Who We Are (Hiro x Reader)

chapter seven

"Creeper," you breathe. Hiro's eyes widen. He draws his knife and leans against the shelf next to you, turning his head. The creeper is two aisles down, clumsily trudging his way to your scent.

Hiro looks up at the ceiling and lets out a shaky breath. Sweat begins to drip from his forehead. You take his hand and give it a quick squeeze to reassure him. He looks at you and shakes his head. "He's gonna find Tadashi if we don't do something."

"I know," you breathe. Suddenly, you get an idea. "Hey. You go that way, I'll go this way," you say, indicating which way with a nod. "The creeper will see and smell me, and it'll come my way. All you have to do is get it from behind before it gets ahold of me." This plan didn't seem ideal to you, but it was probably the only way both of you were going to survive. "Can I trust you with that?"

He nods. "Yeah."

"You've gotta promise me that you won't just give up and let it kill me while you make a run for it," you say, tears pricking at your eyes.

Hiro's eyebrows pull together. "Is that who you think I am?"

"I hardly know you," you say.

He nods. "I know. Don't worry, ___. We'll get out of this alive. I'm not letting you go anytime soon." His lips pull up into a small smile. You return the smile. A groan from the creeper lets you know that it's close enough to attack. You nod at Hiro before both of you dart around to the creeper.

She's leaning over, her hands limp at her sides. She's facing the other way, so you slam your crowbar against the side of the metal shelf. "Hey, you! Look right here!" She slowly turns around, revealing her gruesome face. Her lips curl up and show her rotting teeth that snap together as she takes in your living form. "Come on!" She's walking to you quickly, and you're backing up.

Hiro is quickly and quietly walking behind her, until his foot slips on one of the loose papers on the floor. He shouts as he falls backwards, landing hard on his back. The creeper stops moving and turns towards him; realizing that he's easier prey to get to. Hiro crawls backwards, fear clear on his face as she drops to her knees and falls on top of him, snapping her teeth as she tries to bite into his cheek.

"No!" you shout. You grab your crowbar and run to Hiro, who's arms are shaking as he tries to hold the body up. You slam the crowbar into her shoulder, lifting her off of him. With your shoe, you kick her onto her back and jerk the crowbar out. With all of your strength, you bring the weapon down into her soft skull. She stops squirming and falls back, limp and unmoving.

You wipe the sweat from your forehead. "Whoa," Hiro whispers shakily from the floor. You immediately turn and drop next to him. You help him sit up, asking, "Ohmigosh, are you okay? Did she bite you? Did she scratch you? Hiro, you're bleeding! Oh no, this is all my fault. Hiro-"

Hiro chuckles and grabs your hands that touch the stained red on his side. "___, I'm fine. It's just my knife that cut me, that's all. It's not that deep."

You shake your head. "I have some bandages and spray in my bag." You open your backpack and pull out the roll of bandages and the can of spray.

"I'm fine," he repeats.

"Lift up your shirt," you order.

"___-"

"Hiro, please. It's my fault you're hurt."

"No, it isn't," he replies. "You're not the one who slipped and ruined to entire plan. Though, I must say, you really did look pretty awesome as you beat up that thing."

You laugh and shake your head. "Whatever. Will you please let me see your cut?"

Hiro rolls his eyes and sighs. He leans back onto his elbows and says, "Fine."

You slowly lift the bottom of his shirt up until the cut is fully exposed. You take in a sharp intake of breath as you see the blood trickling out of it. "Hiro..."

"That bad, huh?" he says shakily.

"It'll be fine," you say. There's too much blood to cover it right now, so you rip the end of your sleeve off.

"You didn't have to do that," Hiro says.

You shrug. "Not like I'm wearing this to look good." You ball up the fabric and press it gently against the cut. When most of the blood is absorbed, you grab the can and shake it before spraying it over the cut. He hisses in pain. "Sorry!"

"It's good," he gasps. "It's fine, I'm okay."

"Hiro," you say, "this might need stitches."

He shakes his head. "We don't have time."

"Hiro-"

"I'll be fine until we get back to the café."

You nod. "How bad does it hurt?" you question.

"Not so bad," he replies. "The stinging is kind of unbearable, but."

"Ugh, I am so sorry!" you whisper.

"Don't be," he assures you, "You saved my life. I would've been one of those things if it weren't for you. Thank you."

You smile. "It wasn't that big of a deal." You tear into the roll of bandages and cover his cut gently. You smooth it down against his skin.

"Not that big of a deal? You saved my life. That's actually a huge deal."

"Maybe you'll pay me back someday, huh?"

Hiro laughs softly. You pull his shirt down and take his hands. You help him stand up, and then pack up your bag. Hiro takes your backpack from your hands and helps you put it on. Afterwards, you turn to him. He's just a couple of inches taller than you, so you don't have to really look up. Your eyes are staring right into his. As your heartbeat starts to pick up the pace again, you bite your lip. No, no, no. Don't do it!

"Guys?" Tadashi says. You both turn. Hiro groans in pain and grabs his side, resulting in a pure panic attack from Tadashi. "Hiro!" He looks down at the creeper at his feet. "Oh my gosh, you were bit! I knew that I couldn't trust you two!" He raises his hand to his forehead and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"No!" you say quickly. "No, he just cut himself. We're fine."

"Fine?" Tadashi growls. "Hiro, let me see." Tadashi lift Hiro's shirt and stops when he sees it.

"___ treated it," Hiro explains. "She saved my life, Tadashi."

"She did?"

Hiro nods. "I would've been one of them if it weren't for her."

Tadashi turns to you. You smile and shrug. "Thank you." He pulls you into a bone crushing hug. "Thank you so much."

You open your eyes and glance at Hiro, who's leaning against the shelf with a grin on his face. Your smile grows.