible sense of pride in the fact that he made her feel that way had him coming within seconds of her cresting. The resulting overflowing ecstasy in the Bond whited out his vision and he leaned heavily into her against the counter. Some part of him was vaguely thankful for how fucking built she was, somehow, she was able to support them both as he collapsed into her on the counter top.

They lay panting in the afterglow for a few moments, riding out their joint post orgasm glow before he exhaled sharply. He propped himself up, using the counter to support his weight as he met her eyes. She was grinning at him and he let out a bark of laughter at the utter disaster that was her hair.

Her brows furrowed and he felt her lean into his mind to figure out what he thought was so damn funny. She found it and her hands flew up to her mess of hair, indignation sweeping across her features.

“It’s your fault!” She accused, insecurity fluttering across the Bond. He chuckled again and leaned in to give her a chaste kiss.

“Fuck yeah it is.” He proclaimed proudly, she smiled slightly at the pride emanating from him.

“Now come on, let’s get that” He gestured to the mess on her head, “figured out.”  

He pushed back from her, grasping her hand and tugging her off the counter as he went. She let out a yelp as she fell, not expecting the motion. She glared at him half-heartedly as he led her to the shower. 

 

 

 

   

Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t convince Ochako to let him blast them across the sky to go talk with Kuro, or Kanu or whatever the fucker was going by these days. Cheeks had insisted they take the train, claiming that having two Pro Heroes show up on his doorstep in a blast of fire and badassery may scare him into not talking with them. Katsuki argued that it would intimidate him into talking. She’d glared until he’d relented. He was regretting letting her see how weak he was to her.

Along the way she was texting distractedly, occasionally calling him across the Bond informing him that he was the topic of conversation with whoever it was she was talking with. A dip into her thoughts as she hurriedly typed out a message informed him that she was talking with Frog Girl. Rather, she was updating Froggy about their status, something Ochako found infinitely amusing and he decidedly did not. It wasn’t that extra’s business what they did. He had to scoff and roll his eyes as she glared at him for a particularly rude thought, but he held his tongue for the rest of the train ride. Even when a snot nosed brat not-at-all-subtly kept snapping pictures of the two of them. See this is why he didn’t want to take the train.

He glared at the kid as they exited the train, looking around the suburban-esk surroundings. It reminded him of the neighborhood in which he and Deku had grown up.

“It should be just a few blocks ahead.” Ochako filled the silence and he grunted in affirmation. He honestly didn’t think this talk was going to be much help. There wasn’t a lot of new information they could get that would be super useful. Whatever this guy said, they were still gonna have to kick these villains’ asses.

Ochako led them through the winding, quiet streets and within a few minutes they found themselves outside of a rather scenic small house. It was painted an obnoxious yellow and Katsuki had to wonder what went through some people’s heads when they made stupid-ass decisions like painting their house yellow.

He noticed the bars on the windows and the way it was the only house on the street with all it’s curtains drawn. Great. This guy was the neighborhood loon. Paranoid as hell by the looks of it. Delusional too if his color choices were to be considered.

Katsuki!

Ochako chided his thoughts, though he could feel the reluctant amusement she was attempting to snuff out with indignation.

  Yes dearest? Can I fucking help you?

He raised a challenging brow and nudged her away from his mind. Eavesdropping then being mad at him for his thoughts. Hella rude. She pulled back from him in the Bond and just shook her head with tight lips. He snorted and gestured for her to lead the way up the walk to the front door. She stepped past him with a dramatic eye roll.

Ochako reached forward and knocked sharply on the wood and waited a few seconds. There was the sound of a lock sliding in the door and a moment later it was cracked open. The weary face of a young man peaked through and he eyed them for a second before his eyes widened in recognition. Ah, so he knew who they were. That’s good, he may be more inclined to share what he knows.

“What are you doing here?” The man voiced tensely, looking between them.

“Are you Kuro?” Ochako questioned lightly.

“Yeah, what’s it to you!? What possible reason could bring Ground Zero and Uravity to my doorstep? Aren’t you supposed to be in the hospital or something?” He added the last bit as if it were an afterthought.

“We want to talk about the Nukonas,” Ochako said softly, like the dude was a scared bunny or some shit. Katsuki resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Ochako’s mind flashed, giving him a mental elbow to silence his less than polite thoughts.

“How did you find me? Why do you want to talk about that?” The man all but spat, mouth pulling into a frown and his face closed off. The door was pulled incrementally more closed.

Ochako frowned at the aggressive tone.

“Look, those fuckers are killing children and we think you may have some information that could help us.” Katsuki said gruffly, inching closer to Ochako protectively. She elbowed him in the actual physical ribs this time and he flinched.

  Kuro’s eyes narrowed and he pursed his lips. Ochako turned to send Katsuki a look.

Let me handle this, you have the conversational delicacy of an anvil.

Katsuki felt his mouth twitch in amusement and he nodded subtly. Whatever she could take point on this. It was her idea anyway. Ochako took a slow step forward, the man closed the door slightly at the advance and Ochako froze. She took a deep breath and sighed quietly.  

“We just want to know about them.” Ochako said, “anything could help.”  

“I don’t know what to tell you, they were always off. I went to school with their kid for our whole lives and they were super over-protective of him. Probably what caused him to snap, it’s always the repressed ones that do.” Kuro scoffed the last bit, his voice bitter with years of hate.

“What do you mean they were over-protective?” Ochako questioned.

“Well, they never tolerated any perceived injustice against their son. He was constantly pushing the limits and getting in trouble, but mommy and daddy would just swoop in and pressure the authorities into letting it go. The guy was psychotic, sadistic even. He constantly tormented and threatened us with his quirk- which was fucking insane. I mean a quirk that let him kill with just a word? Are you fucking kidding me? How could we compete with that? He shouldn’t have ever been allowed to pursue a career as a hero.” As he spoke the guy started breathing faster and heavier, a deep long-standing anger bubbling to the surface.

Ochako nodded sympathetically and Katsuki furrowed his brows in thought. This was contrary to the reports they’d read. The files indicated that The Nukona kid was the one who was being bullied, not that he was the perpetrator. One of the sources was lying and if Katsuki was still able to read others with the accuracy he thought he could, it wasn’t Kuro.

Those fuckers must have altered the reports. Fuck, who let them work at the records department?

Ochako nodded slightly, drawing Kuro’s skeptical gaze.

I was thinking the same thing… though we don’t necessarily have any proof they did.

“Anyway,” The door opened slightly again, “It doesn’t really matter now because the asshole is dead.” Kuro said it with such finality, as if it was a prayer he said regularly. A reassurance he told himself.

Ochako looked at him sadly, “but his parents aren’t and they are killing innocent children.”

The man’s weary gaze snapped to hers distrust pinching his face.

“Well, that’s not my problem.” He said after a beat, “I already faced them once and I am not inviting that back into my life again. Isn’t that what we pay you Heroes for? Do your jobs.”

He gave them one last lingering glare and shut the door firmly. The lock slid into place with a solid ‘clunck’.

“Well that could have gone better.” Ochako huffed, her mood somewhere between sympathetic and annoyed as she turned and headed back down the walkway to the street.  

“As unhelpful and fucking rude as the guy was, he did tell us some more information,” Katsuki replied his own irritation sparking, “The Nukona’s were insanely attached and protective of their son, to the point of rewriting his records. His death would have destabilized their whole world. They likely have no boundaries and nothing to lose. That’s fucking bad news for us.”  

“It certainly is.” Ochako said contemplatively. He glanced down at her gaze, snagging on the plump lip she was biting absent-mindedly, lost in thought.

Katsuki felt the worry growing in the back of his mind. It was one thing to fight evil malicious people who had clear goals, it was another matter to fight people unhinged by their warped grief- especially when those people had nothing to lose. It made them willing to try things others wouldn’t risk, without a care for the fallout of their actions. It was fucking hard to reason with someone who didn’t have logical faculties. It meant they were going to have to take them down by force and hope they could stop them from whatever fucked up self-destructive option they invariably had at the ready. Fucking great, their jobs just got harder.  

Notes:

This fun little morning scene was not in the outline, but then I got drunk on the Kacchako writing discord with a bunch of people who were also writing smut and, whelp, I had 4k of smut the next morning and was like, "yeah she can stay".
All of this is to say, back to the regularly scheduled plot next update ha ha <3

I am still going through comments! I started yesterday but got distracted watching Castlevania. Chapter title to follow

<3

Chapter 29: Fuck Public Opinion

It was times like this that Ochako really appreciated Tsu’s friendship. She barked out a laugh as she looked at the text that just came through as the metro left the station. 

 

Tsu: ‘Does this mean Lord Explosion Murder is reading everything I’m sending to you through your freaky brain meld?’

 

She and Katsuki were standing in a mostly empty rail car, silent and content as they traveled. She had an arm wrapped loosely around a vertical hand-rail next to the doors, while he leaned casually against another in the center of the car, turned to face her. The sudden sound of her laugh caused Katsuki’s head to whip around and look at her curiously, as his mind slid up next to hers.

Katsuki’s face soured as he caught the general gist of the conversation from her surface thoughts and he stiffly turned his head back to stare at the lights flashing outside the metro’s windows.  She felt his mild indignation at the implication that he was constantly monitoring her through the Link. His mind grumbled about the Tsu, contemplating her history as a ‘no good gossip’, recalling their time spent at UA with irritation. 

 

Me: ‘Not automatically, but when his curiosity gets the best of him, yeah. Take right now for instance, he is pretending not to be following along my thoughts BUT IS A TOTAL DIRTY EAVESDROPPER ANYWAY. ’

 

As she typed the last bit, she shoved his mind away from where it had been subtly creeping closer to her consciousness. He gave a huff and crossed his arms, somehow forgoing any sort of grip on a metro car handle to keep his balance as the train rocked. She glowered, envious of his ability to effortlessly do shit that normal people failed routinely. He couldn’t even pretend to need to hold onto something while in a moving train, no he just had to show off. He glanced over to her curiously at the shift in her mood, sending her a questioning Impression.

I am insanely jealous of your natural athletic abilities .

He smirked at the admission, finally catching the drift of her jealous thoughts, and lifted one foot off the ground, raising an eyebrow. The smug asshole. What a show off. She reached out and shoved his shoulder, grinning when he stumbled a few steps, giving her a look.

Rude.

Hey, you were asking for it, if I don’t stop you from preening, your head is going to grow so big even your incredible balance won’t keep you from toppling over from its sheer size.

 A new reply from Tsu pulled Ochako’s eyes down:

 

Tsu: ‘It is embarrassing that you now drag our text conversations into your incessant flirting. I would say get a room, but you’ve clearly already done that.’

 

“Pft!” Ochako wheezed, a rather loud chuckle escaping her lips. She brought a hand to her mouth at the glare of the other passengers, who were apparently fed up with their behavior, between the shoving of Bakugou and snickering at her phone. Plus she and Katsuki still hadn’t figured out the whole don’t-look-like-crazy-people-when-talking-psychically thing yet.

It was strange how being in civilian clothes suddenly made her aware of people staring. When she was in her hero costume people were always slack jawed or bug-eyed in her presence without provoking so much as a second glance from her, yet one civilian’s glare at her while she’s dressed normally and it makes her skin crawl.

Katsuki just shook his head, making it a point to stay away from her side of the Link, a faux spiteful mood playing across the Bond from him. The Link flexed and undulated with each tiny shift in mood or tone of thought in a way that was slightly distracting.

The new changes to the Bond were …interesting. At first, Ochako hadn’t been sure what to think, being borderline overwhelmed by the intensity of information being thrown at her mind by the increased sensitivity. She could hear Katsuki’s surface thoughts with the slightest effort on her part and it took half the morning, and two cups of coffee, to figure out how to severely decrease her actions in the Bond. Now, having spent time relearning how much force to use, she could see the benefit of the changes. She also understood the unfortunate increase in vulnerability the change permitted them. It was a mixed bag and she was thankful they hadn’t started with this much sensitivity. Thinking back to those first days she could hardly believe how much trouble they'd had controlling the old level of the Link, it was almost comical how bad at it they’d been. She could only imagine how horribly they’d have done had the Link been this sensitive to start. 

Now, though, she just felt relief. It was like she’d been using gross motor movements and had finally figured out how to do fine motor movements. The sense of control they had been striving to achieve was now at their fingertips and she couldn’t be happier at the ease with which she could now manipulate the Bond. 

While the amplified sense of control elated her, she was still trying to process the emotional atom bomb Katsuki had dropped on her last night. He loved her. Like, in love with her, loved her. She was infinitely confused as to how he’d managed to keep it toned down in the Bond until now, especially given his less than proficient emotional control. Though admittedly, looking back she could pin-point a few moments from the past when small leaks had sprung in his mental cage, allowing whispers of the emotion to slip through- she just hadn’t been savvy enough to interpret them correctly. Now that she knew, she saw it in almost everything he said to her, a shadow of a smile, a spark in his eyes.

She was low-key freaking out about it. 

And trying very hard to not let him see her freaking out about it by very decidedly and forcefully not thinking about it at all.  It was all very emotionally exhausting, especially given how much any one small emotion could affect the Bond. 

For his part, Katsuki was the picture of ease. Either he didn’t see his admission as a big deal and was totally content or he very much so cared and was doing the same thing she was- hiding all the emotions away.  Which, if he was hiding his emotions he was doing a much better job than she was. On several occasions this morning, after the amazing counter sex, she had faultered slightly at a resonant feeling of love emanating from him and had awkwardly backed off in the Link and shuffled out of the room. His feeling of patient acceptance was almost worse than if he’d been irritated at her shifty mood.  

The new sensitivity of the Bond was going to make hiding things, especially things as big as her confusion regarding Katsuki’s apparent love for her, exceptionally difficult. She really needed some space to process everything that had happened without his influence or watchful presence in her mind and she knew that she couldn’t put off processing it for much longer. 

Luckily, she had a plan for that: Operation Middle of the Day Rant to Tsu Under the Guise of Training was in full effect, with Katsuki begrudgingly agreeing to separate for the afternoon to do their own things before meeting up with Aizawa. He’d pointed out that they could train together, but she’d dealt the fatal blow to his argument by contemplating how the separation anxiety may have changed with the new Bond changes. She’d brought up the question of whether or not distance would still affect the Link (she really really hoped that drawback was still intact) and he had reluctantly agreed to split, just to test the new boundaries. They didn’t want any surprises after all.

Oi! You getting off to see Froggy or what?

Katsuki’s thought broke her out of her dazed staring at her phone, lost in thought. She snapped her gaze up, seeing that they were pulling into Tsu’s stop. She shook her head to rid herself of any lingering thoughts, pocketing her phone and looking over to Katsuki.

Yup! I’ll see you in a few hours?

He gave her a ‘Duh’ Impression. She grinned at him, delighted in just his..his- just him. She just appreciated him. He followed her thoughts as she tried harder and harder to find the words for what she was describing, and a crooked grin spread across his mouth in understanding.

He felt a burst of affection for her and reached out to snag her wrist, drawing her to him as the train lurched to a halt. She gave a startled yelp and reached out, steading herself on his upper arms as he leaned in to kiss her. She froze for a split second as they met, then giggled against his lips, pushing him away slightly.

Katsuki! We’re in public!

Eh, fuck the public. His thought was punctuated with him drawing her back to him, once again connecting their lips in a kiss that was getting progressively more intimate. She pushed him back with a blush and a nervous giggle. 

“Katsuki!” She half-heartedly hissed through her chuckles as she expertly slipped from his grasp.

He just gave her a rueful grin, which quickly settled back into a scowl when he noticed the open stares of the train car passengers. Honestly, what did he expect, kissing her so fiercely on public transport!

The car doors opened and Ochako backed towards the doors, eyes lingering on Katsuki. His gaze returned to her and he gave her a very pointed once-over with a smirk for the ages. She blushed even deeper and stepped away from Katsuki, bumping into a young girl furiously texting on her phone.

“Oh, I’m sorry sweetie!” Ochako said, bending down somewhat as two other passengers exited the train car, “Are you okay?”

The girl looked up at her with large round eyes, clutching her phone to her chest glancing back and forth between her and Katsuki. Ochako realized that the girl must recognize them, even without their hero costumes.

“You’re Uravity aren’t you?” The young girl mumbled out in shock, before abruptly turning and bounding out of the train. Ochako tried to see where the girl went, but the girl scampered off into the crowd. Poor kid, probably surprised and unsure how to respond to heroes not in costume.

She shrugged it off, giving one last glance to Katsuki, who nodded with a secret smile on his face, before heading out onto the platform.

Bye, Cheeks.

Don’t give Kiri too much shit, okay?

He didn’t give her a reply but she felt his amusement as it rippled slowly across the Bond. She smiled softly despite herself. The train sped off and Ochako climbed the stairs to get to the street, half present in the physical, half paying attention to how the new sensitivity of the Bond would handle the rapidly increasing distance between her and Katsuki.

Ochako was immensely relieved to find that Katsuki still felt father and father away as the train sped off. Then she felt a flash of anxiety at the empty space left in her mind in his absence. She unconsciously reached out across the howling cliff at the back of her mind, chasing Katsuki’s mind across the distance in the Link. His mind was suddenly and unexpectedly pulled right close to hers, the speed of their connection causing surprised ripples across the Link. She started at the ease of access, thankful that her anxiety seemed to ebb away with the reinstated connection. She could feel his confusion at her sudden pressure against his mind and she sent a ‘it’s nothing’ sort of Impression his way.

She let his mind drift away again and was happy to feel the anxiety had all but disappeared. There was still some moderate discomfort at being apart from each other, but nothing affecting her thoughts or emotions in the way it previously had. Thank god.

She grinned broadly at the thought and all but skipped to Tsu’s apartment, it was such a relief to not expect to have anxiety anytime she was in a different place from Katsuki. Even in just the few weeks they’d been Linked she was already starting to go a bit crazy being with him all the time. Not that she didn’t enjoy his company, she just missed the freedom of being an independent person without separation anxiety.

When she arrived at Tsu’s front door she barely had time to reach up and knock before it swung open, revealing her best friend clad in worn oversized jean overalls and a green tee.

“Ochako!” Tsu exclaimed, a smile encompassing her mouth as the girl bounded towards Ochako for a hug. Ochako wrapped her arms around her friend, breaking into a smile. It had been so long since they hung out not at work, since… well, before the Link for sure, maybe several days before even that.

“Tsu!” Ochako cried happily, “I missed you!”

 Tsu pulled back, cocking her head as a mischievous look glinted in her eyes, contrasting with her innocuous expression.

“You know, I think what they say about post -sex-skin-glow is correct.” She said matter-of-factly as her eyes circled Ochako’s quickly reddening expression, “Did you guys have more sex this morning? How are you handling that much-“

“Tsu!” Ochako half-heartedly chided, interrupting whatever it was Tsu was going to say next.

“So that’s a yes then? The secret to flawless skin is soul-bounding with a high-school classmate and having loads of sex. I’ll have to reach out to our classmates for potential matches then.” The glint in Tsu’s eyes began to creep through the rest of her features as her teasing became more blatant. A startled resident froze in the hallway on his way past them, two bags of groceries perched in his arms as he overheard the conversation.

 “Tsu! For heaven’s sake not in the middle of your hallw-“

“Or maybe it’s the fact that he loves y-" At the final sentence Ochako slapped her hand over Tsu’s mouth, flinching at the sticky sensation of Tsu’s retaliatory tongue flick against her palm.

“Okay that’s enough of that!” Ochako commented breezily as she backed them both into Tsu’s apartment, shutting the door firmly behind them. The image of that poor citizen's scandalized face was burned into her subconscious for all eternity.

Tsu’s apartment was cozy, homey and a spot-on expression of Tsu’s personal tastes. For one thing, there were plants covering every viable surface, there was even a wall of snaking interwoven vines in her living room. Tsu had correctly identified her color as green and had the apartment furnished in various shades of the color, accented with natural wooden or stone accents.

Ochako released Tsu after she adequately locked the door and glared at the shit eating grin her friend wore.

“Is he listening in right now, ribbit?” Tsu questioned with a head tilt. Ochako did a quick check to feel for his distance from her mind and shook her head when she found him absent.

“Good. So Bakugou is in love with you?” Tsu prompted, flopping down onto her love seat in her living room.

Ochako spent the next several minutes recounting the feelings Katsuki had dumped on her, lightly sidestepping the…explicit details, despite Tsu’s crafty attempts to draw them out of her. After she was done, she sat in silence, fidgeting with one of Tsu’s lily pad shaped coasters while Tsu thought over what Ochako had told her.

“Well, now that I think about it, he has always had a soft spot for you.” Tsu commented lightly with a shrug as if it was the most natural conclusion to draw from the mind-bending revelation of Katsuki freaking Bakugou being in love with her.

“He’s had a what?!” Ochako scoffed, “No way! He treated me like crap, just like he treated everyone else.”

“No, he treated you like someone worthy of his time, which is a big deal for Bakugou.” Tsu said pointedly, as if Ochako were dense.

“I don’t see what you mean, Tsu” Ochako said confused, “I mean he was always on me about one thing or another. ‘get better equipment for fucks sake, Cheeks’, ‘maybe if you pushed your quirk harder in training you wouldn’t spew chunks on missions’ and all kinds of other rude shit.” Ochako said, imitating his voice as she parroted some of his more memorable quotes from the past years.

“Yes, but compared to the fact that he never says anything but ‘Hey’ and ‘Oi! Move’ to me it’s basically a declaration of devotion.” Tsu said with a knowing look, “I bet if you asked him what my real name is he would not be able to tell you.”

 “Tsu, we’ve been over this before, he knows your name!” Ochako said defensively, rolling her eyes at her melodrama. Despite Tsu’s rather dramatic recount of Katsuki’s awareness of her as a person, some part of her words rang true…

She could count on one hand the number of people Kasuki gave any form of undivided attention to, let alone the ones he willfully engaged in long conversations with. There was Kirishima, Aizawa and Izuku. Occasionally, Shouto. And her. Crap Tsu was right.  But…. Katsuki had only recently started loving her, while he’d been nagging her for literal years . Really, Ochako thought back, since their years in highschool. He’d really started amping up his naggin in third year she recalled. She distinctly remembered being blindingly angry for his criticism of her performance on the first task of their Sports Festival in third year. He’d ranted at her incessantly until she finally had told him to fuck off or she would launch him into the stratosphere. His dumbfound expression was one of her fondest memories of highschool. 

There was no way his attention to her and his being in love with her could be connected, the time lines didn’t remotely match. Ochako nodded firmly as she concluded the obvious. 

“But Tsu, that can’t be right because he’s been that way with me for years.” Ochako reasoned, “since at least third year at UA.”

Tsu just gave Ochako a deadpan look.

“No, you don’t think-“ Ochako fumbled, “He couldn’t have possibly. I mean, I was with Deku for at all that-“

Tsu raised her eyebrows and her tongue slipped out of her mouth in Tsu’s classic ‘I know something you don’t know because you’re too oblivious to pick up on it' look. Ochako’s eyes widened as she considered the possibility. Could Katsuki have been interested in her, like romantically, for that long? All through her relationship with Izuku? Hadn’t he given Izuku, er… intimate sex pointers at some point, she seemed to remember a conversation where Izuzku had mentioned it while blushing furiously. Who the hell gives sex tips to the guy dating the girl he’s interested in? What. the. fuck. There was no way. There was-

Ochako had a flash of a memory of Bakugou smiling softly at her on the podium of their third Sports Festival, post her ripping him a new one after the first task. A smile he’d given her when she had systematically defeated her opponent, a fury and drive to prove Bakugou wrong driving her harder than she’d ever gone. Him smiling at her front from the first place podium with her glaring definitely at him from her place one step down in second. She’d chalked it up to him being proud of all the hours they’d worked together training over the semester in preparation. A begrudging admission of her success thanks to his input. That he’d been proud of her. Now she recognized it as the same look he’d given her this morning. A smile of complete and utter adoration. 

Her brain stuttered to a halt.

“Shut the front door...He’s been in love with me for years. Oh my god, I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner!” Ochako whispered in realization, eyes widening.

“Well, to be fair no one realized, well maybe Izu-" Tsu said but Ochako continued as if she hadn’t heard her.

“-I can’t even begin to process what this means. Like are we dating? Are we in a serious relationship, are we soulmates? Like, gonna be-together-forever- soulmates or is it a looser term? What did Shinsou mean when he said that?! I’ll have to ask him... Okay so, Katsuki loves me, fine. I can accept that. But I don’t even know if I am in a place to love someone else, I just revived my heart from Izuku. Hell, he hasn’t even verbally said that he loves me, just showed me the emotion through the Bond-"

“-An arguably more intimate action than just telling you-“ Tsu added as Ochako spiraled further, not hearing the words her friend said.

“-And now you claim he’s been in love with me for literal years?! It’s just, I can’t-" Ochako’s voice grew steadily in pitch as she poured out her insecurities and confusion over her relationship to Katsuki.

“Have you talked with him about it?” Tsu asked curiously, “The ‘emotional bomb’ he dropped on you, as you called it?” 

Ochako flinched.

“No, I just don’t know how to approach it.” Ochako said with a sigh. “I like him yes, but I just established that it is me that is interested in him not the Bond telling me to be interested in him, something that I am not really sure how to process. I didn’t have feelings for him before, so this is all very new to me. It’s all tangled up with the development of the Bond.” Tsu was quiet, obviously thinking it all over. Ochako sighed, thinking intensely about the situation.

“He probably already knows that I’m feeling confused about the whole thing. Hell, it’s only natural I feel confused, it’s only been a few weeks since the Link. Any sane person would understand that I’m a bit hesitant.” Ochako had finally run out of steam, now just left feeling emotionally fatigued and confused. 

“Bakugou has never really been known for being totally sane.” Tsu countered with a quirked lip, “He’s really one hundred percent or nothing, he doesn’t middle very gracefully.”

Ochako barked out a mirthful laugh, “I suppose you’re right.”

There was an amused silence between them as Ochako thought it over. On the one hand, she was all in. Her brain, hell, her very soul was telling her this was right. She flashed back to the answering resonant ‘of course’ she had felt in the Bond as an answer to her worries last night. Emotionally she had not questioned this was exactly as it was supposed to be. 

On the other hand, her head was freaking out at the speed at which this was happening. A year ago, she had a working friendship- even that was a stretch- with Katsuki. It was bonkers to go from that to freaking love! Not to mention the fact Katsuki seemed to be on board the ‘soulmates’ train, she was barely hanging onto the caboose. The dissonance between the two was getting to her.

“Ochako, I am always right.” Tsu said with a wink. Ochako’s mouth dropped and she fumbled.

“No, you aren’t, what about- what about…crap I can’t think of a counter example, but I know that you have been wrong before!!!” Ochako exclaimed indignantly.

Tsu just croaked out a laugh and hopped to her feet. Ochako’s phone buzzed and pinged in her pocket, before she could pull it out Tsu was speaking.

 “Well, you need to tell him whatever it is that you do feel, your non-response to this is probably killing him, likely worse than what you did to Deku, considering that Bakugou can feel everything first-hand. You should probably figure it out. If not for your sake, then for his.” Tsu said, pausing and putting a finger to her mouth.

Ochako gaped at her friend, guilt swarming her mind. Another ding and vibration from her phone, though Ochako hardly noticed as her best friend’s words washed over her with their cold objectivity.

“Ouch Tsu, that was a bit harsh, you’re supposed to be on my side here.” Ochako said with genuine hurt forcing her voice to crack.

“Oh, sorry was that too far?” Tsu asked blankly. “Look, I am on your side, but you have to admit you have a knack for messing with those two. They already have a delicate relationship and you have just come in the middle and destroyed them both with your callousness. I am here for you, but you have to admit the collateral you’ve caused by choosing these two in particular is kind of mythic.”

Ochako stared horrified at her friend, sinking into a dark place, realizing the severity and stakes of the situation. She had a memory of Izuku’s stricken face as she had explained her relationship with Katsuki to him in the kitchen that day. The way she could tell his heart was breaking at having to choose between his job and her. All of those nights they’d spent fighting about it. Now she was with his rival, unsure of her feelings while he was pining after her. Was she stringing him along? Surely not.

Tsu’s words echoed in her head. God this was fucked up. How could she not have seen it? She felt like an awful person.

Ochako was distantly aware that her phone made another ding as yet another notification came through.

