#this chapter took quite a bit more effort than the previous ones but i'm happy with the result

[silver-lily-louise]

A Whole New World - a Shadowhunters fanfic

Chapter Five - Let Your Heart Decide

Summary: Alec doesn’t want to hold Magnus back. Magnus doesn’t want to throw Alec’s normal life up in the air. Alec makes his final wish. 

A/N: The final chapter!!! We made it, guys. Thank you so much to everyone who’s been leaving lovely comments/tags along the way, it’s been a joy! I hope you enjoy the wrap-up. <3 (As usual, the titles are from Aladdin.) 

Read it from the beginning on AO3 Chapter Five on AO3, or alternatively, keep reading!

~oOo~

Alec folds his arms over his chest, holding still; tossing and turning wasn’t helping him drift off any faster, so maybe this will work instead. But the gentle pressure just reminds him of earlier – of Magnus’ hands, arms, chest holding him upright but by no means steady. Of being so close, and wanting nothing more than to close the rest of the distance and kiss him. He shuts his eyes, but there’s barely any difference. There’s no pesky ray of moonlight peeping in, no noise besides the familiar hum of the city he can no longer sleep without. It’s his own thoughts, his own foolish wants, keeping him awake.

Tomorrow, he’s going to make his final wish. He’s going to let Magnus move on, and try to return to his own normal life. And hey, he’s got his work, he’s got his family nearby – there are plenty of things to distract and ground him, to help him pretend that these last few weeks have just been a strange dream; exhilarating, but fleeting, and not to be mourned for that.

He groans, giving up and turning onto his side again, feeling his face smoosh up against the thin pillow. The problem is, this time with Magnus hasn’t felt like a dream. It’s felt more real than anything Alec’s ever known. It’s never been perilous enough to be exhilarating, and he doesn’t want it to be fleeting – instead, it’s been comfortable, quietly and steadily joyous, and he thinks he might want it forever. 

That word snaps him out of his reverie, and he opens his eyes to the darkness in a kind of shock, before frowning at himself. Forever. For God’s sake, he’s known Magnus less than a month – it’s ridiculous to feel so attached already. Not to mention that Magnus is a genie, a fucking magical entity who’s lived for centuries, and so to him, forever means something entirely different. Alec’s never thought of himself as self-deprecating – though he knows Izzy disagrees with him on that – but he’s aware of his limits, and nothing makes him feel quite as limited as comparing himself to the kind of life that Magnus is used to. The kind that such a generous, brilliant man deserves.

So tomorrow, he’s going to make his third wish, and then say goodbye. Now, all he has to do is think of something else he wants, besides what he knows it would be too selfish of him to ask for.

It’s a while before he manages to fall asleep, and if he could muster the will to care about anything his head has to say, drowned out as it is by the petulant demands of his heart, he’d bemoan how tired he’s going to be at work tomorrow. He dreams of a magic carpet ride, of warm smiles and golden eyes and arms wrapped snugly around his waist, holding him safe. When he wakes up to a gently scathing alarm a few hours later, he’ll almost manage to convince himself that it doesn’t mean anything, simply because it can’t.

***

Magnus throws his head back against the chaise longue, staring up unseeingly at the highest shelves, barely noticing when the book tumbles from his fingers. He’s finished Les Mis, finally, but he’s barely seventy pages into Doctor Zhivago and he doesn’t know what he was thinking choosing it as his next literary conquest. Trying to keep track of such an infamously confusing story would be difficult at the best of times – let alone when he’s moping around like a lovesick teenager, lounging in his lamp’s library because it was too frustrating to lie in his opulent four-poster bed and gain no comfort, no rest from the perfectly temperate silk embrace.

He sighs, and if he wasn’t feeling so low he’d laugh at the dramatics of it all. He wants to go back and use only his magic to catch Alexander, to spare himself from the feeling of what he wanted being right there and yet so far out of reach. Better yet, he wants to go back thirty years, to when he misplaced the lid of his lamp for the seventeenth time that month, decided enough was enough, and sealed it in place; because if he could just change that decision, he wouldn’t have gotten stuck, wouldn’t have ended up offering a handsome, kind mortal three wishes and accidentally throwing in a piece of his heart as part of the deal.

He shuts his eyes, a little overwhelmed by the current toll on his willpower – because as much as he tells himself that he wishes he could change the past and avoid this situation, he knows it isn’t true. What he actually wants is to leave the lamp right this second, march over to Alexander’s bedroom, and declare that he’s never met anyone like him. That he’s never felt such connection to someone else, something that feels so immense even in its beginning – because he wants this to be a beginning, he wants to confess his feelings and trade silk sheets for soft-worn cotton, four posts for a pair of strong arms and gentle archer’s hands. He wants to conjure roses and day lilies and give them to Alexander as tokens of his affection, because Magnus has always been a hopeless romantic at his core and because Alexander is so beautiful when he’s flustered.

But although he’s a fool, Magnus is not an idiot, and calm resignation is stronger than his unattainable hopes. If his eight centuries have taught him anything, it’s that no matter how much of the world his powers can grant him, there will always be some things that he just can’t have.

***

Alec has decided on his final wish, and rationally, he knows it’s a good one. If Magnus can help sway his landlord’s opinion into something a little more pet-friendly, Alec can finally get the puppy he’s been dreaming of adopting ever since he was a kid. It’s something for him, like Magnus suggested, and it’s something he’d never be able to get without Magnus’ help, so it’s not like he’s wasting this once- (or, more accurately, thrice-) in-a-lifetime opportunity. It’s a good wish. It’s also the complete opposite of what he wants, because making it means that Magnus will leave again.

He opens the door, false smile plastered on as he turns to the living room, where he usually finds Magnus at this time of the day. It’s empty.

The smile falls, and Alec curses the lump in his throat because this is ridiculous. He’s lived alone for a good few years now, and Magnus has only been here a matter of weeks. Coming home to an empty apartment is the norm, for God’s sake, and it’s one he’d better get used to again because he’s here to make his wish, and Magnus is going to leave.

Unless you ask him to stay, whispers a traitorous voice in his head, and he shuts his eyes because he can’t, he can’t make a request so selfish – Except… he can. Wasn’t this exactly what Magnus suggested for his final wish? To make it something Alec truly wanted for himself, as much as he wanted happiness for Izzy and his mom in the previous two wishes? Alec’s heart starts thundering in his chest, because suddenly, he knows – not only can he do this, he has to. He knows he can’t bear to let this – this something, whatever it is, just pass him by. If he doesn’t at least ask, he’ll never forgive himself.

He goes to his bedroom, making a plan in his head as he tries to find something nice to wear, something that says I made an effort for you because you mean something to me. Go big or go home, right? Granted, that’s usually Jace’s motto, not Alec’s – but considering that Jace is happily married and Alec’s currently pining after someone he may never see again, maybe he could use a little of that spirit tonight.

He ventures back out into the living room, running over what he’s going to say in his head. He can’t just ask outright, can’t just make this his third wish and be done with it – he has to know that Magnus wants to stay as much as Alec wants him to. So instead, he’s going to give him a choice, and pray that Magnus feels the same way. He clears his throat, faces the lamp, and speaks before he has a chance to chicken out. ‘Magnus, do you have a minute? I’m ready to make my last wish.’

***

Alexander's voice echoes in the high ceilings of his otherwise cozy study, and Magnus looks up from the list he was compiling. He needs options for where to go next, once he leaves New York; so far, he’s settled on Rome, Tokyo, and Lapland. All bright distraction, tourist traps and beautiful culture and ways to lose time. All thoroughly unappealing, now that they're suddenly imminent. He stands with a sigh, mustering a smile as he closes his eyes and allows himself to drift out of the lamp's spout.

When he rematerializes, he blinks in surprise. Alexander usually favours sweaters, polo shirts and jeans, both for relaxing at home and for working in his fairly casual office. This sharp, smart combination of a crisp button-down shirt and a blazer is new, and he looks - Magnus cuts himself off before he can follow that train of thought into dangerous territory. 'Some sort of special occasion today?' he asks, gesturing at the outfit. 'Did the Mayor stop by the office, perhaps?' Alexander's cheeks turn just the tiniest bit pink, and Magnus is really going to miss talking to someone who's so easily affected by simple conversation. 'Not quite,' he says. 'I just... had a meeting I wanted to make an effort for.'

'Ah, of course.' Magnus' good humour dissipates a little, though he tries to hide it, because there's nothing left to do but ask. 'So - your final wish. You've decided?' Alexander nods. He looks a little nervous, and Magnus braces himself for what may be a more difficult request than the previous two wishes.

What he isn't expecting is for Alexander to set his shoulders in determination, and say, 'For my third wish, you have a choice.'

Magnus stares at him for a moment. ‘I have a choice?' A small chuckle escapes him, and he hopes it doesn't sound too bittersweet. 'You continue to surprise me, Alexander. All right, then.' He puts on a mock-serious expression, letting pomp and circumstance infuse his tone. 'Tell me – what devious conundrum lies ahead of me, good sir?' Alexander gives a brief (and, if Magnus is honest with himself, not wholly deserved) smile at the moment of levity. 'Okay. For my last wish, I’d like one of the following, and it's completely up to you which one you grant. Option one is a jasmine plant that will never wither.' He hesitates a moment, before continuing resolutely. 'Or, option two… let me buy you dinner. Tonight.'

