Sweet Preservation (Mafia MHA X Reader)

Part Seventeen, count to three

The silence in the air was thick, your stuttering whimpers caught in your throat as Bakugo held out the belt to Sero, his red eyes flashing with challenge.

He wouldn't... Would he...?

You met eyes with Sero for a second, seeing a stoic coldness in them you'd never imagined you could see from him and you quickly looked away, closing your eyes.

He had to.

He had to.

He had no choice.

And you'd much rather the pain be on you than see another bruise on him for your actions.

It was your disobedience. Your punishment.

You tried to relax, willing your trembling limbs to still, just long enough to receive the first strike maybe. But it was an impossible task with fear and adrenaline pulsing through your entire being, each nerve alive and waiting in horrid anticipation.

You heard leather squeak against itself as the belt exchanged hands, foot falls coming closer on the plush carpet, each step increasing your heart rate.

He has to, he has to- you kept chanting in your head.

It's him or you and he'd taken the brunt for you once before.

You could do this.

"Do you remember the number I told you?" Bakugos voice shattered the silence with his bored, irritated tone and you sniffled, nodding.

"And?" He snipped, now in some corner of the room, letting you know for sure that the person now behind you -holding tight enough onto the belt that it squeaked- wasn't him. It could only be Sero.

"T-three..." You managed to gasp out, desperate not to sob. You wouldn't make this any harder than it needs to be. Not for Sero.

The word had barely escaped your mouth when a short sound cut through the air with a  'whoosh' before blinding pain swept across your lower back.

You couldn't help it... you screamed.

You quickly bit your tongue as your body writhed, trying wildly to wriggle away from the sting and free your arms... But it was hopeless.

Kaminari and Kirishima held tight, showing no sign of fatigue or mercy as you thrashed blindly on instinct, eyes screwed tightly shut to hold back tears, breaths juddering and body trembling.

The sting had barely begun to fade when the Boss spoke again.

"Count."

W-what?

You chose to ignore him, too scared that opening your mouth would unleash another pained noise or sob. You had to hold it back. For Sero.

"Unless you want it to be four, you better open your fucking mouth and count."

Maybe a sob was worth one less strike...

You tried to take a moment to steady yourself, feeling your hot breath fan back against your face from the table and blow back your hair that had cling to your skin.

With evident venom that you couldn't hide in your voice, you took and deep breath and said, "One."

The next strike came soon after and your whole body tensed, desperately scrambling to move away and free yourself.

It took you a while before you could find your voice without screaming, huffing through gritted teeth, "Two."

You heard the belt bite through the air as it hit your flesh, stinging from your shoulder blade all the way down to your ass cheek, heat radiating from the long pink welt it left in its wake, three of them now decorating your back in straight lines.

"Three..." You exhaled, tears flowing shamelessly down your cheeks and onto the table as your body slumped in defeat and relief. Three. It was over.

The hands holding you down let you go, leaving you to cling weakly to the table as you sobbed, your back on fire and your will broken once again...

"Leave." You distantly heard Bakugo mutter, sounding bored of your pitiful crying, and you made a move to push yourself up and take yourself away when he snapped again.

"Not you. Kiri, Sero, Kaminari. Out."

No. No, please, don't send Sero away, you begged internally, barely able to lift your head to seek him out, hoping to convince him to stay... but all you saw was the door close behind the three men that now left you in the room alone with the man you feared most out of them all.

Your shuddering breaths were the only sound breaking through the tense quiet and you couldn't bring yourself to turn to the monster that just orchestrated your torture.

Whatever he was going to do to you now, you just hoped it would end quickly...

Almost a minute of no noise from him made you start to question whether or not he was even in the room still... but you dared not to look over your shoulder. If he was still there, you didn't want to see him...

Another minute, and your sobs had gotten under control, the occasional hiccup or stuck breath shaking your sore body.

One more long minute later, you exhaled slowly and planted your hands on the table beneath you, pushing yourself up to stand slowly, feeling uncomfortable trickles run down your back and knowing that Sero had actually drawn blood from his whipping. You couldn't blame him. You wouldn't. The second you could speak to him, you'd fall to your knees and forgive him. He had no choice. He took no glee in your punishment, even if you couldn't see his expression as he dealt it, you knew. He wasn't like them.

He wasn't a monster.

"Come here."

You felt your breath catch in your throat, trapping your gasp as you tensed, but did not turn.

More wet sensations ran down your back, dripping down into your thighs, as if reminding you of what happens when you don't do as you're told. You learned this particular lesson. You didn't need to learn it again...

With veiled reluctance, you turned your body to the sound of his voice, eyes locked down at the plush carpet and arms crossing over your chest to keep your dress from falling down.

You walked until you saw his shoes, stopping in front of him as he began to roll up his sleeves.

"Sit."

You looked up enough to see where he was gesturing, seeing that he was pointing to the spot on the floor between his parted knees.

"With your back to me. Now."

You obeyed silently, eyes blurring from your intense focus on the carpet.

"I don't want you to use your quirk unless I instruct you to use it, am I understood?"