“I mean if you don’t feel the same, you’ve essentially strung Bakugou along and seriously messed with Izuku’s head. It’s like a basic rule that you don’t date your ex’s rival.” Tsu commented plainly, as if she wasn’t aware of the emotional anguish her words were putting Ochako through. 

“…Tsu, that’s just. I get it. You can stop now.” Ochako said, voice hitching as the magnitude of Tsu’s implications hit her.  

“This is bigger than loving you for Bakugou, it is tied up in his rivalry with Deku. It’s something to think about, can I get you something to drink?” Tsu asked obviously as she made her way to her kitchen. Ochako stared blankly, not sure how to respond to the brutal truth Tsu had just assaulted her with. She knew Tsu could be insensitive but sometimes the degree of the woman’s callousness was plain hurtful. 

Ochako’s phone vibrated again in her pocket and she shifted on the couch to fish it out numbly. It pinged again before she could even unlock the screen.

“Water.” Ochako replied coldly, hurt by Tsu’s words. If Tsu picked up on her upset mood she didn’t react, only opting to busy herself filling Ochako a glass. 

Ochako turned her phone screen on as yet another ping sounded. There were a series of messages from Anita in the public relations department, several in the 3A group chat and a few from Lilly. What now?

She opened the most pressing conversation with Anita first:

 

Anita PR: ‘Were you planning on telling us you are in a relationship with GROUND ZERO?! You know, the Number Two Hero who just so happens to be your ex’s chief rival?!’

Anita PR: ‘This is a disaster, exactly the kind of scandal we do NOT need to deal with on top of the Villain group mess.’

Anita PR: ‘Call me now.’

 

Ochako’s face paled. Shit. At that moment more texts began pouring in from the class 3A group chat and she quickly switched over to the thread.

 

Mina : ‘I AM SQUEALING!’

Tohru : ‘you guys are so cute together, congrats!’

Kaminari : ‘What the hell, why didnt u say anything to me Katsuki?! Im hurt’

Tokoyami : ‘What exactly are you talking about?’

Mina : hhtps://herodaily.com/Are-Uravity-and-GroundZero-together?//

Mina : ‘someone caught Bakugou and Ochako making out on a train!’

Todoroki : And we are supposed to care because…

Mina : Because they have had some thick sexual tension for AGES!

*Deku has left the chat*

Kirishima : Mina we talked about this.

Iiida : That is highly insensitive, not only of Bakugou and Ochako’s feelings, but of Deku’s as well. You should consider your actions more carefully, Mina!

 

Ochako’s phone clattered to the floor as she dropped it. Crap crap crap. This is EXACTLY the kind of thing she didn’t need right now. This was bad, this was very bad. Oh god, Deku didn’t know about the whole soulmates thing yet. Ochako buried her head in her hands, taking a deep breath.

Motherfucker.

Katsuki was suddenly right next to her mind, tasting her mood and flinching at the conflicting emotions she was feeling. She sighed and lifted her head, seeing Tsu peering at her curiously as she walked back with a glass of water. Ochako felt a flash of cold anger at her friend, still upset at the insensitive way she had blamed her friend for this stupid love triangle. As if she asked for this!

Crap crap crap, this is bad Katsuki! 

“What is it?” Tsu asked as Ochako’s phone continued to ding constantly. Ochako reached down and picked it up off the floor, holding it out to Tsu. She took it after setting Ochako’s glass of water on the lilypad coaster Ochako had been playing with earlier.

“Oh.” Tsu said lightly, “That is very unfortunate. Mina seems happy though.”

Ochako gave her a glare, “Deku has expressed explicit insecurity over the possibility of me and Katsuki being involved and I was hoping to manage this whole villain attack fiasco before sitting down to tell him.” Ochako snapped, irritated at her friend’s attitude.

Are you seriously worried about Deku right now?! Seriously?!

Katsuki’s irritation stung her consciousness, adding to her turmoil. Ochako fumed, the sheer amount of emotions and conflict she was feeling bordering on overwhelming. She did not want to have to manage both boy’s stupid obession and possesiveness of her at the same time. 

Katsuki seriously, now is not the time.

Something either about her tone or general emotional state seemed to give him pause and she felt him do his best to rein in his own irritation.

Okay. Fine. What do you need?

Ochako breathed a sigh of relief at that.

Can you please handle the class chat? Someone needs to shut Mina’s incessant fangirling down, it is not helpful for anyone.

I mean, Shitty Hair seems to be handling it-

Ochako sent him a sharp wave of irritation, cracking across the Bond like a whip and he stopped the thought.

Fuckin’ fine. I got it handled.

“Bakugou?” Tsu asked, handing Ochako her phone back. Ochako looked back up to her friend, confused, before she realized that she must have had telling facial expressions of her conversation with Katsuki. She nodded distractedly at Tsu to confirm the girl’s suspicion. Ochako caught the all caps message Katsuki sent to the group.

 

Katsuki : ‘LISTEN UP FUCK WADS, NOW IS NOT A GOOD TIME FOR OCHAKO, SO SHUT THE FUCK UP BEFORE I MAKE YOU’

 

She let out a laugh before she could stop herself. This wasn’t exactly what she had in mind, she was sure it would just fan the flames rather than make them die, but at least it would shift the focus from her to Katsuki for a bit. She closed the message app before she could get dragged into the, admittedly, hilarious exchange between Katsuki and their former classmates. Tsu was staring at her waiting for an answer.

“Yeah, he’s taking care of the class.” Ochako said, wincing “Or trying to anyway. I kind of regret asking him to do that.”

“Why aren’t you handling them?” Tsu asked with a tongue sticking out of her slight grin.

 “I’ve got a PR nightmare on my hands, apparently.” Ochako sighed again, mirth at Katsuki’s brash attitude fading into a strange envy for Katsuki’s position, “I doubt his PR rep is getting upset about this at all, the least he can do is deal with our friends. I’m sure this is a great boost to his ‘playboy’ image. I, on the other hand, am going to look like a right trollop.”

 “I don’t think you’re a trol-lop.” Tsu said, voice breaking with a repressed laugh on the strange word.  Ochako let out a huff of a laugh, deciding to momentarily forget her irritation at her friend in favor of worrying about the imminent threat.

“Hold on I gotta call my PR.” Ochako said, pulling up Anita’s contact, She paused an idea occurring to her, “Tsu, could you maybe help put out the dumpster fire that is Katsuki trying to be tactful?” 

 “Of course, ribbit!” Tsu hopped up, “Let me get my phone.”

Ochako nodded and sent the call through to Anita. The phone rang a few times before the PR expert picked up.

“Uravity! Thank goodness. Listen, I need your input on a few things.” Anita’s smooth voice said. For someone who used inflammatory language in her texts just now, Anita seemed remarkably calm.

“Hi Anita. What do you need?” Ochako said as Tsu reentered the room, fingers darting across her phone screen.

“First I need to know, Are you in a relationship with Ground Zero?” Anita cut to the chase.

Did you really just send Froggy in for backup? I’m hurt at your lack of faith.

Ochako rolled her eyes at Katsuki’s half-teasing-half-serious thought. Her attention was pulled away from the phone call as she got a good read on Katsuki’s mood. She was surprised to find him gloating and smug, rather than annoyed. She really didn’t have time to unpack the emotional chaos that were Katsuki’s responses.

Yes, now shut up I’m on the phone.

Touchy.

Shh! Shut up, you incessant thorn in my side! 

She felt Katsuki’s absolute hilarity at the thought and became annoyed that the comment didn’t have its intended effect of pissing the blond off enough to get him to go away.

“Uravity” Anita asked at Ochako’s long pause. Ochako’s attention was pulled back to the phone call.

“Right sorry, I’m trying to manage a lot right now.” Ochako apologized, “Yes, I would say it’s true that Katsuki and I are in a relationship.”

Anita sighed in a disappointed manner. Ochako cringed, knowing she probably should have informed her PR department the second she and Katsuki had started their tryst.

“Okay, well cat’s out of the bag. Now we need to think about damage control. How do you want to spin this?”

Ochako paused, briefly distracted by a random flair of irritation from Katsuki. She put up a mental shield, sighing at the relief as his mind was severed from hers. One less thing to keep track of.

“Well, I’m not going to stop seeing him anytime soon, if that’s what you're asking. It’s not a fling.” Ochako stated answering the implication.

“How long has this been going on?” Anita asked, and Ochako tried to not take it personally. The implication that she’d been with Katsuki since her breakup with Deku was definitely in the subtext to Anita’s line of questioning.

“Literally a week.” Ochako answered stiffly.

“I only ask because you know the media is going to try to spin this as the reason for your breakup with Deku.” Anita responded softly, a sympathetic note in her tone. Ochako took a deep breath, letting her defensiveness go.

“No, you’re right. They’ve been speculating that I had a thing with Katsuki since the breakup-“ Ochako froze, eyes widening in shock at the notion, only now realizing that there was likely some truth in the speculations of the press from back then. If Tsu was to be believed, Katsuki had been pining after her then, why wouldn’t the media have picked up on it?

“Exactly, we need to be open and honest about what has been going on. I am in contact with Ground Zero’s PR team and we are devising a plan on how to go about this in a way that benefits both of your brands. We think a public interview together fully disclosing the nature of your relationship, including this new second quirk you both have, would be most beneficial. Give them what they want before speculation spirals out of control.”

Ochako’s mind flatlined at the thought of describing what it felt like to have someone else in her brain. How on earth would you describe the sensation of someone feeling what you felt to the general public? It was about a thousand times more embarrassing than just talking about their relationship. It was a level of intimacy she didn’t want others privy to. She wasn’t even sure what the nature of their relationship was yet, how the hell was she supposed to explain that to a studio audience? 

 “Uhhh,” Ochako hedged, “I’m not sure I am totally comfortable with that.”

Anita went silent for a beat. Ochako caught Tsu’s concerned gaze and just shook her head slightly. Ochako felt a sort of knocking sensation on her mental shield as Katsuki tried to reach her across the Bond.

“Uravity, I really think that given the notoriety level each of you has on your own, let alone together, this is the minimum we can do.” Anita stood firm.

“I just, it’s just that-“ Ochako let out a frustrated noise, “Look, we aren’t even really sure what is going on! It’s really complicated with the Bond and whole soulmates thing, let alone his apparent infatuation and I just got over Izuku and it’s all wrapped up in these villains and it’s just a lot, Okay?! So no, I am not comfortable talking through those intricacies with the general public, Anita. Think of something else. Or at least postpone until these villains are taken care of. Or after Katsuki and I figure out what is going on ourselves.”  

There was a stunned silence on the other end. Tsu seemed to be absorbed in something on her phone, though glanced up at Ochako’s tone. 

“Oh. I see. That is….complicated.” Anita finally said in a slightly more strained voice, before her tone got infinitely more curious “...soulmates you say?”

“Anita.” Ochako warned, rubbing her forehead. The pressure of Katsuki leaning on her shield intensified. Tsu was watching her patiently.

“Right.” Anita said a bit bashfully, “Sorry. Okay I will go back to the drawing board and let you know what we come up with. In the meantime do I have the go-ahead to confirm you are in a relationship with Ground Zero?”

“Yes. Thank you, Anita.” Ochako said with a sigh.

“Alright, I will contact you again later today.” Anita ended the phone call before Ochako could say goodbye.

Ochako took a second to re-collect herself, rubbing the bridge of her nose at the pressure in her brain from Katsuki’s mind trying to break her shield.

“Well that was an intense conversation.” Tsu said.

“Yeah, well you know how PR is, they are primarily concerned with our images, which is good, that’s what we pay them for, but sometimes they need a kick to the ass to make them realize we are normal people too.” Ochako chuckled.

“Well, I think you are doing just fine with the ‘real person’ side of the equation, despite what PR may tell you.”

“Thanks Tsu.” Ochako replied fondly, “I’m okay, really.”

Tsu nodded and gave Ochako a sweet grin, which Ochako returned tentatively, almost over the way Tsu had crossed the line earlier. It was hard to be in a fight with Tsu because the other woman simply did not take offense, which was both infuriating and relieving 

“Oh yeah, Bakugou is going crazy trying to get a hold of you. He keeps texting me.” Tsu commented calmly and her phone buzzed several times in succession, “Apparently you have a ‘shield’ up? I told him to wait. He was not very receptive to the idea.” 

Ochako rolled her eyes, but grinned at the offhand way her friend shoved Katsuki’s wishes to the side to make sure she was okay first. God, she loved Tsu at times like this. Ochako braced herself and slowly lowered her shield. The resulting infiltration of her mind by Katsuki was forceful at best, painful at worst.

Fucking finally! What the fuck Ochako!?

OW! What the hell Katsuki!? I was busy, could you not have waited for a freaking minute? Tsu was telling you-

-Shut up!

Excuse me?! Did you just tell me to-

-Listen, the raid is happening in thirty minutes, you need to get to the police station for a pre-brief ASAP.

Oh shit!

Yeah ‘oh shit!’, dumbass.

Hey there’s no need-

Stop chastising me and get your ass in gear! There will be time for that later!

 “Your face tells me that it was something important.” Tsu commented dryly.

“I’ve got to go, the Task Force is meeting to start the raid, like, nowish.” Ochako said shortly, taking a brief glance at her phone, where there were several missed calls and unread texts from Aizawa and Katsuki. She didn’t even want to touch the…67?! Holy shit, 67 messages in the 3A chat.

 “They’re just telling you now?” Tsu asked as Ochako gathered her things quickly, “Shouldn’t they have planned this ahead of time?”

 “Yes, but the villains have a teleporter so they come and go so swiftly we have such a small window of time before they disappear.” Ochako commented distractedly, “Oh crap! I don’t have my hero suit with me!”

 “Maybe you should stop and get it then head straight to the raid, rather than stopping at the station.” Tsu supplied.

“Except I have no idea where the raid is happening, teleporter- remember? They change base locations all the time.” Ochako replied.

“Have Katsuki tell you.” Tsu said with amusement pointing to her head.

“Oh duh.” Ochako facepalmed.

I’ve got to stop and get my hero costume at my agency, can you tell me where the raid is and I’ll meet you there?

Ochako sent the thought as she headed towards Tsu’s door.

I’ll do you one better, I’ll meet you at your agency and I’ll rocket us to the raid.

“Bye Ochako, good luck! Be safe!” Tsu called and Ochako waved with a tight grin, already in mission mode as she hurried out Tsu’s door and bounded towards her agency. She did her best to put the conversation with Tsu behind her, not let it distract her from the present threat. She knew she would get over Tsu’s words soon enough and it wasn’t something she could worry about now. She had too much on her plate. 

 

 

 

 

Ochako all but crashed through the door to her office fifteen minutes later. The office was fairly empty, most of the crew already off for the day, working night patrols or pulled for the upcoming raid, leaving a skeletal crew behind to man the office.

She caught the eye of one of their interns from Shiketsu as she hurried past the front desk and he started in surprise.

“Is Plantasma here?” Ochako asked the intern quickly, skidding to a stop. Shoot what was his name again?

“I- uh.. Urvaity hi!” The intern started a rambling greeting and Ochako nodded impatiently, “uh no, she left maybe 20 minutes ago?”

She was off before the guy could offer any more awkward conversation, jogging swiftly to her office, opening the door and immediately searching the cluttered space for her spare suit.

She shut her door quickly, locating her suit draped over the back of her chair and Ochako raced to grab it, already shedding her leggings and shirt. She was just pulling it over her shoulders when Katsuki notified her he was on the roof waiting.

I’m here, let's go, we’re already running late.

Let me get my support items on really fast. Less than one minute.

He didn’t respond instead just sending a ‘hurry up’ impression. She fumbled to put on her wrist gear and boots, growling in frustration at the way the left boot got stuck as she yanked it on.

As soon as she was halfway decent she ran out of her office, ignoring the look the intern gave her as she zipped the suit up from navel to collar, once again thankful for the change to a front clasp she’d made in her first year as a hero (who had time to wait for someone to zip them up?)

She ran out of the office to the stairs that led to the rooftop, foregoing taking each step one by one, instead activating her quirk and launching herself up the center clearing of the stairwell with an aim that had been honed over years of rapid exits.  She abruptly yanked herself closer to Katsuki’s mind, feeling him out quickly. Quick tastes of adrenaline, excitement, nerves and anger bounded across the Link. She felt the twitching in his thighs from his anxious pacing, spiking her own pulse in response.

Get ready for launch, T- minus 45 seconds.

North-East side.

He readily aligned his mind with hers, preparing for combo flight. She burst out of the roof door, barreling towards the North-East corner of the rooftop. She spotted Katsuki, braced on the ledge of the building in full hero garb, complete with machine gun gauntlets. She met his eyes across the distance and almost face planted as the Jolt ran across the Link, vibrating and shaking them to the core. He stumbled a step and some unconscious part of her mind worried he’d fall off the roof, before she remembered he could blast himself anywhere and was not in danger of falling. She recovered her stride and launched herself towards him, activating her quick on them both as she swung around his shoulders to rest in her usual spot on his back. He blasted off without any cue, so close to her mind that he knew the instant she was secure.

Okay, so maybe she had been a bit premature with the arbitrary speed rules, because at this point the times they’d gone less than 80 miles per hour were few and far between. Honestly, she was used to the speed now.

Katsuki picked up on her thoughts with malicious glee and proceeded to blast them to an even more ridiculous speed, earning a startled squeak from her as she tightened her grip at the last second before they were shot across the sky.

I KNEW YOU WOULD COME AROUND TO THE RIGHT POINT OF VIEW!!

Ochako grumbled in their overlapped minds, not quite willing to fully commit to one thought or another, instead opting to ride out his wave of elation at the flight. There was something truly all-encompassing about the way Katsuki enjoyed flying.

We should probably consider approaching at a coast, for stealth and what not.

Ochako’s thought thoroughly killed Katsuki’s buzz as he remembered why it was that they were flying. He immediately stopped the large blasts emanating from his palms only occasionally course correcting them as they aimed towards the target. Ochako realized, rather belatedly that they were heading towards the district that Katsuki lived in and felt a cold sweat drop down her spine. They were so close to the villains. Within several blocks. The knowledge was both shilling and infinitely frustrating.

As they approached, Katsuki deemed it time to debrief Ochako on what the location was like, as she hadn’t really had any time to read through the classified email Aizawa had (apparently) sent to the Task Force.

Look, we're going into a house- a family home?! What the- yeah, it’s the Nukona’s house, they’ve only spent a few hours there over the past few days, we figure they assume it’s being watched, but it appears to be the primary meeting place for the villains.

Why would they keep coming back if there they thought it was under watch?

That is an excellent question. It’s probably some bullshit sentimental reason.

Ochako had a bad feeling about this. Sentimental was another word for invaluable, something that made her double down on her notion that these villains were completely unhinged. If they put their mission in jeopardy by staying in an unsecure location for something sentimental, they likely would fight to the death for whatever it is. Not only that, but clearing a house was a difficult thing. Abandoned warehouse? No problem. Floor of a skyscraper? Piece of cake. Straight forward layouts with open spaced for efficient quirk use. The small spaces and unknown layout of a family home was not ideal. Really easy for a hero to misuse their quirk or accidently injure themselves, especially with a quirk like Katsuki's…

This is… I know, it’s fucked. Katsuki I swear to God, you better- yeah you too.

That was all Ochako needed to hear as Katsuki guided them slowly and quietly towards a cooking store front. She blanched in confusion at the weird location for the Task Force meetup, before she realized that across the street was a rather expansive subdivision, presumably where the target’s house was.

Katsuki raised the alarm in their head to indicate he was taking them down. Ochako acted quickly to modulate their momentum so he wouldn’t have to use huge explosions to slow them. The result was a vaguely space-like floating motion as Katsuki fired contained thruster boots to ground them onto the roof of the store.

Katsuki led them towards the rooftop door and Ochako vaguely wondered if he had a key to this one too.

She would never know if he did, because the door swung open with a protesting squeak a few seconds after they had landed, revealing Lilly. She gave Ochako a respectful nod before motioning for her and Katsuki to enter the building.

The three heroes silently descended a few stairs, the sounds of tense conversation echoing its way up the stairwell. Katuski, followed the sounds of the conversation and led the three of them to the third floor of the building and to a doorway that was illuminated with a soft glowing light.

Ochako peaked through the door before entering, noting that the windowless barren room, which appeared to be lit by a single lampshadeless bulb was filled with the Task Force and several support members. Aizawa and Shinsou stood towards the front of the room, heads bent in intense conversation, eyes darting up briefly to them as they entered. Kirishima and Mina were talking not too far off from Aizwa and Shinsou, they too looked up as Katsuki, Ochako and Lilly entered. The Todoroki’s were in a shady corner silently appraising the room.  Their various sidekicks were gathered together a few feet off talking amicably together, clearly well acquainted. Ochako was relieved to see Deku had not arrived yet. Mina bounced with excitement at their appearance, clearly bursting with desire to speak with them.

“Ochako!” She yelled, earning a few harsh glares from Aizawa and Shinsou. Mina rolled her eyes before aggressively waving them over and Ochako steeled herself for the confrontation. Mina would be relentless in her pursuit of information regarding her and Katsuki’s relationship.

“Hi Mina” Ochako said in a low voice, understanding implicitly that they were attempting to be quiet.

 “Don’t you ‘hi’ me.” Mina said sternly, “Why the heck didn’t you freaking tell me you and Katsuki were bumping uglies?!”

Ochako’s mouth opened, shocked (lord only knows why, at this point she should expect it).

 “Mina! God, between you and Tsu…” Ochako groaned.

 “Oh so you told Tsu but not me?!” Mina accused in a low hiss. Ochako pushed Katsuki’s mild irritation back.

“Look, Tsu found out when you did, I just happened to be going over to her place before this all happened.” Ochako explained with a sigh.

“Fine.” Mina said with a pout before her face morphed back into one of unbridled excitement, “Tell me everything!”

Don’t you fucking dare.

She could feel Katsuki’s glare burning into the side of her head as well as Lilly’s curious gaze behind her. Kirishima gave a nervous chuckle rubbing his hand on the back of his head.

“Mina, honey, I don’t think now is an appropriate time to gossip about Katsuki and Ochako’s-” Kiri started to say, before seemingly choking on his words, “sex life.”

He finished speaking, face as red as his hair, and Ochako stifled a laugh at the juxtaposition between Mina and her boyfriend.

“Look, this wouldn’t be a problem if you would just freaking tell me what Katsuki has told you! Sheesh!” Mina huffed irritatedly to Kiri with a death glare. At her words Ochako gave a curious glance to Katsuki.

Don’t even ask. Shitty hair doesn’t know shit.

Uh-huh. Sure.

Oi! Don’t accuse me of shit!

I’m just saying that you and Kiri are very close.

That doens’t mean I tell him about my sex life!

Okay, okay. Jeese, you didn’t tell Kiri I get it.

Mina heaved a huge sigh, glancing between Ochako and Katsuki with a narrowed gaze. She opened her mouth but Kirishima jerked forward grabbing her shoulder and shaking his head, eyes all but screaming ‘later’. Mina rolled her eyes, acquiescing the silent response. Ochako pondered the fact that the two didn’t need a Bond to communicate silently. Katsuki chuckled lowly at her thought, amused agreement bubbling across the Link.  

 “Thanks, Kiri.” Ochako commented appreciatively. Kirishima was finally able to meet her gaze, blush reignighting.

“Y-yeah. Whatever. So this is your new sidekick?” Kirishima changed the subject, gesturing behind Ochako towards where Lilly was listening, a curious expression on her face.

“I mean, Lilly’s been with me for well over a year now, Kiri…”Ochako said teasingly.

“A year? Really? How have we not met yet?” Kirishima admonished himself, thrusting a hand forward towards Lilly, “I’m-“

“-Red Riot, it is an honor to meet you. Uravity always speaks highly of you.” Lilly said, smoothly stepping around Ochako to grasp his hand. Kiri’s grin broadened as he enthusiastically shook her hand.

“You can call me Kirishima.” He said and Ochako quirked a grin, knowing Lilly wouldn’t dare call a pro anything other than their professional title.

“Maybe in time, Red Riot.” Lilly said with a secret grin, sharing a look with Ochako.

Mina introduced herself, before Kirishima waved their sidekicks forward to introduce them as well. The group chatted animatedly about their sidekicks, boasting their accolades to the others in the group in a teasing, if not purposeful manner. The sidekicks could always use an ego boost and the former members of 3A were more than happy to provide the needed compliments. Katsuki was less and less into it as time went on, shifting into a purely annoyed state by the time Mina and Ochako had really gotten going.

“Well Joyu once single handedly caught a falling tram with his net!” Mina said, attempting to keep a straight face, the man in question blushing and waving his hands while sputtering sounds left his mouth.

“Oh yeah? Well Lilly handled Hinasa on her own!” Ochako said, smugly crossing her arms and ignoring Katsuki’s derisive snort.

“Nuh-uh!” Mina countered, “We all saw that interview and I call bullshit!”

“Pinky is quite correct, Uravity, it was you who managed to-“ Lilly interjected, seemingly affronted that Ochako would sell herself short to promote her.

“Shut up, Lilly” Ochako snapped without any edge to her voice, adding a wink that had Lilly looking utterly conflicted.

Mina cackled, throwing her head back before her delighted laughs were abruptly cut off, a concerned expression taking over her face as she looked behind Ochako’s shoulder. Ochako whipped her head around, worried they’d been discovered only to have her heart sink at the sight of Deku walking through the door, a flinch of pain crossing his features as he sighted Ochako.

“Shit.” Ochako mumbled as the group fell silent at Deku’s entrance. Ochako felt her heart ache at the look of betrayal on his face as his eyes darted between herself and Katsuki. He must have seen the picture that was leaked, confirming what he had feared despite Ochako telling him nothing was going on. Ochako reminded herself that nothing had  been going on when she had last spoken with Izuku. 

“Watch your fucking language, Cheeks.” Katsuki prodded in an attempt to lift her quickly plummeting mood.

Ochako gave him a wry smile before she sought out Deku again, only to find he had moved to speak with Aizawa. They exchanged a few words before Aizawa glanced around the room, lazily motioning to gather heroes closer.  Apparently they had been waiting on Deku to get going. 

Katsuki’s hand found its way to the small of her back, gently pushing her closer to Aizawa, causing Ochako to blush. She lightly moved towards him in the Link, mindful that it was more sensitive now than it had been before. Her suspicions about the insistent nature of the hand curved along her spine being due to a possessive instinct- as a sort of victory lap around Izuku- were unfounded as she found Katsuki to be apparently ushering her forward almost unconsciously. He started slightly at her probing mental contact, eyes flitting down to hers and she felt him quickly skim her surface level thoughts. His hand immediately dropped back to his side as he comprehended her thoughts, prompting a flush of disappointment in her. Despite the possessive quality to the action, Ochako had actually found it strangely comforting and reassuring. 

Make up your mind, Angle face. Either you want me to touch you or not.

I don’t mind, it’s just that Izuku…

He winced as a flash of jealousy and hurt flaired to life, only to be quickly stamped out with an air of embarrassment. His unconscious thoughts somewhere along the lines of ‘you have nothing to be jealous of.’

I don’t want- I don’t have feeling for him, but I still care about-

Ochako floundered, feeling the urge to explain her desire to cause Izuku as little harm as possible, to explain that it wasn’t because she had any romantic feelings for him, but Katsuki interrupted her.

I know, Chaks.

Ochako breathed out a sigh, his steadfast faith in her radiating across the Bond. Of course he got it. How could he not? With them so close in the Link, as they were anytime they engaged in a lengthy mental conservation (a habit they were going to have to break, seriously one of these days they had to make it a priority...) he could see her intent and feelings laid out clearly.

Ochako gave him a grateful look, only to have her gaze snagged by the intensity in his eyes and the feeling of comfort and acceptance across the Bond. She staggered slightly under the radical acceptance and support he offered. 

He quirked a brow at her, eyes flicking away to find Aizawa staring pointedly at the two of them, before returning to her eyes and giving her a playful wink.