It's a few seconds before Magnus realises that his mouth is hanging open, and a good few more before he remembers how to use it. 'You mean...' Oh. He's an even bigger fool than he thought. Because suddenly, it all makes sense – the blushing, and the nice jacket, and the tension yesterday when they were standing so damn close -

Alexander's nervousness is starting to give way to a gentle panic, and Magnus realises that he hasn't actually given an answer yet. He raises a hand to forestall any babbling, because Alexander looks like he's on the verge of one of his (usually unnecessary, but also unfairly adorable) I'm sorry, it's stupid, forget it tirades. One particular thought from last night sparks in Magnus’ mind again, and he smiles slyly as his eyes catch on Alexander's top buttonhole. He gently twirls his wrist, and a short, delicate stem sprouts into existence, budding at the top and unfurling slightly into a small red rose. He steps forward, tucking it into the buttonhole, and his smile widens as he meets Alexander's gaze. 'Option two. Definitely option two.'

Alexander's eyes flick down to the rose briefly – or perhaps to where Magnus' hand is lightly but unabashedly lingering on his lapel – and he barks out a short, surprised laugh. 'Seriously?' he says, in response to Magnus' questioning look. 'I ask you for a date or a plant, and you say yes to the date by conjuring a plant?' He laughs again, shaking his head in apparent disbelief. 'I thought you were going to say no!' Magnus winces a little in amused embarrassment, but you don't live as long as he has without learning how to recover quickly from social slips. 'I'm sorry,' he says smoothly, one finger trailing over the silky rose petals. 'I'm not normally so distracted. It usually only happens right after I've been asked out by someone singularly attractive.' His eyes dart back up to meet Alexander's, and when he sees the flustered mirth reflected there, every reason he previously thought of to leave New York seems to evaporate into nothingness.

Alexander proffers his arm. 'Well,' he says, his voice low and soft. 'Shall we get going, then?' Magnus loops his own arm through Alexander’s, and flashes his most dazzling grin in sheer joy. 'Your wish is my command.'

***

Six months later, Alec finds himself at the Oddities display once more, while Pat’s bustling around with the clothing. ‘Hey, Underhill,’ he calls, ‘do we want the imitation Fabergés out yet, or do we wait another week?’ ‘I’d say go for it. The chocolate bunnies have been out in the grocery stores for nearly a month already.’

It’s fairly slow, especially for a Saturday afternoon just before closing time, and the three of them are taking the opportunity to reshuffle the stock. Alec’s been volunteering at the thrift shop since New Year’s – it’s a total change of pace from his nine-to-five, and it’s fast becoming a highlight of each week.

At the brief, informal interview – conducted by the cashier who sold him the lamp, who introduced himself as Andrew, but everyone just calls me Underhill – he’d been asked why he wanted to volunteer, and he’d smiled. ‘You remember that old lamp I bought? Well, it wasn’t exactly like Aladdin, but it definitely brought me some good fortune. I wanted to pay it back a little, like you said.’

And speaking of that good fortune – the bell on the door chimes merrily as Magnus waltzes into the shop, his disguised eyes meeting Alec’s with a surreptitious flash of gold. Alec smiles, walking over to plant a brief kiss on Magnus’ cheek. ‘Hey.’ ‘Hey. I know I’m a little early, but I thought I’d see how you were doing.’ He glances around the shop, raising an eyebrow. ‘Though if I’d known you were so swamped, I might have decided against it.’ Alec rolls his eyes fondly. ‘We’re nearly done for the day, then I’m all yours.’ Magnus smirks, and opens his mouth – likely to comment on the I’m all yours part of that sentence – but Underhill interrupts. ‘You guys can get out of here, if you want. Pat and I can finish up on our own.’ ‘Are you sure?’ Underhill gestures to the empty aisles. ‘He has a point. It’s totally dead, and I doubt we’ll be overrun in the last ten minutes of business.’ He nods towards the door, smiling. ‘Go enjoy your anniversary. See you next week.’

Alec barely has time to thank him before he’s being practically pulled out of the door, laughing. ‘Someone’s eager,’ he says, and Magnus turns to shoot him a grin. His silver tortoise pin – a Christmas present from Alec – glints against his burgundy cravat, the bright blue gemstones catching the late golden sunlight. ‘Where are we going?’ Alec asks, pulling his hand from Magnus’ to wrap his arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders instead.

Magnus meets his gaze, a hint of mischief in his expression. ‘Well, in honour of our first date, I thought I’d give you a choice.’ Alec chuckles. ‘Oh? And what would that choice be?’ ‘Well, option one is Tokyo. I thought we could revisit that sushi place…’

Alec listens contentedly as Magnus rambles on, extolling the many virtues (and some of the vices) that Tokyo and Rome each have to offer. There’s an early spring chill in the air, but Magnus is warm against his side as they walk in comfortable rhythm, and the low flurry of his excitement feels like sunlight on Alec’s skin.

He listens, but a part of his mind drifts back to six months ago – and he thanks his lucky stars that he took this chance, that he didn’t just let this go. Because now he gets to be in love with this amazing, kind, golden-eyed magician, and by some miracle, Magnus loves him back.

It’s even better than he could have wished for.

~oOo~

#malec #malec fanfic #malec au #shadowhunters #shadowhunters fanfic #shtv #shs #genie!magnus #mine #ALSO this is now my longest shs fic to date #beating out 'Back to Each Other' by like 2k #this chapter took quite a bit more effort than the previous ones but i'm happy with the result #please let me know what you think!!

[bakugoukatsuki-rising]

I'm. The new covers, op. The new covers. Gosh. Both of them hold so much symbolism. And technically they both are canon, they are both original ideas that could perfectly be valid. Horikoshi simply found something better. But anyways, I'm going to go ahead and ramble about it because Im- Op, prepare for a long ask! Hope you like it!

So!

On the one where Katsuki's the one in the picture, he's not on his knees like he is in the other two covers. Instead, he has his face down, body forward, one hand on one leg, the other one holding out for something...He's bowing. Bowing in Japanese culture is a pretty big deal. Hes not just tilting his head a bit, his head and body are on full on commitment.

Such a tilted bow means a LOT, specially from THIS guy, Mr dont let anyone walk in front of me. Even more when hes not just bowing, but accepting such an open display of given help, Mr shonen anime lone wolf. Accepting something he always has trouble admitting to. Accepting the past, accepting the wrongs. Accepting Izukus help means so much, and that's what these three covers have in common.

His hand is sctretching out. He's ready to say yes to that hand out in the air.

(Ps. I wonder if he's watching his own reflection on the water in this panel, as well?)

Hes in middle of the picture with those childhood friend at the back, which means audience. It means letting people see what hes done, what he's sorry for. He is being open and exposed and vulnerable. That's no fighting stance.

Remember guys, in case you haven't noticed before, Horikoshi puts lots of metaphorical value in his manga and on his covers. Sometimes you've got to dig in deep and think to get the bigger picture. And in this case, the bigger picture screams regret and wanting to make things right from the start.

This cover occurs in the past, at the moment where everything started, and Katsuki fully remembers this. Katwuki has thought of this, is thinking about this. He's had eye bags for gods sake, he's clearly troubled by all of what it means.

These three covers are the visual explanation of what's going on inside Katsuki's head, because this is clearly focused on him and his perspective.

(Ps. Rivers symbolise the massage of time. If that doesnt add to everything else, I dont know what to tell you.)

So! Next!

Wow, if this isnt one of my favourite things ever. Okay. Christ.

I have two options here. Scratch that, three options. Scream into the void, scream into this post, or actually make a good presentation of my inner turmoil. I'll have to go by the third option. (Haha. Just like horikoshi did. Dont # me, I'm funny in my head.)

This cover melted my insides, froze them all over, and hit me with them like a hammer.

I know they're kids, but let me get this straight-so kids seriously look at their friends with these looks in their eyes and think "ah, yes. This is my very good friend. This gentle smile and kind look I'm giving him as if he was my whole world? Well, hes just a very good friend."

I looked at my childhood crush this way, I dont know what to tell you.

Anyway, let's actually jump to the information at hand.

This panel seems like it's making a reference to what Katsuki wishes could have been. And if that's not absolutely soul-crushing...this cover is Katsuki's feelings, guys. These are probably his very thoughts. This scene has gone through Katsuki's head at some point.

We've got Izuku in his stuck up pose all over again, in just an awkward angle. It's like katsuki isnt looking AT this katsuki right now, but at the spot where the actual past Katsuki, at some point, was. As if this Isuku is frozen in time. Dont believe too much in this paragraph, I still have my doubts about that, but I feel it's a possibility. Izukus eyes seem to be focused on the water, while Katsuki is just the tiniest bit back, reaching for Izukus hand. And gosh.

I dont think I've ever seen older NOR child Katsuki have this look plasted into his face before. He's...sheepish. Kindly, awkwardly sheepish. No hate, no anger, no shame, no nothing. His face is clear and sweet and has this "Whoops. You got me. But thanks." kind of expression on.

The hand behind his head, just the tiniest but embarassed? That little smile? It's all so soft.

Rambling about softness though- I really liked the hand scene in this particular panel. If you close up your view, you realise that theres no effort to pull anyone out of nowhere. In this panel, they are simply holding hands in frozen time for no purpose at all.

Katsuki has his hand around Izuku...simply holding there.

Again, because the angle is awkward, it's kind of messy, but you get the point.

