❧
Your headache is gone soon, replaced by questions and doubt.
"Midoriya."
"Yeah?" He replies, his eyes locked on to yours.
"Do you think Shinimi is going to die?"
The former hero looks shocked at your question, especially since you're both walking out of the hospital the teen is harbored in. He sighs before answering, his face downcast.
"Like Nakano used to say," Midoriya reminds you, "he's strong."
"Yeah." You answer, a sick feeling creeping into your heart. "You wanna go visit him?"
Midoriya pauses, then, as if that's the question he's been trying to avoid.
"Of course I do," he finally says, "but don't you think . . . ?"
"What is it?"
" . . . won't he hate me?"
You lift a brow, confused. "Why would he? We've gotten this far. Plus, I'm sure he's really stressed right now. I bet he could use a hug."
"But I attacked Nakano," Midoriya tells you with sorrow in his eyes, "he was closer to her than either of us were. He must hate me. She's going to die, all because of me."
This must be his way of addressing his guilt, you think, taking a step forward, by finding the anger he feels in his friends to validate how he feels. Even if I'm wrong, he's feeling bad about it.
You wrap your arms around him, encasing Midoriya's now skinny frame. You remember when he was a hero; when his body was all muscle and could withstand the hardest hits from villains. But now, he seems like a starving child, ribs poking through his skin ever so slightly. Months—or maybe more—of inactivity have made him like this. That and all the stress and horror he's been through.
"He could never," you whisper, "I could never. Trust us, remember?"
"I'm sorry," he sighs, "but sometimes that's one of the hardest things to do."
His voice isn't cruel, or angry, or spiteful, but that sentence hurts you all the same. It chips at your heart, the words embedding themselves there where they won't be forgotten.
"Forget about it, don't worry," you force a smile, "let's go see him. He's our friend."
Midoriya returns the gesture, taking your hand. "Yeah, you're right. Let's go."
❧
The first thing you do when you see Shinimi is stumble backwards, your back hitting the wall.
The teenager is standing at the window, fists clenched at his sides. His shoulder glows like there's fire in his veins, lines of red trailing beneath his skin.
Midoriya calls out to him.
"Shinimi?"
The boy turns his head with a jerk of his neck, his eyes wide and shooting daggers.
"What's wrong?" You cry, "Do you need a doctor?"
"No, it's . . . " His breath hitches, "It's my . . . my brother. He's here."
He lifts a hand to the glass window, and drips to the ground, melting with only a few seconds of contact.
Liquid Fire.
The poison running through his veins makes the window drip to the ground, and the chilly air from outside floods the hospital room. Wind ruffles the teen's hair, and the moon makes his skin look like glass, translucent with the fire underneath.
You stand beside Midoriya, speechless. You swallow your fear, your worry overcoming your confusion.
"Shinimi," you mutter, taking a step towards him, "what are you doing?"
"I have to see him again," Shinimi mumbles, "before I die. I have to see Kurai."
His voice is thick with sorrow and a desperate longing. He's facing where the window used to be as the melted glass pools at his feet. Fearing for him, you rush forward, grabbing his hand before he can jump out of the third story.
Shinimi's skin is boiled to the touch, and it burns your palm. You wince and stumble back again.
"I'm sorry," he says, not meeting your eyes, "we'll see each other again, right?"
You look up, and a tear falls down his face.
"See you later."
And that's the last thing he says before he jumps, his skin glowing a fierce red as he falls.
You grab Midoriya's hand, dragging him with you out of the hospital.
"Hurry!" You tell him, not looking back, "I'm a healer, remember? If he hurt himself I can help!"
"What's wrong with him?" Midoriya huffs, running alongside you now.
"His brother," you reply, "he has to have done something, right? And the poison; Shinimi was hot to the touch. He . . . "
Midoriya finishes the sentence for you. "He must not have much longer to live."
You run around the building, a whole new fear in your heart, to where the teen's window used to be. And there he is, laying on the ground in a lifeless heap. You run to the boy's side, cradling him in your arms.
"You're weak from the poison," you tell him, activating your quirk, "why were you so careless?"
He's healed quickly, and his skin no longer burns, but his veins still glow like fire. Midoriya joins your side, tracing the veins on the boy's arms with a worried look.
"He's here." Shinimi mumbles. "Run."
And at that moment, the world crumbles.
❧