“Listen up.” Aizawa said, capturing the group’s attention, “We get one shot at this so we need to do it correctly. For those of you who missed the Pre-briefing at the station let me impart the seriousness of this mission. These villains change locations every few hours, though they appear to return to this location frequently for some unknown purpose. As of right now we can confirm they are inside. We counted the two leaders, who’s quirks are Object Animation and Reversal as well as the Magma quirk, Teleport quirk, Shield quirk and another unknown party. We are going into the Nukona family home, which has likely been booby trapped and warded against infiltration, be prepared for anything. The space is confined, so quirk use must be carefully managed.” At this he gave Katsuki a pointed look. “We have breakdowns of what we know about their quirks as well as the last blueprints filed for the house, but keep in mind that what we know is likely incomplete in both cases. “ He gestured to the pile of papers on the floor next to him. “You have five minutes to prepare, we go on my orders.” Aizawa finished, effectively sombering the mood in the room. 

The members of the Task Force began to bustle and move about, double checking equipment, stretching and generally psyching themselves up. Kiri and Mina had pulled off to the side with their sidekicks clearly reviewed in a general plan of action. Behind them Ochako watched as Momo and Shouto bent their heads together in an obviously intimate moment, something she knew they did before any mission together. A short of morbid ritual to ensure they both knew they loved each other should anything go poorly. Ochako averted her gaze, feeling like she was intruding on a private moment. 

Ochako’s gut twisted with nerves. Aizawa’s speech did little to reassure her, if that was all they got to go off of then this attack was likely to go sideways. Katsuki’s mind was running similar thoughts, his own tension slowly wavering across their shared minds. He met her gaze as she turned to look at him.

I’ve got a bad fucking feeling about this.

Me too…

Ochako quickly turned to Lilly, wanting to make a game plan with her sidekick. Katsuki watched the rest of the room wearily, though remained by their sides. He apparently had decided that he would be part of her and Lilly’s team, which she was fine with. It gave Ochako the excuse to watch over him and make sure he didn’t do anything rash. 

“Lilly, I want you to provide back up.” Ochako started, “ I know we’ve been building up to you being an independent hero, but this is just too risky of a mission.”
“I understand,” Lilly said with a nod, ever professional. “What exactly do you want me to do? Or not do, I suppose?”

“First, you will do what I say while we are in there. You will do it immediately and without question.” Lilly nodded as if this was a given, but Ochako continued, knowing that she had to emphasize this next part, “That means if I tell you to leave me, you do it. You leave without so much as a questioning look. If I say go, you turn and exit the house as fast as you can and wait for me back here. We have enough people with hero complexes in the mix. I do not need to be managing yours as well.”

Katsuki gave her a sharp glance, reading between the lines and understanding that she was talking about him. Which, duh. Between keeping him and Deku safe, Ochako was going to have her hands full. 

Lilly’s brows furrowed unhappily, “As you wish, Uravity.” 

Ocahko smiled sadly, knowing it went against everything she had taught Lilly up until this point to ask this of her, “Good. Now, should everything go well I am going to be leaning on you heavily to cover our backs, particularly Katsuki’s-”

“Tch! I can take care of myself-” Katsuki interrupted affronted at the implication.

“Not in an enclosed space you can’t!” Ochako snapped in a no-nonsense tone. Her words stopped him before he could finish the thought and she continued before he could counter, “Not without destroying the place and everyone in it! It’s easier and safer to rely on Lilly to do your distance work than it is to rely on your quirk. You need to stick to close range hand to hand this time and you know it.”

Kastuk glared, folding his arms, but he didn’t argue, which was probably as good as it was going to get. 

“Okay guard Ground Zero’s distance. Anything else?” Lilly asked, eyeing the two of them wearily, as if they might break into a fist fight at any second. Which was unlikely-at worst they would start violently kissing with the sheer intensity of the situation, which was either better or much worse depending on who was watching. Likely much worse in Lilly’s case. 

“If you have the spare fire-power I want you to use your ghosts to scout, I need to know the layout of this house as soon as possible and any other details you can give.” Ochako said and Lilly nodded.

“I can do that, though I won't be able to tell you anything other than how much light and moisture inhabits any given room the plants encounter. “ Lily said, reminding Ochako of her quirk’s limitation of only being able to sense what a plant would be able to. 

“Right. That’s plenty, certainly more than we would know without you.” Ochako said with a smile. 

Lilly nodded, lost in thought, a small furrow between her pale eyebrows. Ochako’s face fell. 

“It’s gonna be fine. You’re gonna do great, we’ll get them.” Ochako said, though the words felt sour in her mouth as she was unable to shake the bad feeling she had. 

Katsuki was feeling it too, though maybe it was just the tense atmosphere of the room. A lot was riding on this and the villains had already escaped their grasps. Twice. That on top of the not so planned reveal of their relationship to the press was resulting in a lot of stress between the two of them. It had been quite a day.

A hush fell over the room as Aizawa cleared his throat, motioning towards the exit as he clicked the single light off. Radios crackled to life as the IT team went online and tested the communication equipment. The gathered heroes moved out of the building, readying their strike. Izuku avoided her gaze like a plague. Fine. She would talk with him after, though it would have been nice just to verify that they were going to be able to work together professionally before they went into combat. She would just have to trust that Deku could keep it professional, despite the intense emotional stress he must be under. 

You stay with me, okay? Do not go wandering off to save some fucking asshole. 

He didn’t say it but she knew he meant Izuku and she felt a mild flair of irritation at his jealous attitude. 

I can’t promise that-

-I know just- fuck! Just, stay where I can reach you, okay? Just say yes.

Ochako could feel the rolling tension in the Bond and leaned in to get a better picture. His thoughts brought some clarity to his request: He was nervous and worried about her, not even considering Deku. He was truly just afraid something would happen and he wouldn’t be able to help her if she wasn’t in his sight. He realized it was an irrational fear, that she could take care of herself, but wasn’t able to control how he felt.  He knew she would risk her life to save someone else and it terrified him. She softened as she read his thoughts and intents. 

His mind was twisting and analyzing all of the bad signs they’d had- the previous escapes, the reverse quirk’s effect on them and the strange desperate, unhinged feel to these villains and he couldn't help seeing a bad outcome. His overprotective and unrealistic request was an effort to remain in control of those unknowns. 

Okay. I’ll stay near you. 

Thank you.

He practically sighed the response into her mind and Ochako couldn't help but feel like his worry was right. She glanced wearily around the gathered heroes as the group silently crept from the store fronts across the street into the suburb, trying to catalog all of her comrades and friends. Some part of her wished she could ask the same of them as Katsuki was asking of her- that they remain close, but there was no way she could take care of everyone. She trusted them to do that for their own partners. 

She settled for looking out for Katsuki and Lilly. That she could do. That she would do. 

 

 

Notes:

Whelp originally the next chapter and this were gonna be one long ass chapter, but then this was 11k and I was like... nope, it's gonna be two parts.

Sending you all my love!
Thank you Wonduhhwoman for being amazing beta, author and friend! <3

Chapter 30: Shattered

Notes:

Take a deep breath everyone.
*this is your cue that shit is about to hit the fan, don't read on your lunch break if you're seriously invested*

Chapter 30

 

Okay, it was official this house was creepy . Ochako freely admitted the fact. Endorsed it even as she, Katsuki and Lilly crept forward clearing rooms. The gathered Heroes of the Task Force had split to cover all of the exits of the small one storied house before entering and systematically clearing rooms- all of which were well…creepy.

Lilly had warned them, after sending some ghost plants inside the house in advance, that the house was dark, damp and had a large amount of open space. Being inside confirmed Lilly’s claims: the place had the mood of an abandoned insane asylum. For a house that supposedly had several people hiding out in it, the premises were shockingly empty, eerily quiet and very much so without any evidence of recent use.

 Ochako glanced around the spare room they had just entered, noting the solitary rocking chair sitting under a layer of dust twisted to be facing a wall, giving Ochako strange images of someone rocking a baby while staring at the wall. Katsuki ripped open the closet, palm pointed at the space only to shake his head and turn back to Lilly and Ochako. He gestured at them to follow as he moved out of the room and took a left further down the hall.

They had entered from the sliding back door and immediately moved to the hallway containing bedrooms while other members of the Task Force cleared the front of the house. On their path Ochako had noted one bedroom containing a worn desk haphazardly placed in the center of the room and the rocking chair room. A hallway with walls that had been punctured with holes where family photos presumably once hung, spanned between the various rooms of the house. The house had the distinct feel of a place that was once the backdrop to a family love story, only to be abandoned as the love withered and died; The environment of the house withering with the abandoned affections. 

Katsuki turned the handle on the next door in the hall- revealing a bathroom with a tattered floral shower curtain hanging in the rusted tub. He poked his head around to confirm what he already knew, the space was empty. Ochako and Katsuki had agreed to keep close in the Bond as they progressed, ready at a seconds notice to erect shields should the Reverse Quirk Nukona show his face. Until then Ochako had a very clear read on Katsuki’s mood and surface thoughts: the majority of which were concerned with the task in front of them.

Ochako took a moment to check the ceilings and her eyes drifted down to the mirror above the sink, which was shattered from dual points of impact about two thirds of the way up. She shuddered as a thought occurred to her:

Like someone looked into the mirror and shattered it with a single look..

Katsuki’s gaze flicked to the mirror, a grimace settling onto his face.

Let’s move Cheeks, one more room to go.

Ochako nodded, catching Lilly’s not-so-subtle glance and sending her side-kick an eye roll. Seriously, when were people going to get over her and Katsuki’s silent conversations? She pushed past the younger girl and turned to head further down the hall, leading the group.

“Kitchen and living room cleared.” Todoroki’s voice whispered through the headset, indicating the front part of the house was deemed empty of the enemy.

“Alright, go to the hall to back up Ground Zero and Uravity.” Aizawa drawled into the communications line from his location across the street.

Ochako barely registered the command, her focus ahead of her as she led the trio to the door at the end of the hall, presumably where the master bedroom was- the last place left unexplored in the house.

She could feel Katsuki tensing behind her, his thoughts a mess of conflicting desires to let her lead and wanting her to be out of the line of fire. She tuned him out and opened the door with a steady hand and breath held in her lungs.

 “It’s empty.” She let the breath out in a whoosh when she saw the virtually empty room in front of her.

As with the previously cleared rooms there was no evidence of recent use. A large wooden bedframe was askew, pulled from the far wall of the room, situated more towards the center of the space than would have made sense. A drawer-less dresser was tilted on its side several paces in front of the open closet door. A faintly blue rug with several loose threads along its border was heaped onto the center of the floor haphazardly.

Bakugou froze as he followed her in, and she could feel his suspicion rising through the Bond. She glanced over to him as he stepped around her, but he was focused on the room, eyes sweeping the space. His thoughts all centered around finding the source of his ‘something isn’t right’ feeling, though Ochako did not have the same sense. This room seemed as creepy as the last few.

Lilly placed a hand gently on Ochako’s shoulder to get her attention, giving her a confused glance, clearly asking what Katsuki was up to. Ochako shrugged, opting to let Katsuki do his thing while she watched his back, just in case.

There’s something different in this room. I can’t quite place it…

Feels just as creepy and empty as the rest of this nightmare house to me...

As she gave a shaky glance around, trying to see what Katsuki was talking about, Todoroki strolled through the door with purposeful strides. His head did a single scan of the room as he halted next to Lilly.

 “Where’s all the dust?” Shouto whispered, brows furrowed as he motioned vaguely around the space. Bakugou’s brow twitched, his thoughts confirming that Shouto had pieced together what had been bothering him.

  Fucking half and half galloping in and friggin-

“You’re right Shouto!” Ochako breathed, ignoring Katsuki’s envy. 

Looking around the room Ochako noted that it was surprisingly clean- dust not layered upon the floor quite as heavily as it had been in the previous rooms. Her eyes snagged on the rumpled carpet, eyes narrowing as she noted the complete absence of dust on the rumpled piece.

She strode forward and grasped the rug, dragging it from its careless position, a smirk falling onto her lips as she took in the hinged floor piece that was uncovered below it with the motion. There was a trap door under the rug.

How fucking cliche.

“Well that’s a bit obvious isn’t it?” Todoroki whispered gruffly with a roll of his eyes. Katsuki sent him a quick glare before nodding at Lilly.

“Scope it out Ghost Girl.” He instructed lowly. Ochako scoffed and sent him a mental shove at his rude tone towards her sidekick, the girl had a name- a professional one that he should be using while on the job.

Lilly, bless her kind heart, took no offense, only closing her eyes and clasping her hands together. She began to glow a sickening green color as her quirk activated and tendrils of plants crept through the floor around the trap door.

“There are… three rooms” Lilly spoke, eyes still closed, “It is very dark and much damper than the upper floor. There seem to be plenty of objects around the space too. CO2 levels indicate there is animal respiration occurring- best estimate is four people.”

 Ochako smiled slightly at her sidekick, ecstatic to see the proficiency she had gained in the last year. Lilly was turning into an indispensable comrade and Ochako was beyond proud to have been with her through her growth.

“Eraserhead, we’ve got a trap door to a basement in the main bedroom. Plantasma promotes three rooms, with possibly four individuals inside.” Ochako called quietly into her coms.

“Alright, Uravity and Ground Zero I think your particular team skill set is best suited to go first, as stealthily as possible. Report back when you get an opportunity that doesn’t blow our positions. Shouto and Plantasma you will wait for further instruction. All other team members hold the exits.” Aizawa replied authoritatively in her ear piece.

“Alright, you heard the man. Chaks on me.” Katsuki instructed, pausing at the end to hold out his hand in their unspoken signal for her to get on his back and remove their gravity.

Confused, Ochako leaned into his mind across the Bond, tasting his intentions. She was just coming to understand when he explained more explicitly.

We’re going in silently, I want to stay on the ceiling as long as possible. We get a sense of the room and make a plan once we’re in. I want to take them out without so much as a fucking squeak. If they spot us you are going to drop us and we take them out. Quietly if at all possible.

Roger that.

Ochako grasped his hand, ignoring the critical glances of Lilly and Todoroki at their silent exchange. She relieved her own gravity as he swung her around his torso so she could secure herself to him as tightly as possible. The trap door was big, but between Katsuki’s shoulders and her frame it would be a tight fit.

She waited until he had slowly opened the trap door, pausing briefly when he had opened it to a small crack to peer through before opening it all the way back. A staircase descended into darkness out of view. The stairs had to go down at least two levels- maybe more as they couldn’t yet see the exit point. The smell of mold, mud and a faint scent of decay wafted lazily up in a slight draft.

Ochako caught Lilly’s questioning gaze as Katsuki waited for her to take his weight away with mild impatience.

‘I’ll be fine. Stay.’ Ochako mouthed and Lilly nodded in understanding, glancing nervously at Shouto. Ochako gave her a small encouraging smile, knowing she looked up to the hero. Katsuki’s impatient mental poke had her pressing her hand to his chest and removing his weight. She turned from Lilly and Todoroki, focusing on the task before herself and Katsuki.

Together they squeezed through the hole in the floor and maneuvered so they were resting on the roof of the descending stairs. With no hesitation Katsuki crawled silently along the descending ceiling of the stairs, which sloped gently downward, following the angle of the stairs. As they crept forward the end of the staircase in the form of a darkened doorway emerged from the pitch black space, in part due to their eyes more fully adjusting to the low lighting and in part because they had descended far enough to be within sight of it. Ochako’s best estimate put this basement somewhere near 40 feet below the house’s foundation- definitely not up to city building code. It was eerily quiet, save for an annoying pipe dripping somewhere past the opening at the bottom of the stairs.  

Drip.

Katsuki tensed and froze under her (above her? Really who is to say when they’re both in Zero G crawling on the ceiling).

Drip.

Ochako was sucked into a vivid memory of Katsuki’s captivity with All For One during third year, when he’d marked the minutes by the dripping of the pipe in that basement. It was the strangest sensation to feel Katsuki’s vision tunnel and his chest ache with phantom pain of spiked fingers as they drew what felt like his fuckingsoul from his chest. 

drip ….drip…drip….

A flash of intense pain and a smooth voice promising an end if he would only give away the position of a certain green haired hero.. No I can’t. It’snotreal.

Drip.

The line between his auditory hallucination and memory of the dripping sound and the real sound of the pipe in the basement became blurred for them both, the sounds echoing into each other in endless loops of dripping. Drip 

Drip drip

 dripdripdripdrip

Ochako shook her head, the sensation shaking the fog of memory from her enough for her to come to her senses. Disentangling herself from where Katsuki’s mind had sucked her in she quickly pushed soothing, calm emotions through the Link in waves. He shuddered under her and she felt the cold sweat of his physiological response to the memory pick in her own skin, making her palms clammy.

Hey, it’s okay. Different basement. He isn’t here.

Katsuki seemed to shake himself out of it, taking mild offense to her comfort, shoving her off his mind with a gentle push. Defensive of his reaction, almost disturbed that something that had happened so long ago still had such a hold on his psyche.

I’m fine.

Ochako flinched at the defensive sting that accompanied his thought across the Bond. She could feel Katsuki grit his teeth as he pushed forwards, gently bumping and bounding them downwards silently fuming. A part of her wanted to confront him about the apparent PTSD he seemed to have about the event, deny it as he might, but a stronger part of her realized that now was not the time. She let it go and felt Katsuki’s almost unconscious relief at her decision.

The bottom of the stairs opened into a gaping dark doorway, no lights emanating from the basement’s rooms- just as Lilly had predicted. As they approached the air grew more and more chilly, a combination of the dampness and depth the basement boasted. The smell of decay intensified, though it was hard to determine if it was just a consequence of the stagnant airflow or if something had actually died down here. Either was an unfortunately likely possibility.

Ochako and Katsuki quietly peered into the doorway, finding a much more furnished room than any of the rooms in the house above. In fact, it looked as if the residents had simply moved all the expected furniture into this room. It was fairly large, split into a living room or lounging area and a sort of kitchenette, the two areas blending into each other. Two additional doorways were open and also unlit on the back wall, indicating there were more rooms to be rediscovered. Two couches and an armchair surrounded a broad coffee table and there were a series of tables lining the back wall in a makeshift kitchen counter. Various kitchen utensils and stacks of dishes lined the tables and a half full coffee pot was sitting on the end of the line of tables, the light indicating the hot plate was still hot, casting a blue glow in the room. Aside from the evidence of use, there was no one present in the room itself.

They must be in the back rooms .

Ochako felt Katsuki affirm her assessment across the Bond, his brain calculating their next move with a speed she was mildly envious of.

Split up? I’ll go right, you go left?

Sounds good to me.  

Ochako let go, unwrapping from her spot on his back and they simultaneously crept towards their respective tasks, both still weightless on the ceiling. She steadied herself as she approached the left doorway from her position on the ceiling, considering that there was a chance she would encounter all four of the villains Lilly had sensed in her room. She glanced to her right briefly to see Katsuki already disappearing from the main basement room through the right doorway.

Slipping towards the door, she gently pulled herself down to enter the room as smoothly as she could. Across the threshold the damp, almost rotten smell intensified and Ochako wrinkled her nose before continuing on.

The first thing she noticed was that this room was not empty. It was long, a large distance spanning between the doorway and the end, where there appeared to be two figures facing away from her looking at a third that was seated against the back wall. Her breath caught and she flattened herself against the ceiling, but the one facing her appeared not to have noticed her entrance into the darkened room.

 “They’re here? Now?” The distinct voice of Kanayami hissed and Ochako squinted in the dark to figure out that Kanayami’s voice was coming from the figure on the left facing away from her.

Well I found the fucking stalker and Teleport Quirk. This room appears to be a bedroom of sorts, lots of cots. They’re both asleep.

 “Yes, I wouldn’t be surprised if they find the entrance to the basement soon. I think it’s time.” Ochako didn’t immediately recognize the voice, but her eyes adjusted and she saw the darkened face of what could only be Mrs. Nukona. Kanayami let out a manic giggle, clapping his hands together.

Katsuki they know we’re in the house. I have Musai Nukona and Kanayami, as well as a third party I can’t make out. This looks like an office?

Okay lay low, I’ll be there in a sec, just gonna incapacitate these nutjobs real quick.

Be careful! Don’t wake them up!

She felt Katsuki’s mood shift and was amazed by the nuance she could make out, he was amused and mildly offended, but she was able to pick up on the subtle playful attitude he had as an undercurrent, something she suspected she would have missed with the limited sensitivity of the old Link.

Do you take me for an amateur? Fucking obviously.

Ochako sent him an impression of an eyeroll, unamused by his attitude and largely more tense than he was at the moment. Which was to be expected considering she was facing not only two of the more dangerous members of the villains but they were actually, you know, awake and all.

 “Are you going to do the thing? Herd the little sheep-sies to me?” Kanayami asked excitedly, tapping his long index fingers together in a way that was almost threatening, given his quirk.

 “Yes, but first we need to wake the others. I need a moment with my son and husband before we start.” Musai snapped, waving Kanayami away.

Ochako’s brows furrowed as she tried to decipher the statement. Her son? Wasn’t the Nukona’s son dead? And her husband? What the hell did that mean? Did they have a… no. There was no way they’d risk having Kanayami use his quirk to form a Bond between them right? The chances they would be like her and Katsuki were-

Crap Katsuki!

Kanayami is heading your way to wake up the others!

Shit fucking, just when I had them…

Katsuki’s thoughts trailed off in a cloud of frustration.

As Kanayami danced out of the room, oblivious to Ochako on the ceiling above him, the Nukona matriarch turned to the person seated in front of her muttering to herself.

“-yes, yes I know this isn’t what you would have risked. But you must understand my love, it’s for the best.”

The seated person was unresponsive, not so much as flinching at the words the woman spoke. Ochako watched with fascination as the woman’s face flickered with emotions, lips moving silently as if responding to an unseen conversation. Ochako’s stomach dropped with a creeping suspicion of who the woman was talking to, the facial expressions too reminiscent of one’s she’d made while speaking with Katsuki in the Link.

“I know my dear, but just a bit longer. We can start the medicine again in- no no, you can not! I only have to hold off for a few more minutes so I can activate…” The woman paused movement frantic as she jerked her head towards the figure seated in front of her. “yes of course darling! We would never leave you! We love you!”

Wildly confused Ochako crept forward, then froze with a jolt as she got a better glance at who, no- what was seated in the chair. The corpse was dressed in a yellowing and stained high school uniform, striped tie perfectly knotted at the throat and pants freshly pressed. The decaying skin sagged off the prominent cheekbones of the body, eyes sunken with shriveled eyeballs staring blankly forward. It leaned limply in the chair, sagging with the weight of death upon its shoulders, skin peeling and sluffing off from the bony frame. Ochako knew instinctively who this body had been- The Nukona’s son.

Holy shit. They have the dead body of their son stored here, Katsuki! It’s some sort of twisted shrine or grave-

I’m sorry, what the fuck?! Did you say-

  -Yes! She’s talking to him as if he’s alive. Oh god, she just Ochako attempted to swallow the gag impulse as she watched the woman’s insanity unfold before her, kissed its hand!

Okay I knew they were fucking nuts, but this is a new level of fucked up. He’s been dead for YEARS...

The woman continued muttering, “Yes, yes kill them all. I think that is fair punishment for the pain they have caused you. My lovely boy.”

  Katsuki, you realise what this means?! That’s why they keep coming back here, despite the risk! The precious thing they are protecting is his corpse! 

Ochako shuddered at the realization, a reaction that was not helped by Musai stroking the few remaining wispy hair on the bodys shriveled head back, as if pushing his hair away from his face. 

Yeah, super creepy, Chaks. Good work- the thoughts came across the Bond in a rush, Look, we have bigger problems than a crazy mummy loving mom, they’re all up now.

The woman stepped away from the decaying corpse of her son, taking a deep breath, something Ochako longed for given the potent smell of the decaying body that drenched the room-thanks to the corpse just chilling in the chair at the back of the space. The Animation Quirk user kneeled to the concrete floor, splaying her hands and exhaling forcefully. 

Ochako realized a second too late what was going to happen next, flashes of her memories of the concrete at the school animating with gaping jaws...

Katsuki! She’s using her quirk to animate the house-

The ceiling rippled as the quirk took hold of it and several differently shaped and sized eyes opened sporadically around the room, blinking slowly, sleepily almost, before they were swiveling as they locked onto her. The multicolored irises narrowed as their pupils all dilated once they’d spotted her on the ceiling in a terrifying show of focus. Ochako froze, tense with terror as a jagged mouth unzipped to her left in the very walls of the basement.

Shit shit shit shit….

“Oh, what a surprise! Well well, it seems as though you found the basement rather faster than expected, Uravity.” Musai Nukona’s head raised to meet Ochako’s stare. Ochako felt Katsuki’s stomach clench in fear as the eyes and mouths rippled through the wall dividing them into his space and an explosion sounded from the room next door. The walls trembled slightly with the force of Katsuki’s quirk, but the shock waves were dwarfed by the gnarly undulations of the animation quirk as the walls came to life under the command of the woman in front of Ochako.

Let us down Cheeks, or I’m gonna end up blowing myself through a fucking wall!

  “I just felt an explosion!What is going on down there?” Todoroki’s voiced roughly through the coms.

“Uravity and Ground Zero, report!” Aizawa called as he quickly pieced together the implications of Shouto’s question.

Ochako didn’t pay much attention to the anxious calls that started pouring in through the com unit as chaos erupted in an instant. Her eyes were locked with the crazed gaze of the woman below her, frozen with indecision of what to do next, while still reveling in the unexpected turn of events.

“Intercepted the enemy. Five counted.” Katsuki’s voice was drowned out by another explosion ripping through the stagnant basement air, shaking loose dust and small rocks from the walls.

Ochako! Release us!  Now!!

The impatience in Katsuki’s voice reminded her that he was trying to fight with his explosions while mitigating his Zero G status, a supremely unideal situation for him in such an enclosed space.

Shit! Sorry!

 She pushed down from the ceiling releasing her quirk on herself and Katsuki, dropping to the stone floor in a combat crouch. The walls of the building waved and two snapping mouths, lined with vicious concrete teeth snapped at her forcing her to move closer to the Nukona woman.

 “IT’S TIME!” The woman shouted rising from her position where she had been kneeling on the floor. Ochako grit her teeth, dancing out of the way as more mouths opened from all sides as the walls undulated and shifted.

“This will teach you to break into a family’s home!” she said to Ochako with a malicious growl as the walls surged forward more ferociously. Several beads of sweat dripped down the woman’s face as the effort to animate an entire house took its toll.

 “All units prepare for contact, the villain’s are aware of our presence. Ground Zero and Uravity retreat!” Aizawa called the note of urgency sounding suspiciously like unease.

Ochako felt Katsuki’s indignation through the Link at the notion he should disengage.

 “That’s an order, Katsuki!” Aizawa tagged on after a pause, which would have struck Ochako as funny in any other situation but at the moment she was gaping in horror as the Teleport Quirk appeared behind the Nukona and her son’s corpse.

“No-!” Ochako lunged forwards attempting to get a grasp on the woman, only to watch as all three bodies, two alive and one very much deceased, blipped out of the room the next instant. Explosions sounded through the doorway and Ochako felt Katsuki’s frustration.

Teleport Quirk is gone!

She took the Musai and the body with her! GODDAMN IT THAT FUCKING TELEPORTING THAT BITCH!

Their joint frustration burned in the Link, setting Ochako further on edge. The eyes in the walls continued to glare at her, tracking her every move as she dodged row after row of concrete teeth.

Stumbling a few steps forward as the floor continued to form huge waves of teeth filled jaws, tripping over the now empty chair, Ochako cursed in a heavy exhale. She didn’t have time to process the upset of losing Musai and the Teleport Quirk as the floor bucked and waved beneath her- mouths ripping open and closing as they attempted to capture her. Ochako touched her chest, relieving a portion of her gravity to lighten her feet as she sprinted out of the room, dodging the animated walls every few seconds.

Ochako, we gotta go now! 

The thought hit her as she stumbled into the main room of the basement, eyes immediately finding Katsuki at the base of the stairs, hand extended towards her. Eyes popped and split open along the walls, tracking her and Katsuki’s movements and swiveling chaotically as they located the two hero’s forms.

Ochako sprinted to Katsuki, doing her best to avoid the rolling waves, trying to ignore the vertigo triggered by having the whole room rolling and shifting around her.

Where are the-

- they got past me up the st-

-oh god, Lilly!

