TW: Descriptions of depression, death, and despair
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It took the heroes all night to figure out a proper game plan to raid the base of the NVA's operations. At least what they assumed was the base of their operations.
Just two hours after they left Hiyokuna's estate, Tsukauchi with Shimizu by his side came into Katsuki's office, all the details of the Hiroki assets listed and broken down in a spreadsheet while they explained all what they found.
The most important detail was the Island's location that was southeast off the coast of the Shizuoka Prefecture. A perfect forty five degree diagonal line from the warehouse where Hina was found.
They planned a group of heroes who'd be perfect for the infiltration, a select few who personally volunteered in respect for their care for Katsuki and their newfound friendship with Hina. And as soon as they got their divisions for their team—one for stealth, one for strength, one for healing, and one for versatility—they set out in Froppy's submarine to the Island.
They reached just three hours before dawn, and Katsuki was itching to breathe fresh air. He hated being restricted in a tank underwater; it was too suffocating for his liking.
So the moment they anchored just a few meters offshore, Midoriya used Black Whip and Float to bring the heroes on the beach in groups of ten, all until the group of forty five were settled on the unstable sand in the flank of the island that wasn't being monitored.
Katsuki paced across the sand, impatient while the teams assembled their operations amongst themselves for the most effective infiltration. He knew it was needed, but sitting still was nearly impossible for him when he could finally feel Hina's heartbeat within his chest from the close distance.
He grumbled, his ear filled with his heart thumping and hers in rhythm. All until Eijiro held his shoulder and Midoriya directed his attention to the semi-detailed map they retrieved through satellite images.
The island was shaped exactly like the main Hiyokuna estate, only smaller, and the building was the shape of a cube; made of slate gray concrete and shiny steel bars. Looked more like a prison hold than a place for luxury like Mieko had mentioned.
They were on the southern tip of the island, the part of the island farthest from the main building and completely shrouded in tall bamboo and dense foliage. In order to get more details, they'd need to send the stealth team out to gather more information.
"I'm going too." Katsuki said when they finished explaining the plan for how the stealth heroes would go in to gain the most information they could as quickly as possible.
Most of the lot gaped in shock, some shook their heads in disbelief. The only ones not entirely surprised or even discouraging were his classmates from UA. The peers who've seen him at his worst and his best, the people who encourage him to be who he is rather than what people think he is.
"Stay on channel four, we'll be listening for any updates," Tsukauchi said, typing on his laptop without looking up. "Don't get too close to the building, Dynamight. They have thermal sensors specifically for Hina's quirk in case she escapes and it could detect yours as well."
Katsuki nodded
"Better not make a sound," Kyoka smirked as she tightened the speakers on her wrists, ensuring the clasps for the easy detachment were in smooth condition.
With a click of his tongue, he rolled his eyes and bit through clenched teeth. "Don't tell me what to do, Ears."
She smiled and started her way through the forest, not another word exchanged between the team. And Katsuki followed close behind, trying his best to restrain the itch in his palms to explode the forest down.
Because she was so close, almost in her grasp.
Almost safe.
-----
Hina winced when white blinded her eyes. The cotton swaddled beneath above, and all around her, was a sensation like floating on clouds, like melting within marshmallows. She fidgeted within it, restless yet soothed from the scents of the caramel and sandalwood wafting around her, entangling within the cotton too.
Her eyes shot open then, sitting up straight, and gaze darting to find gold tufts and twin flames of ruby fire.
And when she did, her breath and her voice was lodged in her throat, her hands shakily tightening the hold of the cotton sheets in her lap.
"Katsuki." She breathed, tears welling at her waterline.
He smiled, his hand holding hers, tightening his grip with comfort and reassurance.
"Hina." He whispered back, bringing her hand to his lips, kissing them softly.
But the previous illusion of his presence muddled her thoughts and made her doubt if it was truly him.
So she asked, "You're here?" in fear that hope would betray her again.
His eyes widened, grief spilling from his voice. Probably from seeing how small she looked, how terrified she looked. "'M here." He whispered, his thumb tracing the duvets of her knuckles "'M sorry. 'M such a terrible hero. I couldn't even protect my person."
She aborted a half-watery laugh. "Your village you mean?"
He smiled that rare smile only she'd seen when he'd kiss her forehead under cold sheets in warm sunny mornings and hold her close when whispering promises of a future together.
"Yeh, my village."
She squeezed the three big fingers of his hand, her grip exceptionally weaker than she remembered it from before. "It's not your fault. It was Aoi's; he gained your trust and betrayed you for his own motives. You couldn't have known he was going to do that." She sighed and a tear fell from her lashes as she smiled broadly at him. "I'm just glad you're here."
And she truly was. Because all that adrenaline and fear from the horrors of the past few days finally drained from her limbs- finally let her lungs fully take hold of fresh breaths and unknotted the twists in the pit of her stomach.
He stood up, leaning forward while cupping the back of her neck to pull her in for a hug, his frame shaking from the possible sob splintering from his chest as he hid his face from her.
Suddenly he froze, the sound of metal piercing flesh echoing in the white room.
