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bakugous-tits · 1 year

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Standing in the Sun

So! Since my old blog got hacked and deleted, I'm finally ready to come back! I'll just be posting a few of my faves for now, and this is number one to come back out! I love Mirio so much, and this was a labour of love for me to write but I'm so happy with it and I hope everyone enjoys it <3

Pairing: Mirio/Reader

Word Count: 14,031

Warnings: Soulmate AU, violence, awkwardness, smut but this one is fairly vanilla I believe? There is a creampie though!

Thank you and enjoy!

You were 16 when your mark showed up.

Everyone in school had laughed when it showed up, the child-like sun showing up on your wrist looking absolutely ridiculous. Most soul marks were a little more refined, looking like fancy tattoos more than anything.

Yours looked like an 8 year old’s interpretation of a sun, minus the cartoon sunglasses and poorly drawn smile.

It was so basic. One of your friends had an intricate rose across her ribcage, another had a detailed mountain range on his back-

And you had a simple sun.

What the fuck did that even mean?

In a world full of quirks it was always difficult to know whether your soul mark had something to do with your soulmate’s personality, hobbies, or their quirk; and with one as plain as yours, you figured that you’d never find your person. Were they someone with a light based quirk? Did they just like being outside?

Years later, you still didn’t know.

You stared down at your wrist, sighing as you leaned back on your sofa. The TV played on in the background, but you were unaware of what was on anymore, mostly using it as white noise at this point. The paperwork you’d been doing for your students was scattered around your coffee table in various piles, only half done. As a developing quirk advisor, you spent your days helping kids whose quirks had recently manifested to learn to control them, and spent your nights marking their progress through various reports for their parents and teachers. It was rewarding work, even if it took up almost all of your time in order to keep up with the number of kids under your care.

A glance over at the digital clock on your oven revealed that you’d been sat there for longer than you’d thought- it was starting to get late and you still hadn’t even thought about what to eat. Stretching your arms over your head, you groaned in satisfaction at the way your joints popped. Leaving your paperwork on the table, you ran a hand over your pomeranian’s head as he napped next to you on the sofa, ignoring his little grumble as you stood up. You smiled at his grumpiness as you padded over to your kitchen, only to groan when you opened the fridge.

Nothing. Nothing you could use to make a substantial meal anyway, and the way your stomach was growling at you said that a snack wasn’t going to cut it. Your eyes dragged over to Chibi when he raised his head to glare at you, as if he knew what you were thinking already. As you closed the fridge you smirked, tilting your head at him. “Hey buddy, you want to go for a walk?”

Chibi snorted, turning around in place on the sofa and flopping down, his back facing you.

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After 20 minutes and a lot of unnecessary furry struggling, Chibi was reluctantly trotting along the pavement beside you as you headed to a nearby ramen shop that knew you by name. You smiled down at him fondly as you walked, knowing that even though he likely hated you right now he’d be back to snuggling you in bed later.

A small commotion further up the street stole your attention away from your companion, your head shooting up at the shrill scream that tore through the air. A woman was on the ground, having been pushed down by a large man that was running around the corner-

A man who was currently barrelling toward you.

Before you could even react, he’d crashed into you and sent you crumbling to the ground, Chibi’s leash flying out of your grip as you fell. You cried out as you hit the pavement, the breath knocked from your lungs momentarily as you registered the footsteps of more people running towards you. Scrambling to grab Chibi’s leash, your heart was in your throat as you watched him jump away from all the people sprinting past. He yelped as he ran out into the (thankfully empty) street, little legs pumping and taking him away from you.

You watched him go with frantic eyes, only looking away from him briefly to glance at the incoming group of people.

Heroes.

While part of you was relieved that the brute that knocked you down was going to be taken care of, your focus was quickly drawn back to the rapidly disappearing canine that was running still. Pushing yourself up quickly, you took to chasing him on your own, the other civilians in the area too distracted by the hero chase to really pay attention to your frantic calls of your dog’s name.

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You still hadn’t found him.

You’d been searching for what felt like hours already, calling out his name between sobs. As your only companion, Chibi was probably an attachment that would be considered unhealthy at this point but he was your world. Losing him would be a huge blow, and it had your heart pounding in fear at what could have possibly happened to him.

“Excuse me, Miss? Is this little guy the one you’re looking for?”

Whipping around quickly, you gasped at the sight of Chibi panting heavily in someone's arms, not even looking up at the person straight away. You choked out his name, your arms shooting out to grab him as you sobbed out a yes to the stranger. Chibi happily snuggled into you as you held him close to your chest, licking at your cheeks before settling in your arms. You finally looked up to thank the stranger, relief flooding you as your eyes flicked up to meet-

Blue. His eyes were so blue.

And he was big . The man towered over you, the brightness of his outfit surprising you for a moment before you realised that he was a hero . And not just any hero either, this was Lemillion . His grin was still boyish despite the fact that he had to be in his mid twenties by now, not too far from your own age. Your mouth hung open, your eyes rapidly tracing over him as he chuckled at your response.

From what you remembered seeing back in your school days from the sports festivals, Lemillion had always been big, but now that he’d graduated and become a pro hero, the baby fat was completely gone. He was all hard planes of muscle, broad shoulders and massive arms, and god damn those thighs looked powerful. But as your eyes returned to his face, a heat coming to your cheeks at so blatantly checking him out, you realised that there was definitely a boyish charm to his look.

“Sorry it took me so long to find him! I saw the whole thing before but he’s fast ! And even when I caught up to him he was so grumpy at first! You’ve got a little spitfire there!” Lemillion was looking down at Chibi in your arms with almost the same fond expression you’d had before everything happened. You reached a hand up to swipe the tears from your cheeks, sniffling once before getting yourself together and smiling at him.

“Thank you for finding him for me, I didn’t think it’d really be a priority when there was something like that going on…” Lemillion blinked at you for a second before laughing, reaching out to stroke the top of Chibi’s head softly.

“There were plenty of heroes around to catch that guy, and he was nearly out of steam anyway! When I saw this guy run off I knew I had to do something to help, so I split off and hunted him down. He’s a smart cookie though! Knew to take the back streets and alleys, and when I found him he was huddled in a bush!” Lemillion’s hand moved down to scratch under Chibi’s chin, the canine’s eyes squinting in satisfaction. “Now that you’ve got him though… It’s pretty late, you should be getting home! After all that excitement, both you and the little guy probably need to rest.”

You opened your mouth to thank him one last time before you left, but halted when your stomach grumbled loudly. Your face flushed with heat once again as Lemillion’s eyed dropped to your stomach, his eyes widening in understanding after a moment.

“Oh! You haven’t eaten yet? Well, if it’s okay with you… d’you wanna grab something to eat with me? My patrol is over now and I’m starving!”

You blinked. Lemillion wanted to have dinner with you? You knew from the various people who posted about him online that he was a friendly hero, but this seemed a little over the top…

But the look on his face was open, genuine, like it was something he did all the time. You couldn’t help but nod, a small smile on your lips.

“Sure, but you have to let me treat you, okay? As a thank you for rescuing Chibi…” You raised the arm holding your dog, gesturing to him with your head and rolling your eyes playfully. Lemillion’s face tinted pink, his head shaking and a protest that you could already hear starting to form. “And I won’t take no for an answer, mister, so just accept it.”

Lemillion almost seemed bashful as he nodded, even though he was the one who boldly offered in the first place. As you led him back to your favourite ramen shop, you chatted amicably about mundane things. You didn’t pick up on it straight away, but by the end of the walk you had caught him staring at you a few times as you walked, eyes always tracing over your face. As you sat down at the table in the little shop, placing Chibi on the chair next to you, you gave him a curious look.

“Is something wrong?” Lemillion’s face blazed at your question as he sat down across from you, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck and chuckling nervously. His eyes avoided you, instead focusing on the menu as he cleared his throat.

“Nothing! It’s fine, don’t worry about it!”

You ended up dismissing the thoughts and focusing on food yourself, and soon enough the two of you had your orders and were tucking into them heartily. The shop owner (who knew you very well from your years of coming here, and absolutely loved Chibi.) even provided your little man with some strips of meat, patting him softly on the head before toddling off to serve other customers. As you ate, you stole glances at Lemillion, catching him watching you a few times again and both of you quickly breaking eye contact and looking away.

You couldn’t shake a nagging feeling in the back of your head, a feeling you weren’t able to identify constantly swimming at the edges of your mind. It felt… warm. Like even though you two just met, you’d known each other longer than that, and that this was just another comfortable hangout among many others.

In reality, his costume was drawing curious eyes as people passed the ramen shop. You bristled slightly when a couple of teenage girls came up to your table requesting an autograph, unsure of why you had a pit in your stomach at his resulting smile. The girls were fawning over him and somehow, it put you off the rest of your food, making you put down your utensils and push it away from you slightly. You focused on stroking Chibi’s head, giving the dog your full attention as Mirio fielded their questions and signed some of their belongings. When he finally waved goodbye to them and turned back to you, your previously happy mood had dimmed and you were simply getting tired, the emotional nature of the evening finally catching up with you. Lemillions eyes widened as you yawned, pulling his phone out of his pocket and checking the time before slapping his forehead dramatically.

“Oh man! I didn’t realise how late it was! We should get you home, right?” Nodding your head, you quickly pulled out some money to pay for both of your meals and picked Chibi up once again. You waved to the owner of the restaurant as you walked out, ignoring her pointedly raised brows when she looked between you and Lemillion, and stepped out into the cool night air. Crossing your arms over Chibi, you were glad you’d pulled a hoodie on before you left the house earlier, the night having cooled considerably already.

Lemillion took a deep breath and set his hands on his hips, smiling up at the night sky for a second before turning to face you.

“That was some good food! Thanks for showing me this place, I might have to come back sometime.” His head tilted to the side as he noticed you wrap your arms a little tighter around Chibi, a frown twisting his face slightly. “Are you cold? Here, let me just…”

Lemillion reached up, fiddling with where his cape meets his costume for a moment before the fabric came loose, reaching out to wrap it around your shoulders gently. Your eyes widened for a moment as you unwrapped one arm from around Chibi’s belly, clutching the cape closed and looking down to the floor sheepishly, heat rising in your cheeks again. Lemillion fiddled with the fabric until he was satisfied with its placement, smiling at you gently and gesturing for you to lead the way. He was going to walk you home?

The heat in your cheeks stayed firmly in place, your stomach flipping even as you internally berate yourself. He’s a hero, of course he’s going to be nice to you. Don’t look into it too much, it doesn’t mean anything to him . Forcing your feelings to chill the fuck out, you started walking toward your home and gave Lemillion a soft smile as he fell into step beside you. The walk wasn’t all that long, the two of you chit chatting as you went and Chibi resting comfortably in your arms and panting as he watched the world go by. Lemillion seemed to be showing actual interest in you and your work when he asked questions, throwing you for a loop and making your stomach flip flop dramatically even though you knew he was just doing his job as a hero.

As you walked, your mind started to wander. You couldn’t understand why you felt so… relaxed? That wasn’t quite the right word, but the feeling in the back of your mind refused to show itself any further to let you identify it. This was a hero, a man you’d never met before that night, but you were walking and talking like you’d known each other for years, laughing and poking fun at anything and everything. Lemillion’s sense of humour was… odd at times, but you found yourself enjoying it nonetheless. You almost felt… upset when you arrived back at your house, a soft frown on your face. Lemillion noticed, because of course he did, and raised a brow at you in question.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” His voice was softer than it had been all night, and it made something in your chest twist. You ignored the feeling, schooling your features and smiling up at him with a nod.

“Of course! Well, this is me! Thank you so much, Lemillion, count me as one of your ‘million people saved’, okay?” Your joking words had him smiling widely, hands going to his hips once again.

“Don’t mention it! Have a good night, okay?” With those parting words, Lemillion turned with a mock salute and headed off into the night. You smiled after him for a moment, before making your way into your house, letting Chibi down and removing his harness. The dog immediately ran over and settled himself into his spot on the sofa, huffing as he lay down to fall asleep.

You groaned when you realised that Lemillion had forgotten to take his cape from you. As you held the material in your hands, you sighed and buried your face into it for a second. It still smelled like him, something citrusy and light, but still distinctly masculine, and you cringed when it occurred to you that this was super creepy . You can’t just sniff a guy’s cape like that!. You folded the fabric carefully, placing it on the small table by the front door in case he realised and came back for it, before removing your hoodie to hang it up by the front door.

You failed to notice that rapidly fading glow of your soul mark on your wrist, too focused on staring fondly at your canine companion.

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Lemillion never came back for his cape, but you saw a news story a few days later about a rescue he’d been part of and he had a new one, so you figured he wasn’t all that bothered.

You started using it as a throw on the sofa, snuggling up with Chibi under it when you were watching TV in the evenings, hoping he never came back for the damn thing. It was the perfect thickness to provide comfort, but thin enough not to overheat you, and it was so damn soft . You loved it.

The whole encounter became just another crazy story you could tell your friends and coworkers. Lemillion found your lost dog, had dinner with you and walked you home- who else could say that? In the weeks following the event, you told it countless times, until everyone already knew and it started to fade from your repertoire. Some of them were jealous, others told you you should have dragged him into your home and had your way with him. You always felt heat rise in your cheeks at that, shaking your head vehemently to deny the idea. He was hot, sure, but he was a hero , and you were just a simple everyday woman.

Once the novelty wore off, you threw yourself back into your work. One of your students had been struggling a lot with her quirk- it had manifested recently and was a mutation, so none of her family were really able to help her all that much with learning how to control it.

Your own quirk was almost perfectly suited to your job: Empathy. You were able to feel the emotions of others when you concentrated on them, and with time you learned how to influence their emotions too. This meant that when your students were scared, frustrated or angry, you were able to calm them down a little and help them see the situation clearly.

Growing up, you hadn’t really known how to apply your quirk most helpfully. You’d never really wanted to be a hero, but that didn’t mean you didn’t want to help people, and it was only when you were volunteering to help a neighbor out with their young child that it occurred to you.

Man, I wish I had your quirk! Being able to calm this little one down during a tantrum would make my life ten times easier!

And with those words in mind, you realised what you wanted to do. Helping others by helping the next generation of heroes get to grips with their quirks, help them grow and flourish- it was perfect. Many years of studying and internships later, you were finally one of the best in the city, sought after by many schools for their problem children. It was exhausting, but you’d never trade it for anything now.

This particular little girl- Mika- had a quirk that allowed her to create storm clouds. Not just rain, but thunder and lightning too, and since she came from a family with all ground based quirks they were out of their element with her. The school had contacted you a while ago when she accidentally started making clouds inside the classroom when she got upset or didn’t understand something, and then became scared at the thunder. It would make her produce more clouds, only making the situation worse and ending with lots of the students in tears.

Mika was a quiet girl, a little on the shy side but with a heart of gold, and you wanted to help her so damn bad. She idolised heroes, and wished for a different quirk every day because she didn’t think she could become one with hers. As you were walking home from your most recent session with her, lost in your head, you didn’t even see someone exiting the shop next to you.

You crashed into what felt like a brick wall, your ass hitting the ground harshly as you dropped your work bag. Your eyes had closed in surprise, but shot open when you heard a familiar voice.

“Oh-! I’m so sorry- Hey, it’s you!” Lemillion stood in front of you yet again, although this time in civilian clothes. You gaped up at him and blinked, before scurrying to your feet, grabbing your bag and shaking your head.

“No! It was my fault, I wasn’t paying attention…” Your eyes drifted to the takeout bag in his hand, before glancing up to see that-

You were outside the ramen shop. He’d come back after all. Noticing your wandering gaze, he looked up to follow your eyes and chuckled, one arm coming up to rub a hand over the back of his head sheepishly.

“I uh- I really liked our dinner the other week, so I’ve been coming back here a few times since then.” Lemillion’s cheeks flushed, and you raise a brow. He almost seemed embarrassed, but you didn’t understand why until he spoke up again, uncharacteristically quiet. “And I was- well, I was kind of hoping to run into you again to be honest…”

Your heart kicked into overdrive for a second, your stomach flipping again until you realised- his cape. He probably just wanted it back, not to actually see you , because why would you even register on his radar? You were just a person he’d saved once. One of his million.

“O-oh, of course… If you’d be willing to walk home with me I can give it back right away, sorry for taking it in the first place but I didn’t really know how to give it back…” Your eyes didn’t lift from your hands, readjusting your bag and making sure all of your files were in place and that nothing had fallen out. When you finally looked up, Lemillion had a confused look on his face, his head tilted slightly. You raised a brow, your brows furrowing slightly. “...Your cape? That’s why you were trying to find me, right?”

Lemillion blinked at you, before bursting into laughter. All you could do was stand there, confused, people passing by giving you odd looks as they hurried past the hysterical man. He managed to reign it in, swiping at one of his eyes as his breathing began to level out.

“Oh, man! I forgot I even left it with you! I’ve had so many spares made over the years so I don’t really notice when my team swaps ‘em out.” The smile he gave you was genuine- and the softness in his eyes as he gazed down at you made something in your chest flutter before you could stop it. But you do- you had to stop being like this, you’d only met the man once and he saved so many people in one day, there was no way you were ever going to register on his radar and you refused to get your hopes up.

Besides, you had a soulmate out there somewhere who was waiting for you, you couldn’t let yourself get hung up on him just because he was lovely, and had nice eyes and you wanted to bite his thighs and rub your hands all over his pecs and-

Stop it .

You took a deep breath, shaking your head slightly. If it wasn’t his cape, then why the hell was he looking for you? Opening your mouth to ask, Lemillion cut you off before you could even speak.

“I wanted to speak to you about the kids you work with and if maybe we could set up some kind of group meet and greet, or something. I know it always motivated me to work hard at figuring out my quirk when I saw heroes in action as a kid, so imagine what it might do to actually meet one!” And there it was. The rational explanation that helped cut your thoughts off, despite the fog of hurt that suddenly swirled in your chest. This was for the best, you didn’t need to obsess over a man who’s world was so far removed from your own. You cleared your throat, adjusting your bag over your arm as you smiled up at him.

