Karma(Vigilante Deku)

Chapter 43

"You're Shigiraki."

The man's grin widens, every little crack becoming prominent on his face. It happens almost instantaneously, the way the hand that was previously dangling by Hitoshi's shoulder effortlessly slides to his throat, only a single finger still hovering over the area, teasingly so. Hitoshi tenses up, all life sucked from his face. It takes everything within him to not gulp, to not give in to the dryness of his throat. Cautiously, Hitoshi directs his gaze to observe Bakugo's condition. Facing the exact same threat, the other teen seems just as uneasy. His shoulders are tense and it seemed to take a lot out of him just to return Hitoshi's gaze.

"You know me?" Shigiraki questions, the source of his chilling voice just inches away from Hitoshi, lowered so only the two students could hear. "I don't remember ever having met you?"

Hitoshi could practically hear his heart beating out of his chest. He takes a shaky breath, his gaze directly set on the floor and unchanging. "I-i've been shown a p-photo. From the USJ attack." Hitoshi can hear Bakugo audibly gasp but he doesn't even dare look over to him, one wrong motion and he would no longer have a neck.

"Oh really?" The villian drawls. "Since you know who I am, I'm guessing you know how my quirk works as well?"

Hitoshi wants to nod but then he remembers he doesn't have that luxury so instead forces his words through. "Y-yes." He croaks, his throat dry and closing up.

"What about your friend here? He doesn't seem to fully understand the full scope of what's happening right now. You still know me as a reporter don't you?" The villian directs his words at Bakugo.

"Y-you're Shigiraki?" Hitoshi has never heard the teens voice sound so scared before, it was a definite given considering the situation but it still made Hitoshi uneasy nonetheless. It made the butterflies in his stomach become more violent, his heart beating faster as every part of his body was itching to move, to run, to get far, far away from here.

Shigiraki grins, seeming pleased with their reactions. "Act naturally." He demands with a smile on his face, his finger wondering teasingly closer towards their necks in warning. "Let's go sit down why don't we. No odd behaviour, you hear me. The second all five fingers are wrapped around your neck you'll both be nothing but piles of dust in an instant."

"If you do that the hero's will catch you." Bakugo snarls.

"Oh but look around." The villian says, a manic grin on his face. "How many of these innocent people do you think I could manage to kill in the time it would take for a hero to arrive." That's a good point. The two of them are meant to be heroes yet they're in such a helpless situation. Innocent bystanders could never stand a chance.

"Walk."

The two follow Shigiraki's command as they take cautious steps, painfully aware of the distance between Shigiraki's finger and their demise. He guides them over to a nearby bench where he forces them to take a seat. Hitoshi risks sparing Bakugo another glance. He sees the way the blonds hand twitches, urging him to move, to blow the villians head right off. Wait blow the villians head off? His quirk, Hitoshi could use his quirk.

It happens so quickly. The way dread suddenly invades his body, seeping into every part of his being. In the heat of the moment he had forgotten about his quirk, forgotten about the easiest method he had to get both him and Bakugo out of this situation. But he can't. Believe it or not he's scared, too scared to even open his mouth, to speak, to trap the villian under his command.

Shigiraki is talking, preaching even, Hitoshi isn't sure. His mind can't help but wonder from the conversation at the violent pulsating of his heart beat and the mental urge to speak, say something, do something, anything.
He knows he should probably be gauging some information from the villian while he's here, while the villian is being nice and keeping them alive, but Hitoshi can't hear a single word. He can only hear his blood racing, his breath quickening, his throat tensing up. He has to speak, has to say something, do something, anything.