She grasped Katsuki’s hand as their thoughts flew back and forth at light speed, both reading the unconscious mind of the other before conscious thoughts could be fully formed. She quickly removed their gravity as he swung her onto his back. He turned and sparked twin explosions propelling them up the stairs before she had even fully locked around his torso, resulting in her frantically gripping at his shoulders as she attempted to hang on. His hand shot out in front of them, firing a blast that ripped open the trap door, along with several inches of concrete around the opening, shooting chucks of concrete projectiles ahead of them.

As they exploded into the master bedroom Ochako took stalk of the room. Todoroki was sublimating already, near the entrance to the hall of the main house, as several chunks of ice sealed the walls erupting into mouths before they could fully form. His gaze was horrified as eyes bubbled to the surfaces of the walls, floor and ceiling, eyes twitching as their focus darted between all the people in the room chaotically. Lilly was nearby fighting off Kanayami, attempting to ensnare him in one of her ghost vines, eyes flicking nervously to the walls around her. Shino was stalking closer to Todoroki, looking for any opening as the man frantically created ice barriers around the shifting walls.

Ochako released her quirk and she and Katsuki slammed onto the ground as the chunks of concrete that had once lined the trap door shot across the room from the force of their explosive entrance.

I’ve got Icy Hot- I’m with Lilly They thought at the same time splitting off in different directions at full speed.

She was still a body length away as she watched in horror as Kanayami ducked under a whipping ghost vine before shooting up and tapping Lilly on the forehead between her delicate pale eyebrows. The pale girl’s face contorted in confusion, then her eyes widened in realization of what had occurred, panic spreading across her features.

“LILLY!” Ochako screamed, cold fear shocking down her spine. Oh god, oh god, not Lilly. She HAD to stop Kanayami from activating his quirk. 

She saw Katsuki’s head whip towards her reflexively at the sheer terror she was feeling, halting his progress to intercept the fight between Todoroki and Shino. His reflexive pause was just long enough for Shino to get an opening. The villain reached out, slapping a hand on Shouto’s shoulder, activating his quirk and thereby removing Todoroki's. The ice stopped its surge abruptly.

No no no, this was all wrong! Ochako seemed to watch in slow motion as the mistakes added up like dominos, cascading into one another for catastrophic failure.

Ochako lunged forward, intent to grab Kanayami’s leg as he spun towards the other group, a psychotic grin spreading on his face, eyes twitching in excitement.

Shino’s grip on Todoroki tightened as the ice and fire using hero went to shake him off. Katsuki, seeing Ochako’s intent to get Kanayami through the Link turned away from Todoroki and Shino to face the incoming villain to assist her by blowing Kayami away from his next target. Shino, seeing the opportunity that was Katsuki’s open back, touched Katsuki between his shoulder blades, making the sparking explosion fizzle out in Katsuki’s palm.

 

And then Kanayami reached out, tapping Todoroki’s forehead.

 

“NO!” Ochako screamed, finally reaching Kanayami’s leg at the same moment Katsuki yelled “FUCK!”. She felt her throat close in terror as she desperately grasped around his calf and activating her quirk.

Ochako yanked Kanayami’s weightless body away from her friends, but it was too late. He drew his two index fingers together, tapping the tips in such an innocuously small motion. 

Ochako wailed as Todoroki and Lilly dropped to the ground at once, eyes wide, jerking violently as if seizing, agonized screaming filling the air from the newly Linked individuals.

Lilly’s eyes found Ochako’s briefly before they rolled back in her head as blood began to leak out of her nose and ears. 

Lilly screamed in a way that Ochako knew would echo in her thoughts for the rest of her life. 

Time hesitated as Todoroki and Lilly’s brains collided, completely incompatible. The resulting shredding of everything they had been, everything they would ever be, tore at Ochako’s soul as they died slowly from the inside out. 

Ochako stared in horror as the seizing finally stopped, after what felt like hours but had likely only been seconds, and Lilly settled into an unnatural position, blood still dripping from her nose and ears onto the concrete floor. Drip..

Unmoving. drip

Shino released his hold on Todoroki, and the body settled in its contorted position, immobile, rivulets of blood spilling from his orifices due to the damage caused to his brain. 

Drip.

A sob ripped out of Ochako of its own accord and her knees wavered. For a second she was unsure if she would be able to hold herself up- surely the weight of this loss would cause her to collapse…

Then Kanayami squirmed in her grip, a psychotic giggle bubbling out of him as he excitedly tapped his fingers together admiring his work. And Ochako felt her knees lock, grief giving way to much more potent emotion: blinding, whit hot rage.

 Ochako’s gaze hardened as she realized that Lilly was dead, killed by virtue of a Link with two others. Todoroki, sweet, powerful Todoroki, with a young child waiting at home, was dead.

Kanayami had killed them. This waste of space in her grip had ended two of the purest lives on this planet for no reason. Out of some sick sadistic desire to watch others suffer. It was abhorrent. It was EVIL.

Some part of her registered that Katsuki was processing his own shock, though the drastic development in her emotions had him staring at her, mouth agape.

Ochako what are you-

Katsuki’s thought was distant, drowned out by her ocean of grief and rage. Ochako drew in a halting breath, which flamed the embers of agony and outrage. She burned as her anger grew. She turned her gaze to Kanayami who was cackling psychotically now, the action making him jerk around as he floated in her grasp with her quirk activated on him. Her quirk which had been activated a millisecond too late to stop the deaths of two of her precious people. Shino took a staggering step backwards at the look on her face before turning and fleeing. Katsuki cursed as his gazed darted between Ochako and Kanayami and where Shino was dashing towards the back door of the house.

Ochako, Wait! You can’t do that-

Ochako had been too late. This shouldn’t haven’t happened to begin with. It was all Kanayami’s fault. Her thoughts hardened with resolve. This evil did not deserve to live, could not be allowed to continue existing.

Ochako yanked Kanayami towards her and he floated obediently at her, still laughing with mirth, oblivious of the hell she was going to unleash upon him.

 “Ochako! Don’t-“ Katsuki shouted, taking a step towards her as he read her intent, apparently deciding that the fleeing Shino could wait.

Some part of her was aware of the stinging pain her anger was inflicting upon his mind through the Link, but at the moment she didn’t care. Lilly was dead. Todoroki was dead. Kanayami needed to pay.

“You will pay for what you did. “ Ochako said and then proceeded to mercilessly whip Kanayami’s weightless body into the ground with a sharp jerk of her grip on his leg.

 She flinched as his head made a sickening ‘crack’ sound as it hit the floor. Ochako repeated the motion, anger driving her to add more force with each blow. She slammed his weightless body again. 

Tears leaked out of Ochako’s eyes, whether from the sheer intensity of her anger or from the depthless grief she was feeling, she didn’t know. 

He didn’t deserve- Again.

Not when Lilly was-Again. 

Not when Todoroki-

 

Ochako! STOP!

“ENOUGH!” Katsuki’s voice added to his thoughts and he forcibly wrapped himself around Ochako, forcing her to release her grip on the now unconscious Kanayami. Blood was floating in droplets around the limp form of Kanayami as it left the mangled wound on his head.

“Ochako stop! Stop fighting me! He’s unconscious, we need to arrest him. He has to be alive for a trial!” Katsuki reasoned as she fought against his hold, all intents to go and gouge the fucker’s eyes out.

“NO! He doesn’t deserve a trial. He deserves to die for what he did!” Ochako screamed, tears streaming in earnest as her anger gave way to a tsunami of grief. Exhaustion hit her like a brick wall as Katsuki doused her in cold emotion, some mix of horror and empathy.

Ochako, she’s dead. We can’t save them now.

“Li-Lilly.” She cried as she withered in Katsuki’s grasp as sobs started to wrack her frame.

He just held her, his side of the Bond doing its best to manage the intense emotions battering his mind. She glanced over at Todoroki through her tears and her grief intensified as she shouldered the loss of one of her closest friends. 

Katsuki’s hand made reassuring circles on her back as his mind slowly went numb to match her own quickly fading state as the realization of what had happened struck him too. They waited only a few seconds for the rest of the Task Force to barge into the room.

The worst part, the final nail in the coffin of Ochako’s dissociation, was Momo’s howls of agony as she collapsed next to her husband, inconsolable in grief. Ochako had to turn away from the couple, turning in Katsuki’s arms to hide her face in his chest in an effort to block out the consequences of her failure.

Ochako eventually calmed down, settling into a fully numb state. At some point she found herself facing Aizawa to explain what had happened. An almost robotic voice came from her as she clinically detailed events before Katsuki took over with a quiet insistence in the Bond.

  Go outside, I’ll handle this.

…okay

Ochako followed directions and exited the house in a blur, settling onto the curbside outside of the residence, watching as the blue and red lights of police cars turned onto the quiet street. The sounds of their sirens woke the neighbors, who exited their houses with curious gazes as the police roped off the property.

Ochako blinked up at the sky in a daze, not quite processing what was happening. She answered the policemen’s and press corps’ inquiries as to the events with clipped words:

 “No, we hadn’t been fully successful.”

 “Yes, Eraserhead and the other heroes are inside.”

“No, I can't comment on my relationship with Ground Zero.”

“Yes, Ground Zero is alive”

“No, I don’t want to make a statement right now” and on and on. Ochako felt like she was on autopilot. The officers and media seemed to figure out they weren’t going to get anything out of her and moved on, harassing the heroes bustling in and out of the taped off area.

At some point Katsuki exited and wrapped a foil blanket around her shoulders. She had no clue where he had acquired such an item.

“I think you’re going into a weird emotional shock or some shit...We need to get you home.” He said gently as he settled next to her on the sidewalk, eyeing her critically.

She could feel him carefully poking around her mind, as if walking on thin ice, afraid to shatter the semblance of order that remained.

“Okay.” She replied, feeling his surprise at her lack of questions and protests. He blinked at her, worry creasing his brow as he stood abruptly. His mind still remained pressed up against hers, an unconscious comfort to her, like an intimate embrace. He seemed unwilling to leave her by herself, not physically and certainly not mentally.

“I just have a few more things to take care of. I’ll be right back” He said softly, before turning and walking back into the house, mind still firmly embracing hers, stroking gently. A psychic mirror to the circles he’d rubbed on her back in the house. 

Katsuki returned with Deku in tow shortly after that, maybe a long time after that. It was hard to tell, time felt strangely nebulous to Ochako as she submerged herself in her grief.

 “Deku is going to take you home.” Katsuki said through clenched teeth. She noted vaguely the way his fist was twisting and releasing at his sides. Ochako didn’t really care one way or the other, she just wanted to get out of this place and go to sleep.

“Okay.” She said simply, the word sounded hollow, even to her. Deku and Katsuki exchanged a look, which Ochako ignored. Let them think whatever they wanted to.

 “Ochako? Can you hop onto my back, I don’t think we should take public transport right now... you know given the press and all that...” Deku started then faded at the end at Katsuki’s glare.

Ochako shrugged again and wordlessly hopped onto Deku’s back.

See you when you get home.

Katsuki started a bit as she thought the words, as if surprised at her usage of the Bond.

Yeah, I’ll wake you up when I get in.

 Ochako nodded and with one final meaning-filled glance between the two men, Deku shot off from the ground, green lightning sparking around them.

Ochako tried to not focus on the way her thoughts kept circling back to the phrase ‘Your fault’.

 

Notes:

Not really sure how to follow that up.... I'll just let it kinda sit with everyone and hope you stick with me for this final stretch.

More is coming soon, and I promise this does have a happy ending.

Thank you Wonduhwoman for helping me this chapter, you are an invaluable wise woman.

Sending love!

Chapter 31: Love's Burden

~Two Weeks Later~

‘Shit’s fucked’ seemed to be the best description of the past few weeks of time as far as Katsuki was concerned.

It was amazing how fast the universe could pull the rug out from under him. Just as he was adjusting to the Bond, finally getting masterful at the new intensity offered due to the connection, Ochako had to go and burn the foundations of her connection with him to the fucking ground.

 Not that he was blaming her- far from it.

If anything, he could empathize with her self-implosion to a degree that was honestly horrific and destructive to his own sense of self. The Bond certainly offered him an empathetic front row seat to the instability of Ochako’s emotional state, something he was wholly unprepared for.

The core of the issue, Katsuki had come to realize, was that Ochako had been (whether consciously or not) regulating the emotional side of their Bond for the entirety of that first month. She had single handily been managing the confusion of having dueling emotions fighting for dominance in the Link, in a similar way to how he seemed to be sifting through their thoughts on some unconscious or instinctual level. All of which was fine, divide and conquer and all that shit, except that Ochako had been emotionally atomized by the death of Lilly and Shouto.

Her mind had gone from a pillar of emotional support for them to an actual whirlpool of emotional turmoil. Some days she was sucking into a depression so deep she woke up and stared at the ceiling fighting the urge to just lay in bed and be nothing- something that he also then felt by extension. The next hour she would be throwing into guilt and grief so intense he would feel his throat close up and have to take several deep breaths to unknot his stomach. The instability of her emotions combined with the fact she was no longer helping him tame his own emotions meant they were shifting moods faster than a bipolar pregnant lady. With the extremes of each new swing more intense than would normally occur, due to the amplifying nature of the Bond. So yeah, Ochako was basically emotionally radioactive and he was getting blasted with the fallout.

Not that she was outwardly showing it. No, she presented herself as completely fine. A day off for mourning then right back to work as Japan’s sweetheart. Bright smiles and death defying recues followed in the weeks after the raid. But that wasn’t the whole story. The reality was she was scrambling emotionally, leaning on Katsuki in a way he was wholey unprepared for, their Link descending into a chaotic mess of emotions that at one moment had him bawling like a pussy during a meeting at his agency and the next had him blowing an actual hole in the side of a local grocer during a photo-op when their rage at the unfairness of it all had overcome him during a philanthropy event. He’d caused several thousand dollars of collateral damage at a philanthropy event for fucks sake, that irony of the incident had been a goddamn field day for the media.

Which was a whole other fucking tangled mess, the goddamn media hounding Ochako about literally everything under the sun while she just smiled and said ”no comment”, even though he could fucking feel  it kill her every time someone asked her about Lilly’s death. The rumors about their relationship only added to the stress, every other question was about how the Big Bad Bakugou stole sweet innocent Ochako’s heart from Their Lord and Savior Deku. For fucks sake, the media had no sense- clearly Ochako was going through some shit. But she had strictly forbidden him from saying anything to the nosey motherfuckers after the “grocery incident” so he’d shut his trap, even though sometimes he wanted to blow up those leechy sons a’ bitches so bad that he’d burned himself, restraining the impulse.

The Nukonas and their followers had dropped off the map, completely AWOL. The media seemed to believe that was a good thing, pushing the narrative that they had cowered after Uravity and Ground Zero took out their ace, kanayami. Katsuki didn’t buy that shit. No, this was bad news. Katsuki had a sneaking suspicion they were biding their time, and an even stronger suspicion they were doing so because the Animate Quirk and her sick fucko of a husband had Bonded before Kanayami had been pulverized. The way Ochako described the woman’s behavior and what she had said were like twin red flags on fire to him- obviously signaling there was more going on. Katsuki would bet his life that they were suffering through the pain of weaning off of drugs and becoming competent in their usage of a Link. Ochako disagreed when he brought it up, but she wasn’t particularly keen on discussing that night so he’d stopped trying to discuss it with her.

So yeah shit was fucked on that front. And of course there was the whole Deku problem.

A month ago during the raid, after he’d managed to get Ochako out of the Nukona house, Katsuki had the distinct pleasure of dealing with the paperwork involved with her causing permanent brain damage to one of their suspects. While it wasn’t illegal to maim a villain, it was frowned upon and required a fuckton of explaining why this particular situation called for bashing the villain’s brains in, to the point of vegetation. Something Katsuki had to bullshit to the nth degree. Because at the end of the day, Ochako had scrambled Kanayami’s brains in vengeance for her fallen comrades- out of rage, not a sense of justice. SO yeah try spinning that shit productively. Luckily for him she had a stellar reputation so the police had been willing to look the other way. Something that definitely wouldn’t have happened for Ground Zero. (He had a body count, so what? Sometimes he just underestimates his own force, shit happens.)

During the whole process of explaining to the police what had happened, possibly-maybe embellishing some circumstances and diminisihing others-- you know, theoretically for the benefit of Ochako’s sake or whatever-- Katsuki had been monitoring Ochako’s state through the Link. She was shockingly absent. Almost like how it felt to have Eye Bags controlling her with his quirk, but with her still undeniably the one pulling on the controls. The usual quirks of her mood and uptilt of her thoughts were absent and she seemed to be functioning on auto pilot. She had absolutely zero interest in the Bond, not even sparing his mind a second glance, wholly encompassed in her cocoon of numbness. It was in stark contrast to how they’d spent the last few weeks, constantly checking on the other with subtle brushes and dips into the Bond. It was like being bound to a rock that was sinking to the depths of a frozen lake. It was terrifyingly cold and empty in her mind. Still, silent and dead.

Katsuki hadn’t known what to do. She had been clearly in shock about the events, but he was too busy dealing with the logistics of the fallout from the raid to be able to take her home or help her. At the end of the day only he and Ochako had made it out of that bedroom walking and talking and there was no way for him to excuse them both from the situation. He’d already had to pull several strings to allow Ochako out of the proceedings.  

He’d debated heavily with himself in that moment, hating that his best option was the fucking Nerd of all people. Shitty Hair and Raccoon Eyes were busy dealing with Ponytail, who was a fucking disaster- one Katsuki was incapable of handling, due to the sheer weight of the guilt that hung on his head surrounding her situation. Aizawa had been buried in the depths of hell, a unfortunate byproduct of being the lead on such a fucked mission. He hadn’t trusted anyone else present with Ochako. Thus Deku.

To his recollection the conversation had gone something like this:

“Deku I need you to take Ochako to my apartment.” He’d said as he approached the broccoli head, who’d been staring at the tarp covered body of Todoroki, a clear expression of devastation on his face.

“I- uh Kacchan! Oh you scared me-“ The idiot had replied with a start, hastily wiping his eyes. Katsuki had decided then and there that Deku needed to go too. Clearly he wasn’t in a state to be here either. Two birds, one stone. Fucking rad.  

“Can you take her or not?” Katsuki had interrupted.

“I uh-“ Then Deku had mumbled some sort of rambled excuse and emotional word-vomit that Katsuki hadn’t really been paying attention to, too concerned with Ochako’s flatline affect in the Link. Soon enough he came back to the physical to find Deku still talking.

“- and I just don’t know how this will look, you know that once upon a time we were, but uh that’s not important for what I am trying to- I mean you know we aren’t-“ Deku was turning red with lack of oxygen at this point.

“Seriously, do you fucking know how to shut up or is it some sort of fundamental flaw in your operating system that you cannot stop spewing meaningless shit?” Katsuki put the Nerd out of his misery.

“Uh- I’m not sure how to answer that…” Deku had replied slack jawed.

“Fucking are you able to take Ochako home or not? It’s a yes/no question.” Katsuki’s said, not sure how the fuck Deku had taken a simple request and convoluted it into such a pointless conversation.

“Yes, I am if you are okay with-“

“-Nope. No more discussion. It was a simple fucking yes or no. You said yes, so fucking take her there.” Katsuki fumed, rubbing a hand down his face as he caught the eye of the police chief, who no doubt wanted to discuss the events of the evening with him. He held up a finger to indicate he would be by shortly.

 “Oh- okay Kacchan I think we should avoid the trains because of-“

“Yes Obviously. Come on.” Katsuki interrupted with an eyeroll before grabbing Deku and dragging him to where Ochako was seated on the pavement.

And that was that. He’d let his soulmate go home with her ex. Asked it of Deku even.

Because at the end of the day, as much as Katsuki loathed Deku, even he had to admit the dude was super trustworthy. A true hero. Blah blah. Whatever, he was the real hero here- doing BOTH their paperwork so that way Ochako could go to sleep and Deku could do the one thing Katsuki was actually bad at: emotional comforting. Katsuki deserved a fucking medal for this shit.

He didn’t know what Deku had said to Ochako, but the next day she had sprung up from bed a façade of “okay” taking over her exterior while her mental state stabilized in a pit of despair. At first he’d been happy she was at least mentally present, not the shell of a human she’d been the previous evening. But as the next few days passed, he started to realize she was in this whole ‘pretend I’m totally okay even though I’m a fucking wreck’ thing for the long haul. The dissonance between the two realities of her mental state and behavior had only worsened in the past few weeks as the wear of keeping up appearances took a toll on her.

And Katsuki wished he could figure out how to do the thing she did with the Link, where she somehow managed to keep their emotions even and pleasant. And he was trying- fuck was he trying- but he never seemed to be able to manage it for more than a few minutes at a time before he blew up. Figuratively of course, at least for now. Each time he got angry or frustrated their joint emotions built up and he could feel himself on a knife’s edge of actually blowing shit up. At this point it was only a matter of time. So he kept trying and succeeding for a few minutes at a time of relieving the weight of emotions from them. Ochako just gave him a sad smile when the weight on her shoulders returned after the moments of reprieve he gave her.

He was going to get premature wrinkles at this rate. Something had to be done.

 Which brought him to today. Because fuck it, right?

He’d woken up as normal, Ochako sleeping soundly next to him and he’d been staring at her frowning at how these days she only looked peaceful while asleep. Which was super fucked up and he was so fucking tired of it. He snapped.

“Fuck this.” He growled, throwing the covers back roughly and aggressively storming out of his bedroom.

He grabbed her phone from where it was charging on the kitchen counter and called her work before he could talk himself out of it.

“Ochako?” Some rando female PR rep from her agency answered.

“Guess again.” He replied derisively.

“Oh Ground Ze-“

“Listen she isn’t coming in. She’s taking a week off.” Katsuki was not in the mood for discussion, and of course the PR rep just had to get her words in.

“What, but she has a press-“ Katsuki sighed frustratedly, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes as the woman spoke.

“Yeah. Don’t fucking care. We have more important shit to do that talk to those vultures.” He spat out, opening his eyes and stalking over to start the coffee- one of the only things that hadn’t changed about Ochako’s behavior. The woman was as addicted as ever.

 “We can reschedule the meeting, but she also has patrol today.” The woman’s voice turned hard. As if this was a fucking negotiation rather than a statement of fact. Which to be clear it wasn’t.

 “No she doesn’t. I just told you she is off, do you need to get your hearing checked or some shit because-“ His voice was raising with irritation at this point and he could just hear the PR scum’s patience wearing out.

 “Katsuki? What-“ Ochako grumbled, a yawn interrupting her speech as she stumbled down the hall, “What’re you doin’?”

  Cancelling your week.

 “Look, I get that you two are in some sort of weird mental Link or whatever, but you don’t get to dictate Uravity’s work schedule just because you’re-“ The PR lady was really leaning into him now, a small step away from shouting at him.

“-Listen she isn’t going to be able to keep this up. It’s a goddamn miracle she has thus far. She is one bad day away from snapping and fucking sending a sky scraper into orbit-“ Katsuki’s thought was cut off as Ochako sort of stumbled clumsily into his brain, in a way he would have thought exceptionally funny, but she then proceeded to shout at him.

You’re rescheduling- YOU ARE WHAT?!

 The PR woman blubbered, hemming a hawing at his statement while Ochako charged him from the hall.

“GIVE ME MY PHONE!” Ochako yelled stomping at him. He intercepted her and muscled her to be an arms-length away by gripping her shoulder with his right hand and turning away to hold her phone to his left ear. She flailed against his arm trying to reach the phone, the words he had been saying registering and pissing her off more. He felt her down mood blossom in to a furious ire, spilling over the Bond into him, overtaking his own calm state.

“I’m serious, she is gonna implode in a way that makes the grocery incident look like child’s play.” He got angrier and angrier as their emotions collided and combined, amplifying in the Bond, “ SO WE ARE TAKING THE WEEK OFF TO WORK SOME SHIT OUT. Fuck.” He finished before hanging up unceremoniously.

He huffed as their rampant anger washed around the Link. Fuck, this sucked. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths calming his own anger down so it wasn’t fueling hers unnecessarily. He then forcibly pushed her anger back with his irritation. Fighting fire with fire. ON the plus side they weren’t angry anymore. On the downside they were still supremely irritated.

Silence filled the kitchen as Ochako stared at him in shock.  Her mouth hung open as she glanced back and forth between the phone in his hand and his face. Then her face settled into a frown and the remaining flames of her anger extinguished in the pool of her endless grief.

“What the hell, Katsuki?” She exhaled, backing away from him slightly and crossing her arms.

 He let out a long suffering sigh, acutely aware of the emotional betrayal she was feeling, somehow surfacing from the ocean of grief and guilt that had pooled in their Bond over the last few weeks.

“Like I said we have work to do. You are a fucking wreck and I was not-” Katsuki started, not at all surprised when she interrupted him.

 “I’m fine.” Her voice was ice cold, eyes daring him to contradict her. The Bond clanged with the lie.

“You are not fine.” He stated with narrowed eyes, “You know you can’t fucking lie to me.”

“That’s not the point.” Ochako said more carefully, “Sure I’m…going through some grief, people that I love are de-, gone…”

“Understatement of the century.” Katsuki mumbled, earning a glare.

“The point is that I am handling it. And I really don’t think time off is going to make me feel any better. I need to have stuff to do, or I’ll go crazy.” She explained, voice tapering into a more quiet admission at the end. Her arms uncrossed and came to rest at her side. Katsuki’s heart clenched at the raw note the Link took on as she finally was ready to admit what was going on.

“Look,” Katsuki said stepping to her and reaching out to tilt her chin up, “I am not fucking asking you to get over this. I don’t think you’re gonna be okay for a while, and I do think you are handling this as well as can be expected. But one of us is going to fucking loose it because no one is regulating the Bond and I would very much like to avoid accidently blowing up a city block or dealing with your ass after you accidently launch some poor bystander into the stratosphere.”

Her face screwed up in confusion and he felt her brush against his mind in investigation. She wasn’t following his thoughts well enough to get what he was saying.

“I need you to teach me how to do the emotional shit.” He explained when she still didn’t get the jist, “You know how you fucking take my shitty emotions and minimize them. You don’t let them affect you somehow. I need to do that with yours . Well and mine too since you aren’t at the moment.” He explained to the best of his ability, not being able to to detail it since, you know, he didn’t fucking know how she did it.

“You want me to teach you how-?” She still looked puzzled and Katsuki caught the jist of but I don’t even know how I do that… as she thought about it. He just raised an eyebrow at her as if to say ‘when has that stopped you before?’.

“I, uh… can try I guess.” She finished, her mind actively trying to figure out what she had been doing unconsciously before. Katsuki nodded and released her chin to pull her into an embrace.

 “We’ll work on it together. While we’re at it, I’m gonna teach you how to pick up and sort our thoughts better.” He tacked that on as it occurred to him that it was probably a good idea to do so. The more even they could make the Bond and their respective abilities with it the better. They had to be able to function when one of them was out of it.

“Oh. Cool, I guess. “ She mumbled into his chest, relaxing into him. The Bond evened out again, thank fuck, back to the depressed and sad state they’d been seeped in since the raid.

“I’m still pissed you did this without talking with me first though.” She said pulling back to look at him.

 “No, you aren’t. You’re just sad right now.” He said feeling not even a lick of anger.

“You know what I mean.” She said with an eye roll, a brief moment of humor lighting her up before she went dark again.

Now if only he could figure out how his brain did the whole Calling thing. Or really how it did any of the things he seemed to be able to do better than her. It was going to be a long week.

Notes:

So the one year anniversary of this fic is coming up and I want to finish it then. So prospective end date is now October 13th.

Also the response to the last chapter is both heartbreaking and enthralling, thanks for sticking with me! It was hard for me to write, but important for the story as a whole. Thank you as always for the love and support!

Three more to go!! and then maybe some fun one shots in the universe as a sequel collection. <3

Love you all!

Chapter 32: Change of State

“For fucks sake…” Katsuki’s sigh caused Ochako’s eyes to snap open in a glare.

“I’m doing my best! Stop being an ass about it!” She retaliated with a sharp mental poke, which only served to make his sore mind throb painfully across The Link.

Ochako and Katsuki were seated on the floor of his living room, as they had been for the past several hours, empty Indian takeout containers littering the coffee and side tables around them.

“ Really ? I couldn’t tell from the hours and hours of work we’ve put into this already.” He replied sarcastically.

“Well you being aggressive and frustrated in the Bond is helping neither of us figure this out!” Ochako fired back, feeling Katsuki’s raw nerves grating against her mind.

