Gone With the Tide ((MIDORIYA IZUKU X OC))

17

"Rin! Where are you going?"

Deku sprinted after Rin as she bolted through the streets, worming her way between those who were in her way. Her sudden emotional spike made his entire head go into overdrive with all the possibilities of who this 'Papa' was, and what he could have done to her that made her so terrified.

However, despite her fears, she ran full speed toward Musutafu's beach, and Deku couldn't figure out the reason why.

"Hey!" Deku called again, stern this time as he caught up to her, latching onto her hand. "You can't just go running into danger like this, Rin! Tell me what's going on! Whose Papa? Why is he doing this? Why are you running after him?"

Rin's frantic eyes whipped up to him in a hurried frenzy, and her breathing was erratic. Even as he held her in place, she tried to wiggle herself away from him.

"I-I have to," she choked out, pressing a palm to her forehead as she panicked. "He'll... hurt everyone if I don't. Papa is mad. Mad, Zuku. He's mad."

As she began to hyperventilate, Deku took both of her cheeks in his hands and redirected her terror stricken face to him.

"Calm down," he cooed, trying to keep his tone as gentle as humanly possible; swallowing down his own panic. "I'll go with you. Everyone is going to be fi —"

"No," She tore herself away from him as she cut him off, and staggered a few steps backwards. "I-if you do that... then... you'll get hurt, too."

"You expect me to just let you go off by yourself?" Deku questioned, an incredulous tip to his voice. "No offense, but you're crazy if you think that! If you want to jump into the fray, then I'll be there right by your side, no matter what!"

"Zuku..." she said, shaking her head. "You can't. If you g-get hurt, I —"

"And what if you?" He cut her off, filling the distance between them to take her by the shoulders. "I wouldn't forgive myself if I let you go and something happened to you! I-if I never got to see you again... if y-you were just swept away! I... I wouldn't be able to live with myself, Rin! So, I'm begging you, either come with me or let me stay!"

Rin's words of retaliation retreated back into her throat, and she clamped her jaw shut. She was so frazzled that she could barely process the meaning to his words, and found herself tensing in defeat and whipping her head back toward the ever-growing wall of water that would swallow Musutafu in a matter of minutes if they didn't hurry.

"Fine..." she muttered, and looked back at him; stern. "Okay."

A relieved smile cracked across his face, and he responded with a hard nod before running down the street at Rin's side. He wasn't entirely sure what the plan was or how many Pro Heroes would already be there deterring the situation, but as long as he could be there to protect Rin — as well as the rest of the city — then he would be okay. As long as he got the chance.

The closer they got to the oceanside, the damper the air became. Flecks of water could be seen swirling in the atmosphere, and the beginnings of sunset orange began to form on Rin's arms.

The giant wall that had been peeking over the work places in Musutafu was even larger once coming upon the soaked sand of the beach, and at the very top of said wall, the figure of a man could be seen. Deku's eyes flashed across the expanse of the wall, and as he looked down the beach, he could see Aizawa — accompanied by several other heroes — rushing to the scene.

Rin stopped dead in her tracks when the man atop the wave titled his head downward. His black hair was identical to Rin's, and the ringlets blew in an almost melancholy way. Only a few features of his face could be detected against the shadow blanketing across it; like his thick beard and the crease in his forehead.