Shoot Your Shot - MHA College AU

Scene 18: Falling Behind

{ Scene 18: Falling Behind }

The loud screech of metal rung in your ears, speckled with the pang of explosions crackling through the street. With the flesh of your cheek cold against the roughened ground, a body sheltered you from the falling rubble. Warm and sturdy, his hand and his chest roughly cradled your head, enveloping you in his smokey scent. The boy groaned, rolling from your body.

Sirens were blaring closer now. You could almost see the remnants of flashing lights winding around the corner. Or maybe it was the just the dizziness from the lingering alcohol. The sides of your head throbbed as you tried to relieve the pressure with your fingertips.

Bakugo crawled to his feet, already running to meet with Kirishima.

"C'mon! Get the hell up!" he snapped.

You stumbled to your feet, letting your body carry you to the boys. They were perched against a brick wall, standing amongst fallen telephone wires and chunks of the remaining admin building. Eyes searched for the enemy in the chaos of smoke and fire.

"Wh-what's going on? Is this a villain attack?" Your voice felt hollow inside, and your ears were numb to the haunting symphony around you.

"Probably. I thought this was just a regular attack on the school, but the barrier's down for some reason," Kirishima said. "Maybe they snuck in and disabled it, or one of them has a quirk to lower it? Either way, the pros should be here already. But they haven't shown up yet... Something must be wrong..."

Bakugo paused, a calculative squint to his eyes. "Didn't toad girl and that bird face get called in tonight? They left earlier, right before our match."

"They did, but Tsu said it wasn't anything too threatening, just that the pros needed a little backup downtown," you said.

A row of firetrucks came blaring down the street. Men in red and yellow gear leaped from the truck, racing into the remains of the building. The fire only soared higher.

Kirishima's face fell. "This seems like they need a lot more than just a little backup."

With scuffed up hands and knees and borrowed clothes, without your hero uniforms and gadgets for support, you were bare, with only the strength of your quirk to fight and protect. The same realization fell on the boys. Kirishima without his protective sleeves. Bakugo without his gauntlets. The hungover slur only put you at a further disadvantage.

"Where are these damn villains?! I swear to God, I'll kill them! Th-this is our school. All Might's school. Who the hell gave them the right to... to do all this?" Bakugo cried into the fire.

The library across the street groaned under its crumbling foundation. All the hours spent studying late nights together, sneaking spicy ramen and pizza past the cranky librarian. Outside, at the bottom of the stone-sculpted stairs, was the place where you'd meet up after class to catch the bus home, sharing the bench with the boys in the late afternoon sun. It was once your place. The rickety bench crackled in the fire. The banister above it, adorning All Might's emblem, fell into the ashes.

"I-I'm gonna beat their asses into the ground!" He turned to storm off towards the flames. Kirishima stopped him.

"Slow down man, just wait a sec. We need to figure out what's going on and come up with a plan or something."

Pulling out your phone, you dialed Tsu, hoping she wasn't in the middle of a battle, or hurt, or... you never wanted to consider anything worse.

"What the hell is a phone call supposed to do? We don't have time to be sittin' around," Bakugo growled.