Chapter Text
Pleiades [1:17 p.m.]
Mission accomplished, assailant has been captured.
Pleiades [1:17 p.m.]
Members who are school students: if there is no one left at the scene, you may now return to your civilian identities. Try not to arouse suspicion.
Pleiades [1:18 p.m.]
Everyone else: continue working with the authorities.
Jintaro clicked the response button, just to let everyone know he’d read the messages, before shoving his pager inside his backpack. Yes, he remembered exactly where he’d hidden it despite all the chaos going on around; all superheroes were trained to do so in case an incident happened unexpectedly close to where they were standing. Donning his civilian clothes on top of his green superhero suit, he dashed to the safe zone and blended in with the students.
He heaved, or perhaps pretending to do so, as he looked around. The only thing he had in mind right now was locating his school friends; just because he’d heard that they were rescued didn’t mean he believed it just yet, he needed to see it for himself first.
Upon that thought, a familiar head of green stood out. There Cion was, wandering among the crowd and looking around just like him. Jintaro ran to him without hesitation, relief washing all over at the sight of his still alive boyfriend yet again.
“MARUMEGANE!!!!”
Cion turned to his direction, eyes widening, “Jintaro!”
The neon-haired pounced onto his boyfriend for a hug, to which said boyfriend reciprocated also. Jintaro sobbed loudly as he traced his fingers along strands of green; even though he was clearly pretending to not know what exactly happened, his concern over Cion’s well-being was all real.
“Hey, it’s okay,” said Cion, voice low and soft. He placed a kiss on Jintaro’s temple and ran a hand across his back, waiting for his sobs to die down before turning the guy to face him, “It’s okay, Jintaro. I’m okay.”
“I’m so glaaaaaad,” said Jintaro, dragging out the last syllable with a shaky voice. Cion smiled softly before placing another kiss on his forehead, a kiss that helped seal away all his worries for good.
“Are you hurt?” the green-haired checked him all over. “I haven’t seen you at all until now.”
Jintaro flinched; he was not prepared for that question to be sprung at him, “Well, uhhh… I got, um… I think it was-”
“You know what, it’s fine. You don’t have to recount everything,” Cion interrupted. “You might still be in shock and that’s okay. Whatever happened has already happened.”
“Oh…” Jintaro answered simply, with it came a sigh of relief. How did he manage to score such an understanding boyfriend? He’d never seen anyone so patient as Cion, so trusting of his partner that he would just accept any excuse to cover up superhero activities without question.
He did find it a bit strange how much calmer Cion was compared to the other students, though. Even after a long period of not seeing his boyfriend anywhere in such dire circumstances, he didn’t react much more than a sigh of relief.
It was as though he knew Jintaro would be safe and could handle himself perfectly fine.
Could it be that he knew…?
Nah, maybe he’s just that tough.
Still, that didn’t mean he was entirely emotionless, for he’d asked the following question with concern washed all over his face, “Hey, Jintaro?”
“Hm?"
“Have you seen Subaru?”
_______
“Copy that,” replied Azure Fox before pocketing his pager. He was positive that most of the civilians had been evacuated, but it didn’t hurt to do one more sweep of the area.
It didn’t take long for him to spot another figure walking among the ruins. They seemed frantic - borderline panicking, even - from the way they kept tracing back and forth between the same two places. But unlike everyone else he’d encountered, he didn’t feel the need to rush to their aid.
Because that figure wasn’t a civilian in the first place.
“Hey, Guardian,” he called, to which the yellow-clad hero quickly turned over in response, “yer brother’s out already.”
“Really??” Gold Guardian rushed to his side, breathless from the anxiety. “Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!!”
“No worries,” replied Azure Fox, watching his teammate catch his breath. Given the brothers’ background, he could hardly blame Gold Guardian for reacting this way.
“Is he okay? Was he injured??”
“He was conscious. ‘Nough to resist my help, even,” replied the blue-clad hero calmly, though the next part got his voice trailing. “I, uh, had to use more drastic measures…”
As expected, it brought his teammate’s mood down considerably, “Did you use your powers on him again?”
“Sorry ‘bout that. I did what I had to do.”
Nagomu frowned, “I don’t like it when you do that.”
“Either that or he runs off to find yer. Pick a struggle.”
The yellow-clad hero could only sigh. He turned to his belongings instead of drilling his teammate any further; deep down he knew that the guy meant well despite his questionable methods. Regardless, his little brother was safe and sound, and the only thing left to do was to reunite with him.
Quickly changing back to his civilian outfit, Nagomu rushed towards the safe zone. Taking care to blend in with the crowd of students, he immediately spotted the familiar head of white hair by a bench, staring ahead into nothing in particular.
“Kazu!!”
His voice captured the boy’s attention, the first to ever do so since he’d been evacuated here. Kazu turned over to face him and, the moment they made eye contact, suddenly flinched in shock.
