Forest Spirits [Completed]

Losing Hope?

~Third Person~

The group watched as the vines enclosed further in on Izuku, his body dropping to the ground. Ejirou reached out to the vine barrier, but a shock wave was sent down his arm. He brought his arm back, rubbing it as he glanced to his friends. They all stood silently as they cast wary glances at each other.

"W...what should we do...?" Denki asked, breaking the silence.

"We... we have to get him out of this... vine barrier," Ejirou replied as he knelt down beside the barrier. He tried to place his hand back on it, but jolted it away as soon as the zap hit. "Hey Izuku? Can you hear me?"

He received no answer. A sigh left his lips as he tried calling out the spirits' name again. The spirit inside made no attempt to reply as he curled in on himself, making himself as small as possible. Tears were flowing from his eyes, his mouth pressed into a thin line as he chocked back sobs. Izuku soon heard Ejirou stand up and move away to talk with the others. Izuku's eyes fluttered open as he stared at the vines that enclosed him. He brought his hands to his face and rubbed at his eyes, quietly sniffling. He listened to the quiet murmur of his friends as he lay still, shoulders rising slightly with each breath.

"Why...? All I want is to connect with myself again... so why? Why does this world stop me?" Izuku muttered, eyes closing once more as he fell asleep, tears slowly stopping.

The group outside stopped talking as they caught sight of the vines moving. They pulled back to the spirit laying inside, slowly but surly revealing the wavering boy, his body slightly transparent. Denki and Ejirou rushed over, turning the spirit over to see he was asleep. Ejirou picked him up as Shouto grabbed his body. They set them in a tent, a few inches separating the spirit and body.

"So what the f*ck are we supposed to do now?" Katsuki asked, staring down from the spirit and body to Denki.

"I'm not sure. Let's just wait until he wakes up. From there, we still have other ways of merging the two. But, until we can, I'm not sure how long he'll last. Just look at him. He's slowly disappearing day by day. If we can't get him back in his body, then we might loose him for good." Denki replied, eyes glancing down as he trailed off into a murmur.

"There has to be a way to get him back in his body, right?" Shouto asked, voice unsure as he spoke.

His eyes cast wary glances at the others, lips pressed into a thin line. They all tensed, unsure of what to do or say. Just what could they do? They heard a groan from the spirit, turning and watching as he sat up. He stretched his arms up high, leaning back at bit to stretch his back. The tension in his shoulders was released as they slumped back down. He covered his mouth with his hand as he yawned, forest green eyes fluttering open. He glanced around, spirit wavering slightly as his eyes landed on the four other boys. He opened his mouth to talk, but was cut off as Denki launched himself at the spirit, tackling him into a hug.

"You're back! I was getting so worried." The blonde exclaimed, tightening his hold on the spirit.

Izuku hugged back, a small smile spreading across his face as his arms wrapped around his blonde friend. "Sorry for making you worry so much. I'm just scared I'll disappear. I don't want to, but..." He trailed off, feeling tears pricking the corners of his eyes.

He buried his face in Denki's hair, tightening his hug as he choked back sobs. Ejirou walked over, kneeling down and hugging Izuku too, stroking his hair in a soothing manner. Katsuki and Shouto glanced at each other, unsure of what to do. Ejirou called them over, making them join the group hug.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." Izuku murmured over and over again, relishing in their warmth as he sighed in content.

It didn't last long, Izuku's spirit wavering more, causing the group to faze through. He started to panic, trying to touch any of his friends, but couldn't. Tears started to pool out of his eyes as he stood up, covering his mouth as he staggered backwards. The others stood up, reaching out to the spirit who rushed out of the tent, tears streaming down his face. He rushed into the forest, not looking back and ignoring the calls from his friends. His spirit continued to waver as he moved further and further from his body till he collapsed. He struggled to move forwards, but couldn't as what felt like chains held him back.

"Why...? I just... I just want to connect... but I'm slowly disappearing... I don't want to go... I want to stay....... I want to be whole..." Izuku curled up into a ball.

He blocked out all the sounds around him, static feeling his mind as he curled in closer. The sound of his friends calling his name drowned out behind the static as he clutched his head, wishing to live in a different reality. He soon passed out, consciousness leaving his wavering body. Katsuki was the first to reach him. He skidded to a halt, kneeling down to pick up the spirit, only for his hands to slip through. He tried again and again, but couldn't grab hold of the wavering figure. He glanced back as the others made their way over, seeing the panic in the ash-blonde's face.

"I can't grab him. He's wavering too much." He murmured, turning his gaze back to the greenette who lay still and silent in a ball.

"No. No! We can't give up now! We have to try something! We can't let him disappear like this!" Surprising Shouto exclaimed, the feeling or worry and panic flooding over him.

"But what can we do?! He can disappear any moment now!" Denki and Ejirou replied, tears pricking their eyes as they spoke.

"We can't just f*cking give up on his when we've come this f*cking far!" Katsuki yelled, trying desperately to grab hold of the spirit.

"But what, Bakugou?!" Ejirou suddenly shouted, shocking the ash-blonde. "But what? What can we do? We can't grab him. We can't move him. We can't force him back into his body. What can we do?" He trailed off as he turned away, clenching his fists in frustration and anger. "What can we do to help?"