It's all simply beautiful. Horikoshi clean likes give me life.

And lastly. The actual cover.

I screeched so hard when I saw this. My first instinct when seeing this for the first time was to straight up go trigger happy fingers and write about it to my friends. Christ.

Everything is so...SOft. horikoshi made a good decision by mixing both previous drawings in one. We have parts of the two covers in one, which is amazing. In this one, Katsuki isnt alone, as Izuku's there too. But we dont have the audience either. Probably because the main focus on this panel is no one else except them two.

Again, Katsuki looks like he's bowing, but instead of looking all the way down, he's in the middle. Not looking at Izuku nor looking at the ground, like it shows in the previous covers. Instead, Horikoshi found a middle ground. He's looking at his hand. At the gesture.

Hes not holding hands quite yet, but his hand is there. At arms reach. Not close enough but there. Wanting.

Theres so much regret and again, softness.

Again, like you Op said a bit bad, the angle is off here. This is present Katsuki remembering his past. The angle is off because this Izuku isnt holding out for our Katsuki. This is a memory. A wish. Katsuki's wish.

(Ps. Izukus trousers drenched in the rivers water. This detail was so nice. It's a subtle action that describes Izukus characterization so much. Izuku went in the river with Katsuki in mind, not caring if he got his clothes soaked in the process too. For Izuku, only Katsuki was there. And for Katsuki, only Izuku is.

As a plus, I can't believe the cover of this is literally called Bakugou Katsuki rising. They named the entire thing after that one chapter. Actually, I very much, totally believe it. It's the moment so many people have been waiting for, after all. The moment so many scenes have been amounting for, little by little.

*dreamy sigh*

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this little thing, I had to get it out of my system and dont want to bother my dear friends anymore than needed.

Have a good day, OP! I'll stay updated!

You kinda just...took my heart and curb stomped it, not gonna lie. Your observations are so beautiful and so accurate. The sketch with little Bakugou taking Izuku’s hand is so...raw, and yeah, that expression is definitely one of love. Those eyes, the way he is HOLDING Izuku’s hand, not TAKING it. He isn’t taking it to stand up, he is literally just...holding it. 

That isn’t the way you take someone’s hand when you’re trying to pull yourself up. It’s an awkward angle and just...wouldn’t work right. No, he is literally just holding his hand, and that’s exactly what Bakugou wishes he did all that time ago. He wishes that he not only took Deku’s hand, but held onto it. Held it as if it were something precious, something to be cared for and protected. 

These are Bakugou’s true feelings expressed in these drawings, and I think Horikoshi released them on purpose, to show us more of what he wanted Bakugou to be feelings through all of this. Since after all, we know that Bakugou expresses himself in action, not so much words. And because Horikoshi is an absolute genius, he thought to give us these other glimpses in how he feels through these actions. 

And the other sketch with him bowing his body to Izuku, and the way the log looks like it’s on his back with his ‘friends’ on top of it. 

The pressure of needing to be the coolest, the strongest, the best. Those kids put that kind of pressure on him, even if they never realized it. They encouraged his behavior and fed his ego, and it never allowed him to see how he was wrong. But now he is realizing it, and he is bowing himself in light of that acknowledgement. He is lowering his head and putting his pride away, so he can get back what he lost all those years ago; the opportunity to take Izuku’s hand.

To take the hand of the only one of those kids that ever loved him unconditionally. Who never pressured him or expected him to be invincible. Who saw all of his flaws and was completely prepared to support him despite all of it. The only one. 

I’m just a mess over all of this, and I am so incredibly thankful to Horikoshi for creating this beautiful relationship. AND IN A SHOUNEN MANGA, NONETHELESS!!  

Thank you friend, for your beautiful thoughts. I think they’re spot on, and I am so emotional all over again because of this. 

#bnha spoilers #bnha #mha #bkbk #bakudeku #midoriya izuku #bakugou katsuki #kacchan #deku #bnha meta #bnha analysis #blackiee-is-heree #asks #basketball idiot #basketball idiot replies

[bestbonnist]

Chapter 145.1

First I should apologize for misleading the four people who read my analysis of Chapter 144.2. I told you that Fushi couldn't be the one in Funa's body and I was wrong. I genuinely didn't think that they would care enough to put any effort into their Funa impersonation. I'm sorry.

Sometimes my comprehension skills break down on the side of the road and I forget that regardless of what form they're in, Fushi has yellow eyes that are drawn in a unique way. I was also biased because I want Funa's knocker to be relevant, and that affected my prediction on what would happen next. Since no one this chapter made a comment on Funa's strange eye color, I guess the yellow eyes are just for helping readers differentiate between characters sharing the same body.

Although it seems random, Fushi's plan was actually something they've been thinking of since Chapter 143.1 at least. It was the first time they saw how Mizuha and Funa get treated by this group of girls and it made a big impact on them, although Funa's knocker surprised them before they could intervene. The plan formed fully after their conversation with Satoru, and the death of Funa's knocker set things up so that they could use a form besides the nameless boy's for a little while.

The way Fushi goes over to Mizuha at the beginning of the chapter was framed to be kind of creepy. Imagine the present era from Mizuha's perspective and you will see how disturbing it is when the person you're in love with tries to kill your mom and then presumably kills your new friend so they can stalk you in her form. It's like a fucking horror movie. Fushi's now essentially doing what Funa's knocker was doing: using her body to further their own goals instead of preserving her lifestyle.

No matter how Fushi approached this problem, they probably wouldn't have succeeded, but asking three girls who hate your guts out all at the same time is a spectacular fail. They only know what a date is from when Mizuha introduced the idea to them, so despite her romantic intentions they're hoping it's a friend thing, and now they've created even more misunderstandings.

Fushi's conversation with their teacher felt multilayered, because her advice could apply to the knockers as well as to Funa's life. Fushi has only interacted with the knockers in this era one-on-one, but even when they have an opportunity to ask all the questions they want, they don't get any answers. Maybe a hint that this strategy won't work on either problem. Their teacher also reminds Fushi that there are people worrying about Funa even if they don't say so—which sucks because it's too late for anybody to worry about her, and Fushi does have friends who are worrying about them quite a lot. The only way they'd even know that Fushi's still around is if Bon was updating them.

I'm happy to see Fushi making an effort to do something constructive on their own, but their plan's execution was so bad that they ended up pissing off Mizuha so badly that the left hand had to get involved—which was, ironically, not their intention for once. They believe that the hairband was what helped Tonari and Mizuha become friends, but that doesn't work at first. So start lying to make the hairband "special" and therefore more desirable. In doing so, they've taken the one thing that Mizuha was able to give Hanna to prove that she valued their friendship and turned it into something meaningless. Fushi barely knows these girls' names.

I reread all the chapters in the present era so I could better interpret Saki, Nagisa, and Kasabe's individual characters, because when Fushi talks to them separately you can see how they act when they can't rely on each other. When the group first appeared, Saki and Funa were at the center and closest to each other, always clinging onto each other and the ones who Nagisa and Kasabe were trying to impress. Saki was the one who stomped on Mizuha's foot both times, and she and Funa got into a fight because they both liked the boy who princess carried her. After that, apparently Funa blamed Saki for Rikuya rejecting her and so they ostracized her. Saki was likely the one who instigated this as well. She's the leader, and currently she's embarrassed by Funa because her knocker called attention to her bullying of Mizuha in Chapter 143.1. That's the "blurting out every thought that crosses your mind" that she complained about to Fushi.

Nagisa was originally in the position of appeasing Saki and Funa before they fell out. She was more invested than Kasabe, and after they chased Funa out she stepped in to take the place of Saki's best friend. But Nagisa says that Funa was the one who left, rather than being forced to leave. Either she's they can't get along because she took Funa's spot, or she's expressing resentment that she was forced to choose between Saki and Funa. Or both? It's unclear at this point, but her words felt angrier than Saki's, who's just reflecting her own insecurities onto Funa (and also Mizuha).

Kasabe is usually quiet, and didn't attempt to please Saki or Funa like Nagisa did, so I'd say she's newer to the group? She doesn't react instantly with negativity like Saki, Funa, and Nagisa, like when she started to respond to Fushi's greeting in the previous chapter. She also occasionally takes the time to consider why others behave in the way they do, like when she asks Fushi why Funa switched her opinion on Mizuha in this chapter. Judging by her strong reaction to Fushi saying she doesn't hate Mizuha, I'd say Kasabe actually likes Mizuha quite a bit. She's probably the only one in that group who could genuinely be friends with Mizuha and Fushi, but doing that would mean social suicide. None of these girls can do anything differently, because they each think they might get thrown out by the others.

Tonari and Mizuha's interaction at the end of the chapter is awkward but progress; Mizuha links arms with her, which she usually does with people she likes, and although Tonari looks a little uncomfortable she smiles at Mizuha and responds amiably. When she first appeared this chapter, Tonari looked somewhat lonely walking by herself. She's one of the people who's worried about Fushi right now, especially since she sees it as her job to protect them. I don't know if the left hand was dragging Fushi back to their group or to a different area, but if she overheard that it's Fushi in Funa's body she'll want to know what the hell is going on.