“Nagomu nii-san!”
“Kazu!!” Nagomu wrapped his baby brother in a hug, which was immediately reciprocated. “Oh, you’re safe. You’re safe. You’re okay,” he repeated over and over, like a mantra to calm down his rapid breathing. All the fear and anxiety he’d been carrying since their phone call evaporated in an instant, his body light at last with the burden gone.
“Nagomu nii-san…” Kazu muttered, his voice shaking along with his whole person. The brothers turned to look at each other once more, tears streaming down both of their faces. Nagomu gently traced a thumb across Kazu’s cheek, wiping his tears and eventually some of the dried blood right above his lips. He let out a weary smile, mentally thanking every single being out there (and, reluctantly, Azure Fox) for keeping his baby brother safe and sound.
Kazu took a deep, shaky breath then exhaled, getting all the strong emotions out of him in the process, “Oh, nii-san. I was so scared…”
Nagomu rubbed a thumb over the back of his hand, “Me too.”
“I…” the white-haired paused, eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, “Wait, why don’t I remember anything? How did I even get here? It was all fuzzy until you came.”
Nagomu averted his gaze, Issei-san…
“Weird…” Kazu squinted, placing a hand on his forehead, “have I been blacking out for the past couple minutes?”
“Yes.”
Kazu jumped at the voice next to him, one that did not belong to his brother, “What the- Cuc??”
“Cuc called but Kazu didn’t answer,” Cuc pouted. His lips soon quivered into a frown, in time for tears to escape him, “Cuc… Cuc was so scared!”
It was the blonde’s turn to come in for a hug, to which his best friend quickly reciprocated. Still, Kazu didn’t like how much he was worrying everyone around him, especially the two most precious people in his life.
“What happened to me?” he asked as soon as he was let go. Cuc gave him a concerned look also, his tanned hand still lingered on Kazu’s paler one.
“You must’ve been in shock,” Nagomu gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze. Obviously he knew what happened, he just couldn’t say the truth for contractual reasons. “It’s okay, Kazu. You’re safe now and that’s all that matters.”
Kazu nodded. Whatever it was that had messed with his head could be dealt with later, for now he was just glad that his brother and his best friend were both here by his side.
“So how did you two get out?”
His big brother flinched at the question, “Eh? Um…”
“Cuc met Gold Guardian!” answered the blonde enthusiastically. “Gold Guardian saved Cuc’s life! Gold Guardian so cool!”
Kazu furrowed his brows slightly, “Who?”
Nagomu had to pretend it didn’t hurt.
_______
Like the teammates before him, Auguri made his way to the safe zone as a normal civilian. After narrowly avoiding his homeroom teacher - he wasn’t in the mood for explaining himself at the time - he finally spotted Futaba among the students, mind wandering elsewhere.
“Futaba!” he called out, yet the guy didn’t turn over to look. Fear began to settle in Auguri’s mind; Futaba had seemed just fine, if a bit incoherent, the last time he saw him. So why was he so unresponsive now?
He hoped the answer would come to him once he reached his friend, and reached the guy he did, “Futaba! Oh, you’re okay!!”
He immediately wrapped his best friend into a hug, mentally hoping it would snap him out of his stupor. It took Futaba one second to finally look down, and once he did so he jolted, “Auguri-san??”
“Hey, it’s me,” Auguri held his face in his hands, putting on his pleading voice. “Are you okay? You didn’t hear me at all!”
“Ah, I’m fine,” Futaba straightened himself up. “Everything’s fine, Auguri-san.”
“Thank goodness,” the pink-haired let out a sigh. There was a question that remained unanswered, though, “You didn’t respond to me at all. Did something happen?”
“Eh? Ah, um…” Futaba averted his gaze, “it’s… a bit embarrassing, really.”
“Why would it be embarrassing?” Auguri cocked his head to the side.
“Well…” a pink blush painted all over the brunette’s face. He then clasped both hands onto his face, voice going at least two octaves higher for the grand reveal, “I got to meet Fiorosa!!”
Auguri widened his eyes slightly, “Oh!”
“I know, right!! He’s so charming and amazing and cool and- ARGHH!! I even got to talk to him!!!”
The younger teen could only let out an awkward chuckle, not at all anticipating that to be the reason for Futaba's unresponsiveness, “Sounds… exciting.”
(You… didn’t say a word though, he also thought.)
“It WAS exciting!! Kyaaaaa, I can’t believe I finally talked to him!! Mio-san was there to see it, too!! Right, Mio-san?”
The brunette turned to the side to see no one there.
“Eh? Where’s Mio-san?”
“Was he with you earlier?” asked Auguri, even though he technically knew the answer.
“He was…” answered Futaba, a hint of worry in his voice. It didn’t last long, thankfully, as the familiar head of blue was immediately spotted following a quick scan. But once he approached his friend, however, his concern came back in full force for a different reason.
