Morals

Nineteen

A/n- Attack pt.1 

Unedited

Things haven't changed between the pretty extra and me. The only noticeable change is that we talk more than usual. She's become more touchy-feely with me. I don't hate it, though. She tries to hide the real reason, but I know it was because she liked being in my company. Our work study has been gaining momentum lately. The investigation into those disappearances has been coming along nicely. Mirko called us a few days ago and provided us with an update on the case. She was coming to UA soon to discuss with Aizawa and the other teachers about letting us rejoin the case. She needed all the help she could get.

The extra and I were allowed to go back to our work study. We were on a patrol in one of the neighborhoods where the victims in the case went missing. The mission started pretty boring until something snapped. We were walking around with Mirko's sidekick. He's pretty quiet. Doesn't talk much unless necessary. The civilians in the neighborhood we were patrolling were going about their business. Then we heard nothing. It felt like the entire world had turned silent. It was eerie. Denai and I immediately jumped back-to-back. Her eyes scanned everywhere. Nothing. Then she screamed. Two villains appeared out of nowhere, throwing some silver liquid right into her face. She screamed again. That sounded pissed me off more than anything. Before I could move, I felt a fist hit my stomach hard. Then another hit my head, making everything spin. I tried to stand up but couldn't. 

Denai closed her eyes tightly. She was trying to use her hearing since those bastards screwed up her eyes and nose. I saw her listening hard, her face still twisted in pain. That silver liquid must've been nasty. She whispered something about spatial awareness—probably some training her mom taught her. Smart, but I wasn't sure it'd work. My ears were ringing from that head blow, but I forced myself to focus. Two villains—one still kicking me while I was down, the other circling Denai like a damn vulture. Their movements were silent, eerie. They wore black cloaks that seemed to swallow light. Denai suddenly jerked to the left, dodging a blade by inches. She'd heard it coming. Good. Maybe she had a shot.

The villain near me wasn't expecting me to grab his ankle mid-kick. The shock cost him half a second—half a second where my palm exploded against his kneecap. His scream cut through the silence, but Denai didn't flinch. Instead, she lashed out with a kick toward the second villain's throat. He deflected it smoothly, fluid as mercury. These weren't thugs. Every motion was precise, economical. These were Military-trained killers.

"Katsuki, I can't use my sight! But I can still hear and smell!" She told me telepathically.

I hauled myself up, ignoring the throbbing ache behind my eyes. Denai pivoted sharply, her movements jerky but deliberate—guided purely by sound. She kicked out at empty air, yet the villain circling her stumbled backward as if struck. He'd moved into her strike, mistrusting his own invisibility cloak's effectiveness against her unnatural hearing. A wet crack echoed—ribs?—but the assassin didn't make a sound. Only the rustle of his cloak betrayed him as he retreated into the unnatural stillness.

Denai couldn't use her quirks in the city without being able to see. Her spatial awareness would be rendered useless since it requires all of her senses to work. It got more dangerous when they began to use weapons. A knife that looked like it would be used by a butcher, and a blunt, metal object with that silver liquid coating it. The liquid was on both weapons now that I look closer.

Denai was breathing heavily, sweat mixing with residue on her cheeks. Her head snapped toward another whisper – this time, it wasn't just gravel shifting. It was something else. She whispered the words "Katsuki" under her breath to me. She couldn't hear the assassin's movements approaching her anymore. Instead, she heard the faint hum of something hot.

"Something is not right. This feels more sinister than it seems." I didn't realize what she meant until what happened next. Air whipped past my arm, and blood trickled down my arm.

"Shit, they're using weapons!" I yelled out to Denai, who was in more danger because they had blinded her. Now we were playing the dodging game. The villain with the blunt object was trying to hit me in the head and knock me unconscious. I used my quirk the best way I could. Denai was behind me, and I wasn't trying to hurt her by going all out. She is doing her best by just escaping those knife attacks. 

The villain with the knife suddenly changed tactics—instead of attacking Denai, he threw it at my exposed back while I was grappling with his partner. Denai's head snapped sideways at the blade's whistle through the air. Denai ran to cover me, blocking the knife with her exposed arm. Denai gasped as the knife sliced deep into her forearm. So deep that it severed tendons, rendering her arm useless. 

"Denai!"

"I'm alright! Focus!" Denai's voice came out strained but sharp, her uninjured arm pressing hard against the crimson river soaking her sleeve. The knife-wielder retreated into the unnatural stillness, his cloak rippling like oil on water. My vision blurred—not from pain, but pure fury. That blade wasn't ordinary; its edge shimmered with the same liquid silver that blinded her. Bastards coated their weapons in poison. Shit started going downhill fast after the bastards started coordinating their attacks. 

The villain with the blunt weapon lunged at me—a feint I saw coming. I sidestepped, palms crackling, but he pivoted mid-swing toward Denai's exposed flank. Her head whipped around at the rush of air, but her reactions were slowing, her breathing ragged. She dodged too late; the blunt end grazed her temple with a dull thud. She staggered, ears ringing, her spatial awareness fracturing under the assault. Blood trickled from her hairline, mingling with the silver residue.

Behind me, gravel crunched—a third assassin. The first two were meant to distract us from their true motive. The third wielded a blade coated in poison. They moved as if to trap me in a pincer attack, but Denai moved to help after hearing and smelling them move away. Just as she reached me, a blade went through her chest.

This was like a nightmare, one I prayed to wake up from.