🖤💙𝕊𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕞𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕧𝕠𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕞𝕪 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕕💙🖤

They Deserve a Happy Ending

POV TOGA

"Slow down, Himiko!" Ochako cries as she stumbles after me. I wish I could answer her, maybe explain why I really can't slow down, but I don't have time to form words right now. I'm jumping over tree roots, ducking under low branches, and weaving out of the thorn bushes' way. I'm on my way to save my two big brothers.

For the first time, I'm the one coming to the rescue, instead of getting in trouble and needing rescued. I won't disappoint my new family, and I most definitely won't let that yucky old man AFO hurt them.

I'm not sure why Ochako is coming along. I told her not to. Compress and Jin and Mamagiri told her not to. But she just came anyway, trailing after me , desperately trying to figure out what's going on. It makes me feel bad for ignoring her— since that's the last thing I want to do to my precious Ochako— but at the end of the day, Dabi and Tomura are more important.

Jin wanted to come along, too, but his head was too wonky at the moment. Mamagiri said Jin's mental illness was getting worse without treatment, but I don't want to think about it like that. My best friend, my Jin, is going to be fine. And me, him, Tomura, Nugget, Hawksy, 'Chako, Compress, Mamagiri, and Dadzawa can all have a game night later to celebrate! It'll be so much fun! We'll forget all about the bad things.

It'll be like the bad things never happened to begin with.

I duck behind a tree, prettying a finger to my lips, gesturing for Ochako to stay quiet. She gets the hint and crouches beside me. We made it to Dadzawa's neighborhood, and for the most part, it's deserted. The sun is just now setting, and if anyone is in these few vacant homes, they're probably passed out like a rock. This place looks absolutely lifeless.

But as Ochako and I exit the woods and cross the road, the sound of screaming and fighting fills my ears. Ochako must not have caught on because she's shocked when I grab her wrist and jog to the sound. We find Dadzawa's house, and immediately round the building in search of a back door.

"What's our plan?" Ochako asks me, tucking her hair behind her ears. "AFO is in there, isn't he? How are we supposed to—"

"You're staying out here," I tell her as I secure all my gear. "It's too dangerous. Don't want you to mess up that pretty face, okay?"

Ochako rolls her eyes at me. "I'm a UA student. I have my own fucking hero license. I'm not a weak little kid, Himiko. You could use my help."

I can't look at her. If I do, I know I'll spend the rest of my life melting in her milk chocolate eyes. "There are a lot of other people in the world," I choke out, trying to steady myself, "that need your help even more. Don't waste your life defending villains. You're... so much more than this, Chako. You're more than all of us."

Ochako's eyes widen with shock, but I don't know why. My brain is going a mile a minute. I know I'm no match for All For One. I know I'm probably going to get really hurt, but I also know that I have to try. I'm not a hero; I never will be. But I have to save my family, no matter the cost.

Ochako has to understand that.

She catches me off guard, wrapping her arms around me and pulling me into her embrace. "I'm a terrible person," she whispers in my ear. "I'm careless and stupid and cruel. I had horrible intentions to hurt people who have been nothing but kind to me."

She pulls back, tears in her eyes, her palms resting gently on my shoulders. Finally, she isn't looking at me with disgust. Her face is soft and tinted pink; her eyebrows are relaxed and her lips are quivering just the tiniest bit. She looks at me and really, truly sees me. I think I might pass out.

"Himiko, this world doesn't understand you," Ochako tells me. "And if they ever got the chance to, they'd know they don't deserve you. I've never met someone who can love so purely and so clearly like you. A-and I'm so sorry... I'm so, so sorry..."