 The Link, in its hypersensitive state, was like a live wire as they attempted to feel out how to switch the way they used the Link. The tediousness of making the most incremental changes possible in their manipulations of the Bond were grating on both their patiences. They’d been working for the past two days to figure out how to balance out their responsibilities between them, to little avail. It was like trying to change the way their individual brains worked, and it was becoming apparent it was a nearly impossible task.

Ochako gave a heavy sigh at Katsuki’s lack of answer, likely due to him having nothing nice to say if the emotions battering her across the Link were anything to go by.

“Let’s pause and figure out what we’re doing wrong, since, clearly what we’re trying isn’t working. You were starting to get it at the end of yesterday, what were you doing then?” Ochako sighed, rubbing her temples in an unsuccessful attempt to alleviate their combined headache.

 “I told you, I don’t fucking know.” He responded through clenched teeth, seemingly trying to force his emotions away.

 “You must have some idea, come on, humor me.” Ochako persisted, despite the underlying current of animosity between them.

It was at times like this she questioned how in the hell the universe singled out Katsuki as her ideal Link partner. Theoretically, at least as far as they could tell Kanayami’s quirk only worked on people who had some sort of natural mental affinity for the other. (Granted they had a very small sample size). Shinsou seemed to believe the mental affinity required to survive was a mark of soulmates. Ochako was inclined to agree with him when everything was hunky-dory between her and Katsuki and be completely opposed to the idea when things were bad. Like right now for instance. Katsuki could just be such an insufferable ass sometimes! She really didn’t have the mental energy to deal with his moody attitude--she was too drained from both her relentless emotional instability and the weeks worth of training they’d been doing.

“Oi! I heard that!” Katsuki barked out.

“Any idea how it is that you heard it?” She asked hopefully, asking to see if he had any sort of concept about what he was doing to read her unconscious thoughts.

“No idea, it just kinda floated over from your layers. I’m telling you it’s you who’s pushing stuff to me, not the other way around. I am not doing anything, it’s all you, Cheeks.” He shrugged off her exacerbated look.

“Well you have to be doing something, because it isn’t something under my conscious control.” Ochako huffed, crossing her arms.

I certainly wouldn’t be consciously sending you some of the things you’ve overheard.

Katsuki ran a hand down his face, irritation and frustration at their fruitless efforts gnawing at them both.

Well we can’t both be doing it unconsciously!

Obviously.

Their moods soured and Ochako felt them slipping deeper into the waves of uncontrolled emotions she was barely holding back. Her mind was still trying to process her grief while maintaining the Bond’s emotional balance, an overwhelming set of tasks. 

She rolled her head along her neck with a harsh exhale. Katsuki seemed to get the message that she needed him to reign it in and the pressure of his frustration on her mind lessened to a more manageable level. An almost sheepish guilt crept towards her from him. She knew he wasn’t doing it on purpose, but his emotions were just adding to the weight of her own out-of-control emotions.

“Why don’t we switch back to emotional regulation?” Ochako changed the topic and Katsuki grunted in acquiescence.

“Fucking fine.” He met her eyes briefly before closing them, attempting to take a calming breath.

Ochako followed suit, pushing aside the heavy sadness that had been her constant companion like it was an outgoing tide in the shores of her mind, leaving behind a shore of serenity. Or as close to it as she could get currently.

 “Okay tune into your emotions. Tell me what you’re feeling.” She hummed once she had a grasp on her own mood. She reached through the Bond to sample his mind.

“Frustrated.” He answered shortly.

Ochako paused, leaning further into him across the Bond. Frustration was definitely the dominant flavor of emotion, but there was more to it than that… He was worried for her and angry at himself and disappointed he wasn’t able to do anything for them. He was anxious to get the villains, vindictive and vengeful. A multitude of other emotions bubbled and brewed under the surface. It was a vast understatement to say he was only frustrated.

“Okay what else?” She prompted evenly.

“I don’t know, like, fucking annoyed.” She felt the annoyance flair acutely mirroring the words.

“What undercurrent though? There’s more under all of that, more depth.”

“I don’t know what you mean, it’s just a cloud of frustration, I don’t see any depth or what-the-fuck-ever else.” Katsuki ground out, tone indicating he was totally lost and about ready to rage quit. 

His wording tugged at her mind though, it was  a strange way to describe emotion. 

“Wait, when you say a cloud, you don’t mean like an actual cloud, right?” Ochako asked as an idea hit her, opening her eyes to see his expression furrowed in irritation.

Bakugou’s eyes flipped open, gazing at her incredulously, “No Cheeks, I mean fucking figuratively. It’s not an actual collection of vaporized water in my –“

“Oh my god!” Ochako interrupted excitedly, sitting up straighter.

“What?” Bakugou started at her words and the sudden bombardment of her excitement and renewed energy in the Bond.

 “I’ve got an idea!” Ochako stated, to which Katsuki snorted.

“Yeah, no shit, got that from the whole-“ He gestured vaguely at her.

“No- no, listen!” Ochako wouldn’t be dragged down by Katsuki’s attitude, “I think you see your emotions as more of a vapor, air-like. It’s all consuming and untamable. I visualize them more as a stream or lake. “

“Okay…” His skepticism wavered across the Link.

“I can modify our emotions because I can actually manipulate them, damn them up or let others flow. I can, I guess- like, mentally mold them easier? Figuratively I mean.” Ochako explained haltingly, trying to put words to the concept.

“Okay that’s super nice and poetic and shit in theory, but I fail to see how this helps in a practical way.” He stated, crossing his arms.

“Well- I uh hadn’t gotten that far.” Ochako deflated slightly, “But it has to be something, right? A clue towards what we need to do?”

“Hate to burst your bubble, but I see where you’re going with this and I don’t know how the fuck I’m supposed to change a figurate representation of my real emotions from an imagined gas to an imagined liquid. Like what do you want me to do, lower the fucking temperature of my mental representation of my feelings?” Katsuki let out a humorless laugh, amusement at how absurd he found it cutting through his earlier frustrations.

“That’s not a bad idea actually…” Ochako wavered, not seeing any reason why they shouldn’t try it. Everything about this situation was bizzare and nothing else they’d tried in the past two days had worked.

 “You can’t be serious.” He deadpanned, his disbelief deadening the lively bounce in the Link.

“It’s not as if the Bond makes any sense anyway!” Ochako rebutted, “I mean, Katsuki, we have a psychic connection that was forced upon us by a quirk. None of this makes real sense. Besides, we both agree it’s something we’re doing unconsciously, you don’t think the way we unconsciously envision our mind spaces has anything useful to tell us?”

“Yeah, but serious Chaks? You want me to just picture what I want? Come on what sort of shitty psychology self-help book have you been-“

“Would it kill you to try?” Ochako pouted, crossing her arms, “I don’t see you having any better ideas! This isn’t some zero sum game! You don’t win because I lose, or because my idea doesn’t work!”

“Oh now we’re talking about game theory are we?” He bit back in irritation and Ochako fumed.

“Stop lashing out at me!” She all but yelled, “I can NOT deal with your emotions right now, so either you are going to do it by yourself or buck up and work with me !”

That shut him up for a bit as he narrowed his eyes at her critically. He was still irritated, but some guilt was creeping into the waves of annoyance. She continued to stare him down. 

There was silence as she watched his mind process the idea from multiple perspectives in the Link, before he finally relented with a huff, snapping his eyes closed again. She relaxed her posture in relief.

I guess this means you’re gonna try?

Yes, now shut up. I’m concentrating.

Jeez... love you too.

It’s not- fine, sorry or whatever. I fucking love you and you’re annoying as hell. Now would you please be quiet so I can focus?

Ochako quirked a smile at the sheer Katsuki-ness of the response then closed her own eyes. She quietly listened to his breathing slowly even out as his focus was turned inward. She watched his movements in the Link and she could feel his emotions as he approached and reapproached his mind’s default orientation. She felt the flares of frustration and intense focus that occurred as he problem-solved, something she was coming to love about him. The way he would focus his entire being upon whatever he was currently working towards with 100% percent of his attention was something she had been enraptured with since their years at UA, made entirely more interesting with an inside view of his mind. It was something she was mildly envious of, her own mind was partial to fleeting thoughts that draw her attention and break her concentration. He had no such distractions. Stubborn in his repulsion of irrelevant thoughts. It was almost as if he burned down any distractions before they could enter the sphere of his awareness. 

 Bakugou huffed, interrupting his even and slow breaths as he approached and reapproached Ochako’s proposed solution. After several minutes and many sighs, she could suddenly feel the pressure of his gaze on her and opened her own eyes, heart stuttering as she immediately met his gaze.

 “This isn’t working.” He said flatly.

Ochako sighed, slumping slightly from her seat on the floor. He watched the action with perceptive eyes.

“Well…crap.” She said. 

He merely watched her thoughtfully, the Bond informed her that he was contemplating something, the intense focus he previously had put into trying to change his unconscious thoughts shifting to whatever new idea had just occurred to him.

Ochako waited for his mind to finish processing, expecting that he would come out of the deep dive with some sort of insight for them to try. If her time Linked with him had told her anything it was they both needed to contribute ideas to be successful. The truth usually resided in the space between their conceptualizations, and without his own spin on her idea, she doubted it’d be successful.

“Show me what you mean.” He finally spoke after the prolonged silence.

“Uh… What do you-“ Ochako started, stopping as he sent her an unprompted thought.

  Give me an Impression. 

The thought was accompanied with an image that was so foreign to Ochako she was rendered speechless.

Really the word “image” did not do impressions justice, they were so much more than a static unidimensional picture, but a sample of visuals, smells and sounds, the general feeling of something or the sender’s interpretation of it. 

This particular impression was, just- so much information. The impression was of… a different world. It was by far one of the most detailed Katsuki had ever sent to her. With it, she was dropped into a landscape of Bakugou's mind, which she had previously thought of as similar to her own, but layered. This was… was anything but what she had previously interpreted from being next to his mind. It was like a planet of mental stuff , gravitationally dense with thoughts and memory making up the core while his emotions encompassed everything in an atmosphere of sorts; completely alien to her own mental space with its horizon and linear thought process. He truly was not kidding when he described his emotions as if they were a cloud, or air. She lacked the vocabulary to describe the detail of it accurately.

She felt her jaw drop at the visuals that accompanied the impression, fascinated by the grounding nature his thoughts formed, literally making the concrete foundation of his mentation around which his mind orbited, so different to the way that her emotional state was the basin of her mind, rising and falling like the tides. His emotions were more suffocating that hers. They were like air he breathed, necessary and unavoidable, but untamable. His world orbited his thoughts, the only solid portion of his mind. 

“Close your mouth, you’re gonna catch flies.” He snapped, a flair of insecurity barely registering across the Link.

“No, no! I’m sorry this is just-“ Ochako started, pausing as words failed her, “I thought I understood, but..” She faded off, grasping for any way to describe what she was thinking, as words failed to express her wonder at his perception of his own mind.  

Bakugou shoved a ‘yes aaand…’ impression her way, face screwing up to match the sarcastic tone.

“I just- this is so different from what I had thought it was. You’ve got a whole planet in your brain!” She straightened excitedly at the thought while his face furrowed in cautious suspicion.

“Fucking whatever- just send me an impression of what you want me to do. How does your mind visualize itself or fucking-whatever it is you want me to understand.” He finished the sentence with a sigh and mumbled something about how stupid this exercise was.

 Ochako considered pushing him on the issue, confronting his stupid skepticism of any idea that wasn’t his own, but decided to leave it. He was just feeling weird about her reaction to his impression and lashing out.

Instead, she closed her eyes, visualizing, with as much detail as possible her mental landscape. The way the hole in the back of her mind connected them, how thoughts floated in the air while her general mood formed the solid ground she stood on, liquid rivers of temporary emotions twisting, tides of fervor rising and falling. Once she felt she had a good enough picture she sent it to him. The impression flew across the Link and she felt his shock as he interpreted the information, his own bafflement at the vast differences between them mirroring hers.

She crossed her arms smugly at his dumbstruck expression.

 “See? It’s pretty wild how different it is.” She commented with a quirk of her brow.

“… yeah fine, okay.” He conceded reluctantly, recovering much more quickly than she had, “But how do I get my mind to do that shit?”

“I don’t know, but surely this helped you figure out what I mean, right? Like you said a few weeks ago, having a goal and understanding what we are trying to achieve is crucial to success- just like training with Aizawa-sensei.” Ochako said sagely, feeling Bakugou mulling over her words thoughtfully.

The shift in his attitude happened glacially, then suddenly all at once.

“Okay. Once more.” He didn’t wait for her response, immediately closing his eyes and slowing his breathing in focus once again. Ochako smiled brightly at him, heart fluttering slightly before closing her own eyes.

 

 

 

Several, very frustrating, days later Ochako and Katsuki were in the gym, taking a break from the insane pace of mental training sessions they’d been doing like they were running out of time. Which, they kind of were. 

Since they’d agreed to attempt any and every idea they came up with to try and diversify their roles and build their skills within the Link (okay so Ochako had agreed and Katsuki had stopped protesting), they’d made little progress. It was frustrating and slow work, which was turning out to be less fruitful than any of the other things they’d tried to do in the Bond before this. Ochako figured it was because they were trying to fundamentally change the way their unconscious minds operated, Katsuki thought they just weren’t approaching it right. They were probably both a little right and a little wrong.

Hence where they currently were, in the gym blowing off some steam and taking an opportunity to work on their other skills. Namely kicking ass. Kiri had joined them after the first couple of minutes when he’d showed up unannounced to the gym he and Katsuki both attended for his daily workout. He’d been just as surprised to see them as they were to see him. 

Turns out, Kirishima had just come from a long meeting with the Task Force and was ready to sweat out his frustrations with them. Ocahko tried not to read into the fact neither she nor Katsuki had been informed of the meeting. 

“It’s so stupid, we have no leads.” Kiri was ranting from one of the far walls that looked on the fighting mats, “It’s like they just disappeared. All we got is Aizawa’s useless logs of missing morphine from Tokyo hospitals. He swears it’s related, but I’m not super convinced.”

Ochako bit her lip, meeting Katsuki’s gaze.

Is Aizawa thinking the Nukonas are managing the side effects of a new Bond?

Yeah, the real question is why he isn’t telling the Task Force that information.

“Fucking sucks man.” Katsuki grunted and he launched a kick for Ochako’s knees. She danced away taking a retaliatory swipe at him.

 “I’m sorry Kiri, that sounds really-“ Ochako said, pausing to duck a right hook, “- frustrating.”

Katsuki followed the right hook with an uppercut that she narrowly avoided, stumbling back a step. He pressed the advantage and swung his left fist at her face and Ochako blocked with a grunt. She backed off before he could continue the chain of attacks, dancing around his rooted stance as they practiced hand to hand combat.

“Jesus Katsuki, are you trying to bruise her?” Kirishima commented with a wince from where he was taking a water break.

 There was a small, but noticeable, flair of guilt from Katsuki, one that kind of pissed Ochako off. She hated it when people treated her like she was fragile, something Katsuki knew.

Katsuki growled, stamping out his guilt and turning his head to shoot Kirishima a glare. Ochako promptly took advantage of his distraction. She snapped a vicious, all-out punch in his blind spot aiming for his jaw. He saw it coming through the Bond just in time to jerk backwards, stumbling a few steps to regain his balance.

“Hey!” Ochako called, pointing at him as his widened eyes looked at her in shock, “Don’t listen to him, I’m your opponent. Get your head in the game”

“Oh shiiiit!” Kirishima squeaked in surprise, “Was that full strength? It was, wasn’t it!? Are you guys fighting or something?”

“No, we just take each other seriously. Villains don’t hold punches, so why should we?” Ochako said to Kirishima though she was looking at Katsuki, who cracked his neck, a grin spreading on his lips at her words. 

  Seriously, since when do you pull your punches with me?

I don’t. You can fucking take it. Just pisses me off when people assume you can’t. I got distracted, sue me.

Ah, don’t hold it against Kiri, it IS my brand to be soft and cute she shrugged and sank back into a fighting stance. Ignore it, focus on the fight.

No more holding out on me!

As if I would ever do you the dishonor!

 Katsuki shot her a fierce grin, rolling his shoulders and bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“You know,” Kiri shouted from the sidelines, “You two have gotten better at that.”

“What?” Ochako asked Kiri distractedly as she bounded towards Katsuki, his eyes tracking her movements trying to predict where she was going. Their minds were adjacent, lightly shielded and she could feel him trying to read her intentions.

“The mental talking thing.” Kiri replied, “If I didn’t know you so well, I doubt I’d be able to tell anymore.”

 Ochako smirked, sending Katsuki a wink as she faked him out, activating her quirk on herself to launch herself in an arc over his head. She grasped his shoulders as she reached the peak of her trajectory.

  We agreed, no quirks!

Eh, see I thought we JUST agreed to no holding back…

She countered his thought as she activated her quirk on him. She then used her grip on his shoulders to launch his weightless form towards the ceiling, the reciprocal force sending her downwards in his place. Kirishima let out a long whistle, his eyes tracking the human projectile that Katsuki had been turned into.

“What the FUCK Ochako?!” Katsuki shouted from the ceiling, quickly recovering his equilibrium in the air with practiced thruster-type blasts from his palms. Ochako flipped herself right-side-up with a jovial giggle.

She bounced off the ground and twisted until she was lounging casually a few feet off the ground, hovering in the air comfortably. Kiri was grinning toothily at her, snickering.

  Put me down!

“Nah! You need the Zero-G practice.” Ochako said, eyeing Kirishima as he broke into laughter.

 Ochako smiled, letting out a laugh herself, feeling light- both emotionally and physically for the first time in weeks. Something about letting herself unleash her frustrations physically with Katsuki in combination with the sunshine that was Kirishima’s presence had her more relaxed than she’d felt in a while. It was nice.

 Katsuki’s mood seemed to be torn between relief that she was finally laughing and irritation at her having broken their unspoken agreement to stick to hand-to-hand. 

Ochako glanced up at him and grinned. He was continuously firing off small blasts to maintain his orientation—an expression on his face that demonstrated the conflicting opinions he was fielding in his mind.

“Okay ha ha.” Katsuki drawled, “You’ve had your fun, now release me.”

Ochako’s giggles slowly built, transforming until she was hysterically laughing, floating in the air. Kirishima’s smile melted off his face as he watched Ochako devolve into hysteria.

Chalks, get a grip. Let us down.

Tears streamed from Ochako’s eyes in mirth and she began hiccupping sporadically in-between guffaws.

“Oh god- I just.” Ochako sputtered out between laughs, “I can’t- stop.- oh my- cheeks- hurt-“

“Uh, are you okay Ochako?” Kirishima stepped hesitantly towards Ochako.

“Yeah yeah, I’m-“ Ochako started, then abruptly stopped as her mirth evaporated in a wave of despair, “Oh god. They’re dead.”

Silence met her sudden affect change and Ochako began crying again, the meaning behind the action worlds apart from a few moments prior.

“Lilly and Shouto- I. Oh god it’s a-all my, it’s my f-f-fault.” Ochako sobbed, vision blurred by the tears welling in her eyes before they continued down the already wet tracts on her cheeks.

“ah fuuuck.” Ochako vaguely heard Katsuki’s sigh, mostly she just felt the change in his mental attitude as the waves of resignation and matter-of-fact-ness he was feeling.

There were a few seconds of time where nothing was said, Ochako assumed throughout the emotional spikes Katsuki was feeling that he and Kiri were exchanging some sort of silent conversation through their expressions.

Then suddenly Katsuki was there. Like right up against her dispare-weakened mental shields, pressing into her mind. She offered no resistance, rather sighing at the relief having him close to her mind gave her. He nudged her gently in the Bond and Ochako felt a weird sense of de ja vu as he did… it almost felt like he was pushing her out of the way? It was like he gently nudged her from the controls of her mind, which was fine because she was actively drowning in her grief, barely keeping her head above the surface of the ocean of repressed anguish she had been wading in since their deaths.

 She had a fuzzy memory of him doing this when she had a concussion.

She experienced the strange feeling of him trying to control her body, resisting on instinct. She roughly shoved him back from her mind in retaliation. He backed off, nursing the sting that she’d left on the tendrils of his mind that had invaded hers. The sensation of him controlling her had been so foreign… the realization of what happened sent a shiver of wrongness down her spine.

 Her tears dried up at the distraction, her mind breaking the surface of bereavement that she was drowning in, seeming to determine this infiltration of her mental space to be a more immediate threat than her grief. She shuddered at the whiplash of emotions she was feeling.

Just seconds after it started, she opened her eyes, a frown on her face, steepling her fingers and releasing both her and Katsuki without warning.

“Hey! Not okay!” She called to Katsuki harshly as he dropped out of the air, finding her own footing easily, “You don’t get to just take over whenever you think I’m not okay!”

Katsuki’s brows furrowed in confusion and he braced his landing with two well placed explosions.

“…What just happened?” Kiri’s question went unanswered as Ochako stormed over towards Katsuki.

“Seriously, what the fuck Bakugou?” Ochako asked stiffly as she approached Katsuki.

The use of his last name made him flinch.

“Hey don’t come after me!” He glared at her, before a more pensive look crossed his face, “I didn’t realize I was doing it. It was just, I don’t fucking know, reflexive or some shit.”

He said the last bit absently, lost in thought. Ochako could feel his mind whirring as it analyzed his previous actions in the Link. Ochako narrowed her eyes and her frown deepened, unsatisfied with his response. Seriously, how hard was it for him to realize that what this situation called for was not a critical analysis but an apology? She didn’t have the emotional wherewithal to field his brand of stupid.

I want an apology, not an explanation. 

Yeah good for you, but I want an explanation!

Katsuki…

Ochako sighed, waves of fatigue and sadness flowing over the Link from her. Katsuki finally looked at her, realizing that she was… well a mess. She had just had a bout of hysterical laughter and hysterical crying all muddled up with him taking over her mind. 

 “Fuck.” He cursed, striding forwards and wrapping her in an embrace. Ochako gave a hitched exhale and leaned into him, closing her eyes.

I’m sorry. I didn’t realize- fuck. That’s not the point. Sorry.

He kissed her forehead, mind still spinning as Ochako calmed herself. He smelled like the burnt sugar of his sweat. She hadn’t realized that she’d begun to associate the scent with comfort until now.

“Uhhhh…” Kirishima hesitated, “I am soo confused… should I go? This seems… personal…”

Ochako peaked over Katsuki’s bicep and saw Kirishima posed in a half step towards the door, looking fully discombobulated. She gave him a watery smile.

 “Nah, it’s okay, just some weird Link stuff.” Ochako said.

“Tch.”

“Okaaay. So does someone wanna explain what just happened… or?” Kirishima questioned like he was walking on eggshells.

Ochako glanced up at Katsuki, seeing his brow furrowed in thought. It was then that she realized that he really hadn’t done it on purpose. It hadn’t been just an excuse. He had no idea why it happened either.  

“We aren’t… sure?” Ochako summarized in a question.

“I sort of-“ Katsuki averted his gaze, turning to stare at a wall, “took over her mind for a bit?”

“I’m sorry, did you just say you took over Ochako’s mind? ” Kirishima’s face showed his shock as he stepped towards the two of them. Katsuki cleared his throat awkwardly and dropped his arms, ending their embrace.

“...er..yes?” Ochako said to Kiri in conformation, who paled and looked between them concerned.

She and Katsuki looked at each other in confusion.

  …I – I’m not sure why I did that. Really. Fuck I’m sorry I just-

- No, I think you were right, we should explore it. We need an explanation.

It was like- your mind beckoned me, like the lack of your control pulled me into the vacancy. It was instinctual. I can’t- I don’t know how to explain it.

…You did this before- when I had a concussion? 

  Yeah. Was it the- Same then? Yeah.

The exchange happened in the course of a few milliseconds as their brains thought through the event together. Ochako raised a pensive hand to her lips. She glanced over to where Kiri was looking between them, utterly baffled as to how they had arrived here. To be fair it had been a whirlwind of 10 minutes of time.

This is the answer.

The thought occurred to them at the same time and neither was able to identify from whom it had originated. None the less it rang true- this was the answer. The answer to their question of how to teach the other in their unconscious functionings. If they could just operate the other’s unconscious for a bit, perhaps they’d better be able to implement changes into their own…

Ochako’s eyes widened in tandem with Katsuki’s.

“That’s it…”

“It’s perfect…”

 They mumbled at the same time staring at the other in curious wonder. Kirishima coughed.

“Uhhh. I think I missed something.” Kirishima said, face betraying his utter bewilderment at their bizarre behavior. Ochako just smiled at him.

“Kiri, I think it’s a good time for you to head home, we’ve got some Link training we need to do.” Ochako said sunnily. Kirishima swallowed dryly, looking like he’d just gotten off a rollercoaster.

 

 

 

 

Turns out that taking over someone’s mind is harder than it looks—for both parties. Ochako and Katsuki had spent the remainder of the afternoon at the gym trying to get back to the state Katsuki had achieved by pushing Ochako out of her own mind.

The problem was that letting go of control of your own mind did not exactly come naturally. Sure, it was easy enough to cross into Katsuki’s mind and try to take the controls, but actually getting a hold of them from Katsuki was like trying to pry barnacles off the bottom of a ship. Except the barnacles were superglued. Or welded on. You get the idea.

 Katsuki had the same problem with Ochako. She just couldn’t, like, move out of the seat of her consciousness. The tried meditation and distraction, she even tried letting herself sink into her despair again, though he’d stopped her after a bit because he was not comfortable watching her suffer like that.

They gave up after the clock struck 10pm and reluctantly headed home, swerving out of the way of the scattered press that was waiting for them outside the gym.

 

“Uravity!”

“You have yet to comment on the death of your sidekick Plantasma, any words you want to say to her family?”

“Ground Zero, have you forgone your playboy ways for Uravity?”

“Are you dating?”

“What do you have to say about the death of Shouto Todoroki?”

“Do you blame yourselves for the loss of one of Japan’s brightest?”

 

 Bulbs flashes and Ochako stilled her face into a blank mask as Katsuki moved between her and the cameras with his back turned, doing his best to shield both their faces.

Ochako did her best to ignore the gnawing pit in her stomach that flared at every shout asking her about Shouto and Lilly. 

Katsuki glared at them over his shoulder and offered his hand to her in a gesture so synonymous with their flying and combo moves Ochako was moving to initiate flight before she consciously registered she was doing it.

 Katsuki was too distracted with theories of how to get them into the control seat of each others’ mind to fume over the invasion of the press and Ochako had to admit it was rather sad how common place the invasive media was in their lives these days. The speculation regarding the nature of their relationship, compounded with the fact they hadn’t officially addressed the deaths of their comrades made them a fascination of the press. Ochako supposed that the fact they were seen together more than they were apart probably didn’t help with the rumors.

They were both so drawn into their own musing they flew across the city skies on autopilot. Ochako started, then laughed when Bakugou nudged her mind as they approached his apartment, needing her to decrease their velocity with her quirk so they could land.

 She deactivated her quirk on them incrementally slowing their momentum as he directed them to land on his roof expertly.

“You are all over the place tonight.” He commented with a wary look as she untangled her legs from their locked position around his waist.

“I suppose so.” Ochako said thoughtfully, “It’s been an…emotional day.”

He cocked his head in a silent question for elaboration and held out a hand for her, which she took. They started the now familiar walk down from the roof hands swinging slightly with each step.

 “I guess…” Ochako started then paused trying to put words to the emotional catharsis that had been building up to today, “I just needed to snap. I needed to cry and carry on.”

Katsuki nodded, mind turning over her words and she felt him dipping against her mind to taste her emotional state curiously. Ochako felt more relaxed than she had in weeks. Not ‘good’ but at least she wasn’t empty anymore. Her weird emotional breakdown this afternoon had been a release valve on the mental pressure cooker that had been her mind these past few weeks.

“I think I needed a bit of breakdown.” She confessed, “I know that I-“ Her throat abruptly closed off in a well of sadness.

 “You aren’t gonna get closure.” He filled in when she couldn’t continue, reading her thoughts. She nodded, once again amazed at how well he was able to read her - often better than she could understand her own thoughts.

“But-“ she paused, inhaling heavily as he unlocked their door, “I think that’s okay.”

