Chapter Thirty-Three

Hiroto is a strong fighter. From what I understand about her quirk so far, it's some sort of wind/air manipulation that she uses. Still, where there should be limits to what she can do, she doesn't seem to have any of them and holding my own against her has been next to impossible. I struggle to stand now, rasping in breaths from the barrage of suffocation attacks as she dives at me from the sky again, using the wind to carry her. My body feels weak, my heartbeat not as easy to control... truthfully, I could force out some pretty powerful attacks, but that would cost me energy I don't have. If I try to expend it all now... I won't be able to make it to Bakugo. I'm already on unsteady legs when it comes to that, but I can't give up.

"I won't let you win" I growl breathlessly, holding up my shaking hands in front of me and sweeping one of my legs back to help me keep my balance. My heart rate isn't as strong as it was before so the energy burning through me now is less solid than I'd like. It doesn't matter. I have to keep fighting. Hiroto laughs, flashing a wide grin full of teeth as she comes at me like a harpy. I take a deep breath and release my energy, watching it pour into her wave after wave. She fumbles backward through the air, trying to stay upright, but my energy blasts her over and over again, making it difficult for her to get her bearings. Maybe the energy I have when my heartbeat slows isn't as useless as I thought. I might be able to make more solid and precise attacks when I can get my heart rate up, but for moments like this? Having a more widespread attack is actually beneficial. It feels like we've been going at this for hours, but just when I feel like I've won, something snakes around my neck and pulls, biting into my skin. I yelp, stumbling to my knees as the familiar strands of barbed wire tighten around me. No... damn it... I can't fight off two of them by myself. They're too strong.

"Easy... Razor..." a voice says and my eyes widen as he circles around to stand in front of me. He doesn't wear a mask this time and I can see that he's far younger than I originally thought, blonde hair styled away from his face and green eyes shining even in the darkness. My heart stalls, fear making my stomach clench and body shake. Hiroto lands in the distance, staring at me furiously. The razor wire relaxes, but it's still tight enough to cut. I wince.

"Wh-what do you want?" I manage through gritted teeth, wishing I wasn't so terrified. Something about this guy unsettles me more than anything I've ever experienced... he smiles, regarding me with interest.

"I have to say... I thought it'd be harder to get you alone" he admits, making my blood run cold.

"What do you want with me?" I growl. Where are the pro heroes? Where are my friends when I need them? Was this their plan all along? Don't tell me... it was me they were after...

"I'd planned on having this conversation much later, but, it seems fate is on my side. Don't you think?" the blonde muses. Fury washes over me. He's toying with me.

"I'll destroy you" I snarl in a whisper. My body is exhausted and my lungs ache with how much I've been heaving, but I refuse to back down. I refuse to be his prey. I don't care how powerful he is. He chuckles, a venomous light in his eyes.

"That's what I'm so intrigued by. Your tenacity" he breathes. I glare at him, allowing my body to relax so I can focus on my energy instead. My heart speeds up in my chest and I can feel the energy rolling over me. Without anyone attacking me directly... I have enough time to regain my control.

"You've seen what my team can do, gone up against them and lived to tell the tale. You're a powerful warrior, don't get me wrong, but isn't there more to be had? Aren't you curious? About your untapped potential?" he asks, eyeing me the way an appraiser might eye a rare gem. I only glare harder.

"I'm not interested in anything you have to offer" I spit and he laughs, a full on belly aching laugh that rots me to my core. I take a deep breath... focus, Kaida. As my pulse climbs, I let it unravel out of my body, whipping around me like a hurricane and snatching the villains with it. Hiroto goes flying, slamming into a tree and digging her fingers into it to stay upright, the blonde hurtles off to the side, disappearing into the foliage, and Razor behind me gets thrown around too, yanking the thread of razors with him before it disintegrates. I cry out as it slices across my neck allowing blood to seep down over my chest and into my shirt. It wasn't a deep enough cut to kill, but the blood loss might get me if I let it go on long enough. Still, that should give me plenty of time to escape... or at least to find other heroes. I leap up and launch myself into the air, wincing with every movement as I use my energy to propel me through the trees at a much faster rate. Come on... come on!