“Taiyo-san…?”
Taiyo was safe, Taiyo was alive, but he seemed… broken. He was sitting on the ground with his arms around his knees, behind which buried the lower half of his face. He was shivering even with a blanket draped over his whole person, his breathing slow and deep yet shaky. His blue eyes, ones that were normally so bright and sunny, were now puffy and swollen all over. Tears were streaming down to his flushed cheeks even before the last few drops had the chance to dry out, continually wetting the fabric of his trousers as they raced towards his knees.
Kneeling beside him was Mio, who was running a hand across his back in a gentle up and down motion. He turned over just as Futaba and Auguri approached, looking at the two with desperation washed over his face.
“Guys…”
“M- Mio-san…” asked Futaba cautiously, “what happened?”
At the same time, Kazu, Cuc, and Nagomu arrived, having seemingly noticed the gathering.
“What’s going on?” asked Kazu. The way Cuc’s face fell at the question only added to his worry.
Mio averted his gaze, “Subaru… isn’t here.”
“Hey,” called Jintaro from afar, and along with him a frantic Cion, “is everything okay?”
“Have you found him?” asked Mio, turning his attention to Cion. The green-haired could only answer with a somber shake of his head.
“No…” Kazu muttered, his voice shaking, “don’t tell me…”
“Cuc… can’t find him either,” the blonde looked away, not daring to look at Taiyo. “Sorry…”
“Eh…” Futaba’s voice was barely above a whisper. “He’s not here…? And no one’s found him yet?” he repeated over and over, as though it would stop being true at some point. “Wait… this can’t be happening… he must be here somewhere…”
“I’ve scoured through the place already.”
“Has anyone gone through it a second time? A third??”
“I don’t think there’s any more to it.”
“What about the police? The paramedics?”
“They haven’t seen him, either. Not even among the casualties.”
“What if he’s still in-”
“No, do NOT come back in there.”
“But we can’t just be standing around!”
“It’s dangerous right now!!”
“Can’t we just ask someone to go in there and find him?”
“Ask a superhero?”
“Why aren’t they doing anything???”
The discussion soon became heated, with each point came a contrasting opinion on how things should proceed. Futaba and Kazu were the most restless, always trying to find a way to locate their lost friend no matter how dangerous it would be; whereas Nagomu, Auguri, and even Jintaro were the most reluctant to follow through, continually shooting their ideas down with safety concerns. For the former two, it was frustrating how little they could do to improve the situation, not knowing the real reason why the latter three kept on dissuading them in the first place. Even then, the three XlamV members wondered what became of their leader, mentally hoping nothing bad had happened inside that battlefield.
Cuc and Cion, meanwhile, left the group to stay by Taiyo’s side along with the already present Mio. They opted to instead comfort the inconsolable redhead, having both been through the motions when it came to grieving for their very best friends. Cion gave Taiyo’s shoulder a squeeze while Cuc sat silently next to him, neither daring to say a word.
“Subaru… Subaru… I’m sorry, Subaru. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…”
Mio’s frown deepened. (Ahhhh, I feel so bad for him! I hate that I can’t tell him the truth! Subaru, where are you???)
Taiyo blinked the tears out of his eyes. His vision blurry, his ears muffled. He didn’t know how many people were surrounding him, how many of his friends were arguing among each other for his sake, or how much the situation had improved ever since he’d gotten out. He couldn’t be relieved, couldn’t find it in himself to do so. He couldn’t celebrate his own survival when Subaru wasn’t here by his side. His Subaru, his precious best friend and constant companion. His friend who’d protected him from the initial blast, who’d guided him to safety, who’d run off to find help and succeeded. He hated how he couldn’t do anything much other than cower in fear when everything turned to chaos, having been reduced to nothing but a burden for other, stronger people to take care of.
He was weak, so weak. It should’ve been Subaru who was safe and sound and surrounded by his friends. It should’ve been him who was still out there with his fate unknown.
With his eyelids heavy, Taiyo looked beyond his knees for the first time in a while. He squinted, not yet used to the midday light following a period of darkness, but at least it helped refocus his blurry vision somewhat. As his eyes adjusted, he spotted a familiar figure from afar, one whose image had been burned in his mind since forever.
Taiyo’s eyes shot open. One chance. He had one last chance.
Before any of his friends could even react, just as the other group’s argument was beginning to escalate, he dashed head first into the open field.
“TAIYO!!”
Mio’s scream got everyone’s attention at last, all of whom stared ahead in horror. None of them had time to contemplate whether to follow suit before another figure zipped right before their eyes and caught up with the redhead within seconds.
“Stay back!” yelled Snow Tiger, enclosing his arms around the screaming teen.
“Let me go!!” Taiyo struggled, “I need to- I need to see-”
“Stop moving!”
“NOOO!!!”
