The Origin of something new (mha ff)

Chapter 73

Katsuki and Kaede noticed the tremor in the earth. "What's happening?" "I don't know. We have to get out of here." Kaede tried to shut off her emotions again. Something tightened, it didn't work. "Katsuki, it's not working." "How it's not working?" "I don't know, it's like a door is stuck, I can't turn it off." "So what now?" "We have to wait." "You can't be serious." "I'm sorry." "Don't say you're sorry like it's your fault. We have to find another solution." She exhaled. "I'll try to find Izuku." She sat down on the floor and closed her eyes. She ignored her surroundings, shutting everything out of her mind. Then she searched. The complex was huge, probably Izuku was very far away. But the connection between her and Izuku was special. They were a family. He was always there for her, they visited Eri together. Izuku was always thoughtful and often uncertain, but there were those moments when his determination inspired everyone around him. Izuku was a person with a heart, someone Kaede liked very much. She would have found him anywhere if she had only looked long enough. However, it took her at least five minutes before she felt him. "He's on the move. He's fine." When she opened her eyes she found that the tremor was much stronger than before. "The building is going to collapse." "..." He turned to her. "We can't see in case debris falls because the mist still restricts us." "Then we'll rely on our hearing and scan the walls." Katsuki looked around. "Hearing, yeah right." "What?" "Nothing, let's get out of here." "Are you having trouble hearing?" "No I don't, don't bug me with that shit." "Wait." She grabbed his arm. "You can tell me. Is your Quirk making your hearing worse?" He didn't look at her, but stared stubbornly at the floor. "A little. I think it gets worse the more I do it." She put an arm on his shoulder. "Don't look at me so pityingly. Bug me about it when we're out of here." They walked off as they scanned the walls. A loud noise rang out, followed by a crack. A deep rumble gripped the building, followed by an alarm, which hurt their ears. A breeze whipped around the two of them. Katsuki grabbed Kaede and pulled her closer. "First debris will fall from above, then the side walls will collapse." That might have been the case if the collapse was of natural origin. However, Katsuki did not know that the collapse had been triggered to destroy everything inside the building. The entire ceiling came loose and fell on top of the two of them. They only felt the draft before they were buried.

...

Izuku ran back through the corridors. Cracks were already visible and the building now had its centre of gravity clearly askew. "It's sinking into the ground. That means there must be a cavity in the underground." He had already tried in vain to gain access to the forbidden wing, but it had not worked. Even with all his strength, the door was too strong, so now he looked for a wall. Cracks were already visible on the walls. He stood up again and took a running start. With his first kick, the cracks got bigger. He knew that with his breakthrough, everything above him might collapse, but he just had to get to the others. The second and third kicks also only caused more cracks, a cloud of dust and an alarming noise in the ceiling, but he did not give up. The fourth kick went through. The wall cracked open and the moment he jumped through the hole, the hallway collapsed behind him. He kept running, not wasting a moment, but was forced to stop. There was debris all around him. There were large rocks and dust everywhere, blocking his path and view. Izuku knew when it was time to give up, but he didn't want to admit it. There was no way on. He could fight wildly through the rocks and it still wouldn't help him. The building continued to sway, sinking more and more into the ground. It was over. Kaede and Katsuki were too far into the complex to reach them. Even the rescue workers would have difficulty. He himself was close to the exit, but his worries were not about him.

...

