Hi, this chapter wasn't originally planned. For those of you who don't know, I plan my chapters and writing months in advance. But I added this one in last minute. Needed some angst. I needed to write about my recent experiences.
Before the chapter starts, there's something I want to talk about. I know there's people out there who struggle a lot with anxiety and depression every single day. They can't do anything about it because their parents don't believe they have real struggles or they can't afford therapy. Some of those people are reading this book right now. I'd just like to let you know that I understand. Please message me to talk about it. I want to help people who have no one else. So please reach out to me anytime.
I know this is a goofy book about an anime. I know that I'm not taken seriously as a fanfic writer. I'm ok with that, but this is just a message I wanted to get out to people in the most effective way possible. Sorry that was long. Enjoy the chapter loves ❤️
It was a cold and rainy day at the hero agency. Crime had run rampant all day, and you were beginning to grow tired. Your eyelids were droopy and your suit was sticking to your body. You sat upon a ledge of a building and looked down at the umbrellas bobbing along the sidewalk. You smiled gently at the thought of how all of them had their own lives, their own lovers, their own stories. You tried to make some up in your head, but each one was too complex to create.
Your cellphone buzzed in your pocket several times. You pulled it out to see Shoto calling you. Your mind calmed down as you answered the phone and heard his voice. "Y/N, where are you?" He asked. You proceeded to tell him, asking why he needed to know. "There's an emergency right next to where I am. Please come quickly," he requested. You hung up and hurried towards the location he sent you. You pulled down your mask aggressively as you sprinted towards the edge of the building and leaped. You shot a metal chain with a sharp grappling hook out of the palm of your hand and hooked it onto the edge of another building, swinging down towards the street. Shoto was your partner in crime. Every fan of yours assumed you were dating, but it was just two close friends fighting crime. Your individual strengths complimented each other nicely, making you a strong duo. You went to UA together and started an agency to rid the streets of crime.
Your feet hit the ground roughly as you ran and dragged the chain behind you. You arrived towards your destination before long and saw a huge fire in the street, burning despite the rain. Several heroes were gathered around, wielding weapons and quirks. You saw Todoroki sliding around the fire, icicles pouring out of him. You soon realized that the fire that was gathering all this attention was the villain. It shot flame after flame at some of the rookies that Todoroki was in charge of, the young heroes struggling to keep themselves safe. You ran up behind them and screamed, "Get back, kids! This guy could really hurt you!"
"Strontium, I can take them!" One of the teenagers shouted over the sound of the pouring rain. His drive reminded you of a certain explosive hero in your graduating class. You pushed the thought down and pulled the kids by their collars, or rather, capes, towards an empty street.
"It doesn't matter if you can or not, kid. We need you to protect civilians and evacuate them. Alright?" You commanded. They all nodded and ran off to find people to protect. You started whirling your chain over your head as you sprinted towards the commotion once again. You whipped your hook into the flame, summoning a yelp, a high-pitched one, from the criminal.
"Shoto, I think it's a woman," you shouted at him, trying not to let the criminal hear you.
"I figured that out already, Strontium. She needs to be calmed down before we can apprehend her, though. We can't touch her like this." You nodded and tried to find the best angle on the fire. You figured she must not be at her strongest, considering it was raining. In fact, you wondered how she could sustain herself so long without dying out.
"Hey, you!" You shouted at the woman. "Let me talk to you before I make you talk to me." You were met with a beautiful face behind columns of fire. Her skin glowed orange, her eyes burning you.
"You can't make me talk to you!" She yelled, shooting flames at you. You quickly dodged them, whipping your heavy chain at her again. You created a sword out of your body, wrapping your chain around her legs and tripping her. Todoroki saw his opportunity and covered her body in ice.
"I'm putting you out," he said flatly. You held the point of of your sword to her chin, seeing a terrified glint in her eyes.
"You can't." The ice encasing her started to melt and the chain that was wrapped around her legs rapidly heated up. "I'm not a person using fire. I am fire!" She shouted at you, your hand starting to burn from the chain. You dropped the chain and caught a glimpse of the burnt and bubbling skin on your hand. Tears stung at your eyes, and you were thankful no one could see because of the mask. Your chain was useless now, and you had no choice but to hold your sword tighter to her throat. She grabbed at the sword and heated that up too. You dropped it and backed off. The realization that you were no match for her was something you wouldn't want to admit to yourself. You looked at Shoto and he already knew you were in trouble. You had made her angry.
"You're gaining nothing from attacking innocent people like this! In the end we will catch you, so stop using your fire and surrender," Shoto prompted her. He laughed, a hint of sorrow in her voice.