I ignore the blood making my skin slick and the pain in my limbs, I ignore the stuttering of my heart and the weakness in my body. I just need to find someone. Anyone... I stumble against one of the trees, tripping into the grass and struggling to right myself before I can keep running. There has to be someone around here somewhere! I run harder, heart pounding almost as badly as my head, and when I finally enter another small clearing I hear an all too beautifully familiar sound. Shiori's voice, rising above the forest and the sounds of battle. Shiori... I start to run towards the sound, relief washing over me, but the sound of her voice hits me all at once, echoing through my brain and making my entire body sag. No... no it's too late... her quirk takes me out almost instantly, the last battle wearing me out too much for me to have any hope of fighting it. I trip, slamming into the ground and rolling at full force into the base of an enormous tree. Darkness swallows me without warning and my body falls completely limp. Who would've thought that my sister... would be the one to end me.

_____________

When I come to I'm in Recovery Girl's office again, head pounding and body exhausted. I sit up slowly, scrubbing my eyes with my hands and letting out a pained breath.

"What the hell happened?" I rasp.

"Ah, you're finally up" Recovery Girl says, walking over to me. I look up at her, wincing.

"Where is everyone? The villain attack...?" I ask, panic shooting through me. I try to stand from the edge of the bed, but a sharp pain shoots through my head, forcing me to sit back down. Shit.

"Everyone is fine... the attack was stopped successfully before there were any real injuries... aside from yours, of course" she replies, examining my face with scrutiny. I stare at her in disbelief. The masked villains... did they... did they really leave everyone unharmed? I shake my head.

"Easy does it" Recovery Girl says, grabbing my shoulder and leaning forward to kiss me on the forehead. I squeeze my eyes shut as the healing begins, working through my body and stitching me back up instantly. My lungs relax, my head falls silent, and the jagged wounds that must've been stitched before, heal up with an intense rush of itching. I sigh heavily, glad it's over even if it leaves me intensely exhausted.

"Thank you" I murmur, but she looks even more worried.

"Mr. Aizawa is going to want to speak with you" she informs me and all I can do is nod. I know he will... but I don't know if I'll have any answers for him.

"How did I get here? Who found me?" I wonder, trying to picture it. Recovery Girl pats my arm.

"Hold on" she tells me before walking over to the infirmary door and opening it to pop her head out for a moment.

"You can come in now" I hear her say and when the door opens, Shiori all but hurtles through it, racing across the room and throwing herself at me, followed much more slowly by Shinsou and Bakugo. Shiori hugs me tightly, body shaking with emotion and I hug her back slowly.

"Ow" I manage beneath her grip. When she pulls away, her expression is a mixture of fear, anger, and relief.

"You idiot! You scared the hell out of me!" she scolds, wiping tears away from her already red rimmed eyes. I blink at her, shaking my head.

"What did I do?" I ask and I can tell she'd hit me if I didn't just recover from an injury.

"What did you do? Who the hell do you think found you out cold with your throat slit in the middle of the forest?" she demands, a wild look in her eyes. Guilt eats me.

"I'm sorry... I tried to find someone, but..." I trail off, eyes finding their way to Bakugo again. He stands back with Shinsou, quiet and still as a statue, but his eyes speak volumes and I can only imagine what it would've been like for him... whether or not he was even there at the time...

"No one knew exactly what happened until they brought you to me. I was able to determine that it was most likely Shiori's voice that did you in at the end considering your previous injuries... but you gave the three of them quite the scare" Recovery Girl says, filling in another blank. So all of them were there last night... that must've been awkward. Shiori smacks my arm as if she can read my mind.

"It's not funny you jerk! We thought you were dead!" she snaps and the realization hits me. I swallow, feeling bad for making light of the situation.

"I'm sorry, Shiori" I tell her honestly. She gives me a long stare, her eyes conveying a million things that I just don't have the energy to decipher.

"What happened?" she asks me quietly. The masked villains flash through my memory... Hiroto, the barbed wire, the man with the blonde hair... fear courses through me and I meet Bakugo's eyes again. Only he knows... only he could understand. I clench my jaw, remembering the three of them and the way they held my life in their hands in that moment. My escape last night was lucky.

"It wasn't a random attack" I say. Bakugo's face grows very serious, eyes boring into mine.