Katsuki woke up because he felt something dripping on his face. When he opened his eyes, he saw Kaede above him. She had narrowed her eyes, her expression twisted as sweat and blood mingled. Blood dripped from her mouth. Her hands were braced in the ground at his sides while her arms trembled. Then he saw the reason for her effort. She shielded the stone with her body. She prevented the stone from hurting them both. Golden glimmers sparkled on her hands as if they were trying with their last strength to support Kaede. "Kae?" She opened her eyes and looked at him with relief. "You're awake. Thank God, I thought you'd hurt your head." "What are you doing?" "The roof has collapsed. I'm keeping the debris even with my Quirk, but..." "You're not going to keep this up forever, are you?" She shook her head. "No." They were both silent. "I've been trying to find Izuku, but I can't keep the debris up at the same time. I don't know... if he's okay." "It's okay, the knowledge wouldn't help us anyway if we can't do anything. The pro heroes will save us." He saw the doubt in her expression before she spoke it. "We are extremely deep in the forbidden wing Katsuki. Everything here has collapsed and the rubble is heavy steel. Even if they will locate our position, they must first clear all the debris, one by one. Because just one small mistake could lead to a worse collapse." "They're heroes, they'll think of a way. Hawks will be there too." "I know." She couldn't take her eyes off him. He knew her too well not to see the guilty conscience through her eyes. His voice had a warning undertone. "What are you up to." She smiled. "I can't fool you, can I?" "Cut the crap." She sighed. "There's not enough air here Katsuki. Even if I hold the rubble forever, we'd suffocate before then. But if I transfer my power to you, like I did to Eijiro that time..." "No." Angrily, she raised her voice. "You must survive Katsuki. You must become the next number one hero, you must lead the class, you must..." "I don't want to be a number one hero if you have to die for it. Why should I lead a class that you are no longer in? I won't let you sacrifice yourself for me." "If I don't, we will both die." During her argument, her hair had slipped into her view, Katsuki brushed it away. "It's okay if I die. It's okay if we die together." "But-" "I don't want you to die Kaede." Tears gathered in her eyes. " But I want you to live. I want you to fulfil your dreams." Her tears fell on his face. "I want you to graduate, I want you to be the professional hero you dream of being, I want you to be happy." "I don't want to be happy without you Kaede." She was still passing the words. Her tears stopped, her expression reflected confusion and her mouth was open as if she didn't know what to say in response. She hesitated to ask the question because she was afraid of the answer. She had felt a connection between them. She knew it was special, but she couldn't let it stop her. She couldn't let it. "Why not?" "Because I love you." She bit her lips in agony, holding back the tears. "Then stop it. You shouldn't, you can't love me, it's dangerous." "Does this feel dangerous?" He took advantage of the situation. He pulled her face to him and gently pressed his lips to hers. They complemented each other as if this moment had been meant to be. He felt the blood on her lips and the tears clinging to his skin as Katsuki lowered his hands. "Tell me, what is dangerous about it?" "Love is dangerous. It is dangerous to love me. I killed my parents because they love me!" Her voice broke before she continued quietly. "My father's last words were 'I love you' before I killed him." "I don't care." "You can't not care you idiot!" "I said it and I'm still alive. Therefore." "You don't understand-" "No Kaede, you don't understand. You don't know how I feel about you, do you? Use your Quirk and find out." This time when he pulled her in for a kiss, it wasn't gentle. She felt Katsuki's anger as his hands slid over her face. But she felt more than that. He loved her. The child in her admired that love. It was as if she wanted to take his love to put on a shelf to look at again and again. Katsuki felt it. He whispered breathlessly against her lips. "I won't run away. I can always give you some." She smiled. She finally understood that she did not have to accumulate love like a collector. She felt his love, she looked at it from all sides until she returned the kiss. She leaned her face into his hands and enjoyed the moment. She would have liked this moment to never end. That she could sink into Katsuki's embrace forever. But she knew what she had to do. When Katsuki realised what she was doing, it was already too late. He wanted to push her away, but she resisted with the last of her strength. The mark was already on his forehead when she finally released him. "What have you done?!" She smiled weakly as the light disappeared from her eyes, she slumped on his chest and took her last breath. She sank away under the stone, so Katsuki stretched out his arms to hold it, balancing it with his knees as well. Kaede lay on his chest, lifeless. "What have you done, you idiot?!" He stopped shouting. He didn't want to waste the air she had given up for him. He just stared at her in disbelief. Shock sat deep inside him, corrupted by the thought that this couldn't have really happened. She could not be dead. And in all the time he waited, the only reason he kept the stone upright was the thought that she was not dead. A deceptive hope.