Fuselage

☆~☆ Chapter 3 ☆~☆

The sun rippled over his head, casting patterns of shadow and light to dance over his skin as he swam through the water. It was summer. He could feel the heat beating through the thin layer of ocean separating him from the surface. Katsuki knew if he surfaced it'd be a sweltering day. Shadows and shapes moved above, familiar but too distorted to recognize. Muffled noises. Exaggerated motions.

They were calling to him. But he had dived below for... for a reason. For a reason. And he could hold his breath for longer. So on he swam. Deeper. Colder. Darker.

They were yelling now, but at what he wasn't sure and Katsuki wasn't ready to go back up. He was looking for... for something. He had lost something. The more he tried to remember what the less he could remember. Turning with a kick the water slid around his body, hugging him as he sliced through to the sandy bottom. Fingers dug through the wet muck, churning it up, blurring his vision, getting in his eyes.

The voices were louder, something above splashed in a way he felt more than heard. A shadow fell over him. He felt a tug at his ankle, a heavy weight pulling him back. Desperately he fought the thing tugging at him. Fingers scrambled for purchase in the fine silt below, feet kicking blindly. Finally he connected, feeling his attacker grunt and retreat. Curiously Katsuki turned to look.

Pink hair floated like a cloud, yellow eyes glowed, wounded and hurt. A dark arm wrapped around her ribs where his heel had dug in.

Mina? He watched the pink hair fall back, retreat to the surface.

Had he come to the river with them? The beach? Why was he here? What had he lost? What was he looking for? He didn't know, but still he looked. The soft sand turning to coarse grit that caught under his nails and hung heavy in his hair and skin. It was dark out now. Night had fallen so quickly. His lungs burned, hot and painful but not so much he needed air. The water wasn't clear as it had been. Panicked his fingers dug, hands stuck up to his forearms as he dredged in the sand, pulling up shells and shoes and forgotten trinkets from people he'd never met, never would.

Another tug, this time at his knees. Panic gripped him and he yelled, air escaping. Quickly he shut his mouth, whipping around, hands retreating from their place. It was hard to see, the shadow tugging and pulling.

No! Katsuki cried, No!

Again he lashed out, fists flying, nails digging in.

Hands moved to grip his wrists, golden eyes widened, the familiar black streak in his hair. Denki had come. Denki with his bad eyes at night. Denki to call him back to the shore, to pull him up with Mina.

That hurt Katsuki somehow. He looked up to the surface, knowing Denki glanced up too. Reluctantly he pulled back, planting his heels solidly in Denki's chest. Before he could kick off the blond released him, shaking his head, hands held up.

'Okay.' He said without saying anything. 'Okay. I'll leave.' Before swimming away into the darkness, vanishing.

It left him feeling... betrayed in a ridiculous way. Hurt. Did he want Denki to fight him? Did he want more of a struggle? Renewed vigor blossomed in his chest. Again, desperate, Katsuki turned to the watery depths. Further down, darker. Somehow the stars were down here, so was the sun. The water danced in purple and red tones around him, fish swam and still he searched. Starfish scuttled over his arms leaving trails of galaxies to dance in their wake.

He searched frantic. His lungs screamed, his vision danced black at the edges, tears fell unnoticed for the water. Armfuls of sand and stone, pebbles catching under his nails, making them bleed as he dug. But he couldn't stop. He couldn't stop. He'd die down here if he had to. He had to find it. He had to find it.