in the arms of an angel (even the devil knows how to pray)

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/48595729.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: F/F, F/M, Multi
Fandom: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero
Academia (Anime & Manga)
Relationship: Toga Himiko/Uraraka Ochako
Character: Toga Himiko, Uraraka Ochako, Jirou Kyouka, Mongoose Habuko
Additional Tags: Background Midoriya Izuku/Uraraka Ochako, she still very much loves
him, but he needs to make an appearance before you can confirm
anything, Self-Sacrifice, Toga Himiko Redemption, In death - Freeform,
Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia Manga Spoilers, chapter
394 spoilers abound
Language: English
Series: Part 1 of angel's love (devil's due)
Stats: Published: 2023-07-16 Words: 1,099 Chapters: 1/1

in the arms of an angel (even the devil knows how to pray)

by TequilaBard

Summary

In the final battle, Toga Himiko finds she's gone a little far, and that she has a decision to
make.

Notes

with apologies to sarah mclachlan

See the end of the work for more notes

As she falls towards the earth, she can only think ‘this is what it feels like to fall from heaven’.
She’s caught in the grip of Occhan’s wings, stripping her gravity, and they float towards the earth,
covered in the bones and dust of the thousands of Twices, the epitaph for her best friend.

It isn’t until they hit the ground that she realizes what’s wrong. Occhan’s… cold. Colder than she
should be. Her breath was shallow, and she was cold, and she realizes the slick sensation on her
stomach was less battlefield sweat and the last strands of Twice and more Occhan’s blood, painting
her from chest down.

“Occhan?”
“...’re cute… ‘miko… tell… ‘zuku… love…” Her chest sharply rises once, before it settles into a
shallow pattern. She’s… not going to make it. They’re too far away, too much time and distance,
and her legion has torn up too much between here and the medics. Occhan… at her hands…

Her hands dip, and cup, gathering Occhan’s blood as a benediction, and the prayer of life passes
through her lips. She’s never done this before, dug this deep, but for Occhan…

For the girl she loves, for the girl who saw her…

She’ll do anything.

She can hear the heroes around her, but she ignores them. They don’t matter for the communion
she’s about to perform. Digging deep into her quirk, into the face of Occhan inside her, she delves
into it, further than she’s ever gone before. More than just her skin, her flesh, bones, and blood
become a sacrament, forging her into her love.

“Hey Ochako-chan.” Her hand caresses her face. “You said your quirk was to save people, right?
Well, maybe I want to save someone too.” She leans in, a breath away from Ochako-chan’s lips.
“Never forget me. I love you.” And she gives away her first kiss as she steals it, and she lets herself
be one with her love.

Jirou ran faster than she’d ever ran before. The stitch in her side, her everything bruised and beaten,
her equilibrium off because of her missing jack; none of that matters, because her friend is being
swallowed by a wave of goo. If she doesn’t make it…

(if she doesn’t make it, can’t save her, can she really call herself a hero?)

By the time she hit the ground next to Ochako’s side, the rest of the villain finished dissolving into
her. Her stomach is slashed open, the costume framed around a scar, and her chest is rising and
falling steadily. She’s… breathing. Her heart is beating. She can hear the thump-thump from here.

“TIGER-SAN! KAMUI WOODS-SAN! SHE’S ALIVE!” She’s pale, and colder than she should
be… but she’s alive. The beat of Kamui-san’s boots on the ground were her best mark for where
they were, as she shrugged off her jacket and threw it over Ochako’s chest. It should keep her a
little warmer, hopefully.

“Do you know how she cancels her quirk, Jirou-san?” She turns to look, and Kamui’s got Tiger
wrapped up in branches, like a balloon.

“Uh, yeah, just a…” She gently presses all ten fingers together, and Tiger-san floats to the ground,
tethered to the ground again. Some color flushes her face, and she makes sure to tuck Ochako’s
pinkies in.

“We will get her prepared for evacuation.” Tiger’s paw cuffed her shoulder, and for the first time
in a long while, she felt like she could breathe. “You… all of you, have made the Wild Wild
Pussycats proud. You’ve grown so much since that training camp.”

“...thanks, Tiger-san. But…” Tiger’s paw is comforting on her shoulder, the warmth spreading.

“She will be okay. Have faith in your fellow hero.” The odd thump-thump of Tsu-Froppy
approached, and she turned her head after a few moments for courtesy sake.

“Is Ochako okay? Did Toga-”

“Uravity’s okay. Toga… Toga didn’t make it.” A stricken look crossed Froppy’s face, and she
waves an off hand. “She did… something. Turned into a tsunami of that sludge stuff and… healed
her? But she’s…” She waved, the battlefield absent of both Toga and the dust from all the clones
she’s made.

“...Ochako’s gonna be so sad.”

“...sad or not, she’ll be alive.” Froppy nodded, and the two of them did what they could to make
their friend, their savior, their hero more comfortable.

Ochako jerked awake, folding herself nearly in half. The last place she remembered was - the
battlefield, Deku, Toga - and her hand was reaching out before the smell of sterile and sick hit her.

“The… hospital?” She was in a hospital gown (where was her hero costume?), the blanket drawn
over her legs, and…

…she couldn’t hear the fighting anymore. Even at a distance, the roar of everything was so loud,
you could hear something going on everywhere. It was… quiet. Did they win?

“Miss Uravity! What are you doing up?!” The nurse(?) rushed over, a little cap perched on top of
her snake head, a small tray with… porridge? Her stomach roiled at the smell of it.

“Just… tryin’ to figure out what happened. Did we…?” Her head nodded.

“Shigaraki Tomura was confirmed killed in action six hours ago, with Mister Deku brought in to
rest shortly thereafter. He is still asleep.” A roil of… sadness? and a surge of unexpected glee when
Izukun comes up.

“...is he okay?” A slight shift in her face let her know she was smiling.

“Mister Deku is expected to make a full recovery. He just needs some time to rest.”

“...thanks. Let me know when he-”

“Of course, Miss Uravity. Would you like some breakfast?” She waves her hand.

“No, I’m… fine, actually. I think. This is a little weird, but… could I get some dark chocolate?”
The nurse smiled again.

“Certainly, for someone who saved my…” Her scales redden, a little, which is fascinating.
“girlfriend.” …Tsu? She smiles anyway.

“You’re welcome. Oh; did they bring me in with anyone?” A pang of sadness and comfort war in
her heart for a moment.

“No, I’m sorry. I believe I heard something about a casualty, a… Toga?” So everything she tried…
she still…

‘I love you, Occhan.’

‘Don’t forget me.’

‘I forgive you.’

‘Thank you for the blood.’

 …but she still carried her around in some form, didn’t she?

“Thanks for telling me. Uh, can I borrow a mirror?” The nurse blinks, before handing her a
compact. Flipping it open, she looked into the mirror.

Her canines are sharp, almost like fangs. A gift, from the girl who gave up her life?

Her eyes flash amber.

End Notes

that was fun! this may end up becoming a series down the line, although I'll add it to a
proper series; this is a one shot, and stand alone

come yell at me at Green Tea Infusions, a IzuOcha+ shipping server dedicated to our dorks
and their other maybe lovers

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