No matter how much Taiyo tried to wrestle himself free, the hero proved to be so much stronger. He strided back with the redhead still in his grasp, forcing him along even with his heels dug into the dirt. Taiyo yelped and cried to no avail, not even eliciting any sort of reaction from Snow Tiger’s icy cold heart. He was desperate, time was running out, he couldn’t stay behind any longer.
Willpower, especially with a dash of adrenaline, could lead people to do the most improbable things sometimes. Against a full-fledged, experienced superhero, Taiyo found the strength in him to ground his feet, bend down, and swing himself backwards as hard as he could. He was just tall enough for the back of his head to hit Snow Tiger in the face, stunning the white-clad hero and in turn making him loosen his grip. All that was left for Taiyo was to break away and run ahead at full speed.
He could make it this time. He had to make it this time. And no one was going to stop him.
_______
Pleiades walked among the ruins, the piles of brick and smoke that was once his high school.
He took even breaths, his footsteps weary. Pain rang over his chest and throughout his limbs now that the adrenaline had worn out. He walked slower than he would like, more exhausted than he would admit, but he had to keep going. His teammates were waiting, the police needed information, the students demanded an explanation. There were too many things he needed to do before allowing himself to rest.
His grip on Claw’s collar remained secure. Even if his entire body were to shut down, he would make sure his grip stayed tight. Letting him go was his biggest mistake, the destruction of his school was his greatest failure, and no amount of victory could make up for what he’d lost.
The midday light reached him at last. He stepped forward, emerged from the rubble like a warring hero, and walked along the empty ground. Only this time, he had someone waiting for him.
“Hey,” Masquerade approached, a mixture of relief and concern washed over his face, “are you okay?”
Pleiades nodded wordlessly.
“Good. I see you got our guy out,” the older hero gave Claw a brief peek, then his leader a gentle pat on the shoulder. “Great work.”
“Thank you,” replied Pleiades with a tired exhale. “You weakened him significantly back there, so thank you for that as well. Consider this your victory.”
“No need for that. I just wanted to help.”
The red-clad hero didn’t find it in himself to argue any further. He was tired, so tired. He wanted everything to be over.
“So, did you happen to get my…” Masquerade’s voice trailed off at the blank stare Pleiades gave him. “...Actually, nevermind. I can just grab them myself.”
“I’m sorry,” the younger hero replied, his voice small. Truth be told, he had forgotten about that request the moment the battle escalated and now part of him felt bad for not fulfilling it. But then again, it sounded insanely difficult even for him to find small daggers among piles of concrete and metal pipes. Masquerade can just do that himself with his own powers effortlessly.
“It’s alright,” the purple-clad hero gave his junior a kind, sympathetic smile. “What’s done is done. Let’s just go talk to the cops and-”
“PLEIADES!!!!”
The hero looked up to the voice calling his name. His eyes widened, his breath hitched, his mouth hung open. No way…
It was Taiyo. There was no mistake that it was him; it was his voice, his posture, his hair of red that glowed brighter than fire. He had been so close to becoming another casualty, he had been rescued and escorted out safely, and by now he should’ve been delivered to a nearby hospital and treated for however many injuries he’d sustained.
But there he was, running towards Pleiades, running out in the open and back to the place that had nearly killed him. He got just close enough to the hero before collapsing on his knees, so exhausted that he could barely do as much as wheeze.
“H- Hey,” Pleiades dropped the villain in his grip and approached. Masquerade thankfully came in to hold the guy in his stead.
Taiyo heaved, trying to prop himself up. Whether it was from desperation, weariness, or a combination of both, he didn’t stand up on his own two feet. Instead, he bowed down with his forehead nearly touching the ground, not unlike one would during a prayer.
“Please…” Taiyo’s voice shook, “please help me find my friend…”
Pleiades widened his eyes, “Your… friend?”
As though all the patience had been wrung out of him, Taiyo straightened up and grabbed the fabric of Pleiades’ suit. Subaru couldn’t believe his eyes: in front of him was no longer the bright, sunny Haruno Taiyo he came to know and fall in love with. This Taiyo was broken and fearful, his hair unkempt and his eyes bloodshot. The watery blue pierced straight into the hero’s eye mask, sending shivers down his spine even before Taiyo even spoke.
“Subaru!! My friend Subaru!! He’s still in there!!” yelled the redhead, voice straining so much it seemed as though his vocal cords could rip at any point. “H- He’s still in there! He must be in there! PLEASE!! Please find my friend Subaru!!”
Taiyo shook the hero with a painful sob, to the point where the latter had to hold him still, “Hey, c- calm down. You can’t be here-”
“NO! DON’T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!!” Taiyo screamed, startling Pleiades and even Masquerade behind him, “My best friend could be dead by now and you’re telling me to calm down?! Where is he??? I need him back!! I need him here!! I- I-”
“Hey, HEY! Look at me!” Pleiades shook the redhead’s shoulder. He was panting and crying, gasping for breath yet always close to hyperventilation. The hero gave Masquerade a brief glance over his own shoulder, pleading silently. And to that Masquerade responded with a nod.