"You don't understand. I was a normal kid until I was five, and suddenly I burst into flames, and I've been on fire ever since. My parents didn't want me so I've been fending for myself ever since. You can't stop me. And it's obvious you two are the worst match up for me," she explained. She already knew that she had power over you two. That didn't mean she was stronger, no, she couldn't hope to be stronger in a million years. She just had a good quirk.
"Even if you kill us, more people will come. You're not invincible," you hissed. You created several throwing knives and threw them at her while jumping around, dodging her flames. She did have a material body that wasn't just flame, because your knives would go into the fire and not come out the other end. Along with that, she would scream each time something hit her.
Suddenly she stopped attacking you and Shoto and focused her attention somewhere else. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw one of your apprentices running with a small child in his arms, cradling her head and whispering to her. Daiki Akage was his name, you thought. His hero name was Couldran, a play on the word cauldron. "Couldran, get out of here!" You screamed at him. But it was too late. You saw flames darting towards him. It wasn't just an attack, she was actually running towards him. He let the little girl down and told her to run as fast as she could. But before he could run away himself, he was lit on fire. Only his cape was aflame, so you ran towards him to try and put it out. Shoto was not far behind you.
You watched in horror as a fiery hand reach out to him and lit his whole costume on fire. He screamed, it was clear it was more than just his costume burning. You made a huge axe and threw it at her, but she caught it this time. She threw it back at you with immense strength. The blunt end of the axe hit you in the head, sending you toppling to the wet ground. Your vision was blurry, but you could see fire and ice shooting back and forth, Shoto was trying to save the young hero. Your heart leaped into your throat as you heard more screaming. You couldn't tell who was screaming though. You didn't know if it was Daiki, you, or the little girl. Before you could figure it out, you blacked out.
You woke up gingerly, confused and in pain. The room you were laying in was dark and empty, except for a few chairs. In one of the chairs sat a dark figure, although you couldn't tell who it was. It had its head in its hand, staring out the window. You looked over to the window to see what it was looking at, but all you saw was night. You tried to speak and ask what was going on, but your throat felt too dry. Finally, it noticed that your eyes were open. The person stood up, pulling the chair next to your bed. You realized it was Shoto. He handed you the glass of water next to you silently and helped you drink it.
"What happened?" you worried. You remembered what happened. You just didn't know the outcome. He sat down and placed his hands on yours, warming you up.
"How are you feeling?" He asked, his voice hoarse, as if he had been crying. But it wasn't like him to cry.
"My hand hurts. And my head. But I'm okay. Please tell me what happened," you begged. He looked into your eyes, then shied away. He looked at the floor, avoiding your gaze. Your throat felt tight, tears threatening to come. "Please, Shoto."
"They caught her. It took several heroes. There's two other people in the hospital," he explained.
"Where's Daiki? And the little girl?" You cried. A tear dropped off of his nose. You already knew.
"Daiki is gone. I couldn't get close enough to put him out. He was put on life support for a day, but we lost him. The little girl is fine though. Just very scared," he said softly. You were full-on sobbing now, guilt crashing down on you heavily. "I'm so sorry that I couldn't save him," he apologized. He wiped a tear from his scarred face, a rare expression of emotion from him.
"God, Shoto. It's not your fault. It's not your fault," you mumbled through your tears. You squeezed his hands despite the pain. "I'll never forgive myself. We were supposed to protect him. He was only 16 for gods sake!" You wailed.
"I know, I know. As heroes, we won't be able to forgive ourselves. His parents probably won't. But this pain is part of our job. We have to accept that we can't save everyone," he solemnly said. You set your jaw strong and nodded, trying to pull yourself together. Physical pain washed over your whole body from the grief. Your heart ached so bad, you could hardly bear to be awake. Shoto bent over to put his head on the edge of your bed, silently crying. He wasn't one to show emotion, but this rare expression showed how serious he took his job. His pain must have been just as much as yours, if not more. It was time for you to be a hero to him. As many times as he bailed you out of trouble, it was your turn.
You ran your fingers through his hair gently, making him look up at you. "It's going to be okay, Shoto," you whispered. His eyes traced yours, trying to figure you out. "I promise. As long as we're together, I'll save you." A tear fell from his eye onto his cheek, and you wiped it off.
"I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough," he said. He buried his head into the sheets again.
"You're strong enough for me. And you know how high my standards are," you joked dryly. You saw the corner of his mouth lift into a smile a little, making you feel relieved. You could do this. Even if you lost someone, you could take your life one step at a time. You knew that even if your heart hurt, even if your mind felt so pressed, that you would be okay.