#i want to dedicate this post to the four people who read my last one #fumetsu no anata e #to your eternity #to you the immortal #fnae #fnae manga #fnae spoilers #fnae manga spoilers #fnae anime spoilers #present era #new world arc #chapter 145.1 #fushi #immo #tonari #mizuha #funa #fuuna #saki #nagisa #kasabe #my post

[cricketscreations]

AMARANTH [ c. cullen ]

TITLE :: Amaranth

CHAPTER ZERO :: The Beginning of the End

PAIRING :: Carlisle Cullen x reader, various x reader

GENRE :: Drama

SUMMARY :: Once leading a life of what she seen as relative normality, a sudden change sends poor y/n into a disastrous spiral.

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MASTERLIST

Y/n had a normal life, as normal as she could possibly have, and she was happy with the mediocrity. She was rather successful; she was getting married soon, she was working as the personal assistant to a regional manager for some big corporate business and made good money — hell, she even made an effort to reconnect with her parents, before they passed away, that is — she even planned on going to college after getting married so she could pursue a career as a pediatrician. But, of course, life hardly ever goes as planned.

Her life came crashing down towards the beginning of January, during her bachelorette party with a few of her close friends. At first, she hated the idea of having a bachelorette party, but after endless pestering, her friends convinced her to go to a club with them. However, Y/n happened to more introverted and somehow came up with an excuse to hang out in the empty alley behind the club for a breather, and sneaking a secret smoke. She lit the tobacco and inhaled the chemicals, her lungs stinging since she'd abstained from cigarettes for a while. She knew they were toxic to her health, but in overly stressful situations, she would break out the ol' cancer sticks for a bit of relief.

The cool night breeze sent shivers down her spine. She was not wearing the most comfortable winter outfit. Quite frankly, she was freezing her tits off at the chill. The outfit she was in was a pretty small dress with a pair of black boots, revealing a lot of skin, which was borrowed from one of her friends’ closet.

Her cigarette had almost completely burned out when she heard some gravel being kicked around while feet quietly shuffled around on the ground. She became slightly paranoid at the thought of someone being in close proximity to her. She dropped the cigarette butt and stomped out the faltering flame, picking it back up once it was out and tossing it in an outdoor trash bin. When she turned back to see if an animal was causing the little noises, but she was met with a man who had stunningly pale skin and blond hair held up in a ponytail. She was terrified, and her eyes scanned him, looking for any sign of familiarity. Alas, she found none. He was wearing a pair of jeans, but no shirt, which she found strange, especially because it was January and there were flurries of snow falling to the ground.

Y/n had no idea what was going on, but couldn't help the small, scared whimper that she let out when he clamped his cold hand around her mouth with fast, bruising force, ensuring that she couldn't scream out for help. Tears streamed down her cheeks as he sunk his rather sharp teeth into her clavicle. She was terrified, she could only see a glint of red in his eye, before a rush of intense pain coursed through her veins. The blond pulled away from her neck, a bit of red liquid dripping from the corner of his mouth. She choked out a sob and fell to the ground once his hand left her jaw, bare knees hitting the rough, loose gravel.

The doors of the club opened, to reveal a couple of Y/n's girlfriends, worriedly chattering; the stranger darted off, not wanting to be caught. She struggled to stay conscious, her vision becoming worse by the second, black dots spotting her surroundings. She squeaked out a small "help" before collapsing on the ground entirely, the ache still running through her body.

The girls panicked, seeing their dear friend fall unconscious in their peripherals, turning and running toward her. At first, they thought she was a goner, but one of them thought to pull out a small mirror from their purse and stuck it below her nose. Although it was minor, her breathing caused a slight fog on the mirror, letting them know she wasn't dead yet. They let out sighs of relief and did their best to pick up their friend, but the heels they chose to wear were no help to them. Instead of attempting to lug her out and flag down a cab, they focused on trying to find out exactly what happened and who they had to kill for causing this.

One of the girls, Stephanie, looked her up and down, seeing if she had any injuries, and came across a large, bleeding wound on her neck that looked like a bite if you squinted. Stephanie pointed out the spot to the other girl, Lisa, while she fished a makeup wipe out of her purse. She used a wipe to clean up the injury, but Y/n hissed in pain as the wipe made contact with an open part of the wound.

Y/n's eyes opened, and she took a moment to regain herself, pressing her back against the wall of the building. "I. . . I'm gonna go home." She grumbled, bending down to pick up her clutch.

"Are you kidding, Y/n? You need to go to the hospital! That thing on your neck is disgusting!" Stephanie was shocked, she was clearly concerned about the wound, but Y/n didn't seem to care as much.

Lisa chimed in, "It could get infected if you don't get it treated, Y/n, you should have it checked out."

The corner of Y/n's mouth twitched upwards, a weak smile appearing. "Steph, Lis, I can take care of this, it's nothing," It was definitely not nothing. She could feel an ache all throughout her veins and her head felt like it was about to explode. Y/n didn't want them to worry, she knew them all too well and she knew that if the weirdo who bit her gave her some disease they wouldn't stop blaming themselves. "I'll go home, get some bandages and antibiotic ointment, then I'll be good as new. Don't worry."

The girls, very reluctantly, let her go — trusting her instead of arguing with their stubborn friend. "Do you want me to come with? I can help, it's kind of an awkward spot to be fixing up on your own." Stephanie offered.

Y/n shook her head and politely murmured, "No thanks, Steph." They respected her wishes and headed back inside while she caught a cab driving by.

It took only about fifteen minutes for the cab to get her home, opposed to the usual twenty — the driver had seen the dried blood that had stained her skin and decided that it would be best to get there as fast as he could. She thanked the man and paid her fare, plus a hefty tip, before stumbling into her home. It was around midnight when she decided to stop waiting on her fiancé, Tyler, to get home since he was working late, yet again. She dressed her wound in bandages and took some pain killers along with a shot of whiskey to dull the ache, then retired to bed.

The next morning, she felt nothing but the raging pain of her blood coursing through her veins like poison. She swallowed it down with a few shots of hard liquor and her daily medicine. The entire day she was on edge, always looking over her shoulder. She took the day off from work, but her husband hadn't; something about extra paperwork to file before dinner. His parents were coming over to celebrate their engagement over dinner, and although Y/n wasn't feeling good, she wasn't going to up and cancel.

Instead of making a meal, Y/n called a nearby Japanese catering company, ordering a few plates of assorted sushi rolls to be delivered by four o'clock. She didn't worry over the cost, but rather plopped down on the couch, trying to rest before she'd have to deal with her to-be in-laws.

She must've lost track of time because before she knew it, there was a knock at the door, and she was mindlessly getting up to open it. There stood an awkward-looking teen with a few insulated cases in hand. "Ms. L/n?" In response, she nodded and he gestured to a receipt sitting on top of the boxes. "Sign on the dotted line," The delivery boy pulled a blue pen out of his pocket and handed it to her, which she took with hesitation. She signed for the food and took the boxes. "Have a nice day!" He spoke quickly as she shut the door.

"Why can I still smell him? He smells like Frito's dipped in guac," Y/n grimaced, however, the stench made her hungry. "Whatever, I can dig in once they're here." She sighed.

Only moments passed before the door opened, revealing her soon-to-be husband, Tyler, and his parents. Tyler took it upon himself to set the table and help his parents settle in for their stay. Y/n stood in the bathroom, observing her neck and shoulder — whatever used to be there was now but a faint ring mark. Unfortunately, that didn't mean her pain stopped. Thankfully, she had a higher tolerance than most, and a bit of liquor helped.

They were part-way through dinner, and Y/n was picking at her second California roll. She could just barely stand the scents her nose was taking in — and the sushi wasn't the cause. She could separate the smells too; one of them smelt like rotting pears, another was a variation of sour wine, and the final one was by far the one that made her hunger plunge deeper — it was floral, and yet bitter. The sushi was no longer of any interest to Y/n; those smells, though, they were mouthwatering.

"Oh, dear, Y/n," Tyler's mother, Jill, started. "I just don't understand why you couldn't have made the food yourself; then again, you've always been quite a lazy lady." The last part was more of a reminder to herself but still, hurt Y/n nonetheless.

Y/n smiled, but everyone could tell it was fake, and there was nothing but pure rage behind it. "Oh, Jillian, you always critique my cooking skills anyways, so I thought why not save you the trouble and just get food elsewhere." Bitterness seeped from every word she spoke as she glared daggers at Tyler's monster of a mum.

"How thoughtful." The father, Wayne, added, shoving a spicy tuna roll down his gullet.

Jill obviously wasn't happy with the retort and turned to her beloved son. "I can't see why you didn't try to get with that Jessy girl at your office, she was an absolute sweetie; but I guess you like the sour bunch."

Wayne chuckled. "Yeah, if I were in your situation, I'd take the bait," He paused, taking a bite of another sushi roll before speaking up again. "Put in some extra hours, if you know what I mean." He spat, a piece of rice shooting out on his mouth and onto Y/n's nearby plate. Tyler let out a nervous laugh, looking towards his fianceé.

As she got angrier, the smells got more intense and the sound of rhythmic beating and rushing liquid filled her ears. She snapped her eyes shut so she could try to focus, but she just couldn't. Tyler attempted to bring her out of her pained expression with aggressive shoulder tapping, he was met with a push with massive force behind it. Said push sent him hurtling backward into a wall, causing his body to leave a hole in its place before he fell to the ground. Wayne stood up in shock, confused at what had just happened, and something had completely taken Y/n over.

No longer could she ignore her hunger, or the pent up fury within her. She leapt at Wayne, smacking his head against the wall harshly, before looking at Jill, who was going through her purse desperately looking for her Blackberry.

