The Horizon and the Sea

Rising Tide...

Bakugo woke up before Kirishima. He thought about waking him to go walking with him but he wanted to let him rest after last night. It was still rather early in the morning, and Bakugo made his way to the beach to wander around while the air was still cool. He was still feeling somber from the night before. He tried his best to comfort Kirishima and he did still believe that everybody hadn't forgotten them. At least he hoped. He had reassured Kirishima that someone would come for them someday, but what if they never find them? What happens if they do stay here forever? What are they supposed to do if one of them gets seriously injured? Kirishima just got sick from the storm that passed through a few weeks ago. He didn't know what he would do if Kiri got seriously hurt. He walked mindlessly around the island when he saw the cliff they had sat at the night before. This part of the beach was typically covered by the tide so he hadn't come here. But now the tide was out and he could see the opening of a cave. He smirked.

"Kiri would probably love this," he turned around and made his way back to the plane to find a still sleeping Kiri. He shook him gently to wake him up. "Eiji, I found something, come on,"

"Bakugo?" he sat up rubbing his eyes.

"Yes, come on," Bakugo tugged on his arm, pulling him up and out of bed. Bakugo pulled him down towards the beach while he started waking up fully.

"Bakugo what exactly are you dragging me to?" he asked, the sleep still in his voice.

"You'll see! Just wait," Bakugo pulled him the rest of the way.

"Woah!"

"Yeah! It's a cave, wanna explore it?"

"Duh! Let's go!" Kirishima excitedly ran towards the cave, carefully climbing over the damp rocks. The two made their way inside the cave.

The cave was dark, with very little light from the entrance of the cave. The caverns were rather small, they could both touch the wet ceiling of the cavern. They sat in the dark for a moment before their eyes adjusted to the dark. They couldn't see much, but they stayed close enough to see each other. Once their eyes had adjusted Kiri spotted a small hole, large enough for them to crawl through at the back of the cave.

"Look it goes further in!"

"After you shitty hair," Kirishima excitedly crawled through the hole. Bakugo followed behind him. Kirishima stopped abruptly and Bakugo slammed his face into Kirishima's butt.

"Sorry, Bakugo," he heard him shout from in front of him. He stayed quiet and thanked his lucky stars that it was dark so that Kiri couldn't see the blush on his face. Kirishima climbed out and offered his hand to Bakugo. The two stepped into the expansive room.

"This place is huge,"

"ECHO!" Kirishima shouted, his voice echoing around the room.

"Wonder if there are any other entrances to this place,"

"Don't know, we could go further in, try to find out," Kiri suggested.

"Up to you,"

"Alright then, let's go," Kiri grabbed Bakugo's hand and led him further into the cave. They crawled through a few more tunnels, moving further and further into the cave system. They entered another room. The room sloped up from where they had entered and the ceiling was just out of reach at the highest point of the room. The two sat in the cave and talked, their voices bouncing off the walls around them. The area was serene and calmed Bakugo's mind. If Kirishima was here with him he was prepared to wait as long as he had to to get home. They sat and chatted until the sound of Bakugo's stomach growling interrupted their conversation.

"Let's go get something to eat," Kiri suggested.

"I am down for that," the two stood up and started towards the exit to the cave. Kirishima was ahead of Bakugo and sopped suddenly.

"Uh, slight problem,"

"What is it?"

"The tide, it came in,"

"What?" he walked around Kirishima and stepped into cold water that was quickly rising.

"Bakugo what do we do?"

"I.." he looked towards Kirishima, "I don't know," panic setting in. The two quickly made their way back to the highest point of the room. They tried to figure out what to do, but before long the water had risen to cover the entire floor of the cave. The water continued to rise, lifting them up towards the top of the cave. The two were breathing heavily, facing each other. Kirishima dipped under the water for a moment before surfacing again.

"There's nothing else, I don't think there's anywhere else to go," he said with heavy breaths.

"Can we get out the same way we got in?"

"Maybe, but I don't think there will be any more air till we get outside,"

"Do you think we can make it that far?"

"Maybe, I..." he paused and looked around frantically, "I don't know,"

"And that was the only way in?"

"Yeah, we're stuck," he breathed heavily and a tear rolled down his face. "Katsuki, I'm scared," Bakugo swallowed hard.

"Me too, I..." he thought for a moment, a crushing weight rolling over him. "Can..." he paused, his words getting caught in his throat, "Can you still use your quirk right now?" he asked, despair clear in his voice.

"Yeah, how will that help?"

"I... I can get you out, but you just have to trust me, ok?"

"But what about you? What are you talking about?" Kirishima said panicked.

"Please, Eijiro just," he choked back a tear, "just trust me, please," he pushed himself away from Kirishima slightly.

"Katsuki what are you doing?"

"I can blast a hole, I can..." he breathed deeply, "I can get you out, I can save you," he turned away from Kirishima. There was less than a foot of air left in the cave, the water still rising.

"Katsuki no, that will cause everything to cave you, you won't survive that!" Kirishima's voice was laced with fear, "I won't leave here without you!" Kirishima brought Bakugo closer to him, holding him in the water.

"Please, Eijiro, I love you, please just, let me save you," Bakugo pleaded with him. He was prepared to sacrifice himself if it meant that Eijiro would live. If it meant that there was even a chance that Eijiro would get home he was happy to risk it, even if everything ended for him here.

"I won't let you do that!"

"Yes, you will, please, live for me Eiji, make it home and tell everyone how much they meant to me, please," Bakugo struggled to get the words out. Both of them were now in tears, holding each other in the cold water.

"Katsuki I... I can't" the water rose around them leaving almost no room to breathe. Kirishima grabbed onto Bakugo's face and pulled them together, connecting their lips just as the room finished filling with water. The two kissed in the water for a moment before Kirishima pulled away. He wrapped his hand around Bakugo's wrist and activated his quirk, locking the two together. He dragged the two of them towards the exit. He hardened his mouth and nose to keep in as much air as possible. He could feel Bakugo swimming along behind him. They made it into the large room and it was getting hard for Kiri to breathe. He felt Bakugo's strength leave him. Dread washed over him as he tried to find the hole that leads outside. His hand felt around the sharp walls, and he finally found the hole. He pulled both of them out of the cave, breaching the surface of the water. Kirishima breathed deeply and pulled Bakugo up out of the water, horror washing over him as he saw Bakugo limp in his arms. He dragged them both to shore and tried to catch his breath.

"Bakugo, please, no" he cried, bringing his hand up to his mouth. He was shaking as he started CPR. He pressed down on Bakugo's chest, his own chest heaving with sobs. He opened Bakugo's mouth and tried to breathe life back into his lifeless friend. He continued until his arms went numb. He placed his head down on Katsuki's chest and cried.

"You can't be gone, please just, come back to me," he sobbed, not holding back any of his tears. "Katsuki please, I love you too, just let me say it, please, I just want you to hear it,"