“Seems like a good idea, yeah! If you’re not too busy, that is…”

“Of course not! I wouldn’t have offered it if I didn’t think I’d have time.” Lemillion rubbed at the back of his head, digging into his pocket for a moment. “So, I think it would probably be a good idea if we swapped numbers- to organise something, of course, just to keep in contact more easily.” There was something odd about his face as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, but you didn’t have a chance to dwell on it before he was handing you the object and prompting you to fill in your information. Once you’d shared your contacts, you asked him if he’d like to wait at the shop for you to go retrieve his cape. The hero laughed, waving you off.

“Like I said, I didn’t even realise it was gone! You may as well keep it.” You went to protest, only to be cut off by his phone ringing in his hand. As he answered the call, he gave you an apologetic look, muttering softly to the person on the other side before hanging up. “Shoot, they need me back at the agency- here, I won’t have time to eat it now, so you may as well have my order. At least it won’t go to waste then, right?”

Without waiting for a response, he placed the bag in your hand and darted off, your jaw dropping as you looked after him. With a heavy sigh, you trudged home and set the takeaway on the kitchen counter, Chibi circling at your feet in excitement. Opening the bags to inspect what he’d bought, something fluttered in your chest when you saw the contents.

Lemillion had ordered the exact things you’d both had on the night you’d met.

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This was getting ridiculous.

You shouldn’t be feeling like this about a man you’ve only met in person twice .

Lemillion was just too nice, too lovely, though, and as you texted back and forth in the weeks following your second meeting you couldn't help the little flip flops that your stomach went through when you saw his name light up your phone screen. The man was always so happy in his texts, so understanding when you ended up delving into the more serious discussions about your students.

It was playing absolute havoc on your heart.

It was finally the day before Lemillion would be coming into your afterschool class to meet your students, the whole thing set up as a surprise for the youngsters. Putting down your phone after sending him a text to confirm that everything was still good to go, you sighed and turned your hand over to stare at your soulmate mark. This wasn’t fair. There was someone out there for you, and here you were getting all worked up over a man way out of your league. You shook your head, letting your arm drop down onto your bed, curling up further onto your side and closing your eyes.

“What are you doing…? Just- stop it. It’ll never work. He probably already has his soulmate, so there’s no point…” Murmuring to yourself softly, your eyes shot open when your phone buzzed next to your face on the pillow. Lemillion’s name filled your screen, your heart kicking up a gear as you swiped to open the message.

Lemillion: All good on my end! As long as there’s no emergencies tomorrow, I should be there around 3! I can’t wait to see you!

And there was your heart, pounding even heavier as the chat bubbles came up again, signalling him typing once more.

Lemillion: And the kids, obviously! Haha, that’s the main thing tomorrow, isn’t it!

Your heart calmed down a little, but heat remained in your cheeks from his words. He hadn’t corrected himself, he’d just added on the kids. Did that mean-?

Groaning, you turned your face into your pillow. You really needed to stop this, damn it. You peeked one eye out when your phone buzzed with an alert. Tapping on the notification, you were taken to a news page about a fight that had broken out earlier in the day. Your heart swelled when you caught sight of a certain blonde hero, a video showing him engaged in a hand to hand fight with a villain that was attempting to rob a bank. The villain couldn’t land a single hit, Lemillion’s permeation quirk frustrating him more and more as the hero kept punching him over and over. Eventually, the villain fell to the floor after a particularly solid hit to the face, knocked out and drooling on the floor.

The determined look in Lemillion’s eyes throughout the fight only made you admire him more, his drive to protect the civilians from harm and save as many people as possible… He truly was an inspiration. You tapped out of the video, going back to your messages with the hero. Sighing once again, you decided to turn in.

After sending him a thumbs up and wishing him goodnight, you plugged your phone in and turned over, closing your eyes once more and attempting to fall asleep so you wouldn’t be completely knocked out the next day. The last thoughts in your mind swirled around him, head filled with visions of his eyes, the sounds of his laugh.

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Hot. It was so hot, sweat dripping down your spine as you perched on the edge of the bed, your ass raised high and your face buried in the covers. Hands were clasped around your waist, big and reassuring as the man leaned forward to place kisses across your shoulders, a whine sticking in your throat as you arched into him. You felt his lips stretch into a smile at your movements before he straightened, one of his hands leaving your waist to move between your legs, the tip of his finger circling your clit and forcing a moan from your chest. Starting at a teasing pace, his finger gradually got faster, making your legs shake and hands grasp the sheets where they were stretched above your head.

Somehow you were already dripping wet, your walls aching to be filled, clenching around nothing. A deep chuckle met your ears as he removed his hand, the feeling of something much thicker taking its place as he rubbed the head of his cock against your clit. Trying to push back against him, you gasped when he softly swatted at your ass, laughing once again.

Your wishes were granted when you felt him start to push into you, your jaw dropping open at the stretch of him- long, thick and heavy inside you. He gave you a minute to adjust to him, before he started to move. His thighs hit against your ass with each pump of his hips, leaving you achingly empty when he drew back and pulling moans from you when he pushed back in.

“Always take me so well, baby, so good…”

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You jolted awake, sweat covering your skin and the sheets kicked off around your legs. Chest heaving, you reached up to wipe the sweat from your brow, noting the mess of wetness between your thighs.

That voice… That was Lemillion…

You shook your head, reaching over to grab your phone and check the time. With only about 20 minutes before you had to get up to get ready for work anyway, you switched off your alarm and slunk into the shower to clean up. It felt so real, the warmth of his hands on your skin almost lingering on you even in the heat of the shower.

After staying under the hot spray for much longer than was strictly necessary, you managed to pull yourself together and sat down for a small breakfast, wondering how the fuck you were going to look Lemillion in the eyes today after that dream. Taking a deep breath, you closed your eyes and forced yourself to calm down.

Damn it, I’m a professional! I can do this.

Breakfast cleared, you grabbed your bag and your files, patting Chibi on the head softly before leaving for the day, the dog looking up at you with a huff to see you off.

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“What’s the surprise, huh? We wanna know!”

“Why’d we gotta wait ‘till after school? Tell us!”

“ Please? ”

The kids were practically frothing at the mouth when you told them you had a surprise waiting for them during their last official lesson of the day, many of them getting frustrated when you refused to tell them what was happening during your session after official school hours ended. While most of the kids in this class had a good handle on their quirks, there were more in here that struggled than any other class so for the time being you had a group session with them one day a week. The kids with more difficulty had individual sessions with you on other days, like Mika.

Your eyes drifted over to her where she sat quietly in the corner of the class, fiddling with a keychain on her backpack. As the other kids began packing up their things, you wandered over to where she was sitting and crouched down to her height, smirking when you realised what she was messing with.

A Lemillion keychain.

“Do you like Lemillion, Mika?” The little girl jumped at your voice, but smiled when she realised you were asking her about her accessory. The smile spread as she looked down at it and nodded, her fingers tracing the raised metal that framed a cartoon version of the hero. You pulled the sleeves of your cardigan further over your wrists as you raised a brow at her.

“He’s my favourite! He’s strong, and nice, and he saves so many people!” Resting your hand on the top of her head softly, you gave her a grin. “I wanna be a hero like him! I wanna save lotsa people just like Lemillion!”

“I just know you can do it, Mika! Work hard, and you can be just like him!” You straightened and headed back towards the door, leaning against the frame as you waited for the kids to be ready to leave. A buzzing in your pocket had you pulling out your phone.

Lemillion: I’m in the gym, ready to go! Can’t wait!

Placing your phone back into your pocket, you clapped your hands as the kids lined up in front of you, getting their attention. They quieted down quickly, eager to find out what their surprise was. You led them easily through the school grounds until you got to the gym, pausing outside the door and clearing your throat as you turned to your group.

“Okay guys, I need you to listen to me closely! Your surprise is in here, and I know you’re all gonna be excited, but please remember your manners, okay?” Murmurs erupted through the group, brows furrowing in confusion until you opened the door and ushered them in. Collective gasps filled the room as the group finally saw their prize: Lemillion, in the flesh, standing in the middle of the gym. Your eyes strayed to Mika, taking in the shining of her eyes and the way her jaw dropped before she looked back at you. She grinned, a look mirrored on your own face, before her eyes returned to her hero.

The next hour or so was mostly Lemillion fielding questions, signing things and hyping the kids up, many of them leaving with their parents afterwards with smiles filling their faces, as well as new determination. You had to hand it to him- he’d been right about this encouraging the kids, but there was one more thing you wanted to squeeze out of the experience.

“Mika?” the girl in question looked up at you, still clutching her backpack with careful hands. Lemillion had signed it for her, and you had a feeling that it was now her prized possession. “Can you come here for a moment?”

Having already cleared an extra fifteen minutes with her parents, you knew this would be just what the girl needed to help with her quirk. As she approached, you looked over to Lemillion once again, meeting his eyes and tilting your head down towards her. A look of understanding filled his face as he walked towards you, his smile returning as he approached Mika and yourself. Mika looked sheepish, especially now that everyone else had left, but Lemillion gave her a soft smile as he crouched down.

“Hiya Mika! I hear you’ve been having a little trouble with your quirk?” The girl’s smile fell, her eyes drifting down to the floor as she nodded her head. “Well, would you believe me if I told you that I had a really hard time with my quirk when I was your age?”

Her eyes shot up to meet his, shaking her head slowly. The smile never left his face as he began to explain his quirk to her in a little more detail, telling her how dangerous it had been for him at first. Mika’s eyes shined at the information, her fists clenching slightly in front of her chest.

“It was hard work, because even though my pops has the same quirk, he never learned how to use it like I do! I had to figure it out all on my own, sorta like how you’re figuring out your quirk too! And a lot of the time I was scared of my quirk, so me and you are practically the same!”

Mika froze, her eyes widening. You held your breath, hoping beyond all hope that this was what she needed to get her out of the slump she’d been drifting into. Lemillion tilted his head with a broad smile, and Mika’s eyes filled with tears as she smiled back at him. Her posture straightened as she swiped at her eyes, that same determined glint in them that you’d seen on the other students. She gave him an intent nod, sniffling slightly.

“I’ll work hard, Lemillion! Just like you!” Mika’s parents entered just as she made her bold claim, Lemillion laughing and ruffling her hair as he stood up. They came over, thanking the hero profusely and chatting for a moment before ushering a highly excited Mika from the gym. You heaved a sigh of relief as the door swung shut behind them, resting your hands on your hips as you swung your head around to look at Lemillion.

“Thank you for that, I was really struggling to get through to her but I think you did it!” A smile on your face, you rubbed at one of your arms with your other hand, a little bashful. “I think she’ll be okay thanks to you. Another citizen saved, Lemillion.”

Lemillion grinned, giving you a thumbs up and nodding his head. As you helped him pack up, you kept feeling his eyes on you, always averting when you turned to make eye contact. When you finished, he cleared his throat and approached you, a faint dusting of pink on his cheeks.

“Thanks for letting me do this! It was super fun, and I think it helped the kids a lot.” You nodded to him, giving him a smile in return. As you exited the gym with your things, Lemillion holding the door for you, you looked up to see the sky darkening with clouds rather quickly. He came up beside you, letting the door swing shut behind him and glancing up himself. “Oh shoot, looks like it’s gonna rain pretty hard… Did you walk here?”

You nodded your head, searching through your bag for your umbrella and raising it with a flourish once you dragged it from the depths. A frown seemed to be cemented on Lemilion’s face, making you raise a brow at him. “I’ll be fine, it’s only about fifteen minutes from here if you know the shortcuts like I do!” He shook his head once, placing his fists on his hips as he sighed and looked at the floor, only raising his head again when you made a questioning noise.

“Only one thing for it. I’ll have to walk you home again to make sure you get there safely.” His words made your jaw drop, a scoff escaping before you could stop it. A grin snuck onto his face once again, that same pinkness returning to his cheeks. “It’s my duty as a hero, and it’s starting to get late! Don’t say no- I’ll do it either way so you may as well accept it.”

With a sigh, you decided that maybe walking home with him again wasn’t so bad. The fluttering in your chest was impossible to ignore, and it gave you more time with the hero so- who were you to complain, really?

--------------------------------------------------------------

Ten minutes later, you were sure he’d regret his actions.

He was dripping wet, the rain having come down hard and fast shortly into your walk and the wind picking up to the point where your umbrella was useless. You weren’t faring much better yourself, trying to shelter your bag as best you could with all your files inside it. The duffel bag he had with him was a little more resistant to water, but even that would only go so far and you could see the bag changing colour as the water started to seep into it. When you finally saw your house in the distance, you sped up a little, jerking your head toward the door when you finally got there and trudging into the hallway with a groan, Lemillion following you in for a brief respite from the rain.

Looking up at him with his hair flopping into his eyes limply, water dripping off it, you couldn’t help but admire him. He still had a sparkle in his eyes even as he shivered slightly, trying to wring out his cape a little in the entryway to not let it drip all over your floor. Chibi came barrelling over, sniffing at the newcomer with intent as he realised someone had come home. Lemillion smiled broadly as he bent down, stroking the top of the pom’s head and tickling under his chin.

“Hey little guy! Good to see you again!” You dropped your bag to the floor, looking at the hero with a scrutinising eye. He turned to you, tilting his head at your study of him and looking down at his outfit with furrowed brows. “What? Is something wrong?” “Are you done for the day or do you have to rush off?”

He blinked at you. You blinked back at him.

When he finally shook his head no, you nodded yours and started removing your shoes.

“You can shower and wait here for the rain to stop if you want, don’t want a hero like you catching a cold, now do we?” You tried to sound as nonchalant as possible, though your heart was thundering in your chest. Would he take this the wrong way? You just didn’t want to be the reason he got sick, and it really was throwing it down outside. He seemed to hesitate, making heat rise to your face as you finally wriggled a boot off. “You don’t have to, but I just thought I’d offer.”

When you looked up at him, his face had softened, making your heart thud painfully for a second at the look in his eyes. He sighed, reaching up to rub at the back of his head again.

(You definitely didn’t admire the way his arm flexed. Nope. No sir.)

( You did. )

“Y’know, I think that’d be gre-” His phone rang in the side pocket of his duffel bag, making him wince as he checked the ID. Tamaki . He raised a finger to you, an apologetic look on his face as he spoke quietly into the phone. You tried not to listen in, frowning as you headed further into your apartment and scratched at Chibi’s head softly when he followed you.

Tamaki. That was the pro hero Sun Eater, Lemillion’s close friend- or were they more than friends? They’d always been very close from what the tabloids reported, even close enough for a few to claim that they were together romantically, but it was never confirmed. What if they were soulmates? It would make sense, they often spent days off together, often worked together extremely well on missions, so it wasn’t that much of a stretch…

“Sorry ‘bout that! I- uh- I have to go meet someone, he really needs me right now and-” “It’s fine! You go do whatever you gotta do, no harm, no foul! Just try and get out of the rain fast, okay? I don’t want you getting sick.” Your words came out fairly neutral, you hoped, the smile on your face only slightly forced. Lemillion frowned, another apology spilling from his lips as he left your house quickly.

You looked down at Chibi with a sigh, the dog tilting his head at you and wagging his tail slowly.

“I’m screwed, aren’t I?”

Chibi simply huffed, heading over to his food bowl and placing a paw on it, looking at you imploringly. You shook your head fondly, going to feed the little gremlin before he got too grumpy with you.

--------------------------------------------------------------

How you ended up here was beyond your comprehension, really.

Your talks with Lemillion never ceased after the meet and greet. The hero always found time to text you, or call if he needed his hands free while he was cooking or something, forming a rather… odd friendship? There was no one else you spoke to as often, but you also still hardly knew the man. Your little crush, however, didn’t care in the slightest and continued to grow with each day. Trying to hide it was getting easier with time, though, the way you two spoke becoming more and more comfortable, and you didn’t understand why he was really bothering with you in the first place. When you asked him, he had simply chuckled and said a very cryptic I just have to! I’m not too sure why, but I always follow my instincts!

Whatever that meant.

The colder months had creeped in, the leaves changing colour rapidly and the weather turning almost before your eyes. Lemillion- no, Togata , as he had started insisting you called him- was telling you about an upcoming hero gala while you cooked dinner. You had him on speaker phone as you cooked, the man walking home from his patrol as he chatted away. Not properly listening as you cooked, you only caught the end of what he was saying.

“-So you should come too! It’d be fun, and I can introduce you to the others!”

You choked, lowering the heat on your stove as you scrambled over to your phone on the opposite countertop.

“I’m sorry- what?! You want me to-?”

“Yeah! I think it’d be great, don’t you?” Swallowing thickly, your tongue felt too big for your mouth and you sputtered slightly. “Nejire has been asking about you, and Tamaki wants to meet you too! Plus we can hang out properly for a while, please come with me?”

Your face flushed, your heart kicking up a gear as you thought about it. He wanted to go with you? You’d be out of your element around a bunch of heroes but- you couldn’t deny that you wanted to spend more time with him…

“Sure…?” Togata’s answering cheer had you smiling softly at your phone, shaking your head slowly in fondness as you returned to cooking your dinner.

Which led you to the situation of incomprension.

Weeks later, you’d procured a beautiful long sleeved dress, just thick enough to stave off the cool temperature without a jacket so you could be comfortable. You’d made your way to the venue in a car Togata ordered for you, texting him on the way and smiling when he said he’d meet you at the entrance. As the car pulled up, you saw him standing at the edge of the curb and your breath caught.

The suit he was wearing was perfectly tailored, sharp lines and fabric clenched around his thick arms and thighs. His face lit up as the car stopped, his hand already outstretched to get the door for you. When you stepped out, his jaw dropped as he took you in.

“W-Wow! You look amazing!” Heat flooded your system at his words, forcing you to look down and tuck a stray lock of hair behind your ear.

“You don’t look so bad yourself, Togata…” He chuckled as he closed the door, gesturing toward the venue with a grin. You made your way inside with him, looking around nervously at the expensive decor of the hotel the event was being held at. There were heroes everywhere; Creati, Mirko, Chargebolt and- holy shit was that Deku ?

