Aesthete

Chapter 26.

- Izuku's P.O.V -

Florence Reyna and her final words to me haven't left my mind since she vanished into Kurogiri's portal.

I sobbed the first three days, feeling useless as I lied in the hospital bed, counting the crevices in the ceilings.

The surgeons and doctors all told me my arm would never be the same, I could never use it at full power again unless I wanted to lose it permanently.

All Might had even spoken to me, apologizing for his presence. He said it was all his fault that the League infiltrated our training camp, they wanted to stab the number one hero where it would hurt.

And that they did.

For the millionth time, I relived the last time I saw her face once more. I was so enraged with myself, so disappointed by how I didn't know she was trapped into the villain's blue spheres until I saw three balls heading towards the ground. When her frame crashed into the dirt, I nearly lost my self-control.

I wanted nothing more in the world than to grab her, Kacchan, and Tokoyami and take off running. What pierced me was that her face was never angry or hurt at us for not noticing her disappearing when she promised to find Kacchan after our fight with Muscular. Florence only blinked, before panic flitted her face as Toga threw herself on me. She fought to the very end, not only for me and the others, but for Kacchan.

I was already nauseated, enraged and filled with pain when Dabi had his hand around him, but I only blinked once. In that same second, my childhood friend was tossed to me as his face contorted to shock and so did mine. We both realized that the girl we came to care for so deeply was now in Dabi's grip.

Time passed so slow. I screamed her name, begging any God or deity to let me reach her on time, to let me go with her, to not leave her alone.

Florence is always beautiful, always a sight for sore eyes, even when she sobbed, even when she yelled or scowled at me, especially when she laughed and smiled. I would do anything to see her smile again. But, no.

She remained beautiful even when sadness flitted across her face before being washed away with gratitude.

"Thank you for everything. You saved me."

Those words became my personal playlist of torment, I heard them every minute since then. Even in my dreams, her words would come to my head as I saw that same look of hurt.

It's the fourth day since Florence Reyna was kidnapped by the League of Villains, and as I stood outside the hospital with Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, and Kirishima, I knew in my heart that this would be her last night with the League. I don't care what it costed me, I would give up everything if it meant her coming back to us.

Coming back home.

We needed one more person to join our rescue group before we could make our way to the location that Yaoyorozu said Reyna would probably be at. It wasn't a guarantee, but it was our best bet.

"Let's go." I turned to Kacchan's voice, he stood by Kirishima, only sparing me a brief glance before returning his gaze to the ground.

He was different. The entire class knew this, but no one dared comment on his behavior. Since Florence got taken, he didn't bother hiding his emotions. He showed that he was angry, hurt, and longing for her to reappear.