“Hey, can you hear me?” he held Taiyo’s face in the palm of his hands, the heat on his face transpiring even through his gloved fingers. “Can you hear me?” he repeated.
Taiyo nodded weakly, eyes barely open.
“Okay, good,” Pleiades nodded along, to the same rhythm, no less, “can you tell me what your friend looks like?”
Taiyo inhaled, his breath shaky. His voice was barely above a whisper - one might doubt he could even talk at this moment with how much he’d screamed earlier - but he tried to speak regardless, “Subaru… short black hair…” he said in between sniffles, “red eyes… smaller than me…”
“Good, good,” encouraged Pleiades. Of course he knew what Subaru looked like, they were one and the same. But Taiyo didn’t know that and he definitely shouldn’t, either.
Regardless, he continued asking to keep up the act, “Is there anything else?”
“His hair,” replied Taiyo, followed by an audible gulp. “The lock of hair in front of his ears… Right side longer than left… His right, not yours… ”
“Got it,” Pleiades nodded. Taiyo now opened his eyes fully, white sclerae now decorated with red blood vessels. It took all the effort in Subaru to not burst out crying right then and there.
He then turned to his teammate and said: “Watch over him for me.” And with the affirmation from Masquerade, he dashed into the ruins.
To say Subaru was an emotional mess would be a massive understatement, which would come off as a surprise considering how calm he’d been back there. Of course he had to be calm, no good would come out of a situation if the superhero himself was also freaking out of his mind. He put on a calm front for Taiyo’s sake but deep down he was just as heartbroken. Those glassy eyes, the frequent sniffles, the straining in his voice,... all of it shattered him.
He located his civilian attire at last. They were all wrinkled and messy thanks to hours of being buried in a mountain of concrete, all the more convincing for a cover story. Donning it piece by piece on top of his mighty red suit, the memories replayed themselves in his mind.
“Don’t go out there. Subaru, stay with me, please…”
His throat threatened to close.
“SUBARU, COME BACK!! COME BACK, PLEASE!!! DON’T LEAVE ME!!!”
His hands shook as he buttoned his shirt.
“Leave him alone, you jerk!”
His breathing turned heavy, deeper and faster the longer this went on.
“Where is he??? I need him back!! I need him here!!”
Subaru fell on his knees, tears streaming down his face the moment he took off his mask. He heaved, hand clutching the fabric of his shirt as uncontrollable sobs escaped him. He convinced himself he was just exhausted, that it was just his brain and body breaking down from a particularly intense fight. He was strong enough to endure all kinds of danger, unshakable in the face of peril, and this case was no different.
So, why?
Why was he getting so emotional…?
Taiyo cares so much about me. Not Pleiades, Subaru.
Does that mean… Taiyo loves Subaru?
He shook his head and rubbed his eyes clean. The trails of tears on his face were useful, though; they helped stick all the dirt and dust on his cheeks and made him look all the more unsuspecting. He took a deep breath and let it out, calming the racing in his heart, and with that in check he was finally ready to make his way out. He couldn’t leave Taiyo waiting any longer, his dear friend had been suffering enough.
He ran out to the open, thrusting himself forward to make it look like he was being pushed outside, before falling into the ground. He made sure to stumble every now and then, heave and breathe heavily as he went, all just to make himself as believable of an affected civilian as possible. And believable he was, for Taiyo took one look and threw himself at the black-haired without question.
Subaru didn’t get to react before Taiyo wrapped his arms around his whole being, nearly knocking them both to the ground. Taiyo held him close and hugged him tight, fingers running in between strands of black as his whole body shook from the emotions. He sobbed loudly and uncontrollably, a gut-wrenching wail that could pierce even the most apathetic of hearts. All for the best friend he thought he’d lost.
“Subaru! Subaru!” he repeated over and over, as if to confirm with his own mind again that his dear friend was safe in his arms. He repeated it in between sniffles, even his cries couldn’t stop him from pronouncing each and every syllable accurately. He repeated as he held the black-haired in his arms, rocking gently back and forth just to reassure that they were both okay.
At this point, Subaru could no longer contain himself. Like Taiyo, he let the tears stream down to his face, his body now getting over the initial shock to return the embrace. He ran his hand across Taiyo’s back in a soothing motion, whispering to his ear as he did so, “It’s okay, Taiyo. It’s okay. It’s me. I’m here.”
They stayed like this for a while, partly due to Masquerade leaving to hand over the assailant without either of them noticing. They held each other as Taiyo’s sobs slowly died down, as Subaru let himself feel the warmth of the metaphorical sun enclosing his whole person. It took a while until the redhead released his hold and held Subaru’s face within the palm of his hands, blinking away one last teardrop as he took a deep, shaky breath, “Subaru…”
“Taiyo,” replied Subaru, one hand holding onto his dear friend’s forearm. “Oh, Taiyo. I don’t know what happened. I- I remembered hearing Pleiades and calling for help, and- and…”
“It’s okay,” Taiyo interrupted with a sniffle, “everything’s okay now, and that’s all that matters.”
