Love Deeper than the Ocean | IzuOcha Mermaid AU

Chapter 18 | Like it Or Not

Ochaco's Pov.

  "No... Not Momo... Where did you take her for her to be captured!?" she pushed Izuku back and glared into Shoto's eyes, seething with pure rage. 

  "I-I took her too close to the coral reef," the siren ran a hand through the white side of his hair. "She said she wanted to see what it looked like, so I took her close so she could see it better. Then she was spotted and taken away by the guards! They didn't see me and took her before I could tell them to stop! She's probably in the dungeon right now, but I've never been permitted access in."

  She could tell he really did care for Momo. Ochaco could tell by the distress on his face. It wasn't his fault. He just wanted to show her friend the reef (which she didn't even see yet, but she saw why Izuku avoided going there).

  "Then what's the plan to get in the dungeon. We better hurry or something will happen to her soon," Ochaco put her hands on her hips. 

  "Wait... Ochaco, "we"?" Izuku took her shoulders to turn her around. "You need to stay here! There's no way you're coming with us."

  "Izuku, I need to," she took one of his hands of her shoulders and held it close to her chest. "She's one of my very best friends... You wouldn't want Shoto to get locked up and then I tell you that you can't come to help us, right?"

  "I-I guess not... But still Ochaco! I wouldn't want you and Momo to die," Izuku went on, and then Shoto cleared his throat, sending a glower to him. 

  It seemed the gears in Izuku's head finally turned to make sense of what he just said. 

  "No! Not that Momo's gonna die!" he pulled his hands away from her and started waving them in front of his face. "It's just that... I don't want Ochaco to get hurt..."

  It seemed Izuku looked to the other siren to back him up, but instead, Shoto just said, "She's your mate. Sort it out. But sort it out promptly! Now's not the time for quarreling! We need to save Momo!"

  Izuku's face turned red. She knew that word to describe two animals that came together to mate, did it mean the same thing to them? (Minus the being animals. They might be a different species, but they were still human-like). 

  She felt her face heat up slightly at the thought. 

  "Okay! Okay! Ochaco, you can come with us," Izuku told her. "But be careful. I'm probably going to have to worry about the mission and I won't be able to be by your side the whole time."

  "This way! We only have twenty minutes until she runs out of air!" Shoto beckoned them. "The detour is going to take ten minutes, so we need to make haste!"

  Izuku hugged her from behind.

  "W-What are you doing?" she stuttered.

Izuku's Pov.

  He couldn't believe Ochaco was actually coming with them... He needed to be able to go as fast as possible if they were going to make it there swiftly.

  "W-What are you doing?" Ochaco stuttered as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. This was the only way he could think of that would let them move quickly. Although... He didn't get her consent and she seemed uncomfortable. He felt his face heat up realizing he was touching her so much. 

  "T-Tuck your legs in," he instructed as he started swimming. "I-I won't be able to swim as fast if I just hold your hand."

  She did as ordered and he picked up the pace, not straying far behind Shoto. 

  He was swimming at full speed, which was hard to keep up for long on a daily basis, but the idea that Momo was in trouble was something that he wouldn't let something as trivial as a limit stop him.  He wasn't going to just stay there and watch her suffer. 

  "We're almost there, so be quiet," Shoto told him, slowing his pace slightly so that he was being quieter but still swimming fast. Izuku did the same.

  The castle was ginormous! As they approached it, they could see it from distance.

  "Ochaco, are you sure about this?" Izuku asked Ochaco, wishing he could look into her chocolate brown eyes."You can still turn back."

  "I'm sure about this Izuku," she told him once again. "Like it or not, you can't stop me!"

  "Okay..." Izuku still felt bad about taking her with him. If she got hurt, it was his fault! He wanted them all to come down here...

  "Ochaco-" he was cut off.

  "Yes I'm sure," she interrupted.

  "I-I wasn't going to ask about that... What I mean is... P-Please don't get captured! I-I-I don't know if I could take it if something h-happened to you!" Izuku felt a flood of emotions overcome him, and he started crying. Tears were different for sirens compared to humans. Strangely enough, siren tears were something that you could still see underwater and dripped to the ocean floor. 

  "I'll be fine," she told him. "You don't have to worry about me. But stop crying."

  He wiped his eyes. She was right. It wasn't a time to be crying. It was the time to save Momo from possibly being executed. 

  "Izuku watch out!" Ochaco cried.   

  He paid more attention to where he was going and heaved himself vertical, pushing water towards Shoto. He narrowly stopped right behind the other siren, feeling relieved. He let go of Ochaco.

  "Shh! Be quiet! We're here," Shoto scolded them, putting a finger to his mouth after looking back at them. His eyes were steely and filled with burning determination to rescue his mate. 

  Izuku nodded, ready to save his friend. 

  This was the first time he'd seen the majestic castle so close before. It had the most beautiful structure, the great marble pillars that were as large as two male sirens. The silver-colored building material seemed to shimmer in the little sunlight that filtered through. The spires were so large, he wondered how the humans never discovered the palace. The castle in all its glory was beautiful, but to get into it, they'd need to sneak past the many guards.

  "Here's the plan," Todoroki started.