 “Yeah.” He affirmed with a simple shrug, holding the door for her. She met his gaze, feeling his steady presence, his mood an even and content glow in the Bond. 

She was struck with how much she had come to depend on him to hold her steady. Katsuki had become her lighthouse, directing her back to shore when she got swept away by the current of life.

“That’s a weird analogy, but yeah I guess.” He said, surprising her at the fact he was reading her thoughts, “and you’re my nuclear control rod.”

Ochako burst out laughing, “I’m your what?!?”

 “Control rod.” He reiterated, face screwing up in confusion, “You know, the thing that stops nuclear reactors from getting too hot?”

Ochako pursed her lips in an attempt to hold back her laughter. He glared.

“Yeah okay.” She said, barely containing her mirth at the strange analogy.

“Okay, you don’t get to judge my metaphor when you just called me a lighthouse.” He huffed, pushing past her to enter the apartment- forgoing holding the door for her in offense.

“But, Katsuki- a control rod ?!” She said following him inside shutting the door behind her as he stomped in the general direction of their bedroom, “That’s, like, not even remotely poetic or romantic!”

“Was romantic a requirement for these analogies or some shit?” He shouted from down the hall. Ochako giggled at his sour mood, following him down the hall.

She caught up to him as he stripped out of his shirt, and she admired the way his muscles flexed at the action. The thought had him turning back to send her an alluring smirk as he slowly worked on his belt. Then he seemed to remember the way she’d shut down his weird analogy and his face morphed back into a frown and he whipped back around with a huff.

She stepped up behind him, laying a gentle kiss on his exposed shoulder.

“I’m sorry, it was a… lovely analogy.” She said hiding her smile against his skin, deliberately sending waves of admiration and love his way in the Bond.

He turned around and made a show of meeting her gaze and rolling his eyes. She just kissed his shoulder again more firmly and he paused at the look she was giving him. The Bond shifted and flexed as their moods shifted from playful to a charged sort of tension. 

 He reached up brushing her hair back from her face, then trailed his hand down to cup her cheek. The Bond slowed, beating in time with her heart as it swelled with his adoration. His eyes darted across her expression, softening at the corners as she smiled lightly.

 “I really fucking love you.” He said in a soft mellifluous tone, expression somber.

“I really fucking love you too.” She whispered, quirking a smile before she stepped closer to him. He cracked a small secret smile at her mimic of his bad language. Then it faded and his mood shifted to something more serious.

 

“I’m glad you got a chance to absolutely lose it.” He said it tentatively, as if afraid it would offend her.

“I needed it.” She affirmed.

“Hmmm.” He hummed in response, dropping to place a feather light kiss to her forehead, “I much prefer hysteric, bat-shit crazy Ochako to zombie Ochako—just for future reference.” He mumbled into her skin and Ochako felt the smile in his tone, both on her face and across the Bond.

Ochako let out a chuckle, giving him a squeeze in response. They stayed like that for a few breaths, just… existing together. It was peaceful and contenting.

“…thank you.” She broke the silence, pulling back to catch his gaze. She knew the words weren’t sufficient to impart her gratitude so she sent it to him across the Link, trying to express thanks for everything he’d done this week. For the last month. Hell, for the last several years they’d known each other. He seemed to understand her meaning, giving her brain a light affectionate nuzzle in the Link.

 She rose onto her tiptoes to steal a kiss-

“Yeah, you’re welcome, you sap.” He pushed her face away as she leaned in.

“Rude!” She scoffed as she took a step back.

 “Yeah yeah, you love it.” He gave her a crooked grin and took a few steps backwards before turning and heading into the bathroom. She just gaped after him, half amused and half annoyed.

 “You coming?” He called over his shoulder as she heard the sound of the shower starting.

She rolled her eyes and skipped after him, stripping down as she went, making sure to fling her clothes as sporadically as possible, the way she knew annoyed him.

 

 

The rest of the week off passed in much the same way. Ochako and Katsuki split their time trying to perfect their usage of the Bond and trying to figure out how to diversify their roles within the Bond. They came at the challenge of taking over the other’s body with an intensity that Ochako came to love. There was something about training bar-hold-none with Katsuki that got her heart racing. He was just so focused. The man would NOT give up until he’d achieved his goals. Ochako found it spurred her on as much, if not more, now then it had in the past.

They did their best to avoid the press, knowing that the big stories were two things they didn’t want to have to deal with yet: Shouto’s and Lilly’s deaths and their current relationship status.

Because honestly, there was nothing they could say on the first and the later wasn’t exactly easy to describe. They were somewhere in a weird middle ground between newly dating and having been married for forty years. So yeah, both topics were not something either she or Katsuki particularly wanted to talk about.

 They met up with Kiri and Mina a few times at the gym to train- this time planned encounters. And Ochako made the effort to go see Momo for an afternoon at Katsuki’s not-so-subtle hints that she should go make peace with her friend.

Ochako arrived on the front step of the Todoroki family house. Todoroki had purchased a quaint home on the outskirts of Tokyo once they knew Momo was expecting. Katsuki had stayed home with the rather unhelpful words of ‘she’s your friend.’ Leaving his mouth as consolation. Ochako knew that he meant this was something she needed to do on her own, for herself, but still.

Ochako’s hand shook as she raised it to knock on the solid dark wooden door, but she only had to wait a few moments before it swung open to reveal her dear friend. Momo was rather haggard looking, her hair thrown up into a disaster of bun and Reijuko resting comfortably on her hip, peering at Ochako with wide curious eyes.

He was staring at her with the same mismatched eyes of his father. Ochako stared at the baby in shock, how could she forget he looked so much like Shouto...

“Oh, Ochako?” Momo seemed surprised and puzzled to see her here.

“Hi, Momo…” Ochako snapped her gaze up to her friend, clearing her throat awkwardly. Momo blinked slowly and Ochako noted the large baggy shirt and weathered sweatpants she was wearing. She gulped as she recognized them as likely having belonged to Shouto.

“Erm,” Momo said awkwardly, adjusting her son’s position on her hip, “Why don’t you come in? I’ll put some tea on.”

Without waiting for an answer Momo turned and headed into the home. Ochako followed behind tentatively, taking a deep breath as she closed the door. She could do this. She had  to do this. To apologize for being the reason Momo lost her husband, for why Reiji would grow up without a father… ah fuck. 

 Ochako steeled herself and headed into the familiar house, though it had been months since she’d been here last. It was just as she remembered though, classically decorated and meticulously clean, though there were random bins of baby toys in each room. Ochako stood rather awkwardly in the living room as the sounds of the water running into a metal teapot sounded from the kitchen.

Soon enough, Momo was walking back into the room, a tight smile on her face as the baby pulled on her signature ponytail. Ochako fiddled with her shirt. She needed to just get it over with, Momo deserved better than what she’d given her. 

“Look Momo, I am so sorry for what happened.” Ochako blurted suddenly, “I never anticipated- I, I never thought-“

“Ochako, it’s-“ Momo interrupted, eyes wide with sincerity as she took in Ochako’s expression. Understanding dawned on Momo’s face and she sighed, a sad smile taking residence on her face.

 “Well, it’s not something that can be changed, it’s not your fault. You shouldn’t carry the guilt of this with you.” Momo’s voice softened at the end and Ochako took a deep breath.

 “Yes, that may be, but I still hold a large portion of the responsibility for what happened.” Ochako sighed warily, “I know it’s not all my fault, but I do have some share of the blame- a larger portion than almost anybody and I want, no, I need you to know how sorry I am for that part.”

Momo listened solemnly to Ochako’s story, Reijuko squirmed in his mother's grip.  After a moment she stepped closer and held out Reiji to Ochako, who took him on instinct.

“Ochako, my forgiveness is not going to give you the relief your own forgiveness will.” She commented poignantly, with an almost pitying smile. Ochako felt like lead had been pumped through her veins as her heart sank with the implications of the words.

 The kettle whistled with building intensity and Momo bit her lip, hesitating. 

“But, if it will help you on your own path to acceptance, you should know I never blamed you and have already forgiven you for your part in all this.” With that she turned swiftly and rushed to prepare their tea.

Ochako let the words settle with her, distractedly bouncing her friends’ baby as he babbled contentedly. She pressed her lips together tightly, wishing that she could do as Momo asked, but knowing it was going to take a long time.

Momo returned to the room in short order, holding two steaming tea cups, which she promptly placed on the coffee table. She gestured towards the elegant couches and took a seat and Ochako followed suit, albeit a bit awkwardly as Reiji squirmed.

Momo gave a small chuckle at Ochako’s obvious discomfort and inexperience handling babies.

“You can put him on the rug if you want, there are some toys inside the drawer in the coffee table for him.” Momo instructed.

Ochako gave a rueful smile and gently set Reiji down on the plush rug, opening the small drawer on the side of the table to find a plastic chain with large colorful links. Reiji immediately latched onto it and put it directly into his mouth, chewing contentedly.

 Ochako picked up her teacup, smiling at the fact it was elaborately painted china- saucer and all. It was such a Todoroki household staple, it made her laugh. Only at the Todoroki’s. 

Her smile faded as she was inundated with memories of her time with Shouto in this space. Her eyes started watering and she placed her cup and saucer back down on the coffee table with a loud clink, the china rattling delicately with the force. Momo looked up startled.

 “I- I just…” Ochako started, lump forming in her throat with the emotions, “I just miss him so much. He was such an amazing, p-p-person.” She forced the last bit out.

Momo’s own eyes welled up and she put her own tea down softly, a small exhausted smile forming on her face.

“He really was.” She looked to where their son was rolling around on the floor, “The world was a better place with him in it, undoubtedly. My world was a better place.”

 Ochako took a deep breath in, sitting in the misery she felt, the guilt and sadness all wrapped up in her grief.

“But, he wouldn’t have wanted us to be defeated by this. He would have trudged on, doing his best to fill the void left behind. And we must do the same, in his honor.”

“Yeah, he really adopted that Plus Ultra attitude, didn’t he,” Ochako joked, somewhat morosely. To her surprise Momo laughed in earnest.

“God, It will be too soon if I never hear that again. I rue the day Izuku inspired Sho to that level of enthusiasm!” Momo chuckled at the thought, wiping the unshed tears from where they had collected in her eyes.

Ochako joined in her friend's laughter, which doubled when Reiji started giggling in a high pitched voice, reaching for his mother. Momo smiled in that sweet, fully enamored way mother’s look at their children and scooped him up, peppering him with kisses that only served to cause the baby to descend into another set of uncontrollable giggles.

“I’m retiring from hero work.” Momo said suddenly, gaze still attached to her child’s face.

Ochako nodded, slightly shocked by the announcement.

“I just can’t-“ Momo paused thoughtfully, frowning, “I can’t risk him losing us both, you know?”

Momo looked up at Ochako, eyes imploring her to understand.

“I think that is very brave of you to do.” Ochako said, “To sacrifice your dream for Reiji.”

Momo hummed noncommittally, then paused to push Reiji’s wild black hair back from his face.

“He is my dream now.” She whispered quietly. 

“What are you going to do?” Ochako asked curiously, knowing that Momo’s quirk offered her a wide range of job opportunities- that and the fact she likely had enough money to live for the rest of her life without having to work gave the woman a remarkable set of options.

“I don’t know.” Momo shrugged, “I think I’ll likely raise this little monster for a few years- at least until he’s in school- then I’ll get a job doing something else. Maybe teaching.” 

“You would be an incredible teacher.” Ochako breathed, picturing Momo at UA, teaching young heroes the art of hero work. Momo glanced over and smiled brightly.

“It is certainly an option.” She said contentedly, “For now, I want to spend as much time with Reiji as I can.”

“I think that’s wonderful Momo.” Ochako said.

“Yes well, You’ll just have to pick up my slack.” Momo’s gaze turned dead serious, “You need to catch these guys and make sure they see justice.”

 Ochako felt her light mood leave her at the somber nature the discussion had taken. In some ways, she felt helpless to do as Momo requested—after all it was exactly what they’d been trying to do. Trying and failing miserably for months at this point.

 “We’ll do it.” Ochako swore. Momo’s gaze darted around Ochako’s face then she nodded in confirmation, apparently happy with what she found.

 “Alright then.” Momo whispered before abruptly changing the topic, “Would you like to see how I’ve redone the nursery?”

“I would love to!” Ochako said enthusiastically, fond memories of the multitude of renovations she’d seen Momo do over their years as friends. 

Ochako and Momo spent the majority of the afternoon together, their time shifting away from the touchy topic of Shouto’s death and instead focusing on the future. While Ochako didn’t feel like the guilt and sadness of Shouto’s death would ever disappear fully, she felt better after talking to Momo. She, while clearly utterly heartbroken, was looking forward to her future with her son and not dwelling on the past. The woman was truly incredible, it inspired Ochako to do the same. As awful as it was, Ochako felt like she now had permission to lay her guilt to rest, like Momo’s forgiveness was the last barrier between her and moving on .

Perhaps that was too romantic of a notion, but Ochako did feel loads better as she walked back into Katsuki’s apartment that evening.

 Or she did until she saw Katsuki seated, arms crossed on the couch, his face drawn down in a pensive frown.

“What is it?!” She asked urgently, diving into the Link tasting his conflicting anger and trepidation. He schooled his face into a more neutral position at her concern with a huff.

“Kirishima called, Aizawa is planning a sting.” He said flatly. Ochako skrewed up her face in confusion.

 “What? Why didn’t we-“ then it hit her. Aizawa hadn’t wanted them to know. He was excluding them from the sting.

  oh..Ouch.

Yeah kinda fucked up. I can’t decide if I’m mad or totally get his perspective. We don’t have the best track record…

Ochako tossed her bag rather roughly in the corner of the room. She began pacing in irritated thought.

On the one hand, the last three- no four- times they’d clashed with the villains they had royally screwed up. All culminating in the death of one of Japan’s top heroes. So yeah, she could see how Aizawa had been inclined to cut the common denominator. He had been asking them to get their Link in order for literally months, which they still didn’t have down.

 On the other hand, this was their fight; Goddamn it! They’ve been drug through the mud, battered down and fucked up so much it was basically their right to see this through. Besides, she doubted they’d ever feel fully in control of the Bond. It had its own life, it controlled them as much as they controlled it. It had been foolish to even try to believe they would ever control it like their other quirks.

Through her pacing Katsuki watched with narrowed eyes, waiting to see where her thoughts would conclude. Clearly, he was waiting to see if they agreed.

 “I refuse to be a liability.” She finally stated, halting in front of Katsuki’s position on his couch.

 He merely cocked a brow in question.

“We need to fix this. We fucked it up, we’re gonna clean it up.” She continued, watching the smirk growing on his mouth as she spoke, her resolve solidifying in the Link between them.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do then.” He said standing up, smirking down at her. Ochako grinned back.

Best get your ass moving then.

 

Notes:

Whew! Okay I am still trying to get this done in two weeks (wish me luck). I have neuology finals this week (RIP my brain) so idk if it's gonna happen, but I will try my best!
I finally went through and updated chapter titles:
chapter 29 by Catharanthus
Chapter 30 by Bryndela
Chapter 31 by ETNRL4L

Thank you all for title suggestions and for all the amazing comments!
Sending love!!!
-Pixels

Chapter 33: Full Circle

Ochako let out a slow breath, watching as it condensed in the chilled night air in a puff of fog. As she crouched in her designated location, she was thankful she’d decided to disguise herself with a thick green bomber jacket and scarf, if not for the ‘notice me not’ design then for the warmth it provided. The minutes of freezing inactivity while she watched the hospital from behind the corner of a large brick building a block away from the Emergency Department entrance had solidified the notion that summer was indeed over. Several floors above her Katsuki mirrored her position as he crouched on the roof surrounded by equipment he was using to try and get into the Task Forces audio and video feeds.

They’d been waiting, watching for both the villains and task force for hours at this point, chatting back and forth through the Link. Katsuki had managed to hack the video feed a few minutes ago and realized the Taskforce was located not even three floors below his position. Ochako would be lying if she said she wasn’t jealous of her colleague's access to a heated space.

Just then Ochako watched as the door to the building she was hiding behind creaked open to reveal: nothing. It swung shut in the next moment, the alley apparently unchanged. Ochako knew better.

I spot movement in the alley next to the ED entrance, it’s Hagakure.

Ochako sent the thought to Katsuki as she attempted to predict the invisible figure’s movements, a difficult task given the only indication of her presence was the slight movement of gathered leaves in the gutter of the street. Hagakure was, after all, nearly impossible to spot if one didn’t know what to look for. 

Good, Aizawa must be moving forward with the sting. They must have confirmation that this hospital is the target tonight.

Any noise from inside?

Nah, they’re oblivious. I doubt Aizawa told anyone but the highest-ranking administrators about the plan. Too risky.

She and Katsuki had set up surveillance on the hospital, who for the most part were oblivious to the Task Force’s sting operation as far as Katsuki had been able to tell. They we’re going about normal shift work, their phones and internal messaging system not betraying any sort of unusual chatter.

Right. Okay I’m heading in, you good?

Yeah I fucking got this, I’ll let you know if I get past the Task Force’s audio encryption.

And you’re sure they don’t have eyes on the higher floors of the hospital?

Yes, Ochako, I’m pretty fucking sure. Stop second guessing. Like I said four minutes ago, they don’t have any cameras up there. I think Aizawa’s just watching the main entrances and those around the pharmacies.

Ochako let out a nervous breath. If anyone had told her six months ago she’d be sneaking past her fellow heroes against explicit orders to stay out of it, she would have laughed.

But this was the right thing to do. She and Katsuki had grown leaps and bounds since their last confrontation, maybe not to the degree they wanted. They still hadn’t managed to flip their roles, but it was at the point where they had built enough skill to temporarily set in should they need to. A sort of mental duct tape for anything that could go wrong- not perfect but enough for now. They could handle it, despite Aizawa’s insistence they couldn’t.

She and Katsuki both agreed if the suspicion that the Nukona’s were doped up due to a newly formed Link was true, then she and Katsuki may be the only ones able to take them down. There were just too many intricacies of a Bond, too many loopholes that could make them more difficult to pin down that she and Katsuki were uniquely qualified to combat. So while she didn’t want to go behind the Task Force’s back, she had to do this.

With that final thought Ochako pressed a hand to her chest, relieved most of her gravity and began scaling the building that conveniently lined up with a balcony garden on the seventh floor of the hospital. She made sure to stick to the blind spots of the Task Force’s camera system, curtesy of Katsuki’s hacked information.

Soon enough she was lined up seven floors up, clinging to a window eve facing the hospital’s rooftop garden, balcony thing. The task force and Katsuki were still several stories above her at this level. She took a breath, steeling herself for the jump, calculations and trajectories running through her mind. The gap between the buildings was substantial, but not anything Ochako couldn’t easily cross. It was just making sure she could do so without being seen.

She was, as usual, immensely grateful for Katsuki’s general attitude towards stressful situations. He was a steady anchor of focus and tamed excitement in contrast to her nervous and clumsy energy. It was remarkable how much less her hands shook in tense moments like this with his easy influence. 

She felt his mental scoff at her musings as she landed ever so gently on the railing of the hospital balcony. Her head swiveled as she looked for any witnesses and was relieved to find the rooftop garden empty save for a few trees and sad tomato bushes that had begun withering as the weather slowly shifted from summer to fall. 

She reduced the action of her quirk on herself to a minimal level so she was just light enough to walk in an almost silent fashion as she headed towards the large double glass doors that lead into the building. Bright white fluorescents pierced the darkness outside, illuminating the occasional hospital staff member or doctor walking swiftly through the hallway.

Ochako hung back until the coast was clear in either direction, before slipping inside the building, a shiver raising goosebumps as the refrigerated air and stale hospital stench hit her.

Okay step one was done. Now to just head down to the primary pharmacy and avoid any sort of notice from either staff or the Task Force. No biggie. Just the entirety of professional heroes in high alert watching every possible entrance to any of the pharmacies.

Stop being nervous. You are well disguised, the only way you’d get recognized is if you start acting weird. So stop acting weird.

Katsuki, we’ve been over this: telling people to be calm is not helpi-

She was interrupted by a tidal wave of calm focus that Katsuki unceremoniously all but shoved at her across the Bond.

Fucking happy?

The tone of the thought was more annoyed than he was actually feeling, making Ochako’s face crinkle in amusement, despite her irritation.

Actually yes, you ass. Any luck with the Task Force’s coms? I could really use a location of Hagakure, she’s a sneaky one.

I should fucking hope so, her whole brand is being the sneaky motherfucker that-

Katsuki, the comms?

Oh yeah, nah Aizawa must be hella paranoid about being hacked, it’s been a while since they’ve put this much security in place.

I don’t blame him, I would have done the same thing if we were working with them.

Sure, but it’s still pretty fucking annoying from this side of things.

Ochako didn’t reply, only sending an impression of rolling her eyes as she proceeded down the hall, following the signs for the stairs. They were all on the same side here, it was a good thing the Task Force was being so careful.

The pharmacy that the task force was expecting to be hit was located in the emergency department, as evidenced by Hagakure being sent in that general direction. Which was all the way on the ground floor, seven sets of stairs down from Ochako’s current position.

She quickly arrived at the entrance to the stairwell and subtly looked around to see if anyone was watching her movements, moderately relieved to find the hall to be empty. Good. She hurriedly stepped into the stairwell, the sound of the door snapping shut echoing up and down the vertical space.

A quick look down the stairwell’s central clearing confirmed that was empty, and Ochako gave a moment’s pause to listen for any footsteps before she leapt over the handrail. The drop of her stomach from the fall made her purse her lips to contain the involuntary shriek. Even though she was slightly lighter than normal, it never failed to give her stomach a lurch of excitement. Two stories before the ground level she decreased her momentum and swung back over the railing to land on her feet. And people said elevators were faster than the stairs. Pssh.

The sound of a door opening echoed down the stairwell and Ochako hustled to the door that lead out to the ground floor, taking the remaining two floors of stairs as quickly and quietly as she could. She tugged her scarf further up her face, making sure to hide her distinctive rosy cheeks, something Katsuki had insisted was an easily identifiable trait of hers (she disagreed, her cheeks were totally normal, he just had a weird obsession with them.)

One more deep breath and she was pushing the door open and stepping into a much busier floor. People were hastily walking around or anxiously pacing back and forth. As she looked around the hallway she saw the signs for the ED leading off to her right and the radiology department to her left. Revisiting her memory of the layout of the hospital she recalled that going through the ED was a much more convoluted pathway, but one that she was less likely to be spotted in. The Radiology department was more straightforward but ran the risk of someone realizing she shouldn’t be there.

What do you think? It’s pretty busy, more than we expected.

Go left. The sooner you’re positioned the better. Do you have a lab coat yet?

No! I haven’t seen any just lying around.

At the reminder she glanced around the hall, before setting off to the left, towards radiology.

“Code blue. Emergency 7. Code blue.” The overhead speaker started, repeating several times in a strangely calm and mildly robotic tone. A man in bright green scrubs opened a side door letting in a breeze of crisp air and the smell of freshly smoked cigarettes. Ochako kept her head down, trying to appear as innocuous as possible.

Well hurry up, there’s no fucking way you can get in without a white coat-

Katsuki, I know. We went over this like a million times-

Then get it done!

“Code blue. Emergency 7. Code blue.” The overhead repeated and Ochako ducked out of the way as several people in scrubs rushed past her.

 Ochako fumed at his attitude. Easy for him to say all snug on a roof a literal block away from the hospital in his hero costume ready to barge in after she did all the hard work.

Okay rude, I am also doing some fucking hard work! When was the last time you hacked an encryption?!

The overhead continued to repeat the code and Ochako was thankful for the distraction for the staff. Made her less suspicious.

Ochako ignored Katsuki’s comments as she worked her way around the radiology department, the doctors and nurses giving her progressively more suspicious looks as she got further away from the main hallway. She needed to find a white coat soon or else just hope she didn’t get called out on being in the wrong place.

With a stroke of luck rivaling that of Izuku, she passed an open door only to stop and back track, looking at the open office after seeing a flash of white. She grinned at what she saw in the open room, a white coat was haphazardly draped across a chair next to a sparce desk. Ochako glanced around the hallway, thanking the gods that no one was in sight as she hustled into the office, one that upon further inspection looked to be a shared space of anyone on shift, and grabbed the white coat.

She shucked her outer green jacket and scarf, stuffing them in a random drawer and saying a regrettable goodbye, she had really liked that jacket. Then she shoved her arms through the arms of the jacket that, according to the embroidered name belonged to Jack Friedsay PA-C. It definitely did not fit her correctly; she was absolutely swimming in the thing. There was also a mysterious and highly suspicious brown stain in the lower right pocket. Great.

She strolled out of the office, subtly rolling her sleeves as she looked around the hallway. Once she didn’t look like a child playing dress up in the massive coat, she flipped her hair out of the collar as she walked. Upon further inspection the white coat also had the faint smell of BO, burnt rubber and what could only be described as ‘strep throat breath’. Ochako sighed, cursing her luck.

I got in! And the task force has no idea. Damn I’m good.  

Ochako squinted through the ego trip Katsuki was currently experiencing, regrettably admitting that breaking into the Task Force’s comms was, in actuality, pretty impressive. It was annoying that his ego was warranted in this case, though she also felt a swell of pride at how much a badass he could be sometimes.

Excellent! I got a…suitable?...White-ish coat…

Why is that in the form of a question?

You don’t wanna know.

Whatever. Coms says that See-Through is stationed in the pharmacy, watching all the entrances. No suspicious activity, though I guess some nurses absolutely scared the shit out of her a few minutes ago looking for epinephrine.

She always was a little jumpy, I’m sure she’s a bit freaked out by being alone on the front lines right now.  

As she spoke with Katsuki she walked with confident strides towards the pharmacy, hoping she remembered the way there correctly.

  Send an impression of the hospital map? First floor?

Yeah, give me a sec to look at the map again.

Ochako waited a few seconds before he sent an impression of the map; a strange all-amost image. It was like looking at an image through a distorting lens. Recognizable but not the same. His impression-map was easy enough to figure out, while it had strange proportions and random emphasis about what was north and south, it more or less affirmed that she was on the right path.

Got it. Thanks, I’m like five minutes away from the pharmacy, what’s happening on comms?

Nothing much, they’re just going around reporting on the surroundings. They don’t know you’re there, though they did just note a doctor entering the West hall, which I presume was you?

Yeah, that was me.

Right. Let me know when-

Yup will do.

The Link fell silent again as she moved further into the hospital, passing stressed-out nurses and doctors who glanced at her quickly before glancing away, too busy or sleep deprived to question her strange appearance.

Sooner than she realized she was approaching a door labeled ‘Pharmacy’…. With a locked door and keypad. Crap.

Uhh Katsuki, there’s a keypad. I don’t have the combo.

Try 1234 or 0000.

Katsuki, there is no way that the staff would be so lazy-

They one hundred percent are that lazy. It’s like a fucking rule that systems with this many staff have easy passwords. Only one nursing student has to fuck up before they change all the passwords to easy shit.

Ochako doubted Katsuki, but felt swayed by his unwavering confidence and did as he suggested.

1, 2, 3, 4 followed by # and to Ochako’s sublime surprise, the red light on the keyboard flipped to green.

Oh you’ve got to be freaking kidding me.

She felt Katsuki’s amusement and mental snickers.

They really should not have such a simple password.

Whatever, we can tell them that when this is over.

The door swung inwards and Ochako held her breath, listening for activity, only to be met with oppressive silence. She took a step into the room and drew a deep breath before she did the most risky part of the plan: getting Hagakure to disobey orders.

“Thoru?” Ochako whispered into the empty pharmacy.

Silence filled the space.

 “What the hell are you doing here?!” came the harshly whispered reply right next to Ochako’s left ear, causing her to start in surprise.

“Eek!” Ochako exclaimed as the door clicked back into place whirring to look where Hagakure’s disembodied voice had sounded, finding the space predictably empty.

 “I’m here for the same reason as you.” Ochako placated.

“You shouldn’t be here, you can’t- You could jeopardize the whole mission!” Hagakure’s voice sounded from an apparently open space in front of Ochako, “I’ve got to report this-“

 

“No!” Ochako said slightly louder than intended then swallowed, feeling Hagakure hesitate, “Don’t. I can help. Come on, I’ll be decoy. Let them think I’m acting alone- which I am and then you can nail them. They have to be expecting something to happen. They’ve been stealing for weeks now.”

