Light Within The Shadows(Aizawa x Reader Agent!AU)

Ch 25: ...A Fear...

(3rd P.O.V.)

"...yeah, they were here. No, she's fine. She took out the bullet. When it was inspected, scientists found that it was set to cancel her Quirk out for good and then kill her. Yeah, we'll stay here for now."

Shouta hung up the phone and grabbed the flowers he bought downstairs. He walked down the bright sanitary hallway of the hospital. He made his way to the room where his friend lay. (Y/N) was laying in bed with an IV hooked up to her while she was in bed. Her skin was awfully pale and there were bandages on her neck from the knife wound she had, and it would most likely result in a scar. 

Shouta placed the flowers inside a vase and brought a chair up to the bedside. Seeing her in the hospital like this only brought an unsettling fear which rested in his heart. This was supposed to be a vacation. Now, how were they going to enjoy the festival? (Y/N) is going to be stuck here and the festival is in one day.

Shouta looked at her hands and took them into his own. He rubbed his thumb over them and brought them to his forehead, closing his eyes tightly. "Please, wake up soon..."

(Y/N's P.O.V.)

Man, getting shot point-blank kinda sucks. I could be out for god knows how long? 

Anyways, I can't lie asleep without knowing Shouta is okay. I will myself back into consciousness, and the first thing I feel is someone holding my hand in theirs. I could feel a small breath on my fingertips and a voice reverberated in my ears.

"Please, wake up soon..."

"...sh...hou...Shouta?" I didn't realize how dry my throat was. I cleared my throat and opened my eyes as wide as I could. Shouta, looking more dishevelled than ever, looked up at me in relief. The tension and panic in his eyes turned to solace. 

In the heat of the moment, he took me in his arms and I wasted no time in returning the hug. I pursed my lips together and inhaled his scent: the slightly tangy scent of coffee mixed with the faint smell of his cologne. He reminded me of a quiet rainy morning on my balcony with a nice latte. The hug was calming, and at this moment I could fully relax feeling peace settle in my bones. 

I gripped his shirt, ecstatic that he was still alive and okay. "You're safe!"

"What about you?! I heard a gunshot and learned that you were shot at point-blank range! What happened?!" Shouta wasted no time interrogating me.

I tried recalling what happened, then I remembered it all. How Akui had grown in power, and how he used that power to change my best memories into his greatest weapon. He contorted all those thoughts and hurt me with them. And even on the train, my dream...where he...killed Shouta. What if he grew his powers even further? What if he used them on the people I care about? How do I fight back now that Akui's grown stronger?!

"I don't know...he, he grew stronger. He was using the drugs from the Precepts to boost his Quirk, and he didn't just use fear to hurt me, he manipulated my very memories and turned them against me! It hurt, but as much as it did, there's one thing I fear more."

Shouta listened intently. "Anything else?"

I thought about my nap on the train and the dream I had. "When I...fell asleep on the train, I had a dream. But it felt more live a vision or premonition. It was so real. There was fire everywhere and I was injured. There was someone unconscious near me, and when I reached them, it was you. You were heavily injured and you weren't waking up. And then, Akui comes in and brings...out his razor knife...and-"

"It's okay. You don't need to finish." Shouta stroked the back of my head and pulled back from the hug. "If it's too much, you don't need to say anything more. I understand your fear; it's well-placed. But it will be okay. We'll have no choice but to face him again, and when we do...