What the hell were you doing here? You were nothing in comparison to all of these people, saviours of humanity and fucking heroes and-

And then Togata grasped your wrist softly, and it felt like the world stood still. All you could feel was the warmth of his hand, the tension leaching from your body almost instantly. The noise in the room became a dull echo in the background, all of your senses focused on that single point of contact.

Heart pounding for an entirely different reason now, you looked up at Togata with a curious face. He smiled down at you, tugging your wrist gently and inclining his head outward one of the quieter corners of the room. As you followed him, you frowned down at his hand, prompting him to drop it.

(You missed the warmth of his hand almost instantly, but you’d never tell anyone.)

“Sorry, Tamaki and Nejire are this way. Tamaki isn’t exactly fond of the big crowds at these kinda things, so you can usually find him in the corners.” Togata had to speak up a little for you to hear him over the din, but as the crowd thinned and you approached the edge of the room, the noise levelled out to be much quieter. Just ahead, leaning against a wall, you recognized Togata’s friends and swallowed thickly. Nejire, as you more commonly knew the hero- looked absolutely stunning in her seafoam green dress, her shoulders bared elegantly. Her hair fell in soft curls around her shoulders, wobbling slightly with every pat on the back that she gave the other person standing against the wall.

Sun Eater looked like he’d rather be anywhere else- at least, from what you could tell from where he was seemingly trying to become one with the wall by attaching his face to it. Nejire patting his back seemed to be doing absolutely nothing to make him feel better, unintelligible words falling from his mouth in a near constant mumble. As you and Togata approached, Nejire spotted you and immediately lit up, smacking Sun Eater’s back a little harder.

“Ooooh! Amajiki! They’re here! Look!” Nejire smiled brilliantly as you both came to a stop beside her, finally ceasing her assault of the shy hero. Mirio went to introduce you, but had hardly gotten your name out before she was cutting him off. “I know who she is! Oh wow! We’ve heard so much about you, it’s so nice to finally have a face for the name! I love your hair, and that dress is to die for! Hey, Togata has told us about your quirk and stuff, what’s it like working with the kids? Was it hard to get started in your line of work? How did you know you wanted to do it? Have you been-” “Okay! Nejire, let her breathe!” Togata ended the questioning, placing his hand on your shoulder gently. “This isn’t twenty questions, we’re just here to have a good time. How are you holding up, Tamaki?”

The man in question groaned, turning his face to the side slightly but still not turning around. Togata left your side to go to his friend, placing a gentle hand on his back and leaning in to continue his conversation, leaving you and Nejire alone. She leaned toward you, a grin on her face that you nervously returned.

“Y’know, Mirio talks about you all the time . Like- he’ll be walkin’ around and see something and just- talk about how much you’d like it! It’s adorable!” You flushed at her words, looking down at the floor and grasping one of your wrists with the opposite hand.

He talked about you? It almost sounded like he- but there was no way! You really hadn’t done anything to earn Togata’s attention. He was more likely just excited about having a new friend.

That must be it.

Togata coaxed Nejire away before you could respond, enlisting her help to get Sun Eater away from the wall. It took a few minutes, the two of them making you giggle at some of the ways they tried to get him to move, but eventually they got the reluctant man away and you all headed into the main hall of the venue.

And it was stunning.

Tall ceilings, gold ornaments, thick red velvet curtains. You were miles out of your element.

The event was being held as a fundraiser- an auction where all of the items would be sold and the money would go to charity, and it seemed they were ready to start selling items off. You nudged Togata and pointed towards the refreshments table, letting him know to come find you there after the auction part of the evening. Grabbing a drink and settling into a chair at one of the tables, you watched as pro heroes bid their money on seemingly useless objects for people who made as much money as they did- spa hampers, signed merch from other heroes, tickets to a local play; all things donated by local businesses and the other heroes themselves.

As the heroes were preoccupied, you took a moment to admire the room, and the outfits of some of the heroes and their dates. Even the waiting staff were dressed to the nines in well pressed suits and-

Wait.

… Why are there so many waiters gathered by the doors?

Pausing mid sip of your drink, you tilted your head and frowned at the three sets of double doors, watching as the waiters all seemed to have some kind of meeting. You placed your drink down on the table, rising slowly when the waiters spread out across the doors. A person in front of each one leaned their hands against the closed doors, and your heart rate picked up as one of them sealed the door by turning it to stone. Another door became locked shut when roots and vines cracked through the wood, knotting around each other until it was nearly a solid wall, and the last one was encased in what looked like a thick purple paste. Some of the partygoers nearby cried out, prompting the heroes to turn and notice what was going on. A few of the waiters grabbed nearby guests, grasping their hands behind their backs and holding up syringes right over their necks.

Unfortunately, you were standing near one of them. You gasped as your arms were grabbed, twisting behind your back uncomfortably and a needle held just above where your pulse was pounding.

“Hello, heroes! Hope you don’t mind if we crash the party!” The heroes swung their heads back to the stage just in time to see the MC for the auction fall to the floor, blood dripping from a wound on his temple. A large man stood behind him, a cane in his hand with a carved raven on the handle- red liquid dripping from the beak. Draped in a dark cape and a tailored suit, thick sunglasses on his face, the man was grinning widely at the group of heroes before him. “Please, don’t move a muscle! If you do, I’ll be forced to do something- well, just awful. That means you, Deku! And you, Dynamight!” The two heroes in question had moved to the front of the crowd, but halted when the man reached up and took hold of his glasses. The villain slid them down his nose slowly, looking down at the two top heroes with a sick grin. Dynamight growled, moving his arms to his sides, his palms lighting up as he prepared to attack the villain-

Until it suddenly stopped. With a green glow surrounding his body, Dynamight’s body began to turn an odd grayish hue. Deku turned to his friend with a gasp, panic filling his features as the number two hero was turned to stone.

“Like I said- I don’t want to have to petrify so many of Japan’s top heroes in one go, after all! Not to mention- all those lovely hostages around the room would suffer so much if you disobey me…” The villain’s words seemed to echo with how quiet the hall got, your chest beginning to ache in fear as your eyes searched the crowd. Togata’s eyes met yours, his gaze focused entirely on you. Through your tears you could see how tense he was, his teeth bared in a grimace as he realised he couldn’t get to you. His head swung to look over at the villain, your eyes widening at the absolute rage that seemed to vibrate through him. You’d never seen him like this before, how could this be the same man who called you in tears a few weeks ago when he watched a video online about some rescue dogs?

At the front of the crowd, Deku had turned back to the villain. His face was grim, a deep frown directed straight at the stage and his eyes hardened.

“What have you done to Kacchan?!” “Now, now, don’t worry! I’ll be more than happy to undo it once we get what we came for! And I hate to be so boring as to ask for it, but- we want your money. You came to donate to charity, correct? Well, I have a very worthy charity case for you to donate to! All you have to-”

A cry sounded from within the crowd, one of the lower ranked heroes launching himself at one of the waiters nearby with a hostage- if you remembered correctly, it was his date. All three of them hit the ground, his date scrabbling back to him as the waiter moved away quickly.

To your dismay, the waiter that was next along jammed the needle into the neck of his hostage.

The guest began to scream immediately, the woman’s skin starting to sizzle and steam as she was thrown away from the waiter, her hands scratching at any bare patch of skin and ripping it off of her, as if it was barely even attached. She looked to be in absolute agony, bubbles of skin growing on her face before they popped.

It was horrifying.

Tears were falling thick and fast down your cheeks, your body shaking with fear. That same needle was hovering above your neck, above the necks of about 20 people in the room, and it looked like even saving one would result in the death of another.

“I did ask you all to stay perfectly still, you know. I wanted to avoid this…” The villain shook his head in mocking disapproval, as if the woman’s screams weren’t still echoing. “Now, as I was saying… We have a lovely bank account just waiting to be filled with all your precious money, and it’s for a very good cause. Me and all my friends here could really use it!”

The screams had finally died down. The woman was lying on the floor, her skin mostly melted off, still steaming in places. Your eyes found Togata’s once more, his own looking frantic as it really set in that he couldn’t do anything, he couldn’t save you or anyone right now .

You could see the same look on the faces of all the other heroes present.

Deku looked like he was going to combust, Nejire-Chan and Sun Eater looked at each other with furrowed brows, as if they were trying to figure out their next step.

Togata couldn’t take his eyes off you.

There was a level of desperation there that you didn’t quite understand. Even though the other heroes looked upset at not being able to help their dates and friends, Togata seemed especially upset when his eyes were latched onto your figure.

You hated it.

That look in his eyes, it was so unlike his usual smiles. Something inside of you bristled at the lack of brightness in his expression. Blinking a few times to try and clear the tears from your eyes, you made sure he was looking at you before giving him a small smile. Reassurance.

It’s okay.

Togata’s eyes looked watery, although you couldn’t really tell from this distance, before he suddenly broke eye contact. He grit his teeth, his eyes screwing shut for a moment as he swung his head to glare at the villain.

“All this?! All this just for money ?! You just killed someone !” Togata’s voice cut through the silence, the heroes around him gasping at his outburst. He was shaking with anger, his eyes blazing as the villain simply laughed.

“Ah-! Not quite! I didn’t kill anybody! After all, I did warn you all that I’d have to do something awful if you didn’t listen!” The villain sounded so full of glee, so proud of what he’d done here.”Besides, it’s only cause of this stupid hero system that people like me struggle to get work and need to resort to this shit! If we could all use our quirks freely then things would be different!”

… wait.

The villain was still ranting, but you couldn’t even hear him anymore. Use your quirk freely… What if you could influence someone? Your eyes roved over the villain, unsure about how this would go… you didn’t have a licence to do hero work, but you did have something of a concession for using your quirk due to working with the kids. No one would even know, there’s no visual representation with your quirk on you , it only shows around the person you’re influencing. So the only people in the room that would know it was you would be Togata, Nejire and Sun Eater… You didn’t know if you were covered with your partial-licence, but surely you had to try.

The other risk was whether or not taking the leader out would impact the waiters. You were hopeful that if you took him out of the equation, in the chaos they’d just drop their hostages, but there was always the risk that they’d just inject their hostages anyway. You had to get a message to someone, somehow…

Togata looked at you again. Locking eyes with him, you schooled your face into the most neutral expression you could, and activated your quirk. A subtle blue glow, almost like a very tiny glitter shower, began around Togata’s ears.

Calm. Collected. Relax.

His face melted from it’s disgruntled rage, his mind clearing for a moment as you stopped your quirk, your eyes shooting to the other hostages and back to him before looking at the villain again. When you looked back at Togata, he didn’t seem to understand for a moment before it seemed to click.

A nod. A smile.

Togata turned and kept his voice to a low murmur, saying something to the other heroes as subtly as he could while the villain kept yelling about the inadequacy of hero society. You really hoped that he got your idea right.

Please.

When Togata finally looked back at you and nodded, you realised that many of the heroes seemed to be bracing themselves, each one angling their body slowly towards one of the hostages. Relief flooded through you as you turned your eyes toward the villain at the front, focusing on him directly.

Activating your quirk, you were suddenly filled with a chaotic swirl of emotions. What this man felt wasn’t just rage, there was sadness, fear, pain. You didn’t want to do this to him, but there was no other choice. You grunted softly as the blue glow, much stronger this time as you were concentrating so hard, began to sparkle around his ears.

Relax. Calm. Peace.

He stopped talking. The man’s face, previously screwed up in anger, relaxed swiftly as he stared off into space for a moment and you held onto his emotions as tightly as you could.

A moment was all the heroes needed.

All at once, the heroes jumped, each one launching towards a hostage and knocking the waiters over in the same breath, a coordinated attack. At the same moment, Deku jumped at the main villain, tackling and subduing the man as you finally let your control go, a splitting headache taking up residence in your mind immediately.

Togata came for you, because of course he did.

His fist flew past your head and rammed into the waiter’s, the man behind you dropping the needle and falling to the floor, the hand gripped around your wrists ripping your dress as he fell. You stumbled forward, Togata’s arms pulling you into his chest immediately and securing you there. Sobbing immediately, you buried your face into him and clutched at his shirt, eyes screwed closed.

“I knew my soulmate would be smart, but you’re a genius, you know that?”

... What?

You opened your eyes, ready to question him when your eyes caught on your soul mark, bared thanks to your ripped sleeve on your dress.

Glowing.

Eyes widening, you looked up at Togata, seeing the soft smile on his face even as around you the other heroes were busy dealing with the waiters (who had immediately panicked at their leader being taken down with no fighting) and working on getting the doors open again. He chuckled at your confusion, one of his hands leaving your waist to reach up and cup your cheek carefully.

“You-? But-? What?” Your brain seemed to grind to a halt, nothing making sense even as you absolutely relished in the warmth of his hand on your cheek and his arm around you. Togata burst out laughing this time, leaning back enough to put a bit of space between you both. He reached for the hem of his shirt, lifting it slightly until his lower abdominals were on display. You would have blushed if your eyes hadn’t locked onto the glowing mark on his hip.

A little seed, with a sprout coming out of it.

You frowned, looking back up at him and shaking your head slowly until he started speaking again.

“I had a feeling it was you when we first met. It felt like coming home even though we’d never even seen each other before… But I didn’t understand until you explained your job. You’re nurturing the next generation of heroes, your own little seeds, helping them grow. That’s when I really knew it.” Togata looked down at his hip again, smiling fondly at the mark and then back at you. “You’re amazing. I’m so glad it’s you.”

Your eyes filled with tears again at his words, at the soft grin he gave you as he lowered his shirt again, at the pure joy that you could feel radiating off him now that you were out of danger. It was too much, you couldn’t handle it, all the emotions of the day catching up to you as you sobbed. Togata’s eyes immediately widened in panic, his arms shooting around you again and pulling you close.

Comfort. Safety. Love.

Your quirk was working on it’s own, opening you up to Togata, letting you feel his emotions and pouring your own back into him, his arms stiffening as they registered and he realised they weren’t his own feelings this time, that you felt the same .

How could you not?

He leaned you back again, hands cupping your face and wiping the tears from your cheeks as he beamed down at you, uncaring that your face was soaked, uncaring that your makeup was running-

He leaned in, and he kissed you.

Just like before, the world stopped.

There was nothing other than you, and him, and the fact that you’d been denying it for months but he was your soulmate . You finally felt like you could breathe after being underwater for so long, like you fit perfectly against him, in his arms. It was intoxicating.

The kiss, while it started loving and almost chaste, a relief that you’d made it through all this, quickly became more desperate as you realised that this man was yours .

And then Nejire cleared her throat.

Togata and you broke apart, faces flushed with heat as you stared at her wide eyed.

“I’m so psyched that you guys are together and all, but we kinda need to finish up here you two! C’mon, you can suck each other’s faces later !” Nejire walked towards the (now open-when did that happen?) doors, making you realise that in the few minutes you two had carved out together in the chaos, everything had calmed down. Police were escorting the villain and his waiter-lackeys from the building, the heroes were giving their statements to other officers, and ambulances were arriving to help the hostages. Togata helped you toward them, noting how weak you’d become after using your quirk under the circumstances.

What followed was a few annoying hours of being checked over by the EMT’s, police taking statements, and a lot of suggestive looks between you and Togata. He knew what he was doing, the bastard, taking off his suit jacket and placing it around your shoulders, his smell surrounding you in both comfort and frustration. Rolling up his sleeves so you could see the muscles in his forearms flexing.

Now that you weren’t yelling at yourself for being attracted to him, it seemed like the flood gates had opened. You were openly ogling him even as they announced that you were free to go, your eyes laser focused on him. As soon as you were standing you made your way straight over, Togata’s eyes catching your movement before you reached him and prompting a smile.

It wasn’t one of his usual smiles.

It seemed that, like you, Togata was feeling the effects of that kiss, an edge of hunger in his eyes and on the curve of his lips that had you aching in your core. As you came to a stop in front of him, he reached for you automatically, pulling you into his side and resting his hand on your hip to keep you pressed against him. He bid the heroes he was talking to goodbye quickly after that, pulling his phone out to get a car called and looking down at you when you were waiting at the curb for it to pull up.

“Can I take you home? Wanna make sure you get in safe.”

You’ve never nodded so fast in your life.

--------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as your door was closed, he was on you.

Togata pulled you toward him, wrapping his arms around you and planting his lips on yours, your own arms wrapping around his neck as you pressed yourself against him. The adrenaline from nearly dying had worn off, but in its wake a new excitement was building in your veins. The thought that this man was all yours was still swirling through your mind, and now that you were pressed up against all that muscle you were aching between your thighs.

Togata pressed you against the wall in the hallway, parting from you and panting heavily, his forehead pressed to yours. Your hands moved to cup his cheeks, your nose nudging against his gently as you tried to reconnect your lips, feeling him smirk at your insistence.

“Togata…” A soft utterance of his name had him growling, pressing his lips to yours once again. His hands smoothed down from their place at your waist, moving over your ass and squeezing gently. When he pulled away, he pulled your hips against him, letting you feel his hardness against your stomach.

“Mirio- Call me Mirio, okay?” His voice had dropped, a roughness to it that wasn’t usually present that made a thrill run down your spine. You nodded, leaning back against the wall and looking up at him with hooded eyes. Mirio took your hand, lifting your wrist- the one with your soul mark on it- to his lips without letting his eyes leave yours, and brushed his lips across the mark itself. Your lashes fluttered at the soft contact, the air around you charging with each movement, your chest beginning to heave.

“Mirio, please…” With his eyes sparkling, Mirio lowered his head slowly, moving past your lips to your jawline, his hand coming up to tilt your head further and allow himself better access to your neck. You gasped as his lips and tongue assaulted your pulse point, your hips nudging toward him in pleasure, the feeling making you throb in need. “M-Mirio, bedroom, n-now…”

The distance seemed to evaporate with how quickly Mirio dragged you through the house, following your directions between heated kisses. As soon as you were in the bedroom, Mirio flung his jacket from your shoulders with a solid yank.

“I really love you in my clothes, but I also really want you out of ‘em right now…” He murmured against your lips, reaching for the buttons on his shirt and swiftly undoing them, shrugging it off as soon as he could. Your hands had a mind of their own as they roamed his chest, dragging over his nipples and relishing in the little twitch he gave.

