Skyline (Aizawa X Oc)

The Dragon pt. 2

Shota stared blankly, a vague ringing sound drowned out any other noise. Everything moved in slow motion.
Chieko's head rolled limply into his lap. He stared down at her, willing her to move. To open her eyes and say his name. Blood pooled on the ground around them.
Gently, he slid her from his lap and stood.
He didn't want to leave her here, alone again, but it would be even worse to let Tatsuo walk out of this building alive.
Tatsuo would not leave this place breathing.

With a grunt of rage, Shota threw himself up the stairs and skidded to a stop behind Tatsuo.

He stopped and turned to Shota, smirking, "What? Should I tell you how she was? Or would you prefer to watch?"

Shota's stomach lurched, his eyes stung with tears, but his face remained stoic. His heart was pounding out of his chest and his mind racing.

Tatsuo will die, today.

Leisurely, Tatsuo pulled his phone from his pocket, still smirking, and tapped at the screen. Chieko's screams began to echo from the phone, through the nearly empty building.

Hot rage blinded Shota and he shot forward.
He slapped the phone to the ground, at that same momemt Tatsuo landed and hard blow to his jaw, sending him back but hed managed to swat the knife and phone out of Tatsuo's grip, both clattering away.
The phone cracked hard against the concrete floor, but the video still played, the sounds of her cries and pleas beating into Shota's soul and echoing throughout the large building.
" I wasn't there for her. She needed me and I was useless." His heart sank lower and lower, "this is my fault."
His head filled with guilt and anger and unadulterated rage.
He shook his head to clear the thoughts and leapt forward again, swooping low to grab the knife before coming back up to land his elbow squarely into Tatsuo's thick neck. He raised it to smash another blow into Tatsuo's kneck once more but one of his men intervened, and stepped up to counter Eraserhead's blows. He tried to pull Shota's body off but was too slow. Shota threw his weight into the man and wrapped his arm around the thug's neck and pulled tight.
The man managed to land a few hard blows to Shota's ribs but he refused to release his grip on the man's kneck. Slowly cutting off air as the mans struggles became weaker.
He looked up to Tatsuo who had stumbled back a few steps, "I won't rest until you're dead." Shota said flatly, and in a quick angry swipe, Shota pulled the same knife used to end Chieko across thug's neck and watched the life drain from him. Tatsuo's face gleaned in rage, he seemed to double in size and stepped forward again to fight  but his men pulled him to run. The police were drawing near. Their lights were visible through the open door and boarded windows.
"Boss, we gotta go. Leave him. She's dead we can come back for him." The thugs nearly dragged Tatsuo's raging form away

It felt like every ounce of anger and energy drained from Shota's body in that instant. He felt numb. He'd barely eaten or slept in days.
He collapsed backwards onto the concrete, exhausted.
Finally his ears stopped ringing with rage, the dullness faded and he heard it.
The video was still playing.
Chieko's screams we're still bouncing off of every wall and grating against his ears. He winced and crawled toward the cracked glowing screen. He stared down at it, through the cracks her tear stained bloody face was visible.
His arms felt weak, he felt like he might throw up.
After a few feeble attempts at tapping the broken screen Shota yelled out, "ENOUGH."  and swung the butt of the knife into the phone. Over and over he bashed it until it was in pieces all around him and the video had long since stopped playing.

He looked around at the dilapidated hide out. This was all it took to destroy their lives? He expected some grand scheme and instead found trash lurking in some run down cellar playing cards and terrorizing the locals. None of his men stayed to help.
Shota sat up again, his shoulders stiff. How many of them had that same recording hidden away in their phones?
A bitter chill ran down his spine.

He slowly turned his head to stare at the door to the basement. Chieko was still down there. Alone, in the dirt. His breath caught in his throat.
Slowly, he pushed himself up to stand, but his knees felt weak and useless.
Red and blue light began to flicker across the walls. Kenji had finally arrived.

He stepped forward and peered in.
There she lay. Motionless.
His feet dragged as he walked to her.
It felt like eons to take those few steps to her. Like his feet were lead weights.
He collapsed at her side and gently rand a finger along her jaw.
"Chieko?" He knew she wouldn't answer.
He just wanted to hear her again.
Shota let his shoulders sink and his head fall as he drew in a deep wracking breath and pulled her body against his chest.
He sat silently sobbing with his face buried in her hair.
Vaguely, he heard the police rush in. Everything sounded so far away.

All Shota could hear were her screams playing over and over again in his head. She called out for him, and he wasn't there. He was too late.