Ochako talked quickly in hushed tones, knowing that she was on borrowed time. Even if she convinced Hagakure, there was still the likelihood that the villains would enter soon and if they were taken off guard… well then it was all over.

The silence was tense and Ochako could feel Katsuki pushing on her mind at the suspended state of tension in the Link.

Then she heard Hagakure sigh with a high-pitched whine.

“Fine!” Hagakure whispered, “You can stay but I am going to tell the Task Force you’re here. They won’t intervene at this point- it’s too risky. You better be right about this Ochako!”

 Ochako nodded furiously in the general direction she thought her friend was.

 “I will.” She said as the invisible hero began talking quickly into her comms, informing the Task Force that she was there.

They know that we’re both here now. They’re sending someone to look for me to try and get you out of the mix before the villains show up. I gotta move.

Go. I’ll be okay, but stay close just in case.

Always.

Ochako blushed, briefly absorbed by the feelings of admiration and that unique ‘of-course’ love she and Katsuki had in the Bond, before she remembered where she was.

She cringed at her inattention and moved further into the room, this time making sure to look at the labels of the medications on the shelves. She had no idea where Hagaukre had moved, but she was not taking any chances with these villains and moved through the shelves of medications searching for what she knew they were after.

She paused when she finally found what she was looking for: a series of vials labeled ‘morphine’. She was certain this is what the villains would be after, and if not morphine specifically, certainly the other opiate drugs that were locked in the cabinet next to the morphine stores.

Placing herself behind the morphine shelf, Ochako began behaving like she was checking medications. It was a front to look like she belonged here, should anyone walk in or the villains appear. She could only hope it worked.

She was slightly distracted by the subtle increase in anxiety in the Bond as Katsuki moved further from her. She tried to focus on the thrill of adrenaline he was feeling from the situation instead. There was a tension in the air and Ochako willed her hand not to shake as she picked up a random vial for “inspection”.

Then, out of nowhere the silence was broken by a fizzling cracking sound.

Ochako’s head shot up at the noise just as the teleport Quirk appeared in the small pharmacy room. Ochako’s jaw fell open and she froze in shock as she realized she’d never heard the woman’s quirk, only having seen the woman teleport during the cacophony of battle. The woman, who looked somehow gaunter than she had previously, with hair hanging limply around frail shoulders, seemed to not have noticed Ochako.

The woman shuffled forwards toward the morphine shelf, looking like she was half unconscious, and Ochako snapped her jaw shut, thrusting a hand through the shelf as the woman approached the morphine. Vials clattered to the floor as the woman finally looked past her objective, meeting Ochako’s gaze through the shelving. The woman’s eyes widened and the air fizzled as Ochako’s hand wrapped around the stick-thin outstretched wrist of the teleporter.

Then Ochako felt her body twisting and stretching as she was teleported out of the pharmacy, Hagakure’s frantic shouts echoing in her mind.

 

 

 

 

 

Katsuki’s head whipped towards the hospital as he felt Ochako’s anticipation and fear spike dramatically in the Bond. Then there was a split second where Ochako just disappeared from his awareness. He froze in his position of being half on and half off an office desk at the sensation.

What the fuck- he thought right as she popped back into the Bond some miles away in a different direction from the hospital. It clicked at that moment. He knew exactly what had happened and was abandoning his objective of hiding within the building to getting to her location as fast as fucking possible.

 The teleporter had showed up and dipped, taking Ochako with her.

  KATSUKI I just-

I know! Where are you?! Any clues? landmarks, street names- fucking architecture style?!

I’m south of you! Uh inside a warehouse! There here, the Nukona’s are her Fucking detain them, I’ll be there soon. Keep- fucking I don’t know- broadcasting in the Link as he attempted to out a name to the awareness he had of her location, her mind’s position, relative to his, suddenly became clearer, brighter. Yeah like that! Don’t fucking stop! Let me know when you’re close, I can catch you!

He felt her affirmation and her absolute fear and he ran across the office layout of the fifth floor of the building he was in. Fuck the stairs, he needed to be airborne, like, five minutes ago. He desperately clung to her mind across the distance the separated them, and he hurled himself through the glass. He felt the shard slice through his skin but ignored the stinging sensation as he let off a massive blast, barely hearing the frantic chatter in his hacked comms unit:

“Ochako grabbed the teleport quirk! They’re gone!”

“What do you mean they’re-“

“-Obviously they teleported away-”

“-You all hear that explosion right, do you think it’s Bakugou? It-“

“-Obviously it’s him, follow him! Come on MOVE!”

“On it!”

“What about Hagakure?”

“It doesn’t-“

 

Bakugou ripped the ear piece out after he’d steadied his flight trajectory, placing the device safely in his pocket. The idiots of the Task Force could follow him as closely as they wanted, but there was no way they could get there faster than he could and Ochako needed him now.

Katsuki, Shino is here, so’s the Shield Quirk, magma and Strong Quirks. I don’t know how much longer I can keep Shino from taking my quirk away.

Got it. Fucking hold on, I’ll be there in 2 minutes.

At the thought he loosed another massive chain of explosions, propelling himself even faster. Panic started to set in at the thought of her facing the villains alone. Again. Fuck.

They heard that! Crap! Shino is-

And she blipped out of existence again, presumably because of Shino’s erasure quirk. He just hoped they hadn’t figured out the smart play would be to teleport her at this moment, when he couldn’t see where she popped back into existence… He had to believe she could hold her own for sixty more seconds.

He hurled through the skies, exposed skin stinging at the force of the wind. Some part of his brain considered the fact he likely hadn’t gone this fast before, but was quickly overtaken with a need to get to Ochako as fast as possible.

Suddenly Ochako popped back into the Link, position blinking back into awareness. They thought in quick succession, understanding their time may be limited.

  Glass windows on the ceiling. I’m on the southern side with Shino and Strong Quirk, Nukona’, Shield quirk and Magma Quirk north side. Brace. 30 seconds.  I’ll catch you. Almost there… 15 seconds. Look out for the steel support beams on your way down. In that case look out for molten steel as I come down. Katsuki I really don’t think-

And sure enough, she popped back out of the Bond, flaming his nerves into a frenzy.

 Part of him was tempted to just come hurling into the warehouse at the breakneck speed he was, knowing the fallout of the explosions needed to decelerate would likely take down at least one of their enemies, but Ochako being there complicated things, he would have to carefully manage the collateral damage so the south side of the building wasn’t affected.

He slowed slightly, the explosions jerking him as they ripped from his palms just before he hit the glass windows lining the top of the warehouse, shattering the panes with the shock wave.

He covered his face as he fell through the newly made opening in the glass ceiling, unfurling just as Ochako came back into the Bond, more prominent now that they were back in the same area. He had just enough time to blast out of the way of an incoming steel beam as Ochako screamed at him in the Bond. He felt his stomach pull as she activated her quirk on herself- presumably jumping to catch him.

HAND!

He reached out instinctively, having no actual concrete idea where she was, but trusting she would get to him.

He fell, blindly trusting her to catch him, he felt her hand fall into his, grasping firmly as all five finger pads made contact, yanking his momentum away with a jarring jerk somewhere above the ground.

 

“ARG!” Ochako screamed and he felt her shoulder pop out of her socket in an excruciating flair of pain as his momentum flung them in a spinning trajectory.

 She was starting to slow their momentum, but wasn’t doing it fucking fast enough and the combination of their spinning velocity with her extreme demand on her quirk was threatening to make him void his entire stomach contents.

 He made the executive decision to yank her to him and he felt her already unstable joint being pulled farther out of place.

 “FUCKIN!” He yelled and Ochako seemed too beyond the point of words, just letting out a sobbing scream.

White hot pain threatened to blind him, but he stuck to the plan and, thank gods, she seemed to instinctively get the idea as she wrapped around his body with her functioning limbs.

Explosions burst from his heated palms as he forcibly stabilized them both and the world stopped spinning mere milliseconds after she’d caught him. Some seriously fucking nauseating seconds later.

Katsuki had approximately one deep breath in to get his baring’s before the villains were on them. Ochako had ended up in a massive worn-down warehouse, empty save for the villains spread inside. He realized that he and Ochako were floating a few feet off the ground, while the Strong Quirk and Magma fucker rushed them from two sides. He could see the Nukonas sitting back a bit to the left while Shino and the teleport Quirk hovered to the right, throwing their leaders with wide-eyed glances.  Six on two.

We are so fucked.

“Release!” Ochako said in place of a reply and they dropped to the ground. At least they had the element of surprise on their side. That alone gave them seconds to get Ochako back in working order before they’d be engaged in combat. It wasn’t a lot, but it was fucking something.

Get my shoulder- exhale NOW.   Before she could finish the thought, he was forcing her shoulder back into the socket, earning sharp sparks of pain across the Link and an agonized wail from Ochako.

He decided to give her 10 seconds to recover before he expected her to help him fend off these fuckers, settling into a defensive pose in front of her. He could hold them off for ten seconds, for her sake. He took a deep breath, eyes flicking between the two charging villains. Who would get here first?

The Strong Quirk squatted, launching himself towards them with his superpowered strength. In all his gross greasy horror, for fucks sake, did this guy not know about soap or something? Regardless Katsuki had his answer: Strong Quirk it was.

Katsuki went low, thrusting a hand up under where the greasy looking villain was jumping above him and set off an explosion so hot it burned blue. The explosion flamed to life just under the strong villain as he got in range. The heat of the explosion caused a rapid updraft that forced the villain higher in the air, messing up his planned trajectory. The villain flew above his and Ochako’s heads, arms flailing in surprise. Katsuki smirked at the sight of his stump, a reminder that they’d beat these fuckers before.

Katsuki wasted no time and whirred to the opposite side to face the Magma user with a frown. He knew this villain was a bad match for his quirk. Explosions plus fire equalled a nuclear reactor meltdown. Not good. But Ochako needed time to recover, so he’d have to fucking figure it out.

Joke was on him though, because just as Katsuki braced to fight fire with fire, Ochako slammed her hand to the ground under their feet, ripping the gravity from the two-foot-thick concrete floor in a 50 foot radius around them, destabilizing the Magma quirk. She’d recovered in virtually no time at all. The Villain’s glowing orifices formed into an expression of surprise as his footing was abruptly ripped from under him into floating meteors of fucking death.

 Katsuki stared in amazement at the pained, back-to-the-wall, fuck-it-all, sheer-guts of an expression Ochako wore as she fucking growled at the villain.

She had fucking growled. Like some sort of feral goddess from worlds previously unknown.

What the fuck.

He loved her so much.

This was not an appropriate time to get a hard on.

Katsuki felt their minds falling into place next to, on top of and overlapping as they aligned their thoughts in preparation for battle. Thinking with her became as easy as breathing.

In the split seconds that it took for Ochako to release her quirk on the concrete slabs she’d sent into orbit seconds earlier, they’d orchestrated their next moves through the Link. They crouched, readying for their next move just as the hailstorm of pain Ochako’d unleashed fell back to the Earth.

 Ready?Fucking born ready.

Ochako jumped up, grasping Katsuki’s outstretched hand with her uninjured arm, relieving their gravity as Katsuki fired an explosion from his free hand at an angle that would send him rotating around the axis Ochako’s mid-air position provided. She huffed as she added her strength to his rotation, effectively using him like a bomb-powered hammer on the Magma Quirk, who was just now recovering his footing from the falling chucks of the floor.

Katsuki grinned as he sucker-punched the leaking fuckface at something that certainly felt like 50 miles an hour, though that was just a rough estimate. He felt the villain’s face crack under his fist and grinned widely at the absolute spew of lava that exploded from the guy's face. It was like popping a particular villainous zit; God it was so fucking satisfying.

Wasting no momentum, Ochako and Katsuki jointly turned their attention to the gaping Nukonas, who were watching the exchange of blows from behind the magma user with open jaws.

Kattsuki by this point had rotated all the way around to plant his feet on the freshly settled ground. Ochako released her quirk then quickly reactivated it on herself, allowing him to fling Ochako’s weightless form with their preserved momentum. And fling her he did, right at the fuck faces responsible for this whole fucking mess.

As their hands slipped apart, he felt their connection in the Link loosen somewhat; their thoughts separating again to the point that he could tell they were actually two separate people rather than one organism.

  We have to separate the Nukonas! If we focus our attacks on injuring one, we can fuck ‘em both up because of their Link! exactly! No fucking duh!

Ochako abruptly flipped in the air, now heading feet first through the air. Katsuki squinted, just now realizing why: The Shield Quirk had flickered to life, the mostly transparent orb of her shield now between Ochako and the Nukona’s. Don’t be an asshole!  He felt Ochako release her quirk on herself and brace as she impacted the impenetrable force field with both her feet. Watch your fucking language Cheeks!

As they spoke across the Bond, Katsuki swiveled to face the Strong Quirk, who at this point had landed from his botched jump and was staring at the crumpled form of his ally on the ground with an open mouth.

Katsuki grinned maliciously. Oh, this would be fun.

“Ready for round two?” Katsuki taunted as he shook out his shoulder, which was still sore from phantom pain of Ochako’s dislocation.

“Fuck you!” The Strength Quirk’s dumbfounded expression morphed into one of Fury and he launched towards Katsuki in a reckless attack.

Katsuki, recognizing the technique as one he had favored for many years, opted to duck and weave around the superpowered punches, knowing this technique was basically useless if it didn’t hit.  Fucking amateur.

“Could you- just – GAH!” The greasy villain yelled between punches as Katsuki dodged.

“Having trouble there big guy? Guess your hair is not the only thing that’s slippery today.” Katsuki cackled at the offended look blooming on the villain's face.  Katsuki continued to dodge, building up the sweat in his palms, siphoning it off into his gauntlets while he made a plan.

As he danced around the Strong Quirk, Katsuki did some quick recon. Lava Leaker was TKO. Eraser Quirk and Teleporter were both off a bit in the side of the warehouse that was in front of him, behind Strong fucker, watching in suspended hesitation. Not a threat. He could tell they were both just buffs, used in the group to make the real heavy hitters stronger.

  What’s the plan? He felt her frustration as she tried to get past the Shield to get to the villainous couple. She was watching his mind work in the Link, deferring to him for a game plan. Great no pressure or anything. Hold the fuck on, I’m thinking!

He flipped his gaze to the other side of the warehouse as he dodged a rather desperate kick from the Strong Quirk. Ochako had both the Nukonas and the Shield Quirk. The Nukona couple seemed to be fiddle fucking around, the woman was pressing her hand to the ground desperately while the man death glared at the battle in front of them. Their eyes both had the unfocused sheen of someone not fully in control of their mind. He couldn’t tell if it was from the pain or if they were wasted on morphine. Two sides of the same coin as far as he was concerned—they were not able to fight.  A solid time-buyer if he ever saw one, but it wouldn’t last. They’d figure out how to get into the battle soon enough. Or the teleporter would zip them away before Ochako or he could get past their lackeys.

They were out numbered as fuck. And just about out of time. They needed to apprehend the villains as soon as possible, but both he and Ochako were barely hanging on, occupied by their own battles.

Katsuki sighed, knowing exactly what he needed to do, but resenting the fact he needed to do it. Ochako picked up on his intentions across the Link and vehemently supported it.

Do it! We need help!  

I’m not just gonna ditch you-

I’ve got it, Go!

With a growl of irritation Katsuki thrust both his palms at the Strong Quirk, who’s eyes widened in the glow of the imminent explosion.

Then Katsuki literally exploded himself away from the battle.

The twin explosions sent shockwaves through the building, shaking the walls as Katsuki blew himself back through one of said walls and out into the adjacent alley with a pained grunt. That never got any fucking less painful to do.

His ears rang with the aftermath of his forced ejection from the battle and he could feel Ochako’s disorientation through the Bond, only hoping the villains were equally off balance. He violently dug the comms unit out of his pocket and shoved it into his ear, flipping the signal to broadcast, no longer just listening in.

“YOU ASSHOLES BETTER HAVE HEARD THAT AND BE ON YOUR WAY!” he yelled, not sure how loud his voice was and opting to just scream it as loud as he could, just in case.

To be super sure the Task Force got the signal he knelt and braced with himself with a grimace. Then he fired off a huge projectile flare from his gauntlets that climbed some 200 feet into the air from his position. The column of explosions easily cleared the top of the warehouse and most of the surrounding buildings. His version of a flare gun.

If those fuckers couldn’t find them at this point, there was no helping their idiocy.

Wasting no more precious time on calling for backup, he got a running start before launching himself back into the building with a propelling blast, skirting along the top pavement. He ignored the dazed looking Strong Quirk and veered towards the left where Ochako was in hand to hand combat with the Shield Quirk, desperately trying to land a hand on the woman.

Just as he reached Ochako, he felt the hair on the back of his arms raise to attention in forewarning…A familiar sense of existential dread hit him with the force of a freight train and Katsuki knew he had to get himself and Ochako out of there .

Deku was incoming. He was incoming fucking fast.

Changing direction on the fly from where he was aiming for the Shield’s legs, he instead reached out, looping an arm around Ochako’s waist yanking her backwards and blasting them both backwards a good 30 feet. He felt their necks whiplash at his violent change of velocity.

What the hell Katsuki she sent a confused questioning impression in the Link.

He didn’t have time to explain.

CRACK!

Deku slammed through the ceiling with the speed and deafening BOOM of a lightning strike. The blur of pressurized energy that Deku had created with his speed, slammed right into the Shield Quirk. Right where he and Ochako would have been had he not changed their directions not even half a second earlier.

He felt Ochako’s shock as the force of Deku’s impact sent the Shield at least ten feet into the ground in less than a second, her force field quirk shattering under the pressure.

The sound of Deku’s air strike rivaled the sound of his most powerful explosion, once again rendering everyone in the warehouse deaf.

Fucking Deku. Katsuki had just started to get his hearing back. For fucks sake. 

Deku leapt out of the crater he’d created before Katsuki and Ochako, eyes flipping between the two of them with an unreadable expression before his eyes focused on something over their shoulders. Deku’s eyes widened in warning. Katsuki knew that look.

Up, now!

Ochako didn’t need to be told twice, because he felt her hand slap his back and he was blasting them up just as the teleport bitch appeared where they had been, arms outstretched as if she thought she was going to grasp them.

Drop!

“Release!” Ochako’s shout was muffled through the ringing in his ears, but he got the message, lifting one arm above his head to propelling them down while aiming one at their feet to fry the Teleport Quirk.

 The misleadingly frail looking woman looked up in surprise, eye wide before she blipped out of existence just as Katsuki’s explosion ripped from his palms.

“FUCK!” Katsuki screamed in frustration and he and Ochako landed roughly on the pavement. Historically speaking, things went to shit the second the teleporting witch disappeared.

“You should not be here, Kacchan!” Deku’s annoying voice pierced the slowly diminishing ringing of his eardrums.

 “Like fuck I’m not!” Katsuki snarled as he whirred around, seeing Deku crouched to slap quirk suppression cuff on the unconscious Lava freak.

 “You are not mentally fit to be in battle right now, you need to take Ochako and get out of here!” Deku countered, puffing his chest and stepping into Katsuki’s space. The asshole.

“We don’t have time for this bullshit, you need our help!” Katsuki fired back.

“I am the Number One Hero and the rest of the-“ Deku started to say before Ochako interrupted him.

“Stop bickering!” Ochako shouted at them and Katsuki felt a lash of frustrated anger across the Bond. He turned to look at her, seeing her gesture behind him urgently. Katsuki turned to where she was indicating, gaze sliding past Deku’s self-important posturing to see the Shield quirk dragging herself out of the crater. Musai Nukona was still pressing her hand to ground, which was starting to twitch and ripple in response. They were out of time.

Yeah you asshole, we still have work to do. Ochako blew past him as she sprinted forward.

Well fuck.

I’d been nice while it lasted, but he supposed at some point their morphine and Link-fucked brains had to come around to the situation.

Deku had the decency to look sheepish at Ochako’s words, but Katsuki just vaulted past him, following behind Ochako as she made a move to take out one of the Nukonas.

“Get the Teleport and the fuck fatty over there!” Katsuki yelled back to Deku, not bothering to see if he was listening.

“Katsuki!” Ochako cried from ahead of him, her hand extended to him.

He grimaced at the urgency in her tone and slapped his palm into hers. He felt his gravity leave him and he swung Ochako onto his back. Then he blasted them over the smoking crater Deku had created straight at the Nukonas.

  Who are we going for?

Musai. She’s the biggest threat.

He felt Ochako’s confirmation as they covered the distance to the Nukonas in seconds of time.

The Nukonas, for their part, looked drugged half to hell, hazy gazes trying to follow her and Katsuki’s movements with a desperate sort of coordination.

Then they seemed to get it together because the concrete ripped apart on gapping toothy mouths as eyes popped up across the concrete. Musai Nukona had figured out how to use her quirk again.  

 The animated concrete bubbled up, eyes popping up and slidingly around haphazardly before locking onto him and Ochako. The mouths opened and snaped as they surged towards them.

Hold on!

Katsuki warned Ochako at the same moment he began to weave and swerve around the concrete that was rearing up attempting to swallow them. Or crush them. Chew? Whatever the fuck it was called when concrete suddenly had an appetite for human flesh.

Shounji Nukona was lining himself next to his wife, attempting to set them up for that fucking annoying reverse quirk- as if they’d fucking fall for that twice. Katsuki felt Ochako’s mind probing around his for what the plan was and he sent her impressions in quick succession, feeling her nod ever so slightly in agreement.

When they got within a few feet of the Nukona’s he abruptly changed their trajectory, launching them into the air, curving them above the two villain’s heads. Ochako’s legs unwound from around his waist, feet moving between his shoulder blades before she kicked off, launching herself higher in the air towards the ceiling and simultaneously kicking him downwards towards Musai. The animation quirk user looked up in surprise as he blasted himself down at her.

 Katsuki let a fireball explode from his hand in her face, which she annoyingly dodged just in time. He got a mouthful of acrid black smoke from the singed ends of her hair as he catapulted to the ground. He planted his feet as he landed, just in time for Ochako to release him from her quirk.

He spun to face Musai and Shounji, both of whom were crouched in aggressive stances. They stared at each other for a moment, waiting for someone to make the first move. He noted Musai’s hands shaking slightly and he quirked a brow at the villain. Musai narrowed her eyes and clenched her hand into a fist.

Guess who’s got the shakes…

Excellent, they must’ve missed a dose.

Ochako, he knew, was hanging expectantly from one of the rafters in the ceiling, waiting for an opening. An opening he would present to her.

 Neither of the villains made a move, both just watching him with sunken eye sockets. Katsuki huffed an annoyed breath. Why did he always have to do everything? Tch.

He raised a hand to fire a shot at the frozen couple and Musai whipped a hand up, the concrete around him surging with her commands. Katsuki started his assault on the female villain with AP shot’s fired from his palm as he ducked and weaved around the now animated concrete.

Duck. Fire. Weave, fire. Big explosion here. Auto cannon. All the while keeping an eye on the Shounji Nukona, who seemed to be attempting to get into the fray only to be pushed back by his wife. Interesting.

We should switch targets.

I see it too, she’s protective of him. He goes down and she’ll be distracted. 

Glad we’re on the same page.

And with that Katsuki ducked under a sloppily thrown punch from Musai, reaching up to grasp her wrist tightly as her arm went through a follow through arch above his head. Then he flung her, using her own momentum to send her stumbling away from him. Away from him and, more importantly, away from her husband.

Then Katsuki spun on his heel and barreled toward Shounji. Katsuki was almost sad he couldn’t look at the expression on the man as he hurled himself towards him. But it wasn’t worth the risk of making eye contact and having his quirk reversed. So Katsuki just kept his head tucked, staring at Shounji’s foot movements as he swung a series of punches.

Left swing and miss. Right with another miss, but his follow through of slamming his bent elbow in a modified upper cut smacked the dude right in the chin. Katsuki smirked at the sound of the villain’s teeth clacking together with the force, his head whipping back.

“URRNG!” The villain moaned as Katsuki followed the elbow with rapid punch to the gut.

Musai’s up again!

Ochako warned him and he spun to face Musai. As he did, he looked up at her face, watching it pale and grimace in pain, one of her hands flying up to her jaw and the other to her stomach.

She seemed to gasp for air, like the wind had been knocked out of her. Katsuki’s smirk bloomed into a full grin. It was the confirmation they needed. These two were definitely linked.

Katsuki dropped to kick his leg out and sweep her feet out from under her while she was dazed from his hits on her Link partner. The villainous woman went sprawling, too distracted by her husband’s pain to adequately dodge his leg sweep. He spun back around just as Shounji was snapping his head back forwards, stumbling a bit.

 Katsuki slipped behind the quirk reverser in two quick steps, winding one arm under Shounji’s armpit then behind his neck in a firm grip. A sort of one-armed headlock—something that Katsuki had figured out pretty early on in his career was a great way to keep one hand free. And boy did he need one hand free now.

“What are you-“ The villain sputtered confused as he resisted. Katsuki gave the back of his neck a punishing squeeze, cutting off the sentence.

Coming your way, Cheeks.

With that warning he thrust his free hand down and set off a detonation powerful enough to get him, and his unwilling passenger, airborn. At the same time he felt his stomach clench as Ochako jumped from her place in the rafters.

Katsuki looked up in time to see her grin as she arched back around, having back flipped off the steel beam she’d been waiting on.

“No!!!” Musai screeched from below them.

Katsuki and Ochako met in the middle of the air and Ochako removed her gravity and momentum. She hung in the air for half a breath as Katsuki loosened his grip on the Nukona man, who was now really squirming in an effort to get out. Fucking annoying attempts to get free from Katsuki. Unfortunately for Shounji, that was exactly what Katsuki was planning on doing.

He unceremoniously threw the villain at Ochako, adding an explosion below the man to give him a bit of an extra boost. Ochako reached down, grasping the villain by one of his ankles with one of her free hands. The man’s upward momentum started Ochako spinning around in a circle. She removed his gravity just as Katsuki, who’d lagged behind a bit after throwing the dude, reached Ochako’s other free hand. He felt the sharp ripping pain as he latched onto her forearm, feeling her fingers wrap around his own forearm and releasing him from the grasp of gravity.

Now as Ochako made it around one full rotation Katsuki pulled Ochako to him so she could wrap around him. They both flinched at the pain it caused her injured shoulder.

Honestly,  it was not the most graceful maneuver they’d ever done, what with the villain flailing around in Ochako’s grip, trying to orient himself and free his leg from her hand.

I’m on, let’s go!

 With Ochako’s hand now wrapped securely around his shoulders and her legs in a vice grip around his waist Katsuki blasted them up, through the hole in the ceiling Deku had conveniently left in his wake. The bastard.

 “AHHH!” The Nukona screamed from where he flailed in Ochako’s grip. 

Katsuki chanced a glance down, horrified to see the building shuttering as the woman attempted to animate the whole thing.

Beams of steel swayed and elongated, the screeching of warping metal filling the air. Katsuki grit his teeth, halting their momentum in the air, ready to change their direction. Change their direction so they went back down, per the plan.

Katsuki glanced over his shoulder at Ochako, who was still perched on his back. She grimaced and he felt her reluctance in the Bond.

Katsuki- I don’t know if-

Do it.

I just-

This fucker killed Todoroki and Lilly.

“Release.” Ochako whispered in acceptance and all three of them began their descent. Katsuki directed himself and Ochako over where the Nukona was desperately grasping the air, twisting to try and make eye contact with one of them. He grasped the back of the villain’s shirt, fisting the material in his palm tightly. Then he extended an arm behind him and blasted them to the ground, the villain underfoot.

They rocketed towards the ground, but Musai wasn’t giving in that easily. A beam of steel hurled itself at them, eyes popping up along its length and sharp teeth bared. Katsuki was too slow to react, howling at the metal bit into his shin with a crack. The beam’s animated teeth crunched down on his leg and Katsuki felt the bones snap as he kicked it off with his other leg. It went spinning off into the air, though the damage was done.  

“FUCK!” He howled, feeling Ochako gasp in pain at his, presumably, broken leg.

Are you okay?!

No, I think my leg’s fucking broken, you gotta shield yourself.  

They shot through the roof of the building, 20 feet from impact with the ground. Fuck fuck fuck his leg was so screwed. They were going too fast to stop now. 