"No phones at the table, Jill." Y/n hissed before, kicking the leg of her chair, snapping the wooden block off, and making Jill fall to the floor.

To Jill, all hope was lost. Within seconds, Y/n fell to the floor and grabbed Jill's arm, biting it. The latter cried out, but Y/n quickly grabbed as much sushi as she could handle and shoved it into her mouth, muffling the screams.

Sharp and strong teeth replaced Y/n's former ones and she mercilessly sucked the blood from Jill's arm. Y/n's eyes had gone dark, and that was all Jill saw before she'd lost a large amount of blood and lost consciousness.

Y/n physically had to rip herself away from her would-be mother-in-law to prevent herself from draining the body completely. Once she had seen what was done, tears streamed down her face. Panic set in, and Y/n stood up and looked around at the mess she made.

Something felt off. Her hands wandered to her mouth, poking at her mouth to realize that her teeth felt much stronger than before and there was a thick layer of blood on her bottom lip. "Holy shit. . ." She gasped, scared of what idea came to mind. "Am I a fucking vampire?"

It sounded even more ridiculous out loud.

Her mind circled back to the blood dribbling down her chin and onto her blouse. What a shame. It was one of her favorites. How was she ever going to rid herself of this mess? This was her house, people in the neighborhood knew her, she would obviously be suspect number one and she had zero idea how to drop off the face of the earth.

Y/n's eyes shifted around the room, looking for some sort of sudden solution to her problems. Sushi, blood, candles, broken wood. . . Candles. . . Fire. She could burn the evidence. Her mind wandered back to the gas canister for her lawnmower; Tyler always kept it full so it would be there when he needed it. She rushed out to the garage, surprised at her speed, and retrieved the red can.

She poured gasoline on the floor, making sure the bodies were doused in the extremely flammable liquid. Let's be honest, if the bodies burnt enough, the police of this town probably wouldn't care enough to look too far into it — they'd most likely mark her off as deceased as well.

She had changed into a pair of thick spandex, a pair of comfortable sneakers, and a hoodie two sizes too large; and at the ripe, late time of '1:27 AM', Y/n snatched one of her lighters and her pack of cigarettes and went outside. She lit a cigarette and took a couple of moments to reminisce. She adored her house, but it could no longer be her home. She wouldn't be safe there, and she couldn't come back. She needed to be far, far away. She couldn't spend a second more there, so she took one last hit and flicked her lit cigarette through the door of the house and took off as flames spread through the house.

Hour, upon hour — they simply passed like minutes. It felt exhilarating to not be tired. She ran all night and the sun was starting to peek over the horizon, soft rays of light filtered through the crowds of trees. She was in a forest of some kind, and she had absolutely no idea where she was. After a couple of minutes of nothing but trees for miles, she stopped.

Somehow she felt absolutely no exhaustion from the obscene amount of physical work she'd just went through. She must've been at least a couple of states away, she should be safe.

tags :: @whattheheckisevengoingon​

#amaranth #carlisle cullen #twilight carlisle #twilight #twilight x reader #carlisle cullen x reader #lux fics

[turquoise-stones]

Edge of Insanity Pt. 3: Closer

yandere!Todoroki x fem!reader

Previous Chapter

. . .

"Good morning everyone…" you yawned, slipping into your seat. It was early in the morning (earlier then you would have liked) and homeroom was about to begin.

Uraraka walked in a moment later, frowning at your slumped over form. "What happened to you (y/n)?"

You let out a groan of exhaustion which only caused the concern on Uraraka's face to grow.

"She had to stay late in the library yesterday because some children made a mess." Todoroki explained from a few seats over, remembering the chaotic events he had witnessed yesterday.

"Uh huh…" you sighed, running a hand through your messy hair and resting your cheek on your hand so that you could look at the two of them. "And then there was math homework and history notes and a science lab and English reading… urg."

It had been a couple of weeks since you had first transferred over, and you were starting to get comfortable with your new classes and classmates. And while the class was exponentially harder than your old one, you couldn't say that you missed General Studies. In Class 1-A, you felt welcomed. You didn't hate waking up in the mornings anymore. Even if your muscles were always in pain from training, your mood had improved so much because school wasn't so emotionally draining anymore.

"You could have texted me for help!" She admonished.

"I thought about it… but by the time I started you were probably asleep already…" you yawned out, causing Uraraka's mouth to drop open.

Even Inomata hadn't spoken to you since that first day. You briefly (very briefly) entertained the idea that Shinsou had spoken to her, but decided that he was probably too aloof to go out of his way to protect you like that. Maybe she had reformed her ways! But knowing her, probably not.

But the best part of it all was the people you were now surrounded with. They radiated positive, hardworking energy that was so infectious that you were more motivated than you had ever been. Your friends (and you were sure to call them your friends now) had adopted you into their group, and made sure you weren't ever alone. Iida mothered you and helped you with work, Uraraka kept you smiling and cheerful, Midoriya helped you train and pushed you to be stronger, and Tsuya grounded you with her down to earth vibe. Even Shinsou made an effort to talk to you. After being surrounded by negative people for so long, you had forgotten what it was like to be a happy student. It felt too good to be true.

And of course, you gravitated towards Todoroki. As Uraraka had said earlier, he really did go to the library after school each day to study. Every time you peeked out from the kid's section where you worked, he would be there, typing away at his laptop, doing worksheets, and you even caught him napping once or twice. It had taken a lot of nerve, but about a week in you finally pulled up a chair next to him after your shift ended. You weren't quite sure what compelled you to do it, maybe a mix of curiosity towards him and a slight crush.

The first few times you sat with him were nothing more than studying and helping each other with homework. You had a pretty good background in English and helped him with that, and he helped you in the areas where you were struggling. But you didn't like studying as much as you liked it when he just talked with you, in those hushed library whispers, about anything and everything. It was it the depths of those conversations where you learned that the two of you got along surprisingly well. You enjoyed the same books as him, watched similar shows, had similar aspirations. Your personalities meshed together so well, and made talking with him was so incredibly freeing. Those quiet moments in the library were the only times when you (sparingly) saw him smile. He never brought up that moment in the cafe, and you were happy to keep it that way.

And your relationship with him transferred into the school day as well. Your friends had noticed how you chose to sit next to him during lunch, how you chose to spar with him, how the two of you left school to go to the library together. They didn't say anything, but sent each other knowing looks whenever they caught the two of you together. It was heartwarming, how fast you had adjusted to class.

. . .

Right before lunch, Shinsou stopped you as you exited the girl's locker room. He was slightly out of breath, and still damp looking from his after gym shower. You raised an eyebrow at him, a little freaked out.

"I need to talk to you." He hissed, grabbing onto your wrist and tugging you away from the stream of people. "Right now."

. . .

Todoroki's eyes suddenly stung like hell, which snapped him out of his daze. After washing out the soap furiously, he leaned back into the shower water and scrubbed out the shampoo with a heavy sigh. Like it had been for the past couple weeks, his mind was occupied with thoughts about you. Your words from that day in the cafe had kept him on edge. They were so… off-putting. Yet when the two of you talked, you seemed so happy and normal. Were you just exceptionally good at hiding your problems? Was he being dense? Or was he just reading too deep into things? He couldn't understand what was bothering you, and he felt that it was out of his place to ask outright after seeing how badly you reacted the first time he asked.

Either way, he could not deny the oddly protective way he felt about you. After all, you were sweet, very charming and even cute at times. He didn't quite know how to deal with the outpour of strange emotions he was feeling for the first time. Turning the water off, he stepped out and dried himself, before shrugging on his school uniform and making his way out of the boy's locker room. He wandered towards the cafeteria, thinking about the cold soba he was about to enjoy, before spotting your figure further down the hall. He watched as Shinsou flagged you down, pulling you around the corner and out of view.

He frowned at the sight, wondering why Shinsou of all people would need to talk to you. You shouldn't be going off with people alone, especially not Shinsou, who could manipulate you and make you do things you didn't want to... He had grabbed your hand… was it your hand? He couldn't tell from so far away. Either way, he shouldn't be touching you. Todoroki had half the mind to follow you and make sure you were okay, but stopped himself. Shaking his head in frustration, he tried to clear his mind of those thoughts. What was wrong with him? You could talk to whoever you wanted, and he had no right to follow you around. Plus Shinsou wasn't going to hurt you or anything… right? Someone bumped into him and Todoroki realized that he had stopped moving. He glanced at the spot where you had disappeared one last time, conflicted, before choosing to go to lunch.

. . .

Shinsou pulled you further and further into the school before choosing an empty classroom (there were quite a few since it was lunchtime) to enter.

He pushed you out of the window's line of sight before finally turning to you. You snatched your wrist out of his grip and rubbed the slight pain away.

"What the actual hell Shinsou?" You hissed, glaring up at him.

"Don't you know what people are saying about you?"

"What?"

"Well I'm glad I get to break the wonderful news to you." He said flatly. "Apparently somebody made a post hinting that a certain someone paid their way into class 1-A. They didn't name any names but… well let's just say that nobody thinks it's me."

You blinked at him, dread slowly creeping in as you processed his information.

"Are you… are you joking…?" You asked quietly. He wasn't smiling. "Are you actually serious? What the hell…"

"Yes, I'm serious. The post blew up and now literally everyone except you seems to know."

"How did you find out?"

"An old friend from General Studies told me."