Mirio’s hands moved to your hips once again, starting to drag your dress up by bunching the fabric at your waist bit by bit. Despite the heated atmosphere, and how much the both of you wanted to move this along, Mirio was taking his time where he could, teasing you when he finally pulled it up and over your head. Once your hands were free, they immediately moved to his belt, working it open as he dipped his head down to reconnect your lips. Your dress fell to the floor, his hands fastening to your waist once more as he moved you backwards towards your bed. Mirio helped you lay back, before straightening and undoing his pants properly, letting them drop to the floor and leaving him in some rather tight boxer briefs.

The outline of his cock was daunting, but it made your mouth water with how thick it looked, the idea of it stretching you forcing wetness to pool between your legs. Mirio made to step forward and out of his pants-

Only to get his feet tangled and fall over, barely catching himself on the edge of the bed.

You burst into giggles, covering your mouth to stifle them when Mirio shot you a look of exasperation. He struggled to unhook his feet from the fabric, groaning in frustration before ultimately deciding to use his quirk, letting the fabric pass through his feet as he crawled onto the bed.

You reached for him as soon as he was done stepping out of his pants, grasping his shoulder and neck to bring his lips back to yours. With only your panties and his briefs in the way, you could feel him pressed against you so much clearer, the pressure on your clit forcing a whine from deep in your chest.

Mirio smirked into your kiss, rolling his hips forward as he settled between your legs, eliciting a gasp that he took full advantage of, slipping his tongue into your mouth.

Having his hands roving over your body, feeling each and every curve, squeezing at your flesh- you felt like you were on fire, Mirio’s desire for you evident in the way his hips rolled desperately against you, the cling of your panties to your soaked core betraying just how much you wanted him in return.

“Been thinking of you like this for so long…” Mirio muttered between kisses, moving his kisses back to your neck, down to your collarbone and nibbling at the flesh there. Your back arched, Mirio taking advantage of the opportunity once again to reach behind you and start undoing your bra.

After a moment of struggle that elicits giggles form the both of you, he finally gets the damn thing undone and drags it off. He stops for a moment, leaning back and admiring the view of you utterly debauched below him, eyes hooded, lips kiss swollen, chest heaving. Reaching to cup your cheek for a moment, he rubs your cheekbone with his thumb and chews at his lip for a moment.

“I don’t- I’m not super experienced , if you know what I mean…” His face flushed at his admission, eyes focused on tracing your jawline instead of making eye contact. You giggled at him, reaching up to cover his hand with your own as you turned to nuzzle into it.

“I’m hardly the queen of experience either, you know. But this already feels so much better than anything else…” Mirio smiled at your words, finally looking into your eyes again. He leaned down, nuzzling at your breast for a moment before sucking your nipple into his mouth, dragging his teeth slowly over the peak and watching as your face contorted in pleasure.

The air between you became charged with tension once again, Mirio’s hand moving between your thighs and softly stroking at your slit over your panties. He groaned as he felt how soaked you were already, his teeth biting down a little harder on your nipple. Your legs flexed around his hips in response, a soft moan escaping that he relished in.

He suddenly growled, leaning back and letting your nipple go with a soft pop as he focused on practically ripping your panties from your body. Considering he said he wasn’t overly experienced, the way he flipped the switch and had your knees by your ears, his mouth covering your cunt and eating you with fervor- you wouldn’t have thought he was even the same man.

You cried out at his assault, his tongue flicking over your clit between it’s journeys into your walls, his hands pressed behind your knees to keep you folded over. Hands flying to the sides of your head, you screwed the sheets up in your fists with how hard you gripped them. Your mouth hung open, pants and moans constantly falling from your lips as your eyes screwed shut, almost overwhelmed already. The pressure was already building so rapidly, the knot in your belly tightening by the second. You panted his name, Mirio’s efforts increasing even more when he heard your voice so strained.

When you finally crested the wave of pleasure, your head thrown back into the pillow, Mirio took every drop you gave him, your cunt crying out for something to fill it, aching with need. When he finally let you drop back to the bed, your legs flopping either side of his hips, you pushed up and latched your mouth to his instantly.

You’d never wanted someone so bad in your whole life, something in you snapping as you pressed up into him. Desperation laced your movements and you reached down, pushing his briefs down enough to free his cock and wrapping your hand around it, swallowing up his answering hiss and pulling him back on top of you, maneuvering your hips to line him up instantly.

Mirio’s hands flew to your hips, stilling their movements and ripping his lips from yours with a growl.

“You definitely-” “Mirio, if you don’t fuck me right now, I’ll take care of it myself. I have toys in that drawer.” He froze at your words, tilting his head as he processed your words. He shook his head, reaching down to replace your hand with his as he rubbed his cock up and down your slit, bumping against your clit to tease you.

“We’re revisiting that later, but right now…” Mirio pushed his hips forward, his jaw going slack as your walls engulfed him in slick heat. You yourself weren’t fairing much better, eyes rolling at how thick he was, at the little burn of the stretch even though you’d already come once, your wetness helping him slide home until he was filling you to the hilt.

Mirio waited for your go ahead, waiting until you gripped his shoulders tight and gasped out a please …

And then he started moving, and you were soaring.

The drag of his cock in your walls was heaven, his big hands gripping your hips and lifting you into each thrust and slamming his cock into that spongy spot inside you pulling sinful moans from your lips. Mirio watched your face as you writhed in pleasure, his heart hammering in his chest at finally being with his soulmate, your own heart pounding in time with his.

“So beautiful like this… you really were made for me, huh?” He punctuated his words with an especially harsh thrust that had your vision whiting out for a moment as you nodded, your nails digging into his shoulders making him hiss and screw his own eyes shut. The view above you was glorious, his broad chest and shoulders with their rolling muscles with every movement. His face, torn between watching you and enjoying his own pleasure, teeth bared with his efforts to make you feel good. You couldn’t take it, your climax approaching too rapidly, your legs tightening around his hips as you tried to gasp out a warning, to tell him you were close-

“ Fuck - I can feel you, baby, come for me, please …”

Your head threw back once again, throat bared to him as you were overcome by pleasure, your soul mark shining brightly for a moment as you clenched down onto him. He grunted through it, his own mark glowing as his hips stuttered, burying himself deep inside you as he filled your walls with white, until both of you bonelessly fell to the bed. Your marks glowed for a moment longer, before their lights slowly ebbed away, settling down once more.

Mirio panted above you, holding his weight up on his elbows so he wouldn’t crush you while you caught your breath too.

When he finally pulled out, you groaned at the feeling of emptiness as he pulled you into his arms, flopping onto his back beside you on the bed. You’d both need to clean up soon, go to bed properly, but as you stared at your soul mark resting against his chest, you couldn’t quite bring yourself to move just yet.

Looking up at Mirio, you smiled when you caught him already watching you, a cheeky grin on his face. Thinking back, you had no idea how you hadn’t figured it out sooner.

Mirio was of the purest, childlike glee. The sunshine of anyone’s life, whoever knew him could attest to that. Your mark made more sense than any other mark you’d seen in your life.

“... So... toys?”

...You were going to hit him, sunshine man or not.

#my hero academia #mha smut #my hero academia smut #my hero academia fanfic #mha #bnha #bnha smut #mirio togata #mirio togata x reader #reader insert #cath writes

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bakugous-tits · 1 year

Text

A Fractured Flame

Last one for now! This is my absolute favourite things I've ever written, it took me ages but I was so inspired. I love the world I built in here and I've been considering going back and writing a few bits for the others based in this AU as well...

Anyway! It's a bit of a monster but I hope you enjoy!

Pairing: Fire Mage!Katsuki Bakugou/Reader

Word Count: 18,916

Warnings: Magic!AU, Fluff, Smut, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, creampie

As you sprinted through the forest, gripping your skirts tightly to keep them up and out of your way, you couldn’t help but wonder how your morning went so wrong so fast. It started as any other day, a gentle awakening with the rising sun, rousing yourself from your bed to prepare for the day. You dressed simply, a plain dark blue dress that hugged your curves but flared at the waist slightly, and made your way to the market. Your little cottage, on the outskirts of the village and surrounded by wildflowers, getting smaller behind you as you went into the centre of town. The other townspeople had greeted you with warm smiles and words of welcome, happy to see you. You may not play a huge role in the town, but they appreciated your little sewing business, doing small repairs when the tailor was too busy.

It all went to shit when you got to the market.

In hindsight, it really wasn’t all that big of a thing that set it all off. A stack of crates had fallen, nearly crashing down on top of you, but they never landed. Because somehow, you managed to blow them up before they even got close, the wood splintering apart as flames licked at it.

However, the immediate disgust and fear from the townspeople had overshadowed your joy at living through such an event.

The gentle smiles morphed into rage and disgust. Their kind words exchanged for threats and jeers, crying out one word, over and over until you couldn’t hear anything else, the word bouncing in your skull. Witch! Witch! Witch!

They had started throwing stones just as the tears had begun to roll down your cheeks. You ran from the market square, back towards your cottage, the mob of people advancing behind you.

You ran past your little cottage, into the woods, to safety. They wouldn’t follow you in there, the stories of the indigenous tribes that live out here made them too fearful. You hid when you found a large tree with gnarled roots, lying yourself low as you covered your mouth to muffle your sobs.

It’s when you snuck back to the edge of the forest later on that you find that the townspeople had set your cottage ablaze; your home, your belongings, the patch of wildflowers that used to sway so prettily in the wind reduced to mere ash, everything you knew- gone.

You turned back to the forest, and began to run. You couldn’t stop so close to town, even if they wouldn’t venture far into the woods, there was a chance they’d risk it to catch you. After all- Magic was forbidden. Taboo. Shameful. You had no idea how long you’d been running when your legs finally gave out. Falling hard, your dress immediately getting muddied as you skidded along the forest floor, and your hands outstretched and getting scraped by some of the roots of nearby trees. You stayed on the floor, the tears on your cheeks having dried long ago but the sobs continued to echo through the forest around you, your eyes aching at the lack of moisture. There were no more tears to cry. It was like there was a hole in your chest, gaping wide and growing steadily the more you lay there. The image in your mind of your cottage on fire, the words of the townspeople shaking you to your core even now. Witch! We can’t let her live! Burn her! Kill her!

The people you had trusted, cared for, all turned on you within the space of a few minutes. You had nowhere to go, no one to turn to, and nothing to your name. What the hell do you do when everything crumbles around you?

The sound of a twig snapping nearby had your breath catching in your throat, pushing yourself up onto your hands and knees, head snapping to where the sound had come from.

A woman? Dressed in a brown skirt and breast band, lined with red stitching, and a black cloak with fur lining the edges, the woman looked at you in shock. You scrabbled your way backwards, away from her, crying out when a nearby tree suddenly bursts into flames. The woman’s eyes widened before she raised a hand towards the flames, and right before your eyes they ebbed away until all that was left was singed bark. Somehow, tears began to fall from your dehydrated eyes once again, your hands flying to cover your face.

“You can’t control it, can you?” Her voice is casual, if a little rough around the edges, and you lowered your hands slightly to look up at her. She had crossed the space between you while you panicked, crouching down with a soft smile on her face. Wild ash blonde hair, cut shortish and spiking up all around her head, and deep red eyes. Displayed on her belly was a tribal flame, looking like a tattoo or a brand. She was beautiful, in a wild sort of way, and you wiped at your cheeks, shaking your head at her. “I didn’t even know I could do it, until this morning. They ran me out of town…” Her expression softened further at your words, her hand reaching out to you. “Come with me. I know some people who can help you.” You eyed her hand in suspicion, eyes moving back up to look into hers after a moment, and she sighed as she retracted her hand. “I know, don’t trust the crazy lady in the forest you just met. But really, what other choice do you have? I promise, I won’t let anything happen to you. You saw what I did. We can help you.” After a moment of consideration, you nodded to her, standing and brushing yourself off as you did. The woman held her hand out to you again, and this time, you took it. “I’m Mitsuki. C’mon, let’s go meet the rest of the tribe.”

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As it turned out, Mitsuki was from one of the indigenous tribes. Almost everyone here had some level of control over fire, just like you apparently did. As you travelled, she told you about the little village they had deep in the woods, more like a camp than anything, and how most of the people there were born and raised in the village. A few, though, were like you- outsiders, accepted when society pushed them away. It made you feel a little better that you weren’t the first person this had happened to, who had suddenly presented with magic so late in life.

Most magic users presented with their abilities as young children, but some people were late bloomers, their magic not showing up until well into adulthood in some cases.

“At least you got fire! It’s the best magic to have, ask anyone in the village!” She winked at you, bumping you with her elbow, and you couldn’t hold back the small giggle at her antics. “Finally! Thought I was gonna have to resort to something drastic to get a smile outta you!” “I’m sorry I was such a mess when you found me. It was a lot to take in…” You looked down at the ground sheepishly, avoiding stepping on a sharp-looking rock as you approached the outskirts of the village. “Hey, don’t worry about it! It’s scary when it first shows up, and you had no warning. It’s understandable, so relax! We’re going to get you all set up here with us now. You belong here. It’s safe.” Mitsuki smiled at you again, and you felt yourself relax further.

As you approached the village, your eyes roved over everything, trying to take it in all at once. Rows upon rows of tents of various sizes were scattered throughout a clearing in the forest, a cliff face at the far edge with the biggest tent situated in front of the rock wall. Most of the tents were decorated with red paint or stitching, patterns and swirls covering their surfaces. Children ran around, darting between the tents, adults carrying baskets of items and foods around as they laughed and chatted. It was beautiful. A large fire was at the center of the encampment, situated in a large stone bowl. As you walked past it, you glanced into the fire and stopped in your tracks. There was no wood. No kindling. Nothing else- just the flame itself.

“It’s called the Eternal Flame. It’s our people’s greatest treasure. As long as this fire burns, our people will be safe, and prosper. It protects us, guides us, and in turn we protect it.” Mitsuki’s voice had gone soft, almost like a prayer. There were people gathered around near the fire, their hands clasped together and their eyes shut, lips moving in soundless worship. This was obviously a very important relic to the people here, and you could hardly tear your eyes away from it. It was like it called to you, your brain filled with static as you took a few steps forward, hand outstretched. The flames danced before you, your head tilting in wonder as they almost seemed to seek you out, tendrils weaving through the air, coming towards your hand.

“What the fuck is this, old hag?!”

The spell was broken when a deep, gravelly voice cut through the moment. Your head snapped to the side, panicked gaze settling on a man with hair and eyes almost identical to Mitsuki’s. The deep frown was nothing like her soft features, though.

He was glaring right at you, stomping forward until he was right beside you. Mitsuki’s hand came out of nowhere, pushing the man further from you as she stepped into the space between you and him.

“What the hell, Katsuki?! There are kids here, watch your mouth!” Her hand shot out again, smacking the side of his head harshly. The man growled, his lips twisting and baring his teeth in rage at her. “I was just showing the newcomer the Eternal Flame.” “This dumbass was about to touch it , you blind witch !” His avoidance at using any foul language had the air escaping from your lungs again in no time.

Witch! Witch! Witch!

Your knees buckled as you struggled to draw in breaths, Mitsuki coming to your aid swiftly, and she wrapped her arms around you. Her gentle shushing as she stroked your hair was helping to calm you down, stopped the swimming of your vision, and you looked up again at the blurry form of the man in front of you. As your eyes cleared, you could clearly see the confusion on his face as he sneered down at you.

“What the f- What’s wrong with her?” His voice was slightly softer now, seemingly realising the delicate nature of the situation. Mitsuki scowled up at him, her eyes narrowed. “ That is something to be discussed later. We need to get her to our tent. She’s staying with us tonight until we can find her her own.” The groan the man let out told you all you needed to know about his feelings on the matter, however he moved closer to you and leaned down. With one hand secured under your knees and the other across your back, he lifted you with ease and began to walk toward the cliff.

It was only now that you registered what he was wearing.

Brown pants with red linings, much like Mitsuki, and a black fur lined cloak again.

But- no shirt.

His abs and pecs were pressed against your side, and you stiffened in his arms at the realisation that you were being carried by a very attractive shirtless man. He seemed to pay you no mind, however, as he walked straight into the big tent in the camp, made up of multiple rooms. The room you were carried into seemed to be some sort of lounge. There was a large, low table in the centre of the room, surrounded by soft looking pillows on all sides. Tapestries hung from various stands in the room, all depicting some kind of image of fire on them. The man placed you down on one of the pillows, before moving to the other side and settling himself down on another pillow, glaring at you already as he rested his elbow on his raised knee.

Mitsuki entered shortly after, removing her cloak and hanging it on a nearby stand, looking around the room.

“Masaru! Could you come in here, please?” She called out into one of the tent additions to the side, partitioned by a thick curtain. The curtain moved aside, a tall man entering and his eyes widening in surprise at your presence at the table. Mitsuki moved past him, squeezing his arm lightly as she went to sit directly across from you, with ‘Katsuki’ to her right. Masaru shook himself from his shock, going to sit on her other side and smile at you warmly.

“Hello, and welcome. I’m Masaru, and I see you’ve met my wife Mitsuki and our son, Katsuki. We’re the tribe leaders here.” Your eyes widened as you looked at Mitsuki, realising you’d been travelling with the Chieftess of the tribe. She snickered at your response, waving at you from the other side of the table.

“Don’t worry about all that- we need to talk about what happened to you today. If you don’t mind telling us, that is?”

You thought about it for a moment, before you nodded. If you were going to get over this, you needed to not bottle it up inside. You proceeded to fill them in on what happened- the market, the crates, the instant fire and the mob running you out of town. Returning to see your cottage ablaze, running out into the woods until you fell and Mitsuki found you.

They all listened attentively, Masaru and Mitsuki’s faces shifting to hurt and anger at parts of your story, while their son simply glared the whole time. When you were done, you felt lighter, like the hole in your chest had lessened some.

“Then you’ll stay here, in the village. We can keep you safe and teach you how to control your magic.” Mitsuki halted for a moment, before a devious grin spread across her face. “In fact, Katsuki can teach you. He’s very good with his magic, so you’ll have the best we’ve got to offer!”

