【𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 • 𝐕𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐊𝐔 𝐗 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑】

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The sound like a gunshot, the heat like a flame, Nakano's Liquid Fire engulfs the woman immediately, turning her to ash. Debris falls from the ceiling because of the blast, blocking the doors.

You seem to snap out of it then, grabbing Shinimi and dragging him to the corner of the room. You're trapped, and you're pretty sure neither of your friends are going to hesitate to kill each other.

It's Midoriya, a man with only his life to lose, against Nakano, who's already doomed.

❧

"Shinimi!" You whisper to him, "can you stop them with your quirk?"

"I can't!" he cries, clutching your arm, "I've been trying, but it's too much!"

"Why are they so mad?" You ask him, wrapping your arms around his shaking body. 

"Nakano i-is scared. She doesn't want t-to die, even if she knew she would. She'd rather go down fighting than pass away in a hospital bed."

"And Midoriya?" You ask as another blast rings out.

"Grief," Shinimi whispers, huddling against you, "he's blinded by grief. All Might, his mom, himself, and . . . and me."

His voice hitches in his throat and he cries once again. 

You hold him softly, activating your quirk to possibly calm him down. Healing his soul, you wish. Healing the poison inside him, you hope.

The lights are out, now, because of the damage to the hospital room. The door is blocked. The floor is covered in debris from the ceiling, and dust glides through the air.

Your eyes turn back to the fight.

All this, and Midoriya hasn't moved an inch. He hasn't done anything since he punched her.

Nakano looks frustrated. Her hair's a tangled mess, and blood drips from the back of her head. She must've hit the wall really hard; you're not surprised from how powerful you know the former number-one hero is.

Except this time, you don't think he's aiming to save anyone.

As if all of the time he's been holding back has been leading to this moment.

The same goes for Nakano; it's impossible that she wasn't angry over her fiancé's death. Surely, this whole time, she wanted to fight. She wanted revenge.

You can't bare to watch, but you don't dare look away.

Nakano could easily kill Midoriya with a single blast. Midoriya could easily kill her with just a single move.

So why do they both look so scared?

Midoriya is still, unmoving. Like he's taunting her, saying "hey, I'm not even moving and you still can't beat me."

Nakano looks completely beat up, while Midoriya hasn't even touched her but once.

Her quirk really is killing her. Every time she uses it she looks more and more worn out.

Nakano seems tired of fighting against her own power. 

She rushes at Midoriya, fists clenched.

He holds out his hand as she runs towards him, acting unafraid for once. But right as she's about to hit him, he fires a shot at the ceiling.

Lightning and the gust of air from his quirk rips apart the building's top, making the sky rain debris. Sunlight flows through the cracks from above, highlighting Nakano's fallen figure.

"If you touch me," Midoriya growls, "or anyone else in this room, I'll kill you."

Her body is beneath the rubble, and she whimpers to herself. "What a hero you've turned out to be, Deku."

"You got desperate and didn't think," the former hero shrugs, "don't rush into battle without a plan."

"Plan? Like you had one."

"The only reason you're not dead," Midoriya tells her, leaning face-to-face, "is because I'm not bringing down a whole building for the likes of you. You don't deserve to die in such a noble way."

Her gaze hardens, and she struggles to stand.

Midoriya continues.

"I'll make sure of it, Nakano. You? You'll be Karma's kill."

He grabs her hand then, pulling her up to stand. They stand side by side like they just fought each other in a simple game of cards. You know it's more than that, though. 

There's a different taste to the air around them than before. One of distrust, and maybe a hint of respect.

It's not until then, when both of them are quiet, that you realize that someone's broken the door down, and a multitude of heroes are watching the scene unfold.

You grab the dead-silent Shinimi and help him stand, rushing to Midoriya's side. The teen leans on you as you stand there, not sure what to do or say. 

You say the only thing you can.

"Please," you ask them, "help us."

❧