As suddenly as they had begun to free fall, they had also come to a sudden halt. The impact causing them to slam and tumble inside, rendering them both unconscious.
After some time, Izuku blinked with blurred vision. The floor of the elevator was intact, and felt cold against the blood pulsing from his head.
In front of him, he could barely make out Hisoka's bloodied hand. Ah.. He crawled painfully towards him and checked his breathing. He could still feel something faintly. Quickly, he positioned himself to use the limp hand to remove the button.
He was glad to feel it release and bounce/roll away without Hisoka's consciously wanting it to, but relief didn't last long. Hisoka came-to and took firm hold of Izuku's throat.
"I will.. get this.. power.. from you!" Hisoka sputtered as Izuku used his weight to crash him into the wall. Izuku could only fight back with his natural strength, what little he had after injuries.
One for All is still unresponsive.. Izuku was about to lose consciousness again when the elevator doors pried open. Hah.. he gave in to passing out.
Beep
"How did you find him?"
"I almost didn't. I had stopped the elevator from below just in case, but it wasn't until I heard them struggle that I knew there was anyone on it.."
Izuku could hear voices around him but couldn't move. For a moment, panic arose as he thought he was restrained by Hisoka's men, then he remembered the face that rescued him. I must be.. at something like a hospital..
"His heart rate just spiked! Oh.. he's calmed down now.. maybe he's coming-to?"
Izuku felt someone hold his hand.
"I guess we're lucky they struggled to this point.. I just hope he's not out for long.."
I want to respond.. Why can't I move? Izuku was stuck in his head.
"It's okay." A voice echoed.
Izuku now stood in a space he had become familiar with, where the predecessors of One for All communicated with him.
He couldn't 'see' them, but before he could panic, the voice went on.
"It'll all be okay. We just need to rest." Nana Shimura's gentle voice reassured.
"Do you know what happened to Hisoka?"
"Interesting, you're asking about him before the others."
Izuku felt a pang, he had to believe that the others were okay, he wouldn't be able to deal with anything less. "I-I mean, is it all over?"
"He's stable and was apprehended. Your friends joined together to save you. I'm sorry that we, your predecessors, could not."
"No, I'm sorry I put One for All at stake! I-"
"It wasn't your fault. Hisoka alone was responsible for this. Oh.. but do try to forgive All Might.."
All Might? "What do you-" Izuku started to ask but could sense that he had 'left' Nana and 'returned' to the hospital.
"I was undercover. They believed I was out of my mind, an addict at that.. They probably thought that if they returned me a similar power, ironically, young Midoriya's, that I would then be controlled by them."
All Might.. Izuku faded in and out, hearing different voices and parts of conversations after that.
"Will there be lingering effects?"
"Could they really make people forget about quirks?"
"At least that guy was good for something, knowing where that hell hole was.. and in the city at that."
"Izuku honey, I wish you had told me earlier-"
"Zuku.."
It was late the following night when he was visited by the only missing person involved. "I'm so sorry. I never meant for you to get hurt." Ezra spoke softly with wet eyes.
"At first, it was just an assignment.. I didn't know the true intentions of the 'Agency'.." he scoffed sadly. "Then I got to know you.. I wish.. I wish I was a better man to have known a better way to get you out of this."
Izuku was in a kind of limbo but had started to understand the who and what around him.
"All I could do was buy time and make you feel uncomfortable, so you would want to leave on your own.. but I hated it. I hated it all. My greed.. I just wanted to be close to you."
He gently traced the bandages on Izuku's head and leaned over to give a soft, warm and slightly tear-wet kiss on the bit of forehead he could find.
Izuku could feel control in his fingers, and slowly raised his hand to place it on the chest hovering over him. He could feel the pounding heart skip a beat as Ezra stepped back to look down.
"You're up!" He closed the gap and hugged Izuku hard. Izuku's hand flopped down in acceptance. Then Ezra hopped back in crazed excitement "I should call the-"
"Wait." Izuku found his voice.
Ezra stopped with an awkward look, realizing his place.. and that it wasn't this, or here.
Izuku beckoned him forward and he complied. Raising his hands delicately, he placed them on either side of Ezra's face and took a good look.
"I'm so happy to see your eyes." Ezra said as tears rolled freely down his cheeks. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I-" he was silenced with a bandaged finger against his lips.
Izuku could see everything on Ezra's face, all emotions.. guilt, resentment, ..heartbreak. In his eyes.. in his lips..
Before they knew it, they were sharing a passionate kiss. Izuku had tried to sit up and Ezra in surprise had pushed him back. They held each other's face until Ezra completely broke down.
He was forgiven, but this was goodbye.
***
