red cherry blossoms // ochamina

|7| the flower field of heaven

//WARNING, THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS DARK CONTENT//

uraraka, 3:42 pm

mina always said she would never be caught dead in white, but there she was.

she looked like an angel, with a white dress and a peaceful face.

but she didn't just look like an angel, she was an angel now, she was dead.

ochaco didn't know that, though. she never had the courage to see the body of the girl she had killed. she only heard the cries of the family and friends coming back, in the midst of agonizing grief for the girl far too young to be lying in a casket.

it all hurt, mina shouldn't be there. she shouldn't be dead. she shouldn't be mourned in a church. but it was all true.

the sound of the silent weeps surrounding uraraka as she sat alone in the back of the church, even though ashido never wanted it to be like that. uraraka's own tears falling onto the neat black dress she wore, darkening the already melancholy fabric in tiny droplets. it was all too much, and the brunette ran out of the room and outside into the rain, tears still falling in rhythm with the patter of the rain.

the cherry blossoms were gone, just like the smiling ashido. she was like them in a way, beautiful, yet gone too soon. in hope for relief, ochaco checked her phone as she leaned against the wall, her bright pink case seeming duller than before, all she saw was the picture. it was mina's school picture at the end of the previous year at ua, she was winking, looking away from the camera with a wide smile and her hand made a peace sign beside her. 

it was the staple of all the organizations, projects, movements and protests that had arisen from mina's death to prevent hanahaki. there were millions of people who had changed profile pictures to the smiling mina, the picture was all over the internet in memory and love of the teenager gone too soon.

but on the flip side, ochaco had almost screamed when she saw the hate ashido got.

"why did a prodigy have to die for it to be a tragedy?"

"she had admitted to doing drugs, how is she a hero?"

"mina ashido is the perfect example of media making people feel bad for something that should be celebrated."

"she died because of feelings she could control and left an entire school in danger because of it."

and uraraka knew it was only a matter of time before she would be the one getting hate, death threats, being accused of being a murderer. she just had to wait for the people to figure out it was her lack of affection that put ashido in a casket. it acted as a ghost, it haunted ochaco as she sunk to the ground and broke down. she wailed and screamed in agony, attempting to cover her face with her arms as her phone fell to the ground, facing up was the picture of mina.

after the painfully long minutes of violent grieving, uraraka stood up slowly. she stumbled back towards the entrance with shaking legs, but she didn't go back inside. ochaco stood listening as the rain poured on her. she stood there until it was over. people uraraka had never seen walked out in black, she quickly recognized one as ashido's estranged father, finally coming to see her. uraraka soon recognized a few of her classmates. 

bakugou and kaminari walked out, both looking so very hurt. tsu stumbled, her tears still falling as tooru tried to help her. after almost everyone shuffled out, ochaco began to turn away, until she heard more crying. the brunette turned back to see kirishima helping mina's poor mother, both were still weeping. uraraka reached out to them and eijirou quickly met her gaze before looking down, she drew back her hand.

but ochaco didn't care, she walked up to them, wiping her face on her sleeve.

"miss ashido, i'm sorry about mina i can't even begin to imagi-" uraraka begun, looking down in shame before kowareta interrupted her.

"you're that uraraka girl. mina told me about you, well, you and everyone else." kowareta smiled, ochaco didn't know how though. the brunette only nodded as ashido wiped another tear and walked away with kirishima, still helping the poor grieving woman.

it broke uraraka's heart even more.

but she called out one last thing.

"do you think-" she couldn't say it, but she had to, "-do you think she's stuck in yomi? i mean, i know you're shinto-" uraraka was cut off by kowareta again.

"there's not a thread of my being that thinks my mina didn't become a goddess," ashido sighed before leaving with a sad smile.

and uraraka was alone.

ochaco didn't know what to do, so she cried and she cried and she cried she cried until it was more.

until mina's wide eyes and wider smile, her fun-loving mentality, her kindness, her beauty. until it all reached ochaco.

until she was coughing, coughing blood, pink roses and hyacinth petals.

hyacinth.

hyacinthus.

the story of apollo and hyacinthus.

hyacinthus, who died and was turned into a flower with his last breath.

hyacinthus.

mina.

hyacinths.

but ochaco didn't panic, she got up and wiped her tears, and the blood, and began to walk back to the dorms.

when she reached her bed at last, she cried more and let the flowers surround her.

uraraka woke up, blood and flowers filling every inch she wasn't, she paid it no mind.

when she got to school, no one talked. there were no lessons, there was just sitting in silence. or maybe there was and ochaco didn't hear, the pain in her chest was too sharp.

at lunch the same groups sat together as always in utter silence. a few people ate, others just stared at their food, some cried, kirishima the most.

after school, everyone went into their rooms, no socialization, no nothing.

and ochaco was just the same, but she  was coughing and vomiting blood and flowers.

she was paying the price, and she let it.

she let herself hack and cough, even if she knew the consequences.

she was paying the price.

and weeks later, after all the suffering, it was fully paid.

ochaco had never been religious, but seeing mina in a traditional kimono, her face blessed by the light of heaven, she understood.

ochaco and mina, they were gods among men.

-

and with that, its done...oh boy!!! 1090 words of writer's block later, just know i love you all so so much!!