As Deep As The Ocean || •Mermaid AU• || KiriBaku

1

The deck was slippery beneath Bakugou's feet, his worn leather shoes doing little to keep the water from quickly numbing his skin. He was going to end up getting sick, he could feel it, with the water clinging to him, sticking to his hair and chilling him deep into his bones. His feet splashed along the thin layer of water coating the smooth wood beneath him as he ran back and forth, avoiding the other members of the crew doing the same, all of which were trying to avoid falling over the side or accidentally sabotaging their only chances of surviving the storm that wrecked the world around them.

Yells filled the air around him, commands flying left, right, and centre, accompanied by the sounds of angry thunder and heavy raindrops hitting the deck. He was so caught up in his attempts to keep upright, he almost missed someone screaming his name, the voice getting lost amongst the wind and barely becoming a whisper against the angry storm surrounding the entire ship.

And, despite the strain, he followed the sound, drowning out any and all of the background noise, following the melodic voice upwards, towards the crows nest where he caught eyes with Uraraka, strands of her short brown hair flying around her face, having come out of her bun amid all the havoc. Her round, deep brown eyes were held wide open in panic, meeting Katsuki's red ones and conveying her fear in one look. She was gripping onto the railing with one hand, her knuckles with the strain she was placing upon them, and her other was gripping onto a rope and pulling, attempting to contain the twisted material.

And the blonde immediately knew what she wanted, could practically hear her begging and pleading for his help, despite her mouth remaining completely still for the entirety of their silent conversation. And as the realisation poured over him, colder than the storm he was currently engaging, his own eyes widening, the red irises flicking back and forth from Uraraka to the railing his hands were wrapped around, the knuckles turning white with the sheer force he was exerting in just staying upright.

"Bakugou! Stop sitting around! Get your ass over here and help!" She screamed at him, her voice wavering with fear, cold and strain. He could hear the tears lining her eyes, the tenseness of her vocal cords as she physically exhausted herself against the ship's mainsail... But as much as he wanted to help, he forced his eyes back up to hers, deep brown meeting vibrant red, and he shook his head, the movement almost becoming lost to the brunette through all the movement beneath her and the rocking of the giant ship she had found a home in. "What the fuck do you mean 'no'? If you don't get your sorry, seaman ass up that fucking ladder and help me, we are all going to die!"

And as scared as he was of getting up the weathered and worn rope ladder and up to the crows nest, he was more so scared of dying; dying knowing he could have done so much more. His fight or flight instinct kicked in, his fear of death overriding every and all other thoughts lining and racing among his brain, directly leading him to the rope ladder leading up to the station where the brunette sat.

The rope was slippery beneath him, and even as he hadn't started his ascent, the blonde found himself struggling against the fraying material as his worn leather shoes struggled to find perch. Every rung, he clung on for dear life, the twisted twine burning his hands as he clutched with all his strength, ignoring the piercing pain of fraying strands cutting against the smoothness of his hands. His muscles strained and ached, and as he pulled himself onto the wooden platform, he could feel the ache settling into his bones, setting and readying for days of aches afterwards.

Bakugou lifted his head, eager to avert his gaze from the distance between himself and the deck beneath them, and ultimately becoming eye to eye with the struggling brunette, the latter immediately handing him one of the many ropes she had been wrestling with for what was nearly an hour now.

"Here, hold this!" She yelled over the thundering sounds of the ocean and the running beneath them, and despite their closeness, the distance more than halved since their conversation while he was on the deck floor, the volume barely increased, Bakugou's ears still straining just to understand what she was screaming at him. "When I say, pull the rope as tight as you possibly can!"