Fire Ushiten Iwaoi

Let Me Take This Challenge

Disclaimer: all characters in this story are the property of Haruichi Furudate. I own nothing but the plot. The art does not belong to me. Author-chan out!

Ushjima's POV

"Roger!" Wakatoshi yelled back, putting his own blanket over him. He too ran into the flames and tried to open Oikawa's door with his hands, but the hot metal burned him. He cussed and punched the door, leaving a large dent in the wood. He punched it again. On the third time, the door broke. Ushijima shoved his broad shoulders through the gap and forced his way inside.

Oikawa was collapsed by the door on his back. His eyes were open, but teardrops from the smoke made him practically blind. Coughs racked him.

"Iwa-chan?" he asked, reaching a hand out blindly.

"He's outside. I'm Ushijima," Ushijima replied. He lifted Oikawa bridal style and ran outside. The setter whimpered and huddled close to his declared enemy. A fiery coal burned through the blanket and scorched Wakatoshi's shoulder. He swore filthily and ripped the blanket off, shoving the coal away in the process. He covered Tooru with his own body as best he could and ran through the broken door. Tiny flamelets fell onto the ace, catching his shirt on fire. Ushijima hissed in pain. Holding Oikawa to his chest, he dropped to the ground and rolled, squashing the flames. Tooru screamed with terror and confusion, unable to see what was happening.

The flamelets extinguished, Wakatoshi got back up, still carrying Tooru. Ushijima looked across the hallway. His declared enemy stood there, holding Tendou. Relief washed over Ushijima.

The aces made eye contact. They shared a moment of wordless understanding. Moving in tandem, they ran for the stairwell, leaping and bounding over fiery debris. By some miracle, the stairs were still there. They sprinted down the steps. But the fire was already there, devouring everything in it's path. Pieces of the building fell like rain, often taking parts of the stairs with them. It was like a minefield of hellfire. Flames encased the walls, the roof. Smoke billowed everywhere, making them all cough and choke constantly.

Satori and Tooru were in and out of consciousness. They coughed constantly. They had been asleep when the fire started, so they had breathed in more smoke than Wakatoshi and Hajime. The aces kept moving, knowing they were dead if they stopped now.

By some miracle, they made it to the fourth floor relatively unharmed. There was a clear space on the stairway landing. The aces beelined for it. They paused for a split second.

"Here! Switch!" Iwaizumi shouted over the deafeningly loud fire. He passed Tendou to Ushijima, who gave Oikawa to Iwaizumi. 

Satori twitched. He felt Wakatoshi's face with weak fingers. "Who…? Wakatoshi?"

"Yes! It's me!" Wakatoshi hugged his love to his chest, gripping him tightly. He felt Satori quiver and go limp. "Satori!" He yelled, but no answer. The redhead was unconscious.

Oikawa couldn't see either, but he touched Iwaizumi's spiky hair in much the same way. "Iwa-chan?" he murmured. "You came back."

"Of course I did! I'll always come back,  Tooru!" Oikawa's hand fell back. His eyes closed, unconscious. "Tooru!"

The aces looked at each other and simultaneously started running again.

When they got to the ground floor, Wakatoshi and Hajime shared a moment of mutual understanding. They turned their backs to the outside exit and ran towards it. They hit it at the same moment and broke through the door together. They fell backward, spilling onto the pavement. Iwaizumi and Ushijima kept their boyfriends on top of them, taking all the impact for themselves. They got up and turned around.

The aces were facing a team of staring firefighters. They held woodcutters and hammers. They had tried to break down the door. Then emergency personnel swarmed the four males. Wakatoshi and Hajime gently deposited Satori and Tooru onto gurneys. 

Tooru clung to Hajime. "Don't leave me!" The blind brunette begged. Satori was still unconscious. Ushijima and Iwaizumi glanced at each other. Screams from the hotel answered the question for them.

Iwaizumi caressed Oikawa's face. "I'll come back, I promise." As one, the aces turned and ran back into the hotel, ignoring the shouting firefighters. They knew the layout. The firefighters didn't.

Ushijima and Iwaizumi turned a corner, following the screams. They stopped, mouths open in horror.

A young woman was pinned to the floor by a fallen wooden beam by her legs. The beam was supporting the ceiling, stopping it from collapsing on all of them. She clutched a wailing baby to her breasts. One end of the beam was on fire, and the flames were rapidly approaching the trapped woman. She struggled to move, but the wood was too heavy for her to lift.

Moving in concert, Wakatoshi and Hajime ran to her. They lifted the beam off her, trying to stay away from the fast moving flames. She squirmed out of the way, but didn't get up. Ushijima realized why.

"Her leg's broken!" He yelled to Iwaizumi.

The spiky haired male gritted his teeth. "Take her and go!"

"No!" 

"This beam is the only thing holding the roof up! Do you want the hotel to fall on us?! If we drop it, we'll all die!"

Wakatoshi gritted his teeth. "I'm stronger than you, I'll hold-"

"No you're not!" Hajime screamed at him. "I'm stronger! For once in my fucking life! Let me be better at something, asshole!  Let me take this challenge! I'll win this!"

Almost imperceptibly, Ushijima nodded. He scooped up the woman and the baby carefully. Iwaizumi now held up the crushing weight of the huge beam and the floors above them alone. He threw his head back, his muscular arms straining. 

"GO!" 

"I'll be back," Ushijima said. He turned and ran for the exit, leaving Iwaizumi behind.

He made it through the outside door just as the building collapsed entirely, burying Iwaizumi Hajime inside.