There was a beat of silence, until- “ What?! ” Katsuki’s voice rang through the empty air, making you jump. “I ain’t teachin’ this nobody!” He folded his arms across his chest, looking off to the side and huffing. You shook your head, hands coming up to wave in the air in front of you. “No! It’s fine, if he doesn’t want to then-” “No, doesn't matter if he wants to, this will be the perfect way to get you back on track! You had that little hiccup but this will get you back to the good path!” “Wha- just because I-” “You attacked that boy from the lightning tribe with no provocation-” “He did provoke me, he was being a dunce fa-” “It doesn’t matter if he was being dumb, that’s no reason to-” The arguing continues, your eyes growing wider at the sight of the two blondes leaning closer to one another, faces twisting with rage more with each word. When you saw them like this, it was easy to tell they were related, and from the small popping you could hear coming from Katsuki’s palms, things were about to escalate. You turned your head to look at Masaru, blanching when you saw the fond smile on his face as they argued. He turned to you, his grin widening.

“Don’t worry, they’re like this all the time. Keeps things interesting.” He claps his hands together, the two blondes immediately halting their yelling. They switched to growling at one another, teeth bared. “That’s enough, you two. Katsuki, you’ll teach this young woman how to control her abilities and that’s final.” Katsuki groaned, getting up and stomping out of the tent, grumbling to himself the whole time. Your eyes followed his movements as he left, a frown on your face. Turning back to Mitsuki and Masaru, you gave them a questioning look. “Oh, don’t mind him. He’s always been a little… abrasive. But he’s good at heart.” Masaru stood as well, going back through to the room that he’d been in when you’d arrived, presumably their bedroom. Mitsuki stood as well, walking over to you and grasping your hands, pulling you up while she seemed to consider your body. “I’m going to get you some new clothes, but I’ll take you to the river first to clean up. It isn’t far, c’mon.” She kept one of your hands in hers, pulling you out into the camp once more and turning to follow the cliff face along the back edge. After a little while of walking on a downtrodden path, you came upon a small waterfall that cascaded down into a river. The current didn’t look too powerful, and when you crouched to dip your fingers into the water, it was cool rather than cold. Perfect for bathing in. You looked up at Mitsuki again, raising a brow at her. “No one will come this way, don’t worry. I’ll just get you some clothes and be right back.” She pointed to a small wooden ledge that had been attached to some rocks near the water’s edge, small bottles and bars of soap laid out. “Take your pick, I’ll only be a few minutes.” As she wandered away, you looked down at the water, and then your scraped hands. You knew you probably looked a mess, so you wasted no time in stripping off and lowering yourself into the water, fully submerging yourself. When you came back up, you smoothed your hair away and went over to the wooden ledge, picking up various bottles and bars until you found a scent you liked, before starting to scrub. True to her word, Mitsuki returned shortly after, a large absorbent looking cloth in one hand and a bundle of clothes in the other. She settled herself onto a nearby rock as you washed your hair, looking out towards the camp and smiling softly. “You know, as I understand it… you city folk think us all to be vicious barbarians, don’t you?” You felt your face heat slightly, looking up at her as you rinsed your hair gently. “Yes… the stories that are told paint you all out to be murderous, but you’ve been nothing but kind to me. Thank you, Mitsuki. I mean it, if it weren’t for you… I don’t know what I would have done.” She smiled at you in return, before looking back at the village. “We allow those rumours simply to keep us safe. You know first hand what the people think of us magic users… we have children and elderly here, and not all of us are powerful. Even if it was somewhere as small as your village attacking us, we wouldn’t stand a chance. We have to keep everyone safe. And it isn’t just us, either. There are many magic tribes in this forest, all of us united in trying to keep each other and our tribes away from civilisation in order to protect our people.” She glanced at you, reaching out to help you out of the water, and wrapped you in the absorbent cloth. She placed her hands on your shoulders, looking at you softly once more. “That includes you. This is your home now. Will you help us protect it?” You thought for a moment, thinking back at how kind everyone had been when you walked through the village before, of the soft smiles of Mitsuki and Masaru, and then of the Eternal Flame. With a new determination in your eyes, you nodded to her. “Yes. I’ll learn how to control this, and I’ll help protect the tribe.” Her grin widened, a gleam in her eyes.

----------------------------------

The clothes that Mitsuki gave you were simple. A brown dress with red accents, and a dark green cloak. Walking back through the village, you felt more at ease this time, less like you stuck out. People greeted you with warm smiles, gentle hello’s.

It was just like home, before everything went to shit.

You felt yourself tear up slightly, but wiped them away. This was no time to be upset. Your old life was over, and you had to get used to that. This was a second chance. Having magic didn’t mean you would be murdered here, it was celebrated, encouraged. These people were nothing like what you’d been told, the stories in your village had been wrong. Mitsuki and Masaru were kind, the people you passed in the pathways between the tents were welcoming. Katsuki was rough around the edges, sure, but one bad seed in a village of this size? Arriving back at the Chief’s tent, Mitsuki squeezed your shoulder, motioning with her head out towards the encampment. “You should go to the Eternal Flame again. That’s where we gather for events, and Masaru should be waiting for you there. I’ll be along shortly, don’t worry.” You nodded to her and turned, making your way through the emptier paths alongside many of the members of the tribe. It seemed as though everyone was headed to the centre, gathering in the larger open space surrounding the Eternal Flame. When you reached it, Masaru was standing near the large bowl, Katsuki at his side looking bored. Masaru spotted you and motioned you forward, placing his hand on your shoulder as you neared him. He smiled, before clearing his throat and calling the attention of the people gathered- the whole tribe. “Everyone! This young lady is the newest member of our tribe. She was exiled from her home for presenting with magic!” A grumble of displeasure rose from the crowd, Masaru raising a hand to halt it after a moment. “I know! I know… but it has brought us luck! For this woman is now part of us- part of our family. We shall protect her as she will protect us!” Cheers and raised voices of excitement were the response this time, a small smile rising on your lips. Masaru spun in a circle slowly, still addressing the crowd. “However, as always, I must ask. Does anyone have an objection?” There was a moment of silence, before the whole crowd erupted once more- cries of ‘No!’ and ‘Let her in!’ from the tribe, wide grins on their faces as they clapped and raised fists in support. You looked around at them in wonder, these strangers taking you in so quickly and with such positivity causing a few stray tears to fall from your lashes. Masaru smiled at you broadly, raising a brow at you. “And what say you? Will you join us?” Mitsuki’s voice came out of nowhere, and you spun to face her quickly. In her hands she held a small item, mostly hidden from you. You looked around at everyone, a wide smile on your face as you nodded. “I will!” The noise was deafening, the whole tribe exclaiming in joy at your agreement, Mitsuki rushing forward to wrap her arms around you in a tight hug. As she leaned back, you managed to see the item in her hands. It was a small stick, with a piece of metal on the end, a raised pattern on the outer edge of it, in the shape of a tribal flame. She moved around you, holding the metal end into the Eternal Flame, and before your eyes the raised ridges of metal began to glow. Turning her head towards you, she smiles at the confusion on your face. “Don’t worry. The Eternal Flame will brand you with magic, so there will be no pain. But it will make you an official member of the tribe, and grant you it’s protection. Where do you want it? Mine’s on the back of my shoulder, but it can go wherever you wish.” You thought about it for a moment before raising the hem of your dress, keeping yourself mostly covered until a small patch of your upper outer thigh was exposed. There were a few whistles from the crowd, and you felt a heat rise on your face, but you didn’t lower it down. Mitsuki laughed, throwing her head back as she removed the brand from the fire. “Good spot! Now hold still, this will only take a second.” Hovering the brand over your skin for a moment, she made sure it was how she wanted, before firmly pressing it to your skin. You held your breath, still expecting pain even when reassured that it wouldn’t hurt, but when the metal touched your skin, all you felt was...

Warmth. Safety. Protection . There was no sizzle of skin, but when she removed the brand the outline of the tribal flame remained in black, your skin slightly raised, like a tattoo. You stroked your hand over it, your mouth hung open slightly in awe, before you raised your head to look up at Mitsuki. She beamed down at you, her eyes sparkling.

“Welcome to the tribe.”

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Evening found the Bakugou family and you back in their tent, and Katsuki was silently seething.

Who the fuck did you think you were? Showing up out of nowhere and now suddenly he has to babysit you and teach you how to use your magic? Bullshit. Watching you laugh with his parents only pissed him off more. They were hanging on your every word, just like the whole tribe had been, but why? They’d accepted outsiders before, but never had he seen the whole tribe get excited like this.

Most troubling to him, was what he had seen earlier- with the Eternal Flame. When you had reached out to touch it… It had looked like the Flame was reaching back. That had never happened before. The Flame never reacted to anyone, ever. What the hell was so special about you?

And now he was going to have to spend time with you, alone , when he couldn’t think of anything worse.

Grunting as he pushed himself upright, he walked over to hover nearby to where you were talking to his parents. He cleared his throat, catching the group’s attention, before looking straight at you. “Soon as the sun is up, we’re starting your training. Don’t keep me waiting.” He didn’t hang around to hear a response, leaving to go through the curtain to his part of the tent, next door to the area you would be sleeping in. When he fell into bed shortly after, he laid on his back and stared up at the roof of the tent. He glared at the cloth, as if somehow that would make everything make sense, but the material remained as blank as always. He huffed, turning onto his side and pulling his covers over himself, hoping that sleep would calm him down.

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Back in the main room, you stared after Katsuki as he left, mouth hung open. You turned to Mitsuki and Masuru, the confusion still present on your face. Masaru chuckled, and Mitsuki glared after him with a sneer on her face. “I’ll make sure you’re up in plenty of time, don’t worry.” The blonde woman got up to her feet, she turned to you and her face melted into a soft smile, then she moved to get into bed herself. Masaru followed her, throwing you a soft goodnight as you stood and entered your own sleeping area. When the curtain slipped closed behind you, you took a deep breath.

The whole day felt like a blur. Your hand drifted to trace the brand on your thigh absently through your skirt, your eyes glazing over. This was your life now. A tribe of fire magic users had welcomed you into their ranks, giving you more warmth than you’d ever received from anyone before. Even when you were growing up. The locals from your town had all taken you in when they’d found you wandering by the forest’s edge, but their welcome was nothing compared to today.

You shook yourself out of your stupor, moving to dress for bed and crawl under the blanket, suddenly feeling the exhaustion of the day catch up with you. Sleep came easily, your dreams filled with the warm glow of the Eternal Flame, and the cool glare of red eyes.

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Mitsuki shook you awake gently in the morning, informing you that cooked meat and bread were on the table for breakfast, as well as some fruits. She had to run off this morning to help with the hunt, but she’d be back before sundown and made you promise to tell her if Katsuki was an ass during your training.

As you entered the main living room after you dressed for the day, a simple tunic and breeches with some boots, you came to realise that brown with red accents seemed to be the main colour scheme for the tribe. Masaru was wearing the same colours, as was Katsuki- although the younger man still wore no shirt, his tribal emblem displayed proudly on his left pectoral. He sneered at you as you entered, before returning to his breakfast silently. Masaru, however, gave you a warm grin and chatted with you as you ate, asking how you slept, informing you that they were setting up a tent for you nearby. While it would be nowhere near as fancy as this one, it would have two rooms, a living area and a bedroom.

Katsuki finished before you, but sat silently and waited for you to finish, standing and getting his cloak before you even finished your last bite.

“C’mon. Let’s go.” He swept out of the tent, intending to wait outside as you grabbed your own cloak and followed his lead, throwing Masaru a goodbye over your shoulder. He led you away from camp wordlessly once he noticed you had exited, and you followed like a lost puppy, trying to memorise the routes through the tents. You strayed further from the camp and into the woods, before you came to a large clearing with a stone floor built into it, Katsuki heading to stand in the middle. He turned to face you, motioning to a small stack of wood that was nearby. “Grab one of the logs and bring it here, onto the stone.” You followed the instruction, straightening when you had finished setting it down, and looked at him. Katsuki watched you through narrowed eyes, before looking down at the wood again. “Light it on fire.” You frowned in confusion at his words. Wasn’t he supposed to teach you how? He seemed to notice your hesitation, growling at you in response. “C’mon. Light it up, newbie.” “I- I don’t know how?” His frown deepened at your words, his arms crossing across his chest.

“Well how did you do it before?” “I didn’t mean to the first time. A bunch of crates were falling and they would have hit me, I just reacted.” He seemed to think for a moment, before nodding his head.

“Right. You’re like a kid when they first present then.” You bristled at his words, crossing your own arms across your chest. “Relax, I’m just talking about the fact that you’ve presented so late. You’ll be fine. Close your eyes.” You eyed him suspiciously before following the order, waiting for his next command. There was a moment of quiet before he spoke again. “Focus inward. Deep inside, there’s a fire that lives inside you. You have to bring it out into the open. Listen to the trees, feel the stone under your feet. This whole world is filled with magic, and you can tap into it.” As he spoke, you tried to follow along, but you couldn’t help but feel stupid with your actions. This was like meditating, and doing it with him watching you felt so embarrassing. Suddenly, there was a slap! Against your arm, and your eyes shot open to glare at the man in front of you. “Stop it. You’re never gonna learn if you don’t do what I say, and we’ll both be stuck doing this bullshit forever until you learn. Focus up, newbie. I don’t wanna be stuck with you forever.” His words stung, but you nodded your head and closed your eyes again. You did as he said, focusing on the sounds and smells of nature around you, until finally- you felt it. A small ember, deep inside you, but it was there. In your mind, you conjured a mental image of the fire, a mental version of yourself fanning at the flames and adding kindling until the fire grew in size. You held your hand out over the wood in front of you, imagining that your flame jumped from your little fire to the empty wood, and felt your hand grow slightly warmer for a second, felt the wind shift around you, and when you opened your eyes-

There was a tiny flame. Really, a tiny flame.

Katsuki stifled a laugh. You glared up at him.

He burst into laughter, bending over and clutching his stomach when your cheeks puffed out in indignation.

“I’ve seen kids with bigger flames! God, you’re weak! ” His words were breathless in his laughter, but he managed to push them out. You simply continued to glare at him, eyes flitting down for a moment to see that your tiny flame was gone again. Your face fell, disappointment filling you. “Do it again.” Your eyes snapped up to his, seeing him wipe away a tear as he caught his breath. He nodded down to the wood once again. “Go on. This is training, you’re not gonna get any better without doing it over and over, and the old hag wont let me off with anything if you have a flame that small. Do it again." And so began your training sessions, for hours every morning.

---------------------------------- Weeks had passed with little incident. You moved into your tent, made friends with a few locals, even started working with some of the tailors in the camp to help repair tents and make clothing. You were carving out a place for yourself here and settling in nicely.

The magic, however, was still lacking.

Your fire had grown slightly in the weeks you and Katsuki had been working together, but it was still pitiful compared to most of the children in the tribe. You had no idea why you were struggling so much, but it wasn’t getting better as quickly as you’d like, and you were sick of it. That’s what led you to your idea.

A terrible idea, to be honest, but at the time you thought it was great.

As you made your way to the training grounds long after the sun had set, shivering slightly and tightening your cloak around you, you were still convinced this was a good idea.

Finally, the stone floored clearing came into view in the limited light of the moon that filtered through the trees. You grabbed a piece of wood and took it to the centre, setting it on the floor and sitting in front of it, crossing your legs and closing your eyes. You focused on your breathing, listening to the sounds of the forest around you and visualising your flame again in your head, seeing the embers flick to life in your mind. Once again, you focused on moving the flame, letting it jump from your fire to the empty log and holding your hand out over it.

You felt the warmth spread down your arm, into your palm, and peeked one eye open to see the small fire on the log- still tiny. You sighed, watching the small fire flicker for a few moments before going out again.

Why am I this weak?

As you sat there in your misery, you never heard the beast approach you from behind. Only when you heard its claws tap on the hard stone floor of the training ground, making you turn your head and finally notice it, did you panic.

There, right in front of your eyes, was a truly massive wolf. Blonde fur covering most of it, deep, empty black eyes glinted at you in the darkness.

Striking white teeth that glittered in the moonlight as it bared its teeth harshly, a growl erupting from deep in it’s chest.

Your breath caught in your chest. Your eyes widened, but you couldn’t move- frozen in your terror.

The beast advanced towards you, eyes laser focused on your form as the muscles in its legs shifted under its skin. You managed to turn around, scrambling backwards, but all it did was speed up, moving closer to you by the second, nearly on top of you, and you reacted without thinking, throwing an arm up towards it, feeling the heat surge through you as massive flames erupted from your palm, covering the beast. The wolf yelped in pain, lurching back and rolling on the floor of the training area. “Move, newbie!” Katsuki came out of nowhere, charging towards the beast and raising his own hands towards it, huge explosions of fire flying from his palms, aimed directly at the beast. Realising it stood no chance against two of you, the beast fled, flames still licking at its heels and the stench of singed fur hovering in the air around you. You pushed yourself up and started running back to camp, throwing a glance behind you to make sure Katsuki was following and not chasing the monster. Thankfully, he was hot on your heels, catching up to you and grabbing your hand to pull you along faster as he ran back to the tribal grounds.

When you finally got back, the two of you stood outside your tent and gasped for breath, Katsuki recovering faster than you and turning to you with an incredulous frown.

“What the hell were you doing, newbie?! You could have gotten yourself killed out there!” His eyes were blazing, trying to understand what pushed you to this. You looked up at him guiltily, finally managing to control your breathing.

“I was… trying to practise more. I thought if I got more practise in- maybe I’d get better, and you wouldn’t have to waste your time with me anymore… I know I’m a burden and I don’t want to be anymore. I have to get stronger.” Your fists clenched in determination as you spoke, your eyes never leaving his. His face fell into a softer frown as he shook his head, a hand reaching up to rub at the bridge of his nose.

“The forest isn’t safe at night, the wolves in this area can’t come into the camp because of the magic wards, but once you hit the trees the protection falls. That’s why no one is allowed out into the woods after dark, moron.” Katsuki flicked your forehead, before he folded his arms across his chest. “I know you suck, but that was a dumb idea, even for you. But… Now I know you’re capable. That flame you threw at it when I first got there? It was perfect .” “I was so scared… I just- did it. I wasn’t thinking at all. I just… reacted.” You shook your head as you spoke, brushing a few strands of hair behind your ear. Katsuki looked at the sky for a moment, before looking back down at you.

