𝘐𝘕𝘛𝘌𝘙𝘌𝘚𝘛𝘐𝘕𝘎 •𝐛. 𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐢•

XXIX

"All Might is retiring," Katsuki started. My mouth dropped slightly.

"What?? He can't!!" I thought back to the image Toga had showed me back at the villain base. What had happened to him for him to end up like that??

"He is... And it's my fault." I was about to interject, tell him why he was wrong, but I saw his fists clench and his lip twitch. "Maybe if I had been stronger, I wouldn't have gotten taken, and All Might wouldn't have been there. But no I'm so damn weak, I can't protect myself, let alone others." He stood up, his gaze glued to the floor.

"WHY COULDN'T I DO ANYTHING?? WHY WAS IT ME???" I flinched slightly at his voice raising. "HOW CAN I CALL MYSELF A FUCKING HERO, IF I CAN'T EVEN SAVE MYSELF??" He panted after his outburst, shaking his head as a few tears fell to the floor.

"And you..." He looked up from the floor to meet my gaze. His expression said it all. He was scared, angry, and confused. "I'm the reason you ended up like this. I should've blasted us farther. I should've held onto you tighter.

"I SHOULD'VE GONE BACK FOR YOU BUT I COULDN'T!! IF I WASN'T SUCH AN IDIOT MAYBE I WOULD'VE BEEN ABLE TO GET TO YOU BEFORE ANYTHING HAPPENED!!!

"EVERYTHING'S MY FAULT, AND I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT ALL; IT'S LIKE IT'S CONSTANTLY PLAYING ON LOOP!! WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?? I CAN'T JUST SIT AROUND ON MY ASS AND DO NOTHING!!

"BUT WHAT IS THERE THAT I CAN DO?? I CAN'T TAKE ANY OF IT BACK, AND I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO. BUT HOW THE HELL DO I ACCEPT THIS???" The tears were streaming out of Katsuki's eyes as he screamed at me. And, let's be real, there were a few gliding down my cheeks as well.

I stood up from the bed and wrapped my arms around him. He buried his head into my shoulder, letting out sobs that seemed to have been bottled up for years. I squeezed him tighter, rubbing his back gently.

"It's.. It's ok to be weak sometimes.... Nobody's perfect Katsuki; not you, not me, not All Might... You just gotta learn from your mistakes. I know that.. that it's not easy to accept.. And you may never accept it.... But that doesn't mean you stop trying," I told him between my own sobs. He held me closer to him, as if he was scared of letting me go. And I didn't blame him.

His significant other gets kidnapped by villains and put into a coma for eight days, just weeks after finally dating them. Just that alone must've been so traumatizing to him.

"The doctors.. They didn't think that you'd make it...." Katsuki forced out after he calmed down a bit. "And I thought.. I thought I lost you... And that the last memory would've been you sacrificing yourself to save us...."

I couldn't say anything. No words were forming in my mouth. I just kept him close to me and rubbing circles on his back.

"..How do you do it?"

"How do I do what?" I asked, loosening my grip around Katsuki's body to look into his eyes.

"You're not scared. You never were.. You just did the first thing that came to mind, and you did it with no hesitation and didn't even get scared of the outcome... How do you do it??" He explained.

"Oh trust me I get scared as hell. When Shitty Shigi said I had less than two minutes left to live, and Toga held the knife up ready to give the final blow... I was scared out of my mind, desperately finding a way to get out of there.

"And after I let go of you, I had no idea what I was supposed to do next. I was just doing anything that I could, hoping a new opportunity would open up.

"So the best way I can explain it is to have faith. Believe that you can find a way, because there will always be a way. It may not be obvious, but it's there." The words just poured out of me. I didn't realize how inspirational my words could be. Since when was I inspirational?