Hina stared at his abdomen, the white shirt he wore now with a growing stain of red, the heat from his fingers fleeting him, his body slumping forward and his weight onto her.
"Katsuki!"
Her scream was piercing, cutting through her vocal cords and her ears. She caught him, the red now staining her hands as she tried to, frantically, stop the bleeding. She pressed her palms against his back, around the knife embedded in his spine.
"Oh my god," She cried, pressing and pressing, her eyes welling and her breaths erratic. "Please- Just- Hold on- I-"
Again his body glowed, slowly dissipating into nothing, and the knife clattered on the floor. Even the blood on her hands disappeared after glowing lightly, the traces of crimson on her skin washing away with her tears and her despair.
"Oh, I can't. This is priceless." She heard from behind a wall, and the white room flickered. It flickered until it was dark and dank, gray and deep gloom with a fog from the outside seeping inside. All that remained pristine is the white sheets around her, the light blue hospital gown hanging off her bony shoulders, and the metal frames of the cot she laid on.
Footsteps echoed and she saw the man shrouded in a black cloak clap with his white-gloved hands. "Your face. Oh my." He wheezed, his voice stabbing her heart and all her hope like the knife that stabbed the clone of Katsuki. "You really believed he came to save you, again. Hah."
You're so stupid. She thought, burying her face in her hands, her sobs leaving her chest in hiccups. She knew he wasn't going to save her. But it hurt her. It hurt her so much, she felt her grief and her faith in her freedom was dwindling with every shaky inhale and exhale.
She was so devastated, she didn't even feel the cuff encircling her wrist, didn't hear the click of the lock and the clink of metal scraping against the bed frame.
"Don't worry sweetheart." Xerox whispered, his breath scalding her hand as tugged the chain for its integrity. "It's almost all over. Your last breath will be the moment the sun rises above the horizon."
And his footsteps receded, the metal door echoing in the room as it shut close and the sound of the waves crashing and the owl hooting are all she heard before she stared blankly between her fingers and onto the white sheets above her legs.
Maybe waiting for the sunrise wasn't a bad thing at all. At least the pain she felt within her entire being would end. And then Katsuki wouldn't be so burdened by her.
Maybe her last breath, the end of her wouldn't be so bad at all.
Maybe.
-----
After the reconnaissance around the perimeter of the building, right when the stealth team stepped onto the heroes' temporary base of operations, Katsuki felt his chest hollow with despair.
It was a gaping hole in the center of his chest, sinking down to his navel and making his breath sparsely leave his lungs.
It was an ugly feeling. Something so bleak and so desolate he wanted to sink to his knees and disappear into nothingness. Something so heavy and dark it was hard for him to think of anything else but sleeping and never waking up.
It made him restless and drench in cold sweat from worry and panic.
Because these weren't his emotions, they weren't from his experiences. He's never experienced something so grim and so inky black.
No they were Hina's emotions, just wisps of how she felt- was feeling.
And his thoughts raced as he tried to figure a way to help her regain the flicker of hope she'd always have. He couldn't lose her when he was so close.
So their empathy link pushed and pulled from despair and panic, from depression and worry. It swung back and forth, back and forth. Like a pendulum between them, once dipping in her emotions and then in his.
He shakily sat in one of the chairs under the tent the heroes' made, distantly listening to Kyoka and the others debrief the building's weak points. And the pendulum continued to swing, once in misery and then in anxiety.
Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind. Something so obvious yet so farfetched he debated with himself for two seconds before diving into the idea head first.
The idea was that if he could feel her so vividly for a moment and then feel himself, maybe she could feel him too. Then maybe, if he felt a positive emotion, something that could be light and hopeful, maybe she could feel it too. Maybe.
He clicked his tongue and smiled to himself like a deranged fool.
He was out here muttering maybes just like her.
But these maybes might save her. Might be the light in the darkness she was engulfed in.
So when the pendulum left her anguish and dipped into his side, he recalled the hope he felt when he heard her heartbeat despite her capture. He recalled the lightness he felt when they found the island and knew she was just within grasp.
He even went back and recalled the first time he felt her inexplicable pull in the warehouse with her ocean eyes and how she was so relieved once she knew he was there to save her. He recalled the first time they sparred in the forest, the first time he heard her laugh, the first time he claimed her lips as his, the first time they made love under the sheets, and the first time he murmured I love you when she was fast asleep.
He poured all of it into the pendulum on his side and hoped and beseeched whoever was in charge of destiny, watching them from the stars, to let her feel the warmth of him, to let her feel the hope within him.
And when the pendulum returned to her, pulling hints of his emotions and dipping into her dark pit of sorrow, he felt his eyes burn with tears, felt the confliction yet relief slowly filling the hole within them.
"Thank-freakin-All Might." He exhaled shakily, holding his tight fist against his lips as he did.
A warmth bloomed on his shoulder and he turned around sharply, his eyes meeting glowing emeralds and constellations of freckles glowing in the twilight before dawn.
"We're ready, Kacchan." Midoriya smiled reassuringly, his hand held out for his friend.
With a nod and a loud clasp of his hand he stood up, stomping to the table where the plan was being rehashed for the four teams.
Hang in there Hina. He thought with every convicted step forward. I'm almost there.