“Everyone’s magic works differently. Maybe that’s what we need to do for you. Clear your mind completely and work on base instinct.” You considered his words carefully, nodding after a moment. “I was only able to destroy the crates when they were falling on me, so I guess that makes sense?” Knotting your fingers together, you looked up at him with an apologetic expression. “Thank you for saving me… I’m sorry for causing trouble for you- wait, how did you know I was even out there?” Katsuki opens his mouth and raises a finger, before hesitating and looking off to the side, his face morphing to one of slight alarm.

“I- don’t know. I just had a bad feeling. I’ve learned to trust my gut on this kind of stuff. Whatever, it doesn’t matter. Do your extra training in the daylight, dumbass.” He stalked away back to his own tent, ending the conversation before you could question him further. You watched him leave, admiring his broad shoulders as he left, before shaking yourself out of your distraction. This was not the time for that- the man was argumentative, annoying and brutish. No way you were going to let yourself catch feelings, no matter how attractive he was.

He was so attractive. Damn him.

----------------------------------

Your training was going much better now. The morning after your little night time mishap, Katsuki had you focusing on clearing your mind entirely, just feeling your magic flow within yourself and allowing it to work on just your feelings and instinct.

Your fire was growing by the day.

Every training session had you leaving with a wide smile on your face, Katsuki even grinning at you a few times when you managed to grow it significantly overnight on occasion.

“Maybe you’re not such a terrible mage after all, dumbass.”

God , he was so handsome when he smiled. The more your fire grew, the more you seemed to gain feelings for the abrasive man, his softer moments giving you a new view on him. This wasn’t a man who argued for no reason, he was actually very level headed. Katsuki was passionate, and protective of his people and his home. He rarely did things without thinking them through, unless he was truly pissed off.

In those cases, he tended to act first and ask questions later.

But he had started to be kinder to you most of the time, and your traitorous heart always skipped a beat when he smiled at you, or stood too close.

“The chief’s son seems to have come around finally, hm?” Jumping out of your skin at the sudden voice, you turned your head from your absentminded sewing. It was one of the other tribe members that you’d grown quite close to during your time here so far, Rumi. Tanned skin stretched over strong muscles, white hair falling to her waist, and shining red eyes. Rumi was one of the hunters for the tribe and almost always got into a scuffle of some kind when out in the forest, coming to the tailors for repairs nearly every time. I get a little rough out there, sorry!

Lately she’d taken a liking to you, even more so when she’d seen that Katsuki wasn’t as harsh towards you as he had been when you’d first arrived at the camp. She loved to tease, and you were her latest target, all in good fun of course. You grinned up at her, shaking your head.

“There’s nothing going on, Rumi. Bakugou is just training me because his parents are making him, nothing else.” Looking back down at the tunic you were finishing the stitching on, you wondered how she knew that you’d been thinking about him.

“You always get this look on your face when you think about him.” Your head tipped up sharply, your eyes widening. Is this bitch psychic?! Rumi burst out laughing at the look on your face, clutching her stomach. She swiped at a tear, letting out a deep exhale as she tried to control her breathing again. “You’re probably thinking I’m psychic or something, aren’t you? Nah, I just know you now. You’re easy to read once you spend a little time.”

She ruffled the hair on your head, settling herself down onto the floor next to you outside the tailor’s tent, waving to one of the other members of the tribe that was stitching together some pants as she glanced around.

“Where is lover-boy, anyway? He’s usually somewhere near you these days.” Heat rushed to your face at her words, looking at her with a playful frown as you tied off your thread.

“I don’t think he spends any time around me when we’re not training, Rumi. He isn’t as fond of me as you seem to think.” “Oh he is. You just don’t see it because he keeps his distance, but he’s usually got his eye on you, most of the time. Weird that he isn’t here somewhere…” You ignored her, cutting the thread and turning the tunic back from being inside out, admiring your embroidery of the edges. Satisfied with your work for the day, you folded the tunic and stood, placing it on a nearby table of finished pieces. Stretching your arms over your head and groaning at your tight muscles, you looked down at Rumi, watching her scan the area.

“I need a nice bath. You wanna come too?” She was up in an instant, grasping at your shoulders.

“Yes. Please. Please . Think I pulled a muscle in my shoulder yesterday during the hunt, I need you to massage it for me. You’re a lifesaver!” Giggling at her antics, you both went to your tents to get cloths to dry yourselves with and some new, clean clothes. When you met back up, Rumi linked her arm through yours and practically dragged you to the river, which was thankfully empty at this time of day. You’d taken to bathing in the middle of the day when less people were around, as it was quieter and more peaceful. As you stripped and slipped into the water, Rumi scanned the tree line before she did the same, and you quirked a brow at her.

“Something wrong?” “I heard Mitsuki say something about the magic wards needing to be strengthened soon, I’m a little worried that we may lose the protection of the wards and outsiders could find us. It’s probably nothing though. Don’t worry about it.” A smile spread over her face as she dunked her head under the water, resurfacing a moment later and pulling her hair over one shoulder. “It’s this one thats painful, can you help a sister out?” You smiled and nodded, moving closer to stand behind her and raise your hands to rub at the sore muscle. Rumi practically moaned when you found the knot that was causing her pain, and you giggled again at her over dramatics. It was peaceful, the sounds of the wind in the trees and birds chirping soothing you as you washed yourself once you were done massaging her shoulder.

Once you were bathed and dressed once again, all hell broke loose.

An arrow shot out from the trees nearby, slamming into Rumi’s bad shoulder and sending her reeling back a few steps as she cried out in pain. Your eyes widened as a group of men came sprinting through the tree line, one of them quickly grasping at you and throwing a bag over your head. And just like with the wolf- you froze. You tried to summon your magic, to fight back at them, to do something - but your concern for Rumi was too prevalent, your mind unable to clear and focus on yourself when your friend was hurt. You heard her call your name before something seemed to hit her, and the sound of her body crumpling to the floor had you panicking harder. Your breaths were starting to hurt with how forcefully you were dragging them in, the man holding your arms behind your back dragging you away. You tried to open your mouth to scream but your lungs wouldn’t cooperate, nothing leaving you but silent sobs heaving from your chest. Tears streamed from your eyes, soaking the material of the bag and making it stick to your face in places.

“We got her, now let’s go! ” One of the other men in the group shouted out, prompting the rest to make their way back to the trees quickly. You finally found some fight somewhere deep inside you, resisting and pulling back, though you still couldn’t seem to find your voice.

“Why ain’t we takin’ the other one?” “The boss said his beef is with this one for now, so we just take this one, now move !”

“Stop fighting, bitch! This’ll be better for you if you come quietly!” His voice rasping in your ear made you cringe away, more sobs leaving your mouth as you fought even harder to escape him.

You heard one of the other men behind you swear under his breath before the world turned black.

---------------------------------- You awoke to a throbbing pain on the back of your head, and an ache in your shoulders. There was very little light coming in through your closed eyes, and when you peeked them open you found yourself in a small store room, on a thin layer of straw on the floor. The window had no light peeking through, telling you night had fallen, though that wasn’t your biggest concern right now.

Your biggest concern was the cool metal you could feel encasing your hands, and the chink of chains when you tried to move.

Your arms were bound behind you, so it took you several minutes to push yourself up to a seated position. When you finally managed, you were panting, missing the use of your arms intensely as you studied your surroundings in the low light. The room was empty apart from the straw you were sat on, and when you looked behind you all you could see was that the chains seemed to be attached to the wall. What the fuck is happening?

The door on the opposite wall to you creaked open, allowing light to sweep into the room suddenly. You squinted at the figure standing in the doorway, trying to see if you recognised the large man filling the space, but his face was shrouded in shadows.

“You’re finally awake!” His voice was too loud, too cheerful. He took a few more steps into the room, finally allowing you a look at his face. He was tall, his large nose and chin pointed. His hairline was receding, giving away his age, with a widow’s peak at the centre of his forehead. The look in his dark eyes was worrying, almost a little unhinged as he approached you. “I thought I’d rid the world of the plague that was your tribe years ago… and yet here you are. Joined with the other ones . This is too perfect.”

The dark chuckle he gave sent a chill down your spine. You shuffled further away from him, your back hitting the wall quickly as you tried to stay away. What the hell is he talking about? My tribe? I’ve only been part of the tribe for a few weeks, but he said years? And the other ones? I don’t understand…

“Wh- What are you talking about? What problem do you have with my tribe? We’ve done nothing to you!” Images flashed through your mind as you thought of your people-your family .

Mitsuki. Masaru. Rumi. The tailors. The faces of every tribe member at your branding ceremony.

Katsuki.

Your eyes filled with tears of anger, your face morphing into a sneer at the man in front of you.

“I won’t let you hurt them!” The man laughs, placing his hands on his hips.

“I’m talking about your old tribe, stupid girl.” As his laughter dies down, he takes a step closer and crouches down to eye level, not phased by the fury burning into him from your gaze. He smiles again, the white of his teeth glinting menacingly in the low light of the room. “Or do you not remember? Did your feeble little mind block the memories? Do you want me to remind you?” You frowned in confusion, shaking your head slowly.

“No, I- I was from a village, they raised me-”

“From when you were a child? But what about before that, hm? Let me refresh your memory… Years ago, when you were just a child, I took my men to your tribe. I thought I had killed you all, but somehow you got out without my knowledge...”

He began to tell a tale of his epic battle, but his words had become white noise, memories flooding into your head drowning them out.

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The scent of smoke and ash litters the air as the tribe fights back against the invaders. The tents were all blazing in the dark, the moon shining down on the many bodies already piled up from both sides. You stared with wide eyes from the mouth of your family’s tent, unable to tear your gaze from the body of the nice man who makes your dresses. His eyes were wide open too, but the blood pouring from his mouth and throat was a definite difference between you two.

The strange men had come in the middle of the night, and the screams from the edge tents had woken you and your parents. Being in the big tent, you all were the most protected. Your mother had dragged you out of your bed and pushed you underneath a table in the living room, telling you to stay put- but of course you hadn’t listened.

You wished you had listened.

All of your tribe were dying . Your parents had left you to go join the fight, to protect the tribe, to protect their part of the Flame. As the Chieftains for this half of the fire tribe, they had the most power, the best chance of defeating these enemies but-

Your tribe was losing.

The invaders had already slaughtered half of the tribe, maybe even more than half… Tears were streaming down your face as you watched the horror continue. A call of your name drew your eyes to the side, your parents rushing towards you, skin slicked with blood- theirs or others, you didn’t know.

Your mother scooped you into her arms, one arm around your back and the other cupping the back of your head, keeping your face tucked into her neck. They began to run towards the forest, and you can feel your mother’s tears soaking the top of your head.

“Mummy, why are they here?”

“It’s okay baby, It’s going to be okay, you’re going to be fine.”

You reached the edge of the forest, your mother turning to look over her shoulder and placing you down gently, crouching down and smoothing your hair out of your face as she faces you once again. She gives you a watery smile, her hands grasping your shoulders just a bit too tightly. Your father quickly bent and kissed the top of your head, looking down at you with a tight smile.

“You’re going to have to be brave now, baby. Can you do that?” Your mother drew your attention back to her, wiping at your cheeks to clear the tear tracks. You frowned at her tone, at the fear you could tell was behind it, but you nodded anyway. “Good girl. We need you to run. Just keep going this way through the forest, don’t stop until you’re out the other side, don’t stop for anything , understand?” “Yes, mummy, but-” “No buts now, sweetheart, you have to go. We love you.” Your father pressed a kiss to the top of your head, stroking a hand over your head before turning back towards the blazing tents. Noticing a few of the invading men coming towards you, throwing out his arm and letting a large stream of fire shoot towards them. Your mother crushed you to her chest, choking down a sob that made her chest jump against you, before leaning back. The tears on her cheeks glistened in the fire light, the smile on her face so forced even you could tell.

“Go. We love you so much. And you are so strong , my darling. You will do great things, I know it. Now run.” She pushed you towards the forest, watching as you looked over your shoulder briefly when you ran, quickly losing sight of them as the trees enveloped you. The darkness made it hard to see where you were going, and your legs were getting so tired, but your parents told you to run and not stop.

So you didn’t stop.

The screams died down behind you, the crackling of the roaring flames turning to quiet. The nocturnal creatures of the forest sang their songs, the wind brushed the leaves, and you didn’t stop running.

Just as the sun was beginning to peak over the horizon, the trees began to thin out, giving way to a downtrodden path that ran along the edge of the woods. You were exhausted, but you followed the road along until you came across a small village. A young woman caught sight of you as you stumbled along the road, nearly collapsing from exhaustion.

This was the village that then raised you, taking you in and making you one of their own.

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You were drawn out of your flashback with a gasp, your head pounding. The man had stopped talking, but was still smiling menacingly at you.

“Do you remember now, witch? Your kind should not even be allowed to walk this earth, and yet my men and I can never seem to get rid of you. But it’s over, now. We have you, and your people will come. They will start an open war and they won’t be able to run from us then, I will have the entire village and all the ones nearby behind me. We will destroy you all.” As he walked out of the room he seemed unable to hold back a dark chuckle.

The door closed quietly, leaving you in the dark, your skull feeling like it was being split open with the pain of memories you’d suppressed.

Katsuki didn’t know what to do.

When they’d heard the screams of a few women from the tribe, saying they’d found Rumi knocked out by the river, he’d been one of the first people on the scene. He’d carried her himself to the medical tent, laying her on a cot and standing off to the side, letting the healers check her over. The bump on the back of her head suggested that someone had hit her to knock her out.

When she’d woken up, he couldn’t believe her story.

Hearing that you’d been taken - affected him more than he thought it would. Katsuki was as protective over his tribe members as anyone else, but this was different somehow. Rage boiled under his skin, a seething anger and frustration. Not knowing anything about who had taken you, why they had taken you, had him pacing in his room late into the evening. The hunters had tried to track your captors, but lost the trail in the forest. Rumi couldn’t remember what they looked like, so that was a dead end too. He growled into the quiet of the room, small flames filling his palms in his anger.

Mitsuki pushed aside his curtain, having listened to him pacing and his quiet growling for hours now. She’d never seen him like this before, never seen him quite so angered by someone going missing or getting lost. Katsuki was a level headed man usually, even when he got protective, but for some reason it seemed different this time. He was more on edge, and Mitsuki was worried for him. Katsuki hadn't eaten all day, and now he should have been sleeping, and as she looked at the expression on his face, her lips drew into a tight line. She moved into the room, letting the curtain swing closed behind her as she walked up to him, touching his arm gently. Katsuki’s whole body tensed for a moment, before he relaxed, his frame sagging slightly.

“Why… Why does it feel like this?” His voice hung in the quiet silence of the room, his eyes lifting to look into her own. Mitsuki shook her head, bringing her hands to his shoulders and turning him to face her. She smiled at him sadly.

“You’ve grown close to her, haven’t you?” Katsuki’s face filled with a blush at her words, his mouth remaining closed in a tight-lipped grimace. But she knew. The few months you’d been part of the tribe had changed him. He was softer, less prone to fits of anger and frustration. She’d seen him smiling more around camp, and she had definitely noticed that he watched you like a hawk. At first she thought he didn’t trust you, but when it continued weeks later, she realised it was more than that.

The look in his eyes wasn’t distrust, it was affection.

“We’ll find her, Katsuki. Don’t worry. She’s strong.” Mitsuki squeezed at his shoulders, before leaning forward and pulling him down to her height, pressing a kiss to his forehead and leaving the room. Left with his own thoughts once more, Katsuki sat on the edge of his bed and thought about what his mother had said.

You’ve grown close to her, haven’t you?

Sure, he’d had to get close to you. He was training you! And you were an idiot! Training alone at night? Ever since that incident he’d kept a close eye on you to make sure you didn’t do anything dumb. Did he have to watch you so closely during the day? Probably not, but he was just being careful.

You’ve grown close to her, haven’t you?

And yeah, sometimes when he watched you working on your sewing or laughing with Rumi or some of the other tribespeople, Katsuki would find himself admiring how you looked. How your eyes glittered with a mischievousness when Rumi was telling you about someone she was teasing. How they would melt when you watched some of the children playing. How you would focus so intently on your embroidery that your tongue would poke through just a bit … But that didn’t mean anything!

...Right?

You’ve grown close to her, haven’t you?

Katsuki thought back to the night of the wolf incident. How he’d been relaxing in his room, when all of a sudden he’d felt the most intense panic, a pull towards the training grounds, and he’d been running before he even knew he was out of bed. Why had he felt that you were in danger? What was so special about you?

And then it hit him.

Oh, fuck.

I’m in love with her.

Katsuki didn’t sleep well that night.

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Katsuki was woken by loud shouts early the next morning. Rousing himself from far too short a sleep, he rubbed at his eyes and pulled himself up to sit in bed, looking at the doorway with a frown. His mother burst through, holding a paper in her hand. Mitsuki held it out towards him.

“It came by bird not that long ago. Whoever took her wants to meet. To discuss some kind of exchange.” “Exchange for what?” Though his voice was still rough and groggy, Katsuki instantly felt more awake, leaping up and taking the paper from her hand, scanning through the contents. He freezes when he sees what they want in return, the paper crumpling slightly in his tight grip. “...The Flame?” Mituki looked pained. She had come to see you as something of a daughter in your short time here in the tribe, but there was just no way…

“Katsuki…. We- We can’t. I know she’s important, but-” “What other choice do we have?! We have to get her back!” Katsuki’s face twisted into a snarl, looking at his mother with blazing fury in his eyes. Mitsuki held back a few tears, her eyes turning glassy as she looked up at him and slowly shook her head.

