You Can't Lose Me || Shinso x Reader

Chapter 9: Just A Simple Catch-Up Session?

Warnings: none

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Shinso's POV

A week has passed since Kaminari and mine's encounter, but the attacks have not ceased, and the villain has yet to be seen, let alone captured. Three more have already occurred. Each attacker has prophesized the coming of a new age that doesn't need heroes, and each has sent at least one hero to visit the ER - the public has begun to pick up on it. Now, I can't patrol the streets without receiving glares or snide remarks from citizens, which only brings back memories of middle school. Like back then, I can shake it off easily, but I need to be extra cautious, nonetheless.

"Hey, kid. Do you mind if I walk with you?" I hear a familiar voice behind me ask.

I turn to see Mr. Aizawa in his own hero gear and hanging down from a balcony with his capture weapon.

"Sure, but you do remember that I've been adult for a while now, right?" I laugh.

"True, but it's hard not to remember that tiny fragile twig you were when I first started training you." I restrain a snort. "Besides, you're still younger than me by - what - two decades? That's enough reason on its own."

A moment of peace passes.

"I see you've decided to copy my look," I poke at Aizawa.

"Yes, that's what happened," he releases a breathy laugh through his nose, "but ask Present Mic, the self-proclaimed king of hero fashion himself, and he'll confirm the fact that I pull it off better."

"Then why are your goggles pink, now?"

"That is his doing," he scowls, "I just haven't fixed them yet."

"Uh huh, totally. And exactly how long ago did he do this?" He rolls his eyes at me without giving me a reply and I continue with a victorious grin. "That's what I thought."

"Aside from that, I heard about the recent string of attacks, so I wanted to check up on you. It has been a few years since I got to see you last. How have you been recently?"

Though I know he's changing the subject purposefully, I allow it, running through the past few weeks in my head.

"Hmm, messy. Kaminari was hospitalized and has been in recovery for the past week. And then there's the attacks themselves. As they've continued, we haven't managed to find any evidence of an external quirk user, so the general public has been less than friendly.

"That's been fun, I guess," I ruminate aloud. Aizawa squints at me.

"What are you avoiding? I can hear it in your voice. Talk to me," he urges calmly.

"This whole resurrection business has me thinking about (l/n) again."

"She's the one who passed away before you came to UA, right?" I nod. "As much as I've watched you recover from this specifically, I know it'll still hurt. The mourning you experience over a close friend never fully disappears, like how wounds will only heal into scars. I understand your pain because of my own losses, so I know the importance of moving forward, despite it all," he says.

"Thanks. I already know that, but it helps to hear it outside my own head," I respond.

He squints at me a second time before a corner of his mouth upturns into a rare yet comforting smile - though its small size can barely qualify it as a smile. A thought then crosses my mind.

"You can't have visited me for just a simple catch-up session. How have you been?"

"We're so alike, sometimes it's uncanny," he replies deflecting me again, but I glare at him until he concedes. "I've been pretty well, seriously, but there is something I wanted to talk to you about. I've-."

A scream sounds from around the corner and is joined a moment after by the panicking of a full crowd. On instinct, I pull my mask up as Aizawa mirrors with his goggles. I motion for him to move upward while I continue closer to the ground.

When I swing around the corner, I'm blinded for a moment by the light of the setting sun. I find myself in the city square where crowds of people are fleeing the scene and a villain crouches in the center with his hands on the ground. Beneath my feet, the vibrations from the citizens' rapid footsteps disappear along with the sound it makes. The villain seems to inhale dramatically before raising his hands and throwing them harshly against the pavement. The earth below me shakes violently and is accompanied by the overwhelming sound of a foghorn.

Though I manage to stay balanced, most of the crowd collapses to the ground struggling to stand back up. The waves cease after a few moments. I use this opportunity to sprint and ready my capture weapon as I approach the villain from the side. When I send the cloth out at the villain, they look in my direction and catch it; this only allows me to propel myself toward them faster.

As I fly towards the villain, I feel my capture weapon go completely limp, the extended end falling to the ground in an instant. With my leg extending for a kick, they ready their arms in defense which won't do much good for them; however, when I make contact, I freeze midair. My momentum is gone so I fall to the pavement in a similar fashion to my capture weapon.

The villain keeps in contact with me. I feel all of the energy leave my muscles as my vision fades in and out. My breath quickens. The villain removes their hand.

I can see relatively clearly now, but I can't move nor feel anything. My eyes are left to watch as they dodge some large flying debris before catching the Aizawa's capture weapon like he did mine, except that it doesn't go limp. The villain tenses up and their eyes widen, glancing up at Aizawa before barely dodging and sprinting to a nearby building.

"Go get 'em. I'll be right behind you," I say to the best of my ability - I'm surprised that I could talk at all.

Aizawa doesn't hesitate to follow after the retreating villain.

As I lie against the hard ground, I focus everything into moving my fingers, then my hands, my feet, my legs, my arms. After probably a minute, I roll onto my side and push myself upward to start finding my balance again. Eventually, my body feels normal again, so I fix my capture weapon - thankfully, it doesn't seem damaged - and start heading toward the tall building I saw them run into.

I don't make it two steps when I feel the ground shake again, and this time, I fall to my hands and knees. I look up only to watch as the building collapse in on itself. It creates a wave of dust that blinds me for a few moments, but the sight of a giant pile of concrete, glass, and steel tells me everything I missed.

My face returns to its earlier numbness.

Mr. Aizawa!

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A/N: I'm not dead, surprisingly. Take this mess and enjoy!

Word Count: 1195