Subaru nodded along, letting a teardrop roll down his face, “I just know that… Pleiades got me out. Though I don’t know where he went…”
“It doesn’t matter,” replied Taiyo. “I just need you to be out safely. And now I’ll get you the help you need.”
The redhead stood up then, in one swift motion, lifted his best friend up and held him in his arms. Subaru didn’t have time to react when Taiyo swept his feet off the ground, soon realizing that he was now being carried bridal style by the man of his dreams. From his point of view, Taiyo was nothing but magnificent, with the midday sun encircling his head like a halo. One would be forgiven to think that he was the superhero instead of the real Pleiades. And to the safe zone he ran, fast enough to reach the paramedics quickly yet careful enough to not rough up a seemingly injured person. He was focused now that all his tears had been shed, nothing left in mind except for a mission to get aid for his precious person.
Subaru felt heat rushing to his face. If he hadn’t yet been knocked unconscious from that entire fight, then the mere sight of his crush saving his life would definitely do the job.
_______
BREAKING NEWS: 16 dead and more than 50 injured in deadly high school attack. Perpetrator apprehended by XlamV.
Multiple explosions were set off on the grounds of Nijishita High School earlier this Wednesday. Ten people were killed on the scene and six succumbed to their injuries on the way to the hospital, bringing the total casualties to sixteen. Among the deceased, nine were students aged 15-18 and seven were school staff members. A total of fifty-five people were hospitalized in critical conditions.
According to official reports, XlamV had arrived in time to rescue the civilians present and stop bombing attempts, successfully mitigating damages and casualties. Records also suggest that several bombs had failed to detonate either by poor design or by our heroes’ timely intervention, preserving more than half of the school grounds intact. The president of Reisen Corporations promises to open fundraising efforts to rebuild the school and offer academic aid to the students and families involved.
Saotome Ryo, known at the scene as Claw, was identified as the perpetrator behind the school attack. According to police records, he had no affiliation with the school and was “simply asking for respect” from XlamV’s leader, Pleiades. He was subsequently apprehended by Pleiades following an intense battle and is now in police custody. His trial is set to begin next Monday.
This has been the deadliest attack on an academic institution our city has ever experienced.
_______
“Sixteen dead,” muttered Subaru. “Sixteen.”
The news sounded from the TV in his hospital room, reminding him of his failures once more. Those were the sixteen people he couldn’t protect, sixteen people whose deaths were clearly unwarranted. Sixteen people who died needlessly because of his carelessness.
He gripped the fabric of his blanket and took a deep breath. The sounds of destruction and despair replayed in his mind and he let them be, for he couldn’t allow himself to brush off his own wrongdoings. All this mess was avoidable, and even that he failed.
How could he ever call himself a hero when his actions took innocent lives? How could he ever be deserving of the people’s love when he couldn’t even keep them safe?
Years of training and experience had taught him that collateral damage is inevitable, that it was impossible to save everything and everyone when it came to major destructive events. He had to learn to accept it even if the people he loved were involved, all to distance his heroic image from the traumatized human beneath the mask.
And yet, this one felt so much more personal.
Just as he was about to spiral, a knock on the door startled him. Subaru looked up just as the figure behind the opaque glass pane peeked through the door.
“Inamoto-san?”
“Subaru-san,” spoke his manager, the elusive Inamoto in question, “may I come in?”
With an affirmation from the black-haired, he quietly entered and closed the door behind him.
“How are you feeling?” he started, moving a chair over to sit by the young hero’s bedside.
Subaru looked down, gaze landing on his bandaged arm, “I’m fine, Inamoto-san. Give me a couple days and I will be back on the field.”
“As long as you do not overexert yourself,” Inamoto fixed his glasses. “Rest assured that there will always be heroes available to take on missions, so all you need to do is focus on rehabilitation.”
Subaru nodded, yet the response didn’t really satisfy him. Of course he would urge himself to recover quickly and get back on the field as soon as he could, but he didn’t dare verbalize that thought. Instead, there was something else he had in mind.
“The death toll,” he asked in anticipation, “has it… increased?”
“As far as I can tell, no,” Inamoto answered, much to his relief. “More than half of the surgeries have already been successful with the other awaiting further treatment. We’ll continue to update as we go.”
“Thank you, Inamoto-san.”
Subaru didn’t know what else to say afterwards. The guilt and shame still haunted him, even though the relatively good news should’ve been able to alleviate it.
And it seemed like Inamoto caught on to it as well, stoic as he was.
“Subaru-san.”
“Yes?”