"What do you mean? What's going on?" Shiori demands and I have to rip my eyes away from Bakugo's to look at her.

"The masked villains. They were here. They must've planned the whole thing... I don't... I don't know why or what their plan is. But they came after me" I tell her. The room falls silent, everyone staring at me seriously.

"The masked villains... they're the organization we've been investigating?" Shinsou asks. I nod. I can see the fury growing in Bakugo's eyes, but I can't address him here. Not when anything that might be said is likely to be too personal for me to endure with anyone else around.

"We've been trying to figure out who and what they are... last night I was attacked by three of them. The one Deku captured, Hiroto, Razor, and the leader" I tell him. Bakugo's fists clench immediately, smoke curling out of them at the mention of it. We had a difficult enough time trying to fight them one on one let alone one against three...

"How did Hiroto escape? Does the hero association know about this? What about the police?" Shinsou demands. I give him a flat, irritated stare. Is he aware that I just woke up or does he think he's some kind of detective?

"Your guess is as good as mine, Barney. Can you give it a rest? I literally just got the energy sucked out of my body" I retort. He grimaces, a look of distaste on his face.

"Okay, look. I'll come by your room later, okay?" Shiori interrupts, immediately going to his side to prevent any further confrontation. My heart wrenches and I want more than anything to ask her to stay, but I nod instead.

"Okay... be careful" I tell her. She gives me a stern look.

"You be careful" she replies. I nod, offering her a strained smile before she ushers Shinsou out of the room and leaves me, Bakugo, and Recovery Girl alone. I let out a breath, looking between the two of them.

"Oh! I'll go let Shota know you're awake" Recovery Girl says suddenly, walking out of the room in a hurry. I blink after her. Clever old lady... I look up at Bakugo once she's gone, finally noticing all of the details I didn't before. He looks exhausted... dark circles beneath his eyes, body rigid... he looks like hasn't slept in days.

"You okay?" I ask him and he glares at me, a look on his face I've never seen before.

"How could you try to fight them alone?" he demands, a quiet fury in his voice. I shake my head, unable to find an answer for him.

"I didn't try to... they found me, Katsuki. Not the other way around" I tell him and he clenches his fists again.

"Do you have any idea what that was like for me? Finding you like that?" he asks in a breath, his voice shaking with his anger. My heart squeezes, stomach knotting.

"I didn't..."

"I know you didn't mean to! I get it!" he shouts, eyes widening immediately after like he doesn't understand his own reaction. He looks up at me, a sort of panic in his eyes. He doesn't even look like he's here right now... his gaze is so far away. What happened last night? When he and Shiori found me... what did they see? I can only imagine how bad it must've looked, even if Recovery Girl determined it wasn't what they thought, all they would've seen is me completely unresponsive, neck slick with fresh blood, and body completely wrecked after my fight with Hiroto.

"Katsuki..." I try, but he hardly even notices me. That look in his eyes... my chest hurts just thinking about what he must be feeling. What I would be feeling if it had been him. I get up and walk towards him, ignoring the soreness and lethargy.

"Katsuki, hey..." I repeat, placing both of my hands on either side of his face. His eyes finally focus on me, exhaustion taking over every other emotion as he sags against me, bumping his forehead against mine.

"I thought I lost you" he admits after a while and I wrap my arms around him instinctively, holding him close.

"I'm okay" I whisper, but it doesn't seem to be enough. Bakugo wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me tightly against him, leaning down to bury his face against my neck. My heart races, eyes widening at the action. He's always been a mostly physical person, but this is different. The way he holds me now... there's a softness there that I've never felt from him before. An emotion that's so out of the ordinary for him that it scares me. Bakugo is usually so hot headed and stubborn... a guy without a filter, so seeing him this way, feeling him hold me like he's afraid I might just evaporate, has a jarring effect. For him to feel this way... how must he feel about me? For me to understand that feeling? How must I feel about him? We stand like this for a while, neither of us saying anything, but I don't think we need to. At least when it comes to this, we both know exactly how the other is feeling and what the other needs. There's no question that neither of us wants to let go any time soon, so we just don't. In fact, we don't even move from this spot for as long as we're able, the two of us hanging onto whatever this is between us and hoping that it's strong enough to keep us afloat.