“We protect the Flame, Katsuki. We can’t. You know that.” Katsuki growled at her words, the paper in his hands burning up instantly, the ashes fluttering to the floor of his room. “I’m afraid that… we have to accept that she’s lost. We can’t meet with them. Please understand that I can’t just look at the one person, I have to think of the tribe as a whole. Please.” Mitsuki left the room, the tears finally falling from her eyes and leaving silvery trails down her cheeks. Katsuki stood stock still in his room, he wasn’t sure for how long, before he suddenly grabbed his cloak and ran from the tent, heading into the forest and ignoring the calls of his name from behind him. He had some friends to see.

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To whom it may concern.

We have one of your people, and would like to invite you to meet with us for a friendly exchange.

Your girl, for the Eternal Flame.

If you agree to the exchange, meet us at the abandoned tower at the edge of the west forest at noon.

If you do not attend, we will assume you disagree with our terms, and we will kill her.

Sincerely,

Rikiya Yotsubashi

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You blinked as the bag was removed from your head, your hair shuffling in the wind as you adjusted to the bright sunlight. You appeared to be at the top of a tower, the stone work around you looking aged but not crumbling yet. Beyond the edge of the half walls at the sides you could see the forest, see the towns and villages that dotted the landscape in each direction. The man with you threw the bag to the side, using his grip on the chains binding your wrists to move you closer to the edge so you could see the small clearing at the base of the tower.

“Not long now, girlie. Don’t worry. One way or another, this’ll all be over soon.” A shudder rolled down your back at his tone, your eyes glued to the figure you could just barely make out as your captor in the clearing. He was scanning the tree line, seemingly waiting for someone. You didn’t have to wait long.

You’d recognize that hair anywhere.

Katsuki stomped into the clearing a few minutes later with a few other figures in tow. You could see bright red hair, an inky black mop, a more yellowy blonde than Katsuki’s and… was that pink? Pink hair? You frowned down, unable to hear the words being exchanged between the people below until Katsuki raised his voice.

“Give her back, you balding asshole!” Your heart swelled in your chest at his words, as vulgar as they were. Katsuki had come to get you. But you couldn’t figure out what this was all about, your thoughts rushing so fast you missed it when your captor raised his hand up towards your position.

A signal.

The next thing you knew, the chains on your hands were being removed. You glanced back, heaving a sigh of relief when your hands were free. You rubbed at your wrists, about to turn around, when the man shoved you toward the edge. You toppled over, the ground rushing towards you at an alarming rate.

Though somehow, you could still make out the sheer horror on Katsuki’s face.

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Shit!

Katsuki watched you get pushed over the edge, his heart in his throat. He didn’t know what to do, how could he possibly save you now, he can’t break your fall-

Go. Move. Save her.

The voice in his head moved his body for him, his hands moving to point back behind him as he released small bursts of flame, propelling him up into the air and towards you quickly. He slammed into you, your arms immediately curled around his neck as your breath left you, but he couldn't think about that, he had to get you down safely. With one arm moving to clutch you to him, his descent was far less controlled, but he managed to slow down. When the two of you hit the ground, he moved to hold you with both arms as you rolled along the floor, his friends immediately moving to stand between your captor and you. Katsuki shook his head, realising you were under him and pushing himself up off you. One of his hands cupped your jaw as he looked down at your unconscious form. He could feel your pulse with his pinkie and ring finger, he knew you were alive, and he sighed in relief. He looked back at your captor, noting the rage contorting his features. Katsuki stood, grasping you and hauling you over his shoulder.

“You’re never touching her again, got that? You’re never getting the Flame, and you’re never getting her.” The man flushed a deep red at Katsuki’s words, a dark shadow passing over the captors face, his frown deepening. “You brat! Attack! Kill them!” “Oop! Time to go, flame-brain!” The pink haired woman laughed as an arrow was aimed at her, throwing out a spurt of acid from her palms to destroy the projectile before it could hit her.

“Things are about to get a little wild over here!” The black haired man held his hands up, summoning some vines from the ground to wrap around a few of the men gathered, squeezing them harshly.

“Yeah, Mina’s right, bro! Let’s move!” The red haired man hardened his arms, using them to block incoming arrows, the shafts of which snapping whenever they hit him. Katsuki nodded, turning to the side to run into the forest and back to camp, his friends following suit.

“Hey! You never told us she was so cute!” The other blonde inspected you as they ran, and Katsuki snarled at him without another word, Kaminari backing off with raised hands. “Woah- Sorry! Don’t beat me up again, man, I was just sayin’!”

The men who had taken you were following them through the forest, and with Katsuki’s movements slowed down by carrying you they were likely going to catch up. Kaminari glanced behind them, slowing his sprint to a jog. The others began to slow, but he waved them off and told them to keep going, turning around and rubbing his hands together as he stopped in place. When they were far enough away, he focused on his magic, holding his hands out in front of him, palms down towards the floor. He thrust his wrists downwards, a large electric current suddenly speeding along the ground and hitting the men following them. He grunted at the effort needed to keep up such powerful magic, but once the last man fell to the floor he let the spell die down, panting with his hands on his knees.

“That sucked…” He straightened, turning and moving slowly towards the fire camp in a weak zig zag, his magic having taken a toll on him.

Kaminari didn’t know that one of the men had avoided his attack, climbing up into a tree to keep off the ground and away from the currents of electricity running through it. Dropping to his feet, the man follows Kaminari slowly, quietly, all the way to the fire tribe’s camp.

With the location found, the intruder ran back to his master, eager to share the news of his discovery.

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Katsuki placed you gently onto the cot in the medical tent, similar to what had happened with Rumi yesterday. This time though, the healers had to force him to leave, Kirishima needing to be brought over to help wrestle the angry blonde out of the tent. Once outside, Katsuki paced relentlessly in front of the medical tent, his hands coming up to tug at his hair every so often.

When Mitsuki stormed over and smacked the back of his skull, the entire tribe was suddenly very interested in anything but the pair of blondes.

“What the hell were you thinking?! You could have been killed, Katsuki!” His mother smacked at him again, his shoulder this time, and Katsuki rubbed at the skin, glaring down at her.

“You were just going to let her die! ” “I would have come up with somethin-” “There was no time for you to come up with-” “Oh, so it was better to go off on you own with no supp-” “I took the idiots from some of the other tribes-” “And now they’re involved in our-” “ Enough.” Masaru’s cool voice shut them up, the snarling continuing for a moment before both blondes looked away with a huff. “She’s back, and she’s safe now, that’s what matters here. However, Katsuki, did you consider that this would endanger the tribe? They will likely find us now that you’ve made contact.”

Katsuki sniffed, looking over at his friends, the glare still not leaving his face. He threw an arm out towards them, each of them giving his parents a little wave.

“Why do you think I left so early? They’ve all got their warriors coming here. I know they’ve probably tracked us here, especially since the dunce face was the last one to arrive, so I asked their chieftains to help us out. They’re on their way here already.”

Mitsuki and Masaru looked at him with wide eyes and mouths. He’d always been so impulsive, especially when he was upset. But Katsuki had actually made a plan?

Just as they were about to speak, they suddenly heard a commotion at the edge of the camp. The group all rushed to see what was going on, with Katsuki throwing a look over at the medical tent before he left. As they arrived at the edge of the camp, the view that greeted them was a sight to behold.

4 groups of warriors were entering the camp, at least 30 men and women in each one. They marched into the fire tribe camp with a sense of purpose, the leaders of each band walking right up to the chieftains and placing their closed fists over their chests. Katsuki smirked at his parents, before turning to his friends and the leaders of the groups with a nod.

“If they’re coming for us, we’re ready.”

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They came a few hours later.

Katsuki stood outside the medical tent in the waning evening light, looking in through the open flap. Watching the rise and fall of your chest as you rested, he almost missed the first warning shouts from the edge of camp. They had stationed groups at every side of the camp, encircling it, to keep everyone safe, but the shouts came from the west side, Mina and Kirishima’s area. Katsuki turned towards the shouting, his chest constricting as he looked back towards you for a moment. He didn’t want to leave you unprotected, but he had to get out there, and had to help protect the Eternal Flame. With one last look at you, he turned and ran to the west side of the camp.

When Katsuki got there, his eyes widened immediately. The bodies littering the ground were already piling up- and they weren't from their side. The invaders were failing, barely able to make it past the first line of defense. He spotted Kirishima in the centre of the group, his arms hardened as he literally punched his way through man after man, his rock magic making his skin impenetrable for their swords and arrows. Katsuki saw a man coming up behind Kirishima, raising a hand to summon a stream of flame to engulf the enemy, the man screaming as his metal armour burned hotter and began to eat at his skin. Once that enemy had fallen, Katsuki ran to Kirishima, placing himself behind him, back to back.

Mina was flitting through the enemies on the field, her agility as a dancer allowing her to slip through gaps between people and cast her poison magic, the acid that spouted from her hands burning through their armour and allowing everyone else’s magic to be more effective. She saluted Katsuki with a smile as she ran past.

“What took you so long? You missed out on most of the party!” Kirishima’s voice rang out over the shouts and screams of the fight, Katsuki grinning as more enemies approached them.

This was going to be fun for him. These were the men who took you away from him, who threatened your life, and the lives of his tribe.

He wasn’t going to let them get away with theirs.

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Across the camp, at the east side, Sero was having a tougher time.

After the shouts from the west side, his own warnings had gone largely unnoticed. He and Kaminari were doing their best to keep the invaders at bay, and with his earth magic and Kaminari’s lightning magic working together they were just about managing. But it seemed like there were more men arriving by the minute, as if one of the larger cities had sent an army to assist with this attack.

With the magic wards weakened, they’d found their way in easily, where normally the forest turns ordinary humans away. There was no way to stop them now, they were past the barrier. Sero had just bound a small group of their attackers together, throwing the end of the vine toward Kaminari, before moving to the next group with ease. Kaminari caught the vine, sending a bolt of electricity down it to shock the group that was entangled, watching them fall to the floor.

“This is getting to be a bit much, isn’t it? We need backup!” Sero called over to the blonde, glancing over to him. Kaminari nodded, panting at the overuse of his magic.

“We need a miracle, man!”

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Wake up, sweetheart.

You have to wake up now. They need you. The Eternal Flame needs you.

You have to save them, you’re the only one who can.

Bring both halves together once more, make the Flame whole and it will always protect its people.

We know you’re strong enough to do this, baby, so you have to wake up…

...Mother? Father?

Your people need you, and the Flame must be protected, like it protects us all.

What do you mean?

The Flame calls to you, because it knows you possess the last part of its other half. Bring them together once more, and the tribe will be safe.

We love you, so much.

You woke with a gasp, sitting up and throwing the blankets off your legs. Your heart was pounding, and the sounds coming from outside did nothing to quell your concerns. You stood on shaky legs, making your way to the flap of the tent and peeking your head out.

It was almost like stepping into the memories you’d buried.

Flames were flying from the tribespeople, as well as sparks and poison gases from the other tribes. Your head swung left and right, searching for a familiar face, your head throbbing with every movement.

You spotted a head of ash blonde hair by the big tent, making your way towards it without hesitation, reaching Mitsuki quickly and grasping her hands when she reached out to you.

“You’re awake! Oh, thank god you’re okay-” “The Flame. I have to get to the Flame, now.” Mitsuki blinked at your interruption, before frowning at you.

“What does the Flame have to do with anythin-”

“Mitsuki please! I’m from another fire tribe, and I’m the last one! I have the other half of the Flame, I need to make it whole again!” Her mouth dropped open, her eyes widening.

“You’re- The other tribe…? We thought- Wait…” She grasped your shoulders, studying your features closely, before her hand came up to cover her mouth. “Your parents were- They were the chieftains, weren’t they?”

“Yes. I didn’t know. Not until yesterday, but I finally remembered.” You looked at her with pure determination on your face, your eyes shining with the reflections of the flames around you. Mitsuki’s eyes filled with tears, but she sniffed and pushed them back.

“I can’t leave here, I’m protecting the children, but you know where the Flame is. Go.” Mitsuki pushed at you, forcing you towards the Flame and nodding you forward. You gave her a nod in return and ran, making your way to the stone bowl that contained the Eternal Flame. As you approached it, the fighting became less intense as more people from your tribe were here, keeping the Flame as protected as possible. They barely paid you any mind as you moved through the throngs of people, your throbbing head only getting worse as you got closer to the Flame.

Black dots danced across your vision as you slowed down, struggling to keep yourself going as the pain intensified. You fell to one knee, able to see the bowl but not reach it, your hands coming up to grip at your head. The pain felt like your skull was splitting, throbbing through your whole body as you inched forward on your hands and knees.

I have to get to it… Have to keep moving…

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Katsuki had fallen back into the camp, the reinforcements having helped push their initial assault past the first line. He was sweating with exertion, his magic beginning to lose power as the battle raged on around him. Knowing that the Eternal Flame was your captor’s objective, he fought his way to the bowl as quickly as he could given the sheer number of enemies.

When he finally got there, his heart leapt to his throat at the sight of you dragging yourself toward the Eternal Flame. Your face was twisted with pain, but there was a determined glint in your teary eyes. Katsuki rushed towards you, sending flames at any enemies that got in his way, until he caught up.

“What are you doing out here?! You need to rest!” Katsuki grasped at your arms, pulling you up and taking most of your weight as you sagged against him.

“Katsuki? I need- I need to get to the Flame! I have to do this!” Trying to push yourself away from him, you staggered only a few steps before your legs shook, your eyes squeezing shut at the fresh wave of pain that washed over you. “I can… I can save everyone!”

Katsuki blinked at you, though you couldn’t see it through your swimming vision. He grabbed your shoulders, forcing you to stop.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” You could just about make out the frown on his face now that you weren’t moving, your hands coming up to grasp his wrists. Katsuki tried to ignore the warmth that spread across his skin at your touch.

“I’m the last member of the other fire tribe! I have the other part of the Flame! If I reconnect them, I can save everyone!”

Katsuki’s jaw dropped open, his eyes widening in disbelief. His parents had told him that the Flame was originally larger, but had been split between two tribes to help extend the protection further through the forest. They had also told him that the other tribe had been wiped out nearly two decades ago, when he was just a child. He can remember their grief, the tears shed at the loss of the other half of the Flame, and being told that this was why the magic wards were needed now. With the Flame split, it simply wasn’t strong enough to keep the protection up by itself, needing to be strengthened with the magic of the tribe to keep it going.

His jaw snapped shut, his hands moving to pick you up with an arm across your back and another behind your knees as he started to carry you towards the bowl. Your hands gripped at his cloak, the pain increasing with every step. Tears began to leak from your eyes, forcing you to grit your teeth against the intense throbbing now running through your whole body.

As Katsuki approached the bowl, you whimpered in pain, making him stop and look down at you in concern. You shook your head, one hand leaving it’s perch on his shoulder to stretch out towards the Flame, shaking slightly. The Flame itself reacted to your presence, just as it did the first day at camp, reaching out towards you with slim tendrils of fire. Katsuki’s eyes widened as he stopped in front of the bowl, watching as the tendril wrapped around your wrist, slowly winding further up your arm.

When the tendril hit your skin, the pain completely disappeared, leaving behind a clarity you hadn’t felt before. You stared into the Flame, wriggling your way out of Katsuki’s arms and standing before it, hand extended. The fire reached out another tendril, grasping at your other wrist and gently tugging you forwards, into the bowl itself. Standing inside the Eternal Flame, you closed your eyes, both of your arms straightening out to your sides, palms facing up.

Make the Flame whole once more.

You suddenly raised your hands, clapping them together above your head, and the Flame flared around you, growing in size rapidly. The wind picked up around the camp as it grew, nearby fights stopping to turn toward the sight.

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Katsuki gaped at the Flame growing around you, concern filling his features at the frown that suddenly appeared on your face. The wind was blowing your skirt around you, the slit in the thigh allowing him to see that your tribal brand was glowing, but it had changed shape. The new shape was similar to his own brand, however where his flame had 3 sections, this one had two additional sections above them. He knew from his parents' explanations that this was the brand of the other fire tribe, proving that you were truly the last one. Your face had twisted into a grimace, more tears falling from your eyes and shining down your cheeks.

Go to her. She’ll die without you to help. Save her.

Katsuki dashed forward, leaping into the bowl without hesitation as he grabbed your hands and brought them to his chest. Your eyes flew open at his touch, your eyes glowing white with the pure magic flowing through your body, now connected to him. He felt the rush of the magic begin to flow within him, balancing out the toll on your body. You both gasped as it settled within you, your eyes falling to his chest where his brand was glowing. You looked back up into his eyes, now glowing like yours.

You could feel him in your head, could feel your own thoughts flowing around his, the two of you connected through the magic of the Eternal Flame, now made whole once more. The Flame itself whispered within your minds, thanking you for bringing back it’s other half, and promising to return the favour.

Around you, the Eternal Flame grew ever larger, spreading out over the ground slowly.

“No! The Flame was to be mine! ” You both looked over to see your captor, covered in blood and panting heavily. The man approached the Flame slowly, limping on his right leg. “You damn mages… Why should you get to have all the power?! I had it within my grasp… I won’t let you have it!” The man began to rush forward, but the Eternal Flame suddenly began to expand faster, meeting him before he could approach the bowl. A harrowing scream filled the air as he was engulfed in the flames, any area touching him turning a dark black until he couldn’t be seen through it, flaring wildly around his figure.

The scream died down a moment later, and the black flames dissipated, leaving behind only ash.

The invading army that saw began to panic, running away from the growing light of the Eternal Flame, others of their army ending their fights to see why they were retreating.

The vision of anyone considered an enemy of the mages being devoured by black flames soon had the entire army scampering away, their tails tucked firmly between their legs.

With the Eternal Flame chasing away the enemies, mages from every tribe began shouting out their victory, raising their fists to the sky. The battle was over, the Eternal Flame returned to full power, and it’s protection of magic pushing away any ordinary humans that dared to try and stay.

When the last invader had fled into the forest, out of view of the camp, the Flame began to shrink back down. You and Katsuki looked at one another, the grin on his face mirroring your smile of relief.

Your jobs here are complete. I will continue to keep you safe, as you have always done for me.

The magic of the Eternal Flame ebbed away, both of your brands returning to their normal state as you both climbed out of the stone bowl. Every mage that had fought by the fire tribe’s side was running towards the two of you. You raised your fist in celebration with them, hearing Katsuki yell out in victory alongside his friends. He turned to look down at you, a glint in his eye, and you couldn’t help the heat that raised to your cheeks.