“Everything that had happened was none of your fault,” he spoke evenly, to which Subaru averted his gaze. “Both the planetarium incident and the school attack. It was not your-”
“I let him go,” the young hero interrupted, his voice shaking. “I let him go and he took it out on my school. I was careless enough for him to plant a tracking device on me. If only I’d caught him on the spot… If only I were more cautious… If- If-”
“Subaru-san,” Inamoto started again; his deep voice grounding Subaru from yet another spiral. “Let me ask you this question: were you the one who blew up your school?”
“N- No!”
“Were you the one who told him to blow up the school, then?”
“No…” replied Subaru, in a mixture of confusion and apprehension. “Of course I would not do that!”
“If you had done either of the above, then yes, it is all your fault,” said Inamoto, whose response left the hero breathless. “But since you hadn’t, that means destroying an academic institution was his conscious decision. He committed an act of violence that hurt innocent civilians, not you. Even if he had been captured back then, even if it wasn’t you he targeted, anything could have spurred him into making that decision.”
Subaru opened his mouth to speak, but no words came about. Even in the midst of all his self-deprecating guilt, a part of him did recognize that Inamoto was right. It would be improper of him to continue arguing with his boss, anyways.
He figured he should just be accepting it. He would need a long, long while to let go of this guilt, but he would try. “Thank you, Inamoto-san.”
“It is no problem,” his manager replied, his tone even yet not at all blunt. “After all, there will be things that are beyond your control. When that happens, all you need to do is to overcome or adapt to it.”
“Yes.”
“Bad things are sometimes unavoidable and that is okay. Everything happens for a reason.”
“…Y- Yes,” Subaru wasn’t sure if he agreed with that last statement, but there was no more time to argue as Inamoto was already standing up.
“I should get going,” said the manager following a brief glance at his watch. “I wish you the best in your recovery journey.”
Subaru quickly nodded, “Thank you. Have a good day, Inamoto-san.”
The older man turned to leave, but not before stopping by the door frame and said: “By the way, you have a visitor.”
“Who?”
“A young man named Haruno Taiyo, if I remember it correctly.”
Subaru perked up at the name, “Taiyo!”
“So you do know him,” Inamoto hummed. “Would you like to meet him?”
“Y- Yes!” the teen nodded profusely. It had been days since he last saw that sunshine of a dear friend he had.
“Okay. I will tell the nurses to move you to the civilian unit. We will have everything ready.”
And with that, Inamoto left the room.
_______
It didn’t take long for the doctors and nurses to arrange his new hospital room and settle him there, fake medical records and all. Subaru was rather impressed by how effortless it all seemed, what with a million superheroes they had to treat on the daily and a million secret identities they had to keep safe. Often the overlooked and underappreciated parts of the superhero industry, Subaru reminded himself to thank them later.
The news of his school attack was also playing on this room’s TV. Subaru kept it up for the sake of looking normal, even if it hurt. He sat in anticipation as he heard footsteps approaching, and before he knew it, the door was opened to reveal a familiar redhead on the other side.
“Subaru!” Taiyo exclaimed, rushing to his friend’s bedside. He didn’t bother dropping his backpack elsewhere when he came in for a hug, the weight on his back was nothing compared to the relief he felt in his heart. Subaru returned the gesture also, allowing himself to indulge in the warmth of his figurative sun once more.
“Oh, Subaru,” Taiyo let go of his hold to place a hand on Subaru’s face, thumb tracing the bandage along his cheek, “I miss you so much.”
Subaru placed his own hand on top of Taiyo’s, a small smile formed on his pink lips, “I miss you, too.”
He watched as Taiyo got teary eyed once again, though this time it was of much relief and joy instead of the despair that was a few days earlier. To think that Taiyo had been so sad because of him, so utterly broken about his uncertain fate that he’d been willing to scream at literal superpowered individuals to bring him back. He felt warm to the core whenever he thought about it, even when part of him hated worrying his loved ones so much that way.
The sudden empty feeling on his cheek broke his train of thought. It turned out Taiyo had moved his hand away to wipe the salt water on his face, letting out an awkward chuckle in the process, “Sorry… I got emotional again.”
Subaru chuckled along, “Don’t we all?”
They sat together in comfortable silence, Taiyo’s hand now moving to hold Subaru’s. The moment he noticed how much bigger Taiyo’s hand was than his own, how the dainty back of his hand fitted perfectly inside the redhead’s palm, he had to quickly look away. Heat rose to his face at that single revelation, on top of the fact that Taiyo was even holding his hand at all.
This is nothing, Subaru had to remind himself. He just misses you, that’s all.
“Oh, I got you something!”
The redhead retracted his hand, a bit too fast for Subaru’s liking, to dig through his backpack. From it came a large box wrapped in shiny red paper.
“Ta-da! I have a present for you!”
“For… me?” asked Subaru, somewhat in disbelief. Holding the box in his hands, he looked between it and Taiyo, who was jumping in his seat in anticipation.