What, no! what if you need to- Do it Cheeks, this is gonna end poorly if you don’t.

He felt her reluctance. But- DO IT

15 feet.

They dropped, and Katsuki growled as he watched the ground under them ripple with false life.

He felt Ochako’s shield come into existence, cutting her mind off from his.

10 feet.

He didn’t have time to change their path. They were gonna smack right into Musai’s area of control.

5 feet.

This was gonna hurt like a bitch.

The force of their high speed impact was dampened by the animation quirk, used with such precision as to cushion the blow, meaning the unfortunate position held by Shounji on the bottom was not as terrible as it could have been. It wasn’t enough to avoid injury though. Katsuki felt the Villain’s ribs crack under his feet and heard the pained scream the man made. Served him right. Fucking asshole.

Unfortunately for Katsuki the impact also had the effect of fucking up his leg even more. If it had been broken before, it was hella fucked now.

“JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!” He screamed, rolling off the back of the villain as his leg throbbed painfully. He glanced down, seeing the bone stick through the skin.

“Musai I-“ The villain moaned beside Katsuki, being interrupted by a hacking bloody cough.

Ochako leapt off Katsuki’s back, quickly. Her face paled as she took in the sight of his leg. He didn’t blame her, it looked like he’d been hacked open. He was both grateful she was shielded and not; not wanting her to feel pain but desperate to know what she was thinking. She took a deep breath and turned around to face Shounji, slinging quirk suppressing cuffs on the man. Good, she had her priorities straight.

He gripped his knee above the break, trying to not look for too long, lest his brain decide to render him unconscious from the shock of it. His leg was wet with hot blood, way more than there should be. He added fucking hemorrhaging to his list of current problems.  He used his hand to unclasp one of the straps from his costume, using it to tie off the wound, so he wouldn’t bleed out. At least until a medic arrived or until he and Ochako had a moment to reduce it back into the right place. Ugh he was NOT looking forward to that.

“Where are your cuffs?” Ochako’s voice was high pitched as she rushed to him, he could tell she was just barely keeping it together.  

“Right pocket.” Katsuki forced out, leaning away so she could dig them out.

Katsuki turned his head to see Musai Nukona heaving and hacking on the floor, trying in vain to rid her lungs of the blood that filled her husbands. Good, fucking serves them right.

Ochako spang up, running over to the female villain.

“No- o” Musai wheezed, interrupted by a cough as Ochako approached, “You can’t- “

“Screw you.” Ochako hissed, barely audible from his distance as she cuffed Musai while she clawed at her throat, “You both deserve to rot in prison forever.”

“If they last long enough for that.” Katsuki growled, trying to not focus on the fact he couldn’t feel anything below his left knee. Not a good sign.

The woman’s terrified eyes found his glare. She locked onto his gaze as she convulsed, trying to get enough oxygen. Katsuki flipped her off.

“Quirk Repressor and Shield Quirk are bagged! How are things-” Deku’s voice cut off as he ran into view. His eyes seemed to take in the scene: Katsuki grounded with half of his tibia sticking out into the air and the two Nukonas drowning in their shared pain. Ochako was straightening from her position over Musai, having successfully cuffed the villain.

Deku’s face paled, watching the woman’s writhing with a horrified expression, “We have to get them help, they can’t die!”

“Are you fucking kidding me Deku?” Katsuki stared at the broccoli head in disbelief.

“They need to stand trial, they deserve the full judicial process.” Deku said, a note of condescension in his voice.

“They deserve to be fed through a meat grinder to live out the rest of their short lives in agony.” Katsuki growled, anger bubbling forth at Deku’s holier-than-thou attitude.

“Th-that is-“ Deku sputtered in shock, “Kacchan, that’s horrible!”

Ochako stepped up next to where Katsuki was immobile on the ground, kneeling to get a better look at his leg. Her face was pale, sweat dripping down her brow. 

“You aren’t wrong, Katsuki, but I don’t really feel like losing my license today.” Ochako told Katsuki stiffly, “besides we have more important things to worry about. We need to get this reduced back into place.” She grimaced, gesturing at his totally fucked leg.

“Fucking fine- go get a healer then Deku.” He sneered and Deku just bit his lower lip, eyes flashing with some unsaid thought. Deku shook his head, apparently deciding it wasn’t worth it before glancing up at the hole in the ceiling- calculating.

 Lightning crackled around Deku’s form for a split second before he launched himself out of the building. Presumably to go get a healer.

 “Okay now that that fucker is gone, let’s get this back in place.” Katsuki said, leaning back to allow Ochako access to his leg, “Don’t warn me, just do it.”

Ochako starred, hands moving forward only to hover over his leg. She froze and Katsuki watched her hands shaking faintly. She opened her mouth, then closed it, licking her lips nervously.

“i-I don’t think I can.” Ochako said, seemingly shocked, “I’ve never done this before- I don’t know how. What if I mess up?”

“Well I can’t fucking do it. Even if I could manage through the pain, I can't physically get the angle right.” Katsuki replied with a sigh, “I’ve lost feeling in my leg, we need to get it back.“

 Ochako met his stare, her eyes wide. A flicker of an idea passed across her face and Katsuki cursed the fact she had a shield up.

 “Why don’t you just use me to do it?” She said, slightly dazed.

“Use you? What the hell-“ Katsuki started, then stopped as he realized what she was saying, “Oh.”

“Yeah oh.”

“Uh, I guess that could work,” Katsuki hedged, grimacing as a shock of pain flew up his nerves, “If you put your shield down you’re gonna be in pain though.”

“I can take it, we need to reduce this.” Ochako said, confidence flowing back into her, “The teleporter could come back at any second, we need to fix this now.”

Katsuki narrowed his eyes at her skeptically before shrugging.

“Fine.” He agreed, watching as she let her shield down.

“AH!” Ochako yelped as the pain hit her, “Crap! Jesus, Katsuki this hurts, how are you so calm?”

“I think I’m in shock.” He answered straight forwardly, watching her face pale further.

Okay hurry then. I’m moving away. You take over.

Okay try to just- I guess not think about anything.

He felt her mind pull away, away from the Link, from his mind and her own, secluding herself as best she could in a corner. He moved through the Link, just as they’d been practicing all last week, taking over her mind slowly. She offered resistance, unconsciously, but then consciously fought to pull herself back.

Katsuki felt the out of body sensation (literally) of controlling her and wasted no time moving his- no her hand over his leg. He grasped each side of where the beak was, flinching at the echo of pain he felt from his body in the Bond.

He took a breath, trying not to freak out at the way both of their lungs moved in tandem to the command.

Then he yanked down and back, pulling the bone back into position. The pain ripped him from Ochako’s mind violently and he was sucked back into his own mindspace.

“ARRRG! FUCKIN” He spat between closed teeth. His vision blacked out for a bit as he abruptly regained feeling in his lower leg. Feeling meaning pain, he regained the sensation of pain in his lower leg and little else. 

“Oh my god, oh my god! ow ow ow! Are you okay?! Fuck that hurts!” Ochako’s hands fluttered around his leg, which was bruising and swelling at an alarming rate.

 “Fuckin- no!” Katsuki huffed, squeezing his eyes shut. Ochako seemed to be working overtime to prevent his pain from affecting her or bouncing back to him. 

He felt her working to remove his pain, modulating the Link’s potency. He met her gaze as she did, sighing at the relief as the pain between them reduced to a manageable level.

“Ah, fuck… thanks.” He whispered, she gave him a tight smile, focused on the task entirely.

“Of course.” She replied. Katsuki’s gaze slipped past her to where Musai was watching them with disbelieving eyes, her chest rising and falling in quick small breaths, completely at the mercy of her Link with Shounji.

“H-how arrre ...ung” Musai tried to speak only to be pulled from reality by Shounji’s pain.

Ochako followed his gaze to look at the villain. Katsuki barked out a laugh as Ochako flipped her off with both hands. Her side of the Link buzzed with furry and a sick satisfaction at seeing the Nukonas incapacitated and suffering from their Link. 

Katsuki couldn’t agree more.

“I fucking love you.” He said between chuckles, ignoring the pulsations of pain they caused.

“I love you too.” She turned to grin at him brightly, the relief of the moment hitting them both. It was over. Fucking finally.  

 

 

 

 

Ochako hardly realized it when the Task Force finally arrived, sweeping the scene and taking the villains into custody. She was too focused on managing Katsuki’s pain in the Bond, something that was infinitely more difficult than modulating emotion.

Thankfully, they didn’t have to wait long for a healer, who appeared on the scene in a flash of green as Deku carried them to the scene. They healed Katsuki’s leg, commenting about how close it’d been to an amputation or even death. Ochako tried to not be freaked out about that. (She was definitely still freaked out about that.) Once his leg was healed Katsuki was up and moving, albeit with a limp. They worked with the task force to gather up the villains, suppressing them with various cuffs and quirks as they were one by one healed just enough to no longer be on the brink of death.

The teleporter never returned. Deku said she had seen Katsuki and Ochako slam Shounji into the ground and had bailed with a whispered ‘I’m sorry”. Ochako didn’t believe it for one second. Couldn’t. The woman was probably the most dangerous of any of the villains. Ochako wouldn’t be able to relax until the woman was in custody with the rest.  

After the Task Force arrived, the scene was then quickly flooded with police, heroes from the general community and, to Ochako’s disappointment, the press.

The hordes of reporters and flashing bulbs were barely contained outside the flimsy taped off perimeter that the police half-heartedly guarded. Ochako dreaded the moment she and Katsuki would have to leave.

The fact of the matter was that she, Katsuki, and Deku had single handedly taken down the villains. The press were ravenous to speak with them. Especially given the rumor that the villains had been taken out due to the Link between Musai and Shounji Nukona; exactly the same sort of Bond between her and Katsuki. Ochako had to admit it was rather poetic. No wonder the press were ravenous for an interview with them.

“You are incredibly lucky this gambit actually worked.” Aizawa’s drawl startled Ochako as she stood around watching the scene clean up personal bustle around. She had been lingering, waiting for the tell-tale crackling of the teleporter coming into existence.

“Oh!” Ochako exclaimed, then fumbled, realizing who it was, “Ah. Yes, about that…”

Aizawa crossed his arms and stared her down. Ochako coughed under the pressure of the look and all it implied. Nothing like being scolded by an old professor to take one down a peg.

“I’m sorry.” She squeaked out. Aizawa narrowed his eyes, then nodded slowly once.

“Whatever. Don’t do it again.” He turned in the direction of the press, pausing briefly, “Don’t expect my help with the paperwork.”

Ochako let out a surprised chuckle, relief flooding her. He was right though, it was incredibly lucky that this little indiscretion of her and Katsuki worked out with a win for the heroes. 

Ochako winced as the cacophony of the press yelling questions at Aizawa and squinted through the flashes of cameras. She had no idea why he hadn’t just gone out the roof, like literally every other hero opting to avoid the press.

“What was that about?” Katsuki questioned as he walked up to her.

“Hmm? Aizawa?” Ochako asked, glancing over at him. He was covered in soot and blood, both his and the villains. She could only imagine how she looked.

“Yeah, what he ask for?”

“Nothing actually. He seemed fine with it.” She replied, feeling Katsuki’s suspicion flair, “I mean, he said we have to do all the paperwork, but otherwise he was okay with it.”

Katsuki pursed his lips and Ochako felt his thoughts whirring.

“You don’t think he planned all of this, do you?” She asked, turning to face him.

“Nah, even he isn’t that good..” Katsuki said, but Ochako felt the spark of interest and curiosity at the thought.

They stood in silence together, just watching the busy scene. Her eyes glanced over to where the villains sat inside the backs of SWAT vans, chained up. Musai Nukona glared at her across the battlefield. Ochako watched as she flinched with each labored breath of her husband. The expression on the villain’s face reminded her of those early days with Katsuki, how painful and confusing the Link had been. Ochako felt a flair of sympathy for the woman, then got angry at having such a reaction. This woman had killed—literally hundreds of people. Including , fuck, including Lilly and Shouto. Ochako should feel nothing but hate for the woman… yet.

She felt the pressure of Katsuki’s mind on hers in the Bond and the pressure of his gaze. She looked up to him, tearing her eyes from the villains.

“You okay?” He asked, concern sweeping across his face as he caressed her mind comfortingly.

 “I just- I can’t help feeling bad for them.” Ochako sighed, gesturing towards the Nukonas. Katsuki glanced over briefly before returning his gaze to her critically.

 “Yeah, that’s kinda fucked up.” He stated blankly and Ochako dropped her jaw in offense.

“You can’t just-“ She started as guilt and irritation bubbled up from her side of the Link.

“Shh, I wasn’t done.” He said, reaching out and resting a hand on her shoulder, “It’s fucked up, but I get it. We are the only people that could understand how shitty that type of pain feels. Whether we like it or not, we are the only ones that can sympathize.”

Ochako sighed, feeling marginally better.

“Personally, I still hope they die a slow and painful death and wish them the worst time with the Link, but you’ve always been a better person than I am.” He said with a dark grin and squeezing her shoulder.

“Katsuki!” She admonished, to which he just laughed.

“Come on, we’ve got work to do.”  He said gesturing towards the police chief, who was waiting for a statement. Ochako flinched at the mound of paperwork that was surely waiting for them. She hoped they let them take it back home. At least that way they could curl up on the sofa with each other as they suffered through it. 

Ochako took another glance over at the Nukona’s, suddenly very grateful for the fact that she had Katsuki. Brilliant, grumpy, asshole and secretly soft Katsuki as her Link partner. Like, really thankful. 

“Hey Katsuki?” Ochako said hesitatingly, reaching out to grasp his hand. She started at the slight zap the contact sent up her arm. Katsuki turned back, glancing down at their hands, somewhat puzzled.

“What’s up, Angel Face?” He asked as his gaze jumped from their tingling hands to her face.

“I’m really glad it was you.” She said evenly, trying to impart the seriousness of the claim through the Bond.

“It really couldn’t have been anyone else could it?” He mused thoughtfully, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles affectionately. He was not getting her point.

“Yeah, but I’m really glad it was you specifically .”

“Oh.” He said, emotions sputtering then blooming into a deep affection, “Yeah, I’m really glad it was you too.”

Ochako smiled, getting a bit lost in the depth of affection between them in the Bond, feeling really grateful, despite everything that had happened, that she and Katsuki had ended up here, together.

No... that wasn’t quite right.

It wasn’t that they’d ended up here, but rather that they’d started here. They had a lifetime together. A lifetime knowing they were meant to be. 

Yes, that was better. Ochako liked the sound of that.

I like the sound of that too.

  Okay, let’s go do some paperwork.

Katsuki snorted at her and they walked over to the Chief, arms swinging between them. 

 

They ended up getting home hours later, having to rocketship out of the warehouse ceiling to avoid the press. Ochako just hoped that none of them got a good picture of  them flying out of there, she really did not want to deal with the gossip about them the next day. She had enough paperwork to last a full forty hour work week, plus the hearings that were scheduled for later this week.

Katsuki wearally keyed the door open, his exhaustion from the day settling in the Bond like a weighted blanket. He pushed the door open, gesturing for her to enter first. 

“Thank god, I thought we’d never make it home.” Ochako sighed as she trudged through the door, directly towards the kitchen, “Do we have any leftover ramen?” She asked before the wall of apprehension hit her in the Link. 

Katsuki’s stomach dropped and she felt a mountain of dread and worry flood across the Bond. She whirled around meeting his wide gaze as he stared at her. 

“What?! What is it, are you okay-” She asked alarmed as she hurried towards him, hands flying to his face as it paled. 

He opened his mouth, then closed it.

“I- we could have fucking died. We almost didn’t make it home. You could’ve- Fuck.” He rasped out finally. Ochako froze. It was like he’d been pushing back all of his anxiety and fear all day, only to finally allow himself to feel it. He was terrified for the possibilities they’d miraculously evaded. The walls of repressed fear, anxiety and terror assaulted her in the Bond, creeping into her bones. 

“But we did make it home.” She whispered, brushing her thumbs along his cheek bones. “We’re fine. I’m fine. It’s okay. We won.”

He nodded, numbly searching her eyes. Ochako did her best to sooth the waves of emotion in the Bond. He searched her face, and pulled her mind to him in the Bond. Ochako gave  his mind soothing strokes.

“It’s okay.” She repeated again and again as he processed through all of the emotions of the day. 

“Fuck. I was so scared.” He whispered, reaching around her to pull her into his chest, “I thought. I wasn’t sure I was gonna make it out of there for a while, certainly not with my leg intact, fuck- I could’ve bled out right there and when you just fucking disappeared from the Link I was-” His breath hitched with a half-sob. 

She ran her hands through his hair as he started to cry, ugly wracking sobs at the sheer weight of the events of the night and Ochako couldn’t stop the tears that his emotions elicited from her brown eyes. 

It’s okay, we’re okay. 

 He took a deep breath in and Ochako felt the relief, through to her toes, goosebumps raised on her skin as his emotional blockade slowly broke up and drifted away.

“Shhh, it’s okay.” She said, frog in her own throat. “It’s okay, we’re here, alive. Together.”

He nodded mutely, burying his head into her neck and clutching her to him tightly. 

“Am I didn't even have to cut off your leg, which is good because I can’t cut a straight line to save my life.” She joked, half  laughing half crying at the relief that the morbid joke was just that- a joke. 

“Shit.” He barked out a laugh, “I’m not sure that’s funny yet.” 

He pulled back to look at her and she reached up to wipe the tears from under his eyes. He gave her a hesitant smile. He held her mind close in the Bond, as if to remind himself she was still there. 

They stayed like that, holding and comforting each other for a few minutes, just sorting through the weight of the day slowly. His hand rubbed comforting circles into her back and she stroked the hair at the nape of his neck, occasionally wiping a stray tear away. 

 

“Hey do you want to move in?” He asked suddenly and Ochako blinked up at him owlishly, surprised by the abrupt change of topic

“...I may have already terminated my lease.” She said with a grin spreading across her mouth, “You aren’t getting rid of me anytime soon.”

“So long as you promise never to touch the scissors- I’ve just learned that you can’t cut straight lines and I’m fucking banning you for life.” He grinned back at her, the weight of their conversation lifting somewhat as he decompressed more fully. 

“Katsuki! What if I need to open a package or, or I don’t know, cut string or something?”

“What on earth would you need to cut string for?”

“I don’t know, to wrap up a roast?” She spitballed an answer.

“You are also banned from cooking, lest we forget the fucking disaser of pancakeagedon from last week.” He said deadpanning. 

Okay but not for real right, because seriously I CAN cook I just-

I’m dead serious. I’ll fucking cook anything you want but you are not allowed to touch the stove.

She sighed, rolling her eyes, but not able to stop her mouth from twitching into a grin.

“I love you, you asshole.”

“I know.”

…

“Seriously Katsuki?!”

“I love you too.”

“Better. Now let’s get some food, I am starving.” Ochako leaned up, giving him a kiss, which lingered much longer than anticipated, before she pulled back. She gave him a wink and took his hand, pulling him into their kitchen.

“You wanna make lasagna?” She asked with a cheeky grin, wiggling her eyebrows. He cocked one of his in return, amused smirk falling onto his lips.

“Fuck yeah.” 

 

Fin.

Notes:

Chapter 32 title by thefoolwhowrote

Chapter 34: Paralax

Epilogue:

“I’d like to welcome The Number One Hero, Deku to our show!” Hinasa exclaimed brightly from her spot in the studio. The lights made her cheekbones even more pronounced, the thought occurred to Izuku as he smiled brightly at the woman. 

“Hello, happy to be here. It’s wonderful to see you again Hinasa.” He replied with a warm smile, reaching out to firmly clasp her hand in an amicable shake. 

“It certainly has been too long; Since before the Linked Villain Attacks I think!” Hinasa commented. 

“Has it really?” Izuku asked in mock surprise, “That is far too long! Time sure does fly!”

Izuku did, indeed, not think it was too long- in actuality he thought it was much too short. Last time he’d been on the show Hinasa had implied that Ochako was cheating with Kacchan behind his back. That had not been even remotely true. First off, he and Ochako had been boken up for well over ten months at the time and as far as Izuku knew, Kacchan and Ochako hadn’t become a thing until well after the start of the Linked Villain Attack. Which, just for the record, was an awful name for a catastrophic villain group. 

“Now, tell me Deku, why have you remained silent on the events that went down in that deadly warehouse two weeks ago? Sure you must know that the public is desperate for information.” Hinasa was never one to hold punches, Deku thought grimly. 

“Well, the reality is that the villains are still in the middle of their trials and the details of the events of that night are still strictly confidential. I’d hate to interfere in the justice system.” Izuku said seriously, “Everyone deserves a fair trial.”

“You can’t even give us one little hint about what went down?” Hinasa asked pouting, “How about who got the final blow? Was it you or perhaps your rival, Ground Zero?” 

“We don’t really see it that way. We work together as a team to keep the public safe. The important thing is that the city is safe now.”

“So no bad blood between you and GZ? Even with the news of his relationship with your ex, Uravity? That has to sting a little bit…”

Izuku took a deep breath fighting to keep the smile on his face through the pang of heartbreak Hinasa’s words inspired. Yes, of course it freakin’ stung. The girl he was in love with was soul bonded, allegedly, to his childhood bully. Anyone would be hurt by that.

“Uravity and I have been separated for over a year, we ended on good terms. We’re still best friends. So of course there’s no bad blood, I’m happy for both of them. They’re good for each other.” 

“They’re certainly good for each other's brands, Ground Zero is rumored to be sneaking up on you in the rankings.” Hinasa gave him a conspiratorial look.

“I would be excited to see him take that spot, he has worked very hard.” Izuku said amicably, though the words felt a bit sour in his mouth. 

Kacchan had worked hard, but Izuku knew he was taking a step back from hero work- spending more time with Ochako and taking fewer extra shifts. This rise in popularity would stop once the newness of his relationship with Ochako faded. Izuku had been picking up the slack for Kacchan, and the polls would reflect that in a few months. Not that he wasn’t happy to do so, he loved his job. Really he did. 

“What about you? What’s new for you?” Hinasa asked, crossing a long leg slowly.

“I’m honestly just enjoying my time off, now that the Linked Villains Attacks are done I’m trying to get some R and R before something else crops up, heaven forbid. To be honest...It was a long couple of months. I definitely am catching up on my sleep, I even got a massage the other day. It was marvelous.” Izuku gave a light laugh, running a hand through his hair.

Not true. He and the task Force were still working overtime to locate the Teleport Quirk and apprehend her. Izuku hadn’t had a good night sleep in well over a year. And by massage, he meant that he'd gotten his butt kicked in a three on one training session with Kirishima, Mina and Tokoyami. He couldn’t afford to fall out of shape.  

“Oh good, you deserve it! A massage huh? Sounds, indulgent.” Hinasa praised with a knowing glint in her eyes, “Perhaps you're indulging in other areas…?”

“If you mean chocolate then yes, I suppose so.” Izuku joked heartily. 

He hadn’t had chocolate in ages. 

“I meant in the romance department, though chocolate is fantastic.” Hinasa smiled, “Any special ladies out there for you?” 

Izuku chuckled, “Not right now, no. Though you’ll be the first to know if there is Hinasa.” Izuku replied jovially, winking at the interviewer. 

Izuku didn’t really have time to date, Ochako had been right about that. He did have a friends with benefits arrangement with Melissa, though they both agreed to keep it no-strings attached. She was just as married to her job as he was. Maybe it was better that way. 

“You’re obviously still close with Uravity and Ground Zero, Tell us what is up with that new quirk of thiers. The speculation around it has been an absolute feeding frenzy. I think we’ve all heard one rumor or another, can you set the records straight?”

“I don’t really know, you’ll have to ask them about it.” Izuku stated evasively, feeling an uneasy grin slip onto his face. 

The truth was he really didn't get ‘The Bond’, as Ochako referred to it. It was alien to him, an intangible connection that made absolute zero sense no matter how many times Ochako tried to explain it. All he knew was that they were getting freakishly good at combo attacks and had this really REALLY annoying habit of finishing each other's thoughts. That and the weird looks they made when they were having a silent conversation in their own world. 

“You’ll have to put in a good word with them to convince them to come on the show together.” Hinasa said with a wink. 

“I’ll do my best.” Izuku smiled brightly. 

No way in hell were those two coming on the show. They likely would never really talk about their weird second quirk with anyone in the public. Too much of a liability. It’d been hard enough to get them to officially register it. Kacchan had protested saying ‘it’s fucking better if the villains have no idea how it works’ only to begrudgingly agree after a furious internal conversation with Ochako. 

Izuku had to admit they were good for each other though. He’d always known they would be- ever since third year when he’d realized that Kacchan was not glaring at Ochako with mallous intent but in hatred of his own interest. Deku had done his best to prevent it, of course. The looks Kacchan gave Ochako scared him shitless. Because Izuku knew he couldn’t compete. He supposed he should be happy for the years he did have with Ochako, but all he could think about was how guilty he was for delaying his best friend's happiness. And they were, happy that is. Ochako and Kacchan were blissfully, disgustingly happy. Just as Izuku always knew they would be.

He was happy for them. He was. Really.

“Thank you for coming on today Deku, I’m sure you have some netflix shows you want to catch up on while you have some time off!” Hinasa chuckled.

“Any recommendations?” He asked playfull, “But really, thank you for having me on, it's always a pleasure to see you.” 

Izuku stood up, shaking Hinasa's hand again and waving to the camera with a smile. 

The camera went off and Hinasa snaked her hand out from his gip. 

“Thank you again, you’re always welcome on the show.” She reiterated, cocking a hip and giving him a sly smirk, “Though I’d prefer if you were a bit more forthcoming. Charisma can only get you so much air time and that number one spot of yours is slipping from your grasp by the minute.”

Izuku frowned, “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean. Thanks again Hinasa. Have a great day.”

Man he hated that woman. Izuku stepped off the stage, pausing as his pocket buzzed. He pulled out his phone, blinking a few times to see Kacchan’s name on his caller ID. 

“Kacchan? Hello? Is everything okay?!” Izuku asked, confused.

“What? yeah, everything's fucking kush.” Kacchan’s rough voice crackled across the speaker, “We have GOT to get you laid though, you looked sad as fuck on that interview” 

“KATSUKI!” He heard Ochako shout indignantly form the background, “That was not even-”

“Look, you know it’s true Angel Face, I’m just telling-”

“-Oh shut up, you. Give me the phone.”

The sounds of abrupt rustle and crackling over the phone commenced followed by Katsuki’s voice in the distance :”fuckin’ fine!”

“Izuku?” Ochako’s voice came across the speaker, clearer than before.

“Hi, what’s up?” Izuku asked, swallowing the pit in his stomach.

“We think we’ve got a lead- can you come by to look it over with us? Aizawa is, well- he’s kind of giving us the silent treatment after, well, you know-”

“That time you disobeyed a direct order and manhandled your way into an operation by completely screwing his taskforce?” Izuku whispered amused as he exited the stage, looking around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. 

“Uh, yeah that.” Ochako cleared her throat.

Katsuki from the background: “Don’t be jealous of how badass we are you shitty nerd!”

“Katsuki, seriously be nice.” Ochako said her voice more distant, “Anyway, can you come by and help us out? Kiri and Mina are both on patrol right now.”

Izuku bit his bottom lip, thinking. One the one hand being around Kacchan and Ochako was kind of his worst nightmare, on the other he really wanted to catch the teleporter. It was no contest, really. 

“I’ll be right over.” He said, pulling the phone away and hanging up before he could change his mind. 

He exited the building, glancing around to make sure it was clear, before activating his quirk. Green lighting zapped and jumped around him and he felt the rush of One for All. 

Adrenaline flooded his system at the thought of catching the villain. It was a feeling he couldn’t get from anything else- the absolute best feeling in the world.

 He loved this, the excitement of a new challenge. The thrill of being a Hero, hunting down the bad guys. 

Izuku grinned as he launched himself into the air. 

Notes:

Well that's it! Thank you all so much for going on this journey with me. I am so happy and elated that I did it, I actually did it! All of my lovely readers who left comments or talked with me on twitter or discord: thank you you kept me going when I didn't want to and that made all the difference.

To Wonduhhwoman, THANK YOU a million times over. The later chapters in this fic are better because of you. Especially the last chapter.

Chapter titles are still up for grabs I'll update the final two in a few days!

Sending love,
Pixels.