Muted Voices (A BNHA/MHA x OC Fanfic)

Chapter 100: Finale - Part 2

Koto's POV

I don't know how long we sit there. How long I pump the lifeblood through Bakugo's broken body.

How long until help comes.

How long until the surgeons finish patching him up.

All I know is the steady thrum, keeping his heart beating.

And beating.

And beating.

Voices speak around me, but I no longer hear them. Blood drips from my nose, but I no longer feel that. Nor do I feel the tears crusting my eyes as I keep them firmly closed.

A tube runs into my mouth. I occasionally eat.

My hand feels as though it has fused with Bakugo's. I keep his heart beating in my sleep.

As Recovery Girl comes in for another healing session, I feel her small hand at my back.

"You can't continue this much longer," she says gently.

But it's the only way to keep him alive while your quirk saps his stamina.

She seems to read whatever expression is on my face. "His body is at a point where it will heal if he is able," she explains. "He cannot go past this point without his own heartbeat to sustain him." The old woman rubs slow circles on my back. "And your body cannot take much more of this either."

My lips scrunch into a pout of defiance, but I know it's true. Every heartbeat pounds into me like a heavy hammer. My own blood feels sluggish as it flows through me.

"You have to let him take over, my dear."

I squeeze Bakugo's hand firmly. There hasn't been a squeeze back. Not for days. Weeks. I have no clue how long I've been here. I press his knuckles to my lips, mouth forming the words my quirk prevents me from saying.

Come back, Ducky. Please.

With those words, I let my power retreat from where it has been curled protectively around his heart. The muscle beats once. Twice. My quirk senses true rest is at hand and rushes back into myself.

Quiet. That's all I hear for the first time in a while. The monitor beeps, and the lights above hum, but I no longer feel the sound intimately. It's just some distant sense that has been disconnected from the others. I suppose this is what everyone else feels.

My eyelids strain but eventually flutter open. Recovery Girl is at my side, looking at the ongoing heart monitor with distinct pride on her wrinkled features.

"You bought him time, my dear," the hero assures me. "And now, it's time to rest."

She leans over before I can protest and plants a kiss on my forehead. Darkness immediately embraces me.

•°•°•°•

Ba bum

Ba bum

Ba bum

The sound follows me even in sleep. I've gotten too used to it. It carries on as the only beat to lead me. My footsteps follow it forward.

My eyes gaze up at the twilight sky, the cliff I stand on looking out over a city of ash. As I watch, the wind blows it away.

I hold my hands out to catch the wind, and it pulls me away from the edge. I turn on my bare feet, grass being tamped down below me. I continue to turn. And turn and turn.

My foot catches on a root, and I pause. My eyes lock onto Bakugo's form, sitting at the edge of the tree. His red eyes look up at me, and I smile. He's okay.