You felt nauseous suddenly, and sank down into one of the chairs next to you. Did your friends know? They couldn't yet, since they behaved so normally this morning. You opened your mouth to speak but shut it again when you realized that you didn't have anything to say.

"It's not true is it?"

You glared icy daggers at him, furious that he even had the nerve to ask. Your expression was enough to make him step back a bit.

"I'm sorry, I just needed to make sure." He walked to the other side of the desk, sitting down opposite you. You took a calming breath.

"Who posted it? Was it Inomata?"

He shrugged. "I'm guessing. I don't follow her social media but I don't see who else it could be."

"And people… people believe her?"

"She's pretty popular and she didn't say your name explicitly so people are coming to their own conclusions." He stated, running a hand through his hair.

"Christ. Why… why why why. I thought this was over. Why can't she…" you groaned in frustration, pulling your knees to your chest and tucking your face into them. You wanted to cry. Your emotions were swirling and you felt like throwing up.

"I'm… I'm just so done with this. Why does she hate me so much? Why can't she just leave me alone?" You despaired. "I… I don't even have the money to pay rent every month. How can I even pay someone off…"

Shinsou shifted uncomfortably, feeling like he should comfort you but not knowing how. A quiet moment passed and you squeezed your knees tighter, not wanting to look up and see him judging you.

You heard him shift to the seat adjacent to you. "It's alright (y/n). When you work as hard as you have, people are bound to be jealous. This will pass because they're nothing but rumors. So stop crying."

You hadn't even realized you were crying until he told you to stop. Your eyes burned and your cheeks were flushed with anger and shame.

"(Y/n)? Are you listening? Look at me."

You took a large, shuddering breath, lifting your head up slightly to wipe at your eyes, briefly looking at him before turning away. "Sorry… I just…"

He said quietly that you shouldn't apologize.

"Thank you for telling me. I'd rather hear it from you than some stranger in the halls."

He nodded, and the two of you fell into silence for a bit as you calmed your breathing and slowed your tears.

"What should I do now?" You murmured.

"You should tell our class before they hear it from someone else." He said.

"O-okay. But not right now." You said quietly. "Can I be alone for a while?"

He nodded, giving you a hesitating pat on the shoulder before exiting the room.

Next Chapter

#yandere #yandere todoroki #yandere shoto todoroki #yandere todoroki shouto x reader #todoroki shōto #todoroki shouto #mha shouto #shouto x reader #bnha todoroki #bnha x reader #bnha #bnha fanfiction #mha x reader #mha #reader insert

[airquietworks]

Hearts vs. Heroics or: How Uravity Surpassed the World’s Greatest Hero (IzuOcha) (Part 6)

Previous parts: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

Chapter 6: As the Heart Turns

The whispers of Ochako's name pierced through her restful slumber.

It was difficult for her to make out what exactly what was being said. Regardless, the words hovered around her ears, buzzing like insects. It was more than a little annoying when all she wanted to do was rest. There was a weariness etched deep into her muscles, making them difficult to move — not that she would want to right now. Her head was throbbing, periodically spiking in pain, preventing any hope of peace of mind.

The dark numbness enveloping her entire form started to lift as the conversations continued. She wanted to enjoy whatever rest she could manage, but it grew increasingly difficult to ignore the hushed voices around her. With a soft moan, Ochako tried to open her eyes, despite how heavy they were.

It took a mighty effort, but she managed to lift her eyelids, letting in the light of the outside world. Everything was fuzzy at first, but slowly came into clearer focus. She blinked to mitigate the harsh light beaming down on her. Mercifully, the light overhead was quickly blocked out by a pair of shadowy visages.

As the hazy world came back into focus, Ochako was met with the lovely sight of her parents. Their faces were a complicated picture of emotion; there was relief, with a pair of beaming smiles that filled her with a warmth reminding her once more of home. But they both looked weepy, too, their eyes sunken with a weariness she could empathize with.

She only had a moment to process the troubling, yet heartwarming image before the area around her exploded in a cacophony of excitement.

"Ochako!"

"Uraraka!"

"Honey!"

"Would you lot be quiet?!"

The indignant voice of Recovery Girl did little to stem the tide of emotions from the assembled group around Ochako.

She could hardly move her body – every part of it felt like it was weighed down by a pile of bricks. But her parents eagerly made up for that, gently grabbing each of her hands and clutching them while blubbering about how worried about her. She could not feel either of the arms they were touching – she was probably filled with a lot of painkillers – but appreciated the gesture just the same.

"I'm…." Ochako struggled to summon the energy to respond to her parents' concerned ramblings but pushed through her weariness to speak. It was important.

But she caught her tongue before she spoke. She wanted to say, "I'm alright," but realized such a statement was unbelievable, given the situation.

"I'm glad you're here," Ochako murmured in a low voice, trying to squeeze both her parent's hands in comfort. She could barely move her fingertips, but the gesture sent them both into a fresh round of tears.

"You were so amazing, honey!" Her mother beamed at her.

"I thought I was going to pass out!" Her father stated with brutal honesty, sniffling through his tears.

"I have no idea how you were able to do all that!" Her mother continued as she gently stroked Ochako's hand with her thumb.

"You…I…how did you get up after all of that?" Her father's voice was filled with astonishment as he leaned closer, searching Ochako's eyes.

"I…I guess that's…" Ochako struggled to answer, causing both her parents to clam up. They saw the pressure they were putting on her and immediately relented, sitting back in their seats next to her bed and giving her some breathing room. Ochako smiled at her parents' thoughtfulness.

But she still struggled to think of the words to explain what had happened in her fight with Deku. She struggled to even fully recall what happened herself; she was pretty sure she got a concussion at some point but had fought on anyway.

By all measures, there was no way she should have won. So how was she able to get the upper hand on Deku? Why did he not just knock her out of the ring?

Chancing a glance up at her parents beseeching faces, Ochako summoned a weak smile and came up with the best answer she could manage.

"I just…I guess it's just what every hero has to do sometimes. 'Plus ultra' and all that," Ochako explained. She tried to summon her trademark bubbly tone, but found she could not quite muster the energy.

Her parents glanced at one another, making a silence exchange, their eyes a little fearful. Ochako squinted at the two, herself worried about their evident unease.

"You were pretty incredible out there, Uraraka." Iida's voice penetrated the awkward pause between her and her parents. Ochako's eyes grew wide as she lifted her head up to look past her parents to see Iida, Mina and Tsuyu standing near the foot of her bed.

She realized she was back in the infirmary room, which was a lot less cluttered with throes of injured students. As a result, her bed was now right next to the door. She could see Recovery Girl off to the left, grumbling to herself next to the still sleeping Sero while scribbling frantically in a large clipboard. Ochako sighed at the setting, wishing she was not returning here so often.

Not wanting to dwell on it, Ochako turned her attention back to her friends and the happier thoughts they could provide.

"Hey guys," Ochako greeted them with what enthusiasm she could manage. "Sorry, I didn't see you there at first.

"No problem at all, ribbit," Tsuyu piped up. Ochako noticed a few bandages across Tsuyu's face and frowned. She knew Tsuyu was fighting Bakugo after her own bout. Had she missed it? And what had happened?

"I lost to Bakugo. He was pretty mad about your fight with Midoriya and I got the receiving end of it," Tsuyu explained, observant to Ochako's eyes wandering to her bandages. Tsuyu did not sound too put off by it, but her face still sunk a bit at the pronouncement.

"Oh shoot, sorry about that Tsu," Ochako said, wishing she could move to give her friend some kind of consoling gesture. But her froggy companion waved a hand at her.

"It's fine. I didn't think I was going to win anyway," Tsuyu replied assuredly. "I figure I showed up well enough on stage to land a decent job out of school."

"That's a relief…" Ochako sighed, the pressure she felt her alleviating, if only slightly. "What else happened?"

"Todoroki defeated Kirishima. It was closer than I would have expected," Iida recounted matter-of-factly. "Tokoyami is up against Tetsutetsu next, but we wanted to come and check up on you."

"Aww, thanks guys," Ochako felt a fulfilling warmth in her as she smiled at the people around her. She was truly blessed with wonderful friends.

Which naturally made her beg the question when she noticed a certain someone was not near her bedside.

"Where's Deku?" Ochako asked. Her parents did not react to the question, but her friends all made sidelong glances away from her.

"He was pretty shaken up by your bout as well," Iida explained. "He had to get healed, but he was not nearly as…physically injured as you were. He went off with All Might a while ago.

"He didn't really want to talk about the fight, ribbit," Tsuyu added, resting her cheek on her elongated finger. "Must have really taken a lot out of him."

"I've been dying to ask," Mina piped up, not able to mitigate the excitement from her voice. "What exactly were you talking to him about near the end there?"

Ochako blinked at the question, unable to immediately recall. She struggled to think back to those moments before the bizarre end to the fight, where her headlong rush had somehow worked.

The throbbing of her head in those moments made the memories difficult to recall and she strained her mind to do so. She remembered feeling so happy about his encouragement. Then there was her realization she'd have to push beyond her limits in everything if she was going to defeat him. And then she had decided to let go of all of those doubts inhibiting her. She had talked to Deku about it. Said nothing would get in her way. Not his power. Not even...

"It doesn't matter that I love you!"

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Ochako cried out at the memory. She would have almost certainly been screaming had she the vocal strength for it. As it was, her hands instinctively flew to her flushing cheeks, numbness be damned. She felt herself starting to lift off the bed before her parents frantically reached out to pull her back down.

