Izuocha's Love Stories

23 - ALWAYS WITH YOU

By Faire Ochako

The final battle is over.

It's finally, finally over.

Izuku feels numb. His knees on the ground, back slouched over, eyes staring at his hands. They're purple and painful but... well, that's nothing new. He'll be okay, he thinks. His ears are ringing and he feels his body slowly giving in to sleep, though his mind is whirling. The headache Izuku's starting to get is not like any he's felt before. It makes his head feel like it's going to explode.

He blinks slowly, used to the tears that are dripping out his eyes. Not his usual full-blown cries; rather just stray tears drip-dropping out his eyes as if they'd rather be anywhere else.

Izuku isn't happy.

Why should he be happy about all this? He... he killed Shigaraki. But he saved Tenko in the process. It was a sorrowful ending for the lost child but he was in a better place now, finally happy and able to rest. He was free.

That made Izuku wonder if anyone is ever really free. Like, truly free. That's what most of the villains were fighting for after all. Freedom. Freedom to be themselves. The heroes too. They fought for the freedom of the citizens from men like All For One.

Everyone was fighting for freedom.

What... what is freedom? What does that really mean?

He supposes the freedom to live. To really, really live. But that's impossible in this world. Absolutely unattainable. Not in this world.

There are always taxes to pay, people to bend a knee to, work that needs to be done to at least be comfortable in a four-wall box people call "houses." People that will look down on others for not looking or acting a certain way, for not having everything they believe everyone should have.

No one is ever free.

Izuku wonders if the only way to get freedom is through death. He doesn't want to know—not yet, at least. There's still so many things Izuku needs and wants to do before he goes.

But he can't help but wonder if the rest of his life will consist of him being a slave of society. Being nothing but a tool to keep this faux freedom. Will he ever really be someone worth while? Or will he get thrown aside the moment he isn't deemed "useful" anymore? Will he be hated like he did a year ago, before he got One For All?

Who will Izuku—

Who will Deku become?

He doesn't notice the pair of legs stop in front of him. He doesn't notice them bend until they're on their knees, almost touching his.

Izuku's Danger Sense doesn't alert him.

But the very moment the hand he knows all too well touches his cheek and cups it, he knows exactly who it is and he knows there's no reason to be afraid. Her other hand comes up and cups his other cheek and gently guides his fave up to face her.

His unusually dull eyes raise to meet caramel brown eyes. They're unusually dark as well. Izuku knows right then that he hates that look in her eyes. He wants to wipe it away.

In the moment his and Ochako's eyes meet, his being and soul that was a raging sea calms into a calm, swaying ocean. It glitters with the little bit of light left in her eyes.

Her soft thumb swipes away some tears on his cheekbones softly but they never break eye contact.

Izuku leans into her left hand, craving the touch that's already there.

Ochako's eyes speak louder than words need to. Those eyes that look so sad but relieved that she has him in her hands. Sad because of the awful war they just fought. Sad because of the horrors they, as children, have experienced. Sad because their innocence is gone.