Katsuki’s smirk grew wider, before he suddenly reached out and pulled you to him, pressing his lips against yours. You were still for a moment in shock, before your eyes fluttered closed, your arms wrapping around his neck as more cheers raised around you at the display.

The battle was won, and most of your people had survived. There would be grieving, and repairs to be done, but for now it was over.

You could take this one moment for your own happiness.

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The days that followed were busy. Clearing the camp of bodies, sorting out funeral arrangements for the tribespeople that were lost, and starting to repair the various tents that had been destroyed in the battle. You saw very little of Katsuki, the kiss that you shared in the heat of the moment lingering in your mind and weighing on you more as time went on.

Was it just because we won? He hasn’t even spoken to me since it happened…

You shook your head to clear it, looking down at the tent you were repairing with a sigh. If Katsuki wanted to ignore that it ever happened, then so would you.

“You’re still thinking about that bonehead, aren’t you?” Rumi’’s voice behind you made you jump, your head swinging around to look at her. Definitely psychic. You shook your head at her quickly, but despite your best efforts there was still heat rising to your cheeks. Rumi laughed loudly, plopping down on the floor next to you to watch you work. “Don’t know why you’re so hung up on him, honey. With you saving everyone and being the last of the other fire tribe, anyone here would take you in a heartbeat, and your guard dog has been so busy lately he’s not around to keep people at bay.” “I don’t want someone who only wants me because of saving the tribes or being the last of my tribe. I want someone who wants me for me, and I doubt most of the people here know me well enough for that…”

“I know you pretty well.” You blinked, looking over at her with a raised brow.

“Because obviously you want me.”

“Yeah, I do.” The look on Rumi’s face was serious, not a trace of her usual teasing, and your jaw dropped open. You had never considered that she thought about you like that, and your thoughts cast back to every teasing comment she’d thrown your way. A sinking feeling in your chest, you closed your mouth and slowly shook your head.

“I… I had no idea, Rumi…” “It’s cool, don’t worry about it. I’m just glad that he hasn’t snapped you up yet, gives me a chance to shoot my shot.” Her hand reached over to nudge at your leg, making you laugh as the tense moment broke and pick up your work once again. The two of you sat and chatted while you worked, the company helping distract you from your intrusive thoughts.

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When the evening rolled around, you tidied up your workstation and waved goodbye to Rumi, heading back to your tent feeling lighter than you had in a few days. When you arrived at your tent, however, Mitsuki and Masaru were standing outside, seemingly waiting for you. You waved to them as you approached, holding the flap open to allow them to enter your living space. Luckily, the main area wasn’t too messy, only a few of your ongoing clothing projects laid out on the table. You offered them a drink, but they turned it down, waving a dismissive hand at you.

“We won’t stay for long, but we just wanted to have a quick conversation. It’s about your relationship with Katsuki.” You froze in place for a moment at Masuru’s words, before moving to start putting together a small meal for yourself.

“Oh?” “Yes. We simply wanted to say that whether he moves to court you or not, you’re already practically our daughter by now. Although from how he looks at you, I doubt he won’t. We’ve never seen him so taken by anyone before, and can’t wait to make you an official member of our family.” Mitsuki clasped her hands together, smiling brightly at you. This time, you couldn’t hold back the purse of your lips.

“I’m afraid that may not happen in an official sense, considering he hasn’t said a word to me since… well, the other day.” You turned to face them, smiling in appreciation, not registering Mitsuki’s shocked face. “Although I’m so thankful that you found me that day, Mitsuki. You brought me to a real family, a real home , and I- well, I just know that my parents are happy that I was brought back to the tribe. So thank you. For everything.” “Hold up. He hasn’t spoken to you at all since kissing you in front of the whole tribe?! ” Mitsuki’s voice raised as she spoke, making you jump. She immediately held up her hands and walked out of the tent, Masaru smiling at her as she left. You looked to him in concern, but he waved you off again.

“Don’t worry, she’s just going to talk to him.” Masaru walked over and gave you a hug, leaning back and grasping your shoulders. “Your parents would be so proud of you and the woman you have become.”

Your eyes misted as Masaru squeezed your shoulders once more before he followed Mitsuki out of your tent. You were stunned for a moment, before you swiped at your eyes and smiled, returning to making your meal.

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Just as you were starting to get ready for bed, putting down the project you had been working on and stretching your arms, you heard the dull thud of footsteps outside your tent. Quirking a brow, you made your way over and peeked your head out, seeing Katsuki a few feet away, pacing back and forth until he noticed you watching him. His cheeks flushed red instantly, a frown making its way to his face. Stomping over to you, he pushed you into your tent and followed behind you, standing before you in your living space.

“Listen. I’m not- I’m not good at this stuff. I’m- sorry. I should have come sooner but I was- I was scared. That you wouldn't… feel the same. That when I kissed you, it was just the moment that made you kiss back. So I didn’t- I didn’t want to face you. And then I heard that- the woman, that one that always fucking hovers around you, tell you that she wanted you too and I- I didn’t like that. I don’t want anyone else to have you, and I don’t want you to want anyone else.” You opened your mouth to interrupt him, but he moved his hand to cover your mouth, shaking his head. “No, let me- let me say everything first. Please.” You slowly nodded your head, eyes locked onto his. Katsuki moved his hand down from your mouth to cup your jaw, his face softening slightly.

“I- I care about you. A lot. More than I’ve ever cared about anyone and- It terrifies me. Ever since you showed up I felt something… different with you, and then everything during the battle… It just made everything so clear. The Flame, I mean. It made everything make sense to me. I already knew I loved you before. I knew when that bastard took you. Not having you by my side… I couldn’t think straight. I realised how I felt and I knew I had to get you back. And I’m sorry that I didn’t come to you sooner.” Katsuki took a deep breath, releasing you and stepping back slightly. “I know I’m hard to put up with, but if you would just give me a chan-” “Katsuki you idiot.” He blinked at your interruption, his face twisting into a frown immediately.

“What the hell?! I-” You jumped towards him, wrapping your arms around his neck and pressing your lips to his. His arms came to rest around your waist, his lips moving with yours with no hesitation, the two of you separating after a moment, breathless. Katsuki grinned down at you, but his brows were pulled together in a confused frown. You shook your head at him in fondness.

“Katsuki, you’ve been by my side since my first day here. How was I ever going to fall in love with anyone else?” His eyes widened, with the flush returning to his cheeks full force. Clearing his throat, he gives you a confident smirk to cover up his embarrassment.

“So you’d accept if I asked to court you?” You smiled widely and nodded at him. Though he held the cocky smirk, you could see the relief in his eyes clearly. Katsuki leaned down to kiss you once again, unable to hold back the smile as he did. When he finally released you, he stroked his thumb over your cheek briefly before taking a step back towards the flap of your tent. Bidding you goodnight, he left you standing there, a grin on your face.

You slept better that night than you had since the battle.

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The weeks that followed were filled with more work to improve the camp and get it back to its former glory, with your spare moments spent with Katsuki.

From his point of view, there wasn’t enough spare time.

As son of the chieftains, Katsuki had many responsibilities, but most of his work was in resolving conflicts, and a little of the construction that was going on. With your abilities, you were spending most of the day and evening repairing tents and clothing, but with so few tailors to assist it meant you were working almost constantly.

Katsuki was fed up.

He didn’t want stolen kisses and a rare few minutes alone with you. He wanted to spend hours with you talking about whatever you wanted. He just wanted you to himself for a little while.

The perfect opportunity came up sooner than he’d hoped.

A day of rest was being ordered due to everyone’s hard work, Mitsuki and Masaru deciding that though rebuilding was important, they wanted everyone to be in the best shape possible. Katsuki immediately decided that this was his chance to take you to his favourite place away from camp, and actually get to spend time together. He planned it perfectly, an overnight trip where you two would camp under the stars.

Katsuki made his way through the camp late in the morning on the rest day, arriving at your tent and calling out to you. He heard the clattering of objects from inside, his brows twisting into a frown as he pushed through the flap of your tent to find you on the floor by your worktable, another tent you were repairing splayed out over the surface. You had a sheepish look on your face, pulling yourself up to stand next to the table, your fingers twisting together. Katsuki glared at you from across the room.

“...You’re supposed to be resting today.” His words made you look at your work with a frown.

“I just thought I’d finish it since it’s so close to done…” Katsuki sighed, before strutting across the room and throwing you over his shoulder, turning on his heel and walking back outside. With his hand across your thighs, you couldn’t do much other than pound your fists against his back, calling out for him to put you down. Other members of the tribe laughed at the sight of Katsuki carrying you through camp and out into the forest, a few people wolf whistling as you left. Once you were a good distance into the woods, he finally let you down, taking your hand and dragging you behind him as he continued to his intended destination.

Your protest died on your lips when you arrived, Katsuki pulling you beside him and releasing your hand, wrapping it around your waist instead.

Nestled into the cliff face was a small cave, the entrance surrounded by wildflowers of a variety of colours. As Katsuki led you into the cave, you could tell that this was a place he spent a lot of time. Blankets were strewn across a pile of pillows in the corner, torches and candles placed around to give the room low light. The walls were covered with tribal flames, piles of used charcoal set in various places around the space.

“Thought we could spend the night here… If you want. You’ve been working too hard lately... We don’t have to though.” Katsuki’s cheeks flared with his blush, his eyes focused intently on one of the flames he’d drawn a while ago. You smiled up at him, extracting yourself from his hold and rushing over to the pile of pillows, throwing yourself down on them and giggling.

“Katsuki, this place is amazing! I’d love to stay here. You’re right, I need to relax a bit.”

He smirks at you, moving to sit next to you on the pillows and get comfortable, the two of you spending the next few hours simply talking and enjoying the company, the cave giving you privacy and peace.

Katsuki seems to remember something suddenly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out an object in his closed fist.

"Close your eyes." Raising a brow at him in question, you grin and close your eyes, waiting for whatever he had planned as both of his hands reach around your head, fastening something at the back of your neck. You could feel a small weight settle at the base of your throat, near your collarbones, and you instinctively reached up to touch it. The item was curved slightly and ended in a point, making your brows furrow. "Okay, open 'em up."

There, attached around your neck with a leather cord, sat a little ruby , carved into the shape of a fang. Katsuki was blushing again, frowning down at the space between the two of you.

"I- uh- I made it for you. To formally show my intent to court you… I mean, Shitty Hair helped me a little, but only in finding the gem, I carved it and everything myself, cause I thought it could symbolise that first night I realised that you were something more to me… when you went out to train on your own like a moron? If-if you don't like it, I can make something else but-"

While he was speaking, your eyes danced between the necklace and his face, your heart overflowing. Katsuki was brash, and at times aggressive, but he was also sweet and romantic, and you loved him more each day. He made you feel so loved, so safe, and you couldn't stop yourself.

You flung your body towards him, smashing your lips to his as you wrapped your arms around his neck. Katsuki fell down onto the pillows in his surprise, his hands moving to grip your waist as he quickly reciprocated. When you pull away a moment later, panting for breath, you can’t help but admire the view below you. Straddled over his lap, you have the perfect view of Katsuki’s flushed cheeks, lips still slightly swollen and shining from your kiss. His eyes are hooded, pupils dilated and his hands flexed at your hips.

“Katsuki, it’s perfect. Thank you.” Katsuki grinned up at you, moving one of his hands to your cheek in order to pull you down to kiss him once again. The hand on your hip tightened and dragged you forward slightly on his lap, your covered crotch grinding against his slightly. The gasp you emitted made him smirk into the kiss, pulling you harder against him. The feeling of him hardening under you had your mind turning fuzzy, a heat stirring within your core. Katsuki took the momentary distraction to flip you over, slotting himself between your thighs to lay you back against the pillows.

He leaned down, kissing you softly a few times before moving to kiss your neck instead. His teeth caught at your collarbone, before he latched his mouth there and sucked at the skin, leaving behind a mark that would be hard to cover later, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care. His hips were moving slowly against you, stoking the flame in your lower belly that was taking your full focus. The hand that was cupping your face had moved to slip under your shirt, stroking at the skin of your belly before it moved up to cup your breast over your breast band. Your back arched slightly at the feeling of his fingers ghosting over your nipple through the fabric.

Katsuki leaned back, admiring the mark he’d left on your chest, as well as the sight of you losing yourself under him. You looked so beautiful, chest heaving under his ministrations, eyes dark with desire.

“We don’t have to go any further if you don’t want to, you know?” Katsuki’s voice was low, not even loud enough to echo in the cave.

“Do you want to?”

“ God, yes. ” You giggled at his words, wrapping your legs around his hips to bring him closer to you.

“ Then what’s stopping you? ”

Katsuki’s eyes glint in the low light, before he surges forward, his lips on yours once again. You wrapped your arms around him, grasping at his back and shifting your hips up into his, feeling his hard length against your core. His hands pushed your top up, lips leaving yours for only as long as it takes to remove the clothing before he returns them to their rightful place. One of his hands moved to the slit in your long skirt, pushing the material up further until it’s around your hips. His lips left yours only to kiss down your neck and to your chest, his free hand grabbing the end of your breast band and loosening it, unraveling the fabric before he threw it to the side with your top.

As soon as your breasts are bared, his lips are attached to your nipple, running the tip of his tongue around it until it peaks. Gently scraping his teeth over the sensitive nub, he relished in the soft gasp that left your lips. A hand creeped its way down your body, rubbing over your rapidly dampening slit through your underclothes. Your hips twitched up into his hand, moans beginning to fall freely from your lips as he touched you. Your mind was completely fogged over with lust, the need for more taking control.

Your hands moved to his waistband, pushing at the fabric in desperation. You whined when you couldn’t move it far enough, Katsuki chuckling at your actions and leaning back, pushing his pants down and off before returning to you. His length fell against you as he settled back, and your eyes widened at the size of him, hand reaching out to stroke at his shaft. When he hissed, you looked up into his eyes and shifted your hips, your other hand coming down to move your undergarments aside and press the head of him against you.

“Wait- you’re not rea-”

“Katsuki, please! Need you…” Rubbing the head of his cock against your lower lips, you let him feel how wet you were, and he cursed under his breath.

“Fuck- so wet already? Filthy little-” Katsuki batted your hand away, lining himself up properly against you and glancing up at your face. “You want this? You’re sure?”

“Yes! Never wanted someone this bad before, please Katsuki… Wanna feel you…” You moved a hand down to your belly as Katsuki swore once again, pushing just the tip of his cock into you. His teeth were bared, a dark look in his eyes that promised you would never forget this. Moving his hands to your hips, Katsuki pulls you into him as he thrusts his hips forward, bottoming out immediately and pausing to let you adjust.

You were so glad he did.

The stretch of his thick length splitting you apart had you crying out, the hand on your belly feeling him enter you. Your eyes widened as they connected with his, your cunt fluttering around him as your body tried to get used to the sensation. Katsuki’s hands tightened on your hips, sure to leave small bruises where his fingers dug into you, the flesh bulging slightly. Tears gathered at the corners of your eyes, your hands flying up to grip his neck and pull him into a desperate kiss, trying to distract yourself from the burn in your core. One of Katsuki’s hands moved to rub soft circles on your clit as you adjusted, the pleasure finally starting to take over the pain when he did.

As soon as you gave him the go ahead, Katsuki pulled his hips back before slamming them back into you, starting up a slow but deep pace. The white hot pleasure singing through your veins soon had you leaning back into the pillows, crying out with each thrust of his hips, your nails digging into his shoulders as you tried to hold on to something, anything in this plane of existence.

Soon enough, Katsuki couldn’t hold back anymore.

His hips sped up, his pace becoming brutal as he used his grip on you to drag you across his cock, his feral grunts filling the cave along with your moans. Straightening his back, Katsuki pulled your hips until you rested on his thighs, upper back still on the pillows, and the change in angle had him hitting against your cervix. The drag of his cock, as he pulled out, hit your sweet spot, and the tears in your eyes began to track down your cheeks in the mind-numbing ecstasy he provided.

“Fuck- You look so good like this…” Katsuki’s words had your cunt clenching down on him tighter, making him throw his head back as his eyes clenched shut. “So fucking tight , fuck! ”

The pleasure building in your core was rapidly reaching its peak, your walls beginning to flutter around his length. Katsuki rolled his head forward, watching your face twist in ecstasy, your eyes opening and closing as he pumped his hips into yours.

“You gonna come soon, gorgeous? Gonna come on my cock?” Your head nodded rapidly, and Katsuki smirked despite his own end approaching. “C’mon, let me have it, fucking come for me .” His words set you off immediately, your back arching as your nails dug into his skin. Katsuki hissed at the sting of pain, his thrusts losing their rhythm as your convulsing walls pushed him over the edge. With only a few more thrusts, his hips slowed until he’s buried as deep as he can be within you, ropes of his come painting your cervix. He collapsed onto your panting form, his weight welcome as you stroke your hands up and down his back while you both come down from your highs. It took a few minutes before he lifted his head, moving to press soft kisses to your lips with a blissed out expression on his face. You snorted at the look, shaking your head fondly at him. When Katsuki finally pulled out, he watched as his come dribbled out of your core, a small pool of white collecting underneath you on the blanket you were lying on.

Frowning, he pulled his pants on and lifted you to another section of the pillows, removing the stained blanket and using it to wipe at your thighs, before throwing it to the other side of the cave, the fabric balled up. He helped you pull your top back on, forgoing the breast band before he finally allowed himself to relax beside you on the pillows, pulling you onto his chest and sighing in content. You were already half asleep, but managed to give him a sleepy grin.

“I’m actually kind of glad I got run out of town.” Katsuki frowned at your words, looking down at you with a brow raised.

“You’re glad they tried to kill you? Fuckin’ weirdo.” He pressed a kiss to your forehead before letting his head fall back to the pillows.

“Yeah. I have the tribe, I have a family. I have you. What more could I want?”

Katsuki simply smiled, his eyes closed. Though the two of you had been through hell in the months since you joined the tribe…

It was worth it in the end.

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