8 Bit Glitch

Part 23~Don't Run on Low Health

Running my fingers through my shirt, I glanced at Katsuki. Kirishima struggled to keep Katsuki stable, stumbling beside the wall. Katsuki growled at him to stay still as he used the night vision goggles to see into the warehouse.

"Do you see anything?" Kakashi looked up at Yaoyorozu who was standing on his shoulders, using the other pair of night vision goggles.

Yaoyorozu leaned closer, her eyes narrowed. "I can't see inside... Can you take two steps to the left?"

"Yep!" Kakashi easily moved and resettled as per Yaoyorozu's instructions. It was a little freaky how up for this Kakashi was considering he was meant to be a hero in training who has several hero contacts. You would think he would have called one of them by now but I was glad he hadn't.

Boom!

Jumping back, we stared wide-eyed at the building. Mt Lady had kicked her way through the wall. In a second, Gang Orca and Best Jeanist restrained the villains and the place was contained. Tiger walked through, picking up Ragdoll.

If it had been a normal situation, I would have become more self-conscious, realising that us being here was unnecessary. However, this wasn't a normal situation and all I cared about was getting my Denki back. Peering over the wall, I searched the space. Denki wasn't here.

My arms fell to my side, a darkness covering my eyes. If Denki wasn't here, where was he? Was he hurt? Was he dead? He can't be dead! I won't allow it! He can't be. He has to be somewhere. He has to be...

"Izuku?"

Snapping out of my thoughts, I felt Kakashi's hand on my shoulder, forcing me to look at him.

"We should go. They've got this." Kakashi wrapped his arm around my shoulders, leading me away. I didn't say anything. My vision grew blurry. For a while, I couldn't work out if my physical health was crashing or if the water leaking out of my eyes was causing the fuzziness but I couldn't bother to work it out.

Crash!

Whipping around, Kakashi stared at the warehouse. The heroes had been thrown to the side, a mysterious villain walking out of the darkness. Black liquid blobs dotted the space, growing and shoving a person into the spot it had been. My heart stopped, my eyes flickering over one place, not moving in fear he would go again.

"Denki!"

Kakashi launched forward, trying to grab me but I was faster. I reached out my hand, he was within my grasp.

Bang!

Stumbling to a halt, I blinked in confusion. Pressing my hand against my chest, I could feel something warm, coating my fingers. My vision grew more blurred, black dots seeping into my eye line. "Den... ki..." Stepping forward, I ignored the heavy feeling in my arms and the way my legs weakened and struggled to keep me upright. "Denki..."

Denki stared at me, frozen in place. Was he crying? It looked like he was crying. He shouldn't be crying.

"Izuku!" Denki rushed past the villains who tried to keep him in place, catching me as I fell. Denki gasped, putting pressure on the wound as he cradled me. "Hey, it's going to be okay. You're going to be fine."

"I-I..."

Denki shushed me, brushing the hair that fell in front of my face. "Don't talk. Save your strength."

"I came for you... I didn't leave you..."

Blinking in confusion, Denki searched my face for an explanation. "What are you talking about?"

"I left you... I chose Katsuki over you... But I want to choose you... I don't want to leave you..." I clutched onto Denki's shirt, shaking from head to toe. "I was scared, Denki... I didn't know if you were okay... I thought you were dead... And it would be my fault..."

Denki's expression softened; a deep sadness in his eyes. That shouldn't be there. "Izu... It was never your fault. Now stop talking and save your energy."

"Oh, what's this? Can we keep him too, Dabi?" Toga leaned over Denki's shoulder, looking at me. "He looks so good covered in blood. We should bring out more!"

Denki spun around, grabbing Toga's wrist. "Touch him and you're dead."

Toga pouted as she brought back her hand. Dabi scowled down at Denki and me, something unreadable in his face. "Get up." He tugged at Denki's shirt, pulling him to his feet. Screaming, I grasped onto my wound, unhappy with the sudden movement.

"Let me go!" Denki glared at Dabi, his body surrounded with electricity and forced Debi to jump away. He crouched down to my side, a terrified expression on his face. "Izuku! Are you okay?!"

Coughing, I wiped away the blood that rose out of my mouth. "Never better..."

"We don't have time for this." Dabi stepped forward, heat rising around his fingers. Denki's eyes widened in fear as he pulled me closer and protected me.

"Kaminari!" Ice covered the space between us and the villains, Todoroki's hand was pressed against the ground as Yaoyorozu and Iida shouted at him. Kakashi was by our side in a second, lifting me out of Denki's arms.

"Come on, we need to get out of here before this gets any worse." Kakashi motioned at the raging battle we had been ignoring. Denki stumbled to his feet, moving without thinking. I groaned with every step Kakashi carried me. The uneven ground and constant jostling caused my blood to pour out more- if that was even possible.

Yaoyorozu was waiting for us. "Put him down. We need to stop the bleeding." Kakashi lowered me onto the ground as Yaoyorozu took off my shirt.

"If you can get the bullet out while you're at it, I would be most thankful," I whispered with a light chuckle. The blood loss was starting to mix with my lack of sleep, making my already delirious mind somehow worse.

"Hey Izu, just keep looking at me." Denki cupped my cheek, forcing a smile to his face as Yaoyorozu started to create everything she needed.

"Well, the bullet isn't in there and it didn't hit any major organs or veins on the way through."

Katsuki tutted, "That's good isn't it?!"

Yaoyorozu shook her head. "At the rate his blood is going, he won't make it to the hospital. We need to fix the wound here or he won't survive."

"Great," I wheezed out sarcastically, "I'm liking my odds." Shifting, I lifted my hand to interlock with Denki's, smiling contently. "Don't leave."

Kaminari shook his head, pulling me closer. "Never. I'm not going anywhere."

I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. The voices grew fuzzy. I couldn't hear a thing of what they were saying. All I knew was Denki was holding me and that was enough for me to rest in peace.

Well, until someone just had to set my chest on fire.