She had done it. Somehow, unintentionally, in a bloody, adrenaline-fuelled haze, she had confessed to him. She had not even realized it! His wide-eyes and sluggish reactions at the end of their fight made so much more sense now. The confession had stunned him! He was still reeling from it when she assaulted him!

As her parents struggled to pull her back down to Earth, Ochako tried to come to grips with it all. She had won…but in the most underhanded of ways. She had unintentionally weaponized her love for him to gain an advantage. A gnawing pit of guilt settled deep into her stomach and she felt sweat start to form on her brow.

She saw Tsuyu and Iida move closer to her around the bed, looking concerned. But Mina leaned over with a knowing, impish little smile on her face. The pinkish fiend gave her this look that told Ochako she now knew exactly what had happened.

"What's wrong honey?" Her mother asked her with urgency as she desperately pushed Ochako's back down onto the bed. Ochako mumbled wordlessly and released her quirk, letting her sore arms fall back to her side.

"Are you hurting anywhere? Should I go call the nurse over?" Her father grabbed onto Ochako's hand, staring at her fiercely, trying to get a read on his daughter's well being.

"I…I…I…" Ochako stammered and tried to explain her reaction. But how could she? How could she explain that she had made everything go wrong by blurting out something so embarrassing? How could she admit to winning that way?

Ochako gulped before taking a deep breath to steady herself. There was no way she could tell anybody here what had really happened. So she'd have to fall back to her old default.

"Sorry, just had a really awful migraine come over me," Ochako murmured, putting a hand to her forehead and rubbing her temple pointedly. "The pain comes and goes but I'm…I'm okay enough now."

It was as if she was a performer on a theatrical stage and a myriad of spotlights were shining down on her. Every one of her assembled friends and family gave her scrutinizing glances, none of which looked particularly convinced by her plea.

But her father sighed and gave Ochako a merciful escape from further probing.

"Well, you should probably get some more rest then," her father suggested, a tired smile emerging on his face.

"We'll leave you to it," her mother added, standing up in time with her father. Ochako immediately felt a chill as the two moved away from her bedside.

With very little fanfare, her compatriots all filed out of the room in an orderly fashion. Ochako felt a tinge of regret at her avoidance of the question. But as her headache continued to cause pain and muck her thoughts up, she realized it might indeed be best to rest without straining herself trying to explain her victory over Deku.

"See you later, Ochako," Tsuyu said cheerily, waving as she exited the room.

"Make sure you get some good rest before your next match," Iida stated, waving a flat hand her enthusiastically. Ochako nodded at him, smiling at his care as he waltzed out of the room.

"Ciao! Hope you can give me some juicier details about your fight later!" Mina exclaimed gleefully with a wink. Ochako averted her eyes and grumbled to herself about Mina's teasing. The girl did not let up.

But as her parents reached the doorframe to leave her to her own thoughts, Ochako was suddenly overcome with a memory. Her mind flashed briefly to her younger self once again, her tiny hands reach merrily out to the stars.

"Wait!" Ochako called out, managing to lift a hand out towards her parents. The pair turned to regard her, worry still lining their faces. Ochako frowned, wishing desperately she could take away those glum expressions.

"Can we…talk for a bit? Just us?" Ochako beseeched softly, letting her hand gently fall back down onto the bed.

Her parents did not hesitate, quickly returning to her bedside. Out of the corner of her eye, Ochako could see Mina peek her head into the door, but she was quickly yanked back out of the infirmary room.

"What is it, Ochako?" Her father asked, reaching out to grab her right hand again. The familiar soft grip of his skin sent another wave of nostalgia through Ochako, making it even more difficult to gather her thoughts.

With a deep breath, Ochako tried to get the words off of her chest

"I….I just wanted to thank you. For…for everything," Ochako said solemnly. She watched her parents' eyebrows raise in unison, the two exchanging confused glances, but she did not let that give her pause. "For supporting me and always telling me to chase after my own dreams. I…I don't think I would have won that last fight if you hadn't."

She had thought that wanting to bring a stable, happy life for her family was enough for her dream. And no force in this world would ever stop her from working towards that goal.

But there was more desire than that in her heart now. Really, there had been for a while. Trying to chase Deku for all this time meant she had to extend herself to her limits and reach beyond what might be strictly necessary for her to be a wealthy pro. If she was going to keep up with the future number one, she had to be willing to dream a little bigger, too.

Even on a dream as childish as grabbing onto a falling star.

"You don't need to thank us Ochako," her father offered simply, gently stroking her hand. "All we've ever wanted was to see you happy and chasing your own dreams. You're the one that's been working so hard to make that a reality."

Ochako let out a breathy sigh, trying to reign in her more outward emotional impulses. Her father always could get her to weepy.

"No matter what we do, we'll always support you," her father continued. "I'm glad if that helps you in any way. And I'm glad if you're pursuing what makes you happy, too."

"I'm still going to give you a happy life," Ochako interjected forcefully. She needed to make that clear. There was nothing in this world that should shake her from that path. That was a vital part of the happy future she wanted.

"And I know nothing I can do will make you let go of that one," her father replied, chuckling. "But there's a whole world of possibility for you besides that. And whatever it is you reach for, I know you'll be able to do it."

"I…I'm going to have a hard time worrying about you after watching that fight," her mother piped in, expression a little downcast. "But I know nothing I can say now would ever stop you, even if I wanted to try. You're always going to be my little girl but…but you're Uravity now. I know that's who you are, too."

"It's amazing to see how much fast you're growing," her father added. "We couldn't be prouder."

Ochako thought her face might burst from the force of her smile. Her parents got a little more difficult to see through her watery eyes, something she had no hope of preventing.

She pushed through all the numbness to move off the bed and extend her arms wide. Her parents caught onto the idea quickly and wrapped her up in the loving embrace she sought. They had to lean over, and the bed between them made the whole gesture a little more awkward, but it hardly mattered.

"Thank you," Ochako whispered. She wished she could capture the words that could possibly encapsulate the sheer joy she felt at her parents understanding. A part of her had wondered if they might be upset with her about how hard she pushed herself in the ring, but that fear had been swiftly extinguished.

"Okay, you should really get some rest, honey," her mother suggested, gently, guiding Ochako back to lay back down.

"You've got a big fight coming up," her father added. But he threw In a cocky half-grin and a thumbs up. "But if that last fight was any indication, there's no way you can lose!"

Ochako smiled at the comment. It was sweet to see him trying to be more confident in her. If nothing else, if she had inspired some confidence in her parents, she could take some happiness out of her fight with Deku.

"But we'll support you no matter what the result!" her mother chimed in, hands waving a little frantically.

"Oh, yeah, of course!" her father added, scratching the back of his head and letting out another laugh.

Her head was still aching, but the smile never left Ochako's face. Even as her body's exhaustion reminded her of how heavy a toll she had to pay to do the incredible feats she wanted to, the warm feeling in her chest from her parents' pride made it all worth it.

Ochako sighed happily as her consciousness started to fade. There was so much she would have to sort through. There would probably a lot of pain ahead. But for this moment, she left herself be buoyed by the most important people in the world to her.

Her dreams started with a distant whisper.

"No matter what…you'll always be…our hero."

Ochako felt like she was floating.

It was not like she was unbound by gravity, as usual. Rather, she felt like some sort of spirit, or a wisp of the wind, free to fly around in the sky. It would have surely been liberating, were there not a permeating sense of heat around her, radiating into her skull, making everything seem fuzzier.

But despite the disruptive haze hanging around her head, Ochako could still see herself. A different version of herself, more physically solid and with feet on the ground. She winced at her own condition; bloody, bruised, grounded by a broken ankle and gritting her teeth in frustration.

She realized she was watching herself in the throes of trying to stand back up to keep fighting Deku. By all reason, she should have tapped out of the fight at this point. She was running on fumes and even if she could keep fighting, she had no realistic way to win against Deku.

But despite everything, she slowly stood back up, Deku spurring her on. A fiery aura manifested around her embattled self, almost blinding to the eye, as she rose up like a phoenix.

Ochako watched herself charge forward with all her fury. But just as Deku got ready to blow her away, the words came out:

"It doesn't matter that I love you"

"It doesn't matter that I love you"

"it doesn't matter that I love you"

The mantra echoed through the stadium, the faceless crowd shouting it along with her. A bell rung each time the words were uttered and Ochako reached for her ears, trying to block out the constant echo of those humiliating words.

She could not believe she had let that slip out. Like every other obstacle before him, Deku had smashed through the carefully curated walls she had built around the deepest parts of herself. The words had just tumbled off her tongue as she grabbed onto the newfound resolve within herself in order to keep fighting.

It was not the way she wanted to win. As she watched Deku suddenly stumble around like a drunkard at her sudden confession, she knew she would not blame him in the slightest if he hated her for it.

The world started to tilt on its axis and Ochako found herself struggling to stay balanced as everything else spun around her. She tried to keep watching the fight carry on, but it was difficult to manage through the bright light of the flames emanating from her other self.

Ochako watched herself punch Deku hard in the face not two minutes after confessing her love for him. She chuckled darkly at the irony before the world started to tilt even further. Without warning, Ochako suddenly found herself falling into the sky, leaving behind the cheering stadium of blank faces.

As she fell towards the clouds, Ochako turned her body around to face the sky she was falling into. Its colours quickly switched, from a bright, blue sea into a glorious orange horizon of fire.

