His Transparent Angel (An Ojitoru Story)

Part 9

Suddenly, he realised he couldn't breathe.

It was dark and he was cold, and in a lot of pain. All of which told him one uncomfortable truth, he was still alive!

Just a dream, dammit? Why didn't she kill me?

Ojiro gradually became aware of a murky, shimmering light above him and realised he was under water. First things first, he needed air.

Ignoring the pain in his right arm, his chest, his ribs, and generally everywhere, he awkwardly pushed himself towards the shimmering light, knowing any wrong move at this point could be his last.

After what felt like Eternity, he broke the surface and hungrily gulped air with abandon, though it felt like his chest was on fire. With the immediate air crisis over, Ojiro realised he was still moving. He opened his eyes and, looking around, saw he was floating down a sewer canal, having recently passed an open (or torn off) manhole cover. Painfully, he swam to the walkway path along the canal closest to him and dragged himself onto solid concrete. Forcing himself into a sitting position against the adjacent concrete wall, he fought to regain control of his breathing. When finally, it only hurt to breathe rather than burning his chest, he held his head in his still-usable left hand and struggled to get his thoughts in order.

He was in a sewer, he knew that for sure. But he couldn't say how long he'd been there or how far he was from where he had fallen? Fallen? No, She had blasted him into that hole. She had left him to die. She had betrayed him, all of them. And yet he was still alive.

Why didn't she kill me?

Wincing, he looked at his left hand and saw blood, realising he had sustained a shallow cut on the left side of his head. Looking at his banged-up body, he guessed his right arm was dislocated and that he had several broken ribs. He knew the next thing he had to do. Gritting his teeth, Ojiro struggled to make a fist with his right hand and, grabbing it with his tail, popped it back into position. "AHHHHHHGHHH, DARN IT!!!" he yelled; still he couldn't bring himself to swear out loud (guess Bakugo hadn't rubbed off that much on him).

Shaking his right arm until he was satisfied he had regained its use, he took off and tore off several strips of linen from the tunic of his uniform as makeshift bandages for his head and aching ribs. On closer inspection, and after the burning sensation in his chest had lessened slightly, Ojiro realised he had an actual burn over the left side of his chest, over his heart. He also realised the burnt skin extended under his left arm and behind his back, where he now had become aware of an intense itch. But Hagakure had blasted a hole straight through his chest, hadn't she? There was no way she could have missed his heart at point blank range. And what of her cohorts? There was no way they would think he wasn't worth killing after all he'd learnt. Did they really think he was already dead? Had she really bent her light around his body to avoid a killing blow? Had Hagakure... faked his death?

What could she possibly gain from leaving him alive? Was this some way of extending his psychological, and physical torment? Or could she possibly-

Why didn't she kill me?

Aura's, whatever you call them, three, no, four, somewhere above the sewer line, heading his way. Now voices in the distance, one a young woman. Was it Her? Maybe Toga? Coming to finish the job? So much for his other theory.

Still aching, Ojiro used his tail to push himself up and painfully adopted his fighting stance. If he was going to die anyway, he was going to go out breaking a few bones their side. Then the voices became clearer as they got closer to the open manhole above. "Tailman", "Tailman, where are you dude?", "Tailman, where ya at Bro!?", "Ojiro! Can you hear us?!" He knew those voices! Kirishima, Kaminari, Jirou, even Shoji! Damn, he'd left his post looking for Him. They'd all left there posts looking for Him. All because He abandoned His looking for Her! Damn Screw-up.

No, there was no time to think like that. He had to get back to them! Had to get medical attention. Had to tell them about Hagakure, about Midoriya, about All for One's plans and then-

Then what?

Was he really going to try and reach out to her again? Try to save her? Hadn't she just proven she didn't want to be saved!? Then why the hell didn't she kill me? He was exhausted and hurt all over. But still he had to soldier on, like always. "DOWN HERE!" he called, painstakingly dragging his feet towards the source of light and sound above. Damn, all the times he thought of his limited Quirk as a weakness, his real weakness was his heart, the heart that after all she's done couldn't stop loving her, or perhaps chose not too. Hope could be a terrible thing. A force that wouldn't let him let her go. A force that would always dangle the concept of saving her, the concept of his dreams coming true, of Her being His Transparent Angel, in front of him but only just out of reach.

Dammit! Why the hell didn't she just kill me!? he thought again solemnly.

Well it was too late to moap now. He was alive. And he had a job to do. And sooner or later, he would have to face Her again. And when that day came, whatever may happen, he would have to be ready.

A/N: Sorry, this chapter was much longer but it's the final one. Anyone who wants to continue it is welcome. Hope you all enjoyed it! Good luck with 2022!!