As the night started to fall, and the bright lights of the stars surrounded Ochako, she let her fear dissipate. A part of her knew she should be terrified, but she pushed aside that feeling.

She was right where she belonged.

Ochako's head pounded as the dull lights from the infirmary came back into her vision. It was disorienting trying to recall where she was as her dreams slowly receded from her consciousness, fading like the gentle stroke of fingertips. A part of her mind desperately tried to hold onto the fragments of her dreams, which she knew were important. Watching herself fight Deku…professing her love…falling into the stars…what else was there?

She sighed deeply and tried to move her limbs, which were a little more cooperative than before. There was still some soreness, but the unrelenting numbness had faded. She could move her arms with little difficulty now, as opposed to having to struggle to make them budge.

With the newfound freedom, Ochako got herself up, rubbing her eyes as her mind still busied herself with trying to recall her fleeting dreams.

It was weird, but dreams were always like that. Still, watching herself fight Deku…it felt like something she needed to see. Maybe her subconscious was trying to tell her something. A push to reconsider her fight, which she knew was going to frustrate her for a while to come.

She found herself instinctively tensing her hands as she recalled the echoing words. "It doesn't matter that I love you." The words that would haunt her until she could confront Deku about them.

But there was something strangely magical about seeing her fight on right after confessing. She had let go of all of her inhibitions, hangups, and self-doubt in the last moments of that battle. And although she was horribly guilty about how she had ended it, those doubts had not held her back at all.

She may not have been able to defeat Deku in an honest way – and personally felt like it hardly counted considering – but she could beat Deku. At least, that's what she knew she had to believe. If not today, then the next.

Ochako looked down at her hands, stretching out her fingertips, which held the power to control gravity itself. She could no longer be content in letting that power be spent chasing his shadow. She had to go beyond that. She had to aim beyond even him, wherever that would lead her.

That was what it meant to go 'Plus Ultra.'

But there were the more personal hang-ups she had to think about, too. Ochako closed her eyes and took a deep breath to keep herself steady as she pondered the "other" truth of her battle with Deku. One that immediately made her heart's periodic thumping just a little heavier.

She had confessed to Deku…and attacked him right afterward.

She had laid her love out in the open…and it did not stop her.

She had broken the bars around her heart, letting it burst free from its cage…and she had, technically, won one of the most important fights of her life right afterward.

Her love had not held her back.

She kept her eyes closed and took a deep breath. She wanted to keep her heart as settled as possible, lest it cloud her thoughts.

Her desire to achieve her goals and her own heroic zeal were stronger than her love for Deku. That was not new information. But she had always feared letting that love free could change that. That maybe it had already been changing that without her realizing it.

But in a moment where she let herself her love for him out in the open, she was immediately able to move past it to do what she needed to. When the chips were down, her love was no stumbling block.

Had she been going about it all the wrong way with her feelings for Deku?

"What. The. Hell. Was. That. YOU. LOSER!"

The booming voice drew the eyes of Ochako, and several others in the room, toward the doorway. It was distant, an echo bouncing off of the walls, but impactful nonetheless. There was no mistaking the gravelly voice of Katsuki Bakugo.

Based on his tone, Ochako got a sinking feeling Deku was the current subject of his ire.

Ochako did not hesitate. She lifted her reluctant limbs, pushing herself off of the bed. She moved far enough with her arms to sit on the side of the soft surface, pushing her legs off of the bed. She tested her left ankle, which she realized was wrapped solidly in a splint. No good.

She sighed and curled her fingers, activating her quirk on to make moving around an easier task. With a mighty heave, she pushed herself to a standing position, letting herself balance weightlessly on one foot. She let herself lean on the wall close to her bed, her vision filling with pale white. She took a deep breath and prepared to push off down the hall in search of the confrontation.

"Where do you think you're going, missy?"

Ochako jumped slightly, her arms swinging in front of her instinctively to block an attacker. But she was only met with the sight of Recovery Girl, the stout nurse sending her a deathly glare with her hands on her hips.

Ochako gulped at the piercing gaze of the elderly matron. Truly, she was an intimidating foe.

"Uh…I just wanted to…take a walk?" Ochako uttered awkwardly while sending a shaky smile towards the woman. Recovery Girl's face did not budge.

"You should be healing in bed. In fact, you should be out of this tournament on a precautionary basis, although I already lost that one," Recovery Girl grumbled, crossing her arms in front of her.

Ochako tried to come up with a good response to that, her tongue catching at the edge of her mouth. How could she explain it? Being a hero often meant pushing through injury to keep fighting. But Recovery Girl had almost certainly heard that a million times before.

"Is it that important?" Recovery Girl asked, halting Ochako's train of thought in its tracks.

Ochako blinked at the question but did not need long to consider. She needed to see Deku. And possibly rescue him. "Yes, I think it is."

Recovery Girl let out a deep sigh, her face faltering and her arms dropping to her side. She looked up at Ochako and regarded her with a neutral expression. "Keep your quirk on. Don't take long enough for your nausea to start up again. Do not go far and get back to bed as soon as you can. If you expect to do anything in the next round, you need all the rest you can get."

Ochako nodded enthusiastically as Recovery Girl stepped away, leaving Ochako's path for the doorway open.

"Thank you," Ochako stated softly as Recovery Girl turned her back to the hero. Truly, the nurse was a strange, yet kindly enigma.

Without much time to spare given Recovery Girl's requirement, Ochako moved out of the room as quickly as she could, pushing off with her right foot while guiding herself forward by grabbing onto the nearest wall.

She heard a pair of voices in conversation, Bakugo's voice overpowering the other. As she moved around a bend in the halls towards the voices, her suspicions as to who he was talking to were quickly confirmed.

"I just can't, okay?" Deku's voice was soft and unsure against the overpowering shouts Bakugo was letting out.

"What the hell do you mean, you can't? You lost a fight like that and you can't even say why!"

"It's…I'm sorry, Kacchan."

The two came into view as Ochako turned around the corner into an empty hallway. Deku was slumped hard against the wall, eyes glued to the floor, shoulders slouched and looking like he was doing everything in his ability to avoid eye contact with his rival. Bakugo, on the other hand, was glaring at the green-haired boy intensely, hovering over him, his hands shaking at his sides and clawed as if he was about to unleash his explosive quirk.

"What's going on here?" Ochako asked softly, breaking through the tension between the rivals.

The two flashed their eyes towards her direction as she entered the scene. Deku's eyes widened in alarm before he quickly averted them as his cheeks went red. Bakugo's glare narrowed as he took one step back from his rival and redirected his angry eyes towards her.

Ochako matched the explosive boy's gaze, refusing to back down. She might have her fears about facing Bakugo, but after all that she'd been through, she was not going to let them get the best of her.

She felt an electricity start to spark between them, a familiar tingle of anticipation hitting her as she squared up against her next opponent in the tournament. Neither was willing to back down, their eyes locked in a fiery battle of wills. Ochako felt her eyes twinge painfully as she glared into the red irises of the explosive boy in front of her, but kept her gaze steady. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Deku glancing frantically between them.

Unfortunately, Ochako could not hold her eyes open for too long, blinking to break the staring contest. With that, Bakugo let his hands fall more leisurely at his sides.

"Nothing, Uraraka. This loser won't say anything anyhow," Bakugo grumbled. "He's hardly worth the time."

"He's not a loser," Uraraka declared fiercely, taking a small step forward with her right foot. She did not care to see Deku put down by Bakugo today. Especially since Deku could hardly be faulted for the loss that had clearly drawn Bakugo's rage.

"Shut it. Last I checked, he's not the one moving on to the next round," Bakugo noted, keeping his eyes affixed to his future opponent. "Let me get one thing straight. I'm not going to take it easy on you next round like he did."

The words stung, taking Ochako aback. She tried to maintain her fierce façade, but the gears in her head were whirring. Just how obvious was it to people that Deku had not been fighting at his best?

Still, she could hardly display that uncertainty. So she instead answered him with a sharp nod.

"I won't be holding anything back either," she stated fiercely, keeping herself as steady as she could on one foot.

Bakugo grumbled wordlessly and turned his back to the two of them, feet stomping hard on the tile floor as he walked away. But he paused briefly to turn around, sending one last glare Ochako's way.

"I will crush you."

The threat intensified the air for a moment after Bakugo walked away and the Ochako was left to stew about fighting him in the Summer Sports Festival again. In different circumstances, she would be beset with nerves at the prospect of fighting Bakugo and wracking her mind for some kind of strategy to take down the most ferocious student of U.A.

But as she met Deku's gaze, her love's eyes widened in fear, she knew she had more immediate problems to worry about.

AN: Thank you to Kingdom Lightz and the IzuOcha Discord writers for editing this. So this ended up being slightly longer than expected. Good news is, the story is ending Chapter 8 instead of the planned Chapter 6! I am overwhelmingly thankful for all the support this story has received, particularly for the previous chapter. I conjured up Chapter 5���s climax in my head and found it profound enough to want to try to build a complete story around it. I’m glad so many people reacted to the scene and found it worth commenting on. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and please like and/or reblog if you did ^_^

#izuocha #my hero academia #uraraka ochako #midoriya izuku #boku no hero academia #fanfiction #shipping #fighting #Hearts vs Heroics #cliffhanger #sorry for the cliffhanger #next time cute awkward dorks