“What are you waiting for? Open it!”
And so he did.
“Wait…” Subaru’s breath hitched as he unveiled the wrapping paper. Behind it was the logo of his favorite planetarium, the same one unjustly destroyed by his archenemy. Peeling it further down revealed the full texts written on the box, which subsequently clued him in on the contents, “you got me a telescope?”
“Yep! An actual portable telescope! Brought to you by yours truly!” Taiyo answered proudly, “Remember the lottery that was featured with the planetarium fundraiser last month? You said you wanted the telescope they had so I had to enter! Several times, actually.”
“Taiyo…” Subaru’s voice shook. The weight of his responsibilities had made him lose track of the minor things in life, that lottery event included. To think that Taiyo had listened to his astronomy tangents in the first place, let alone remember something so specific and minor that he himself had forgotten. He might just combust on the spot.
“Do you like it?” asked Taiyo, as if his friend’s reaction hadn’t been enough of an indicator. “Well, you better ‘cause I literally risked my life for that one!”
Subaru’s heart stopped, “Wait, what?”
“Yeah, remember when the planetarium exploded the other day?” Taiyo scratched the back of his head, “I was there to collect my prize. Then some guy with a bomb showed up and that forced everyone to evacuate.” He then sucked in a breath in between his teeth, “Well, I did make it out the first time only to realize I left the telescope in there, so…”
Subaru stared blankly. Memories of that incident came crashing down on him once again, specifically the parts with Taiyo involved. That package Taiyo was clinging onto, the stupid package that made the stupid redhead run back inside an ongoing superhero battle. It had been a gift for him all along??
“Hey, at least I lived to tell the story!” Taiyo let out a chuckle, “Your gift escaped unscathed, too! Still hoping it’s intact after the school explosion, though,” he crossed his fingers with a squint.
The black-haired blinked, trying his best to recall which of the three planetarium retellings had this detail come up. In his mind there had been none.
“Why did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Run inside the battlefield,” he clarified. “Not just the planetarium but back at school, too. You came in to retrieve me, didn’t you? Why did you have to go so far?”
“I…” Taiyo hesitated. There was a glint of sadness in the crystal blue of his eyes, “I care about you, that’s all.”
“Taiyo,” Subaru pressed his mouth into a thin line, “you can’t keep risking your life like this.”
“No can do,” the redhead answered, utterly serious. “Sure, it was reckless of me to come back just for a telescope, but I will always come back for you. I care about you, Subaru, and I want you to be safe no matter what. You are so dear to me and I can never imagine losing you.”
Subaru’s breath hitched, throat threatening to close. Never in his life did he have someone care about him this much, someone so willing to ensure his safety that they’d be willing to throw their lives away. All these times he thought he’d always have to be the protector, the only one strong enough to save other people without a care for himself, but as it turned out there was someone who’d been looking out for him this whole time.
And that was Haruno Taiyo. His first love, the light of his life.
He didn’t care if anything Taiyo had said was meant to be romantic or not. It was out of pure and genuine love he had for him, and that alone was enough to make his heart burst.
“Hey, don’t cry,” Taiyo gently placed a hand on his cheek once again, wiping away the tears he didn’t know were streaming down his cheek. Subaru sniffled only to let out a sob, and unlike the usual he let himself feel it all. There was something so relieving, so light, about having someone look out for him like this, as though the burden of staying strong for the sake of others had evaporated off his shoulders. He let himself be vulnerable and for the first time he didn’t hate himself for it, for he now had Taiyo by his side to protect him.
The redhead, true to his word, leaned in to hug him once more. “There, there,” was all he said as he ran his fingers in between strands of black. Only when Subaru squirmed to get the tears off his eyes did he finally let go.
“Thank you, Taiyo,” he smiled, face flushed from all the crying. “Thank you so much.”
“No need to thank me. It’s just how I work,” the redhead assured once more. His tone soon turned cheeky as he continued, “And also, you were the one who ran out to find help in the middle of explosions. You don’t get to tell me not to risk my life for you!”
Subaru sighed, admitting defeat. He’d almost forgotten that he was just a normal human in Taiyo’s perspective, and that made his actions hypocritical. “True.”
His attention turned to the TV once again, this time showcasing his solo fight with Claw. He’d always find it weird how reporters could capture battle footages without either party noticing, let alone in such high quality. At least they had been respectful enough to not publicize the ones with Taiyo in it.
“So that’s how Pleiades fight,” he hummed, as though he hadn’t been the one doing the fighting himself.
“Uh huh,” answered Taiyo, oddly neutral. From his peripheral vision, the redhead wasn’t looking at the TV at all.
Rather, he was looking at Subaru.
“I thought you’d be more excited.”
“Normally I would be. And yeah, that fight seemed cool from all the footage I happened to watch. It’s just… you were still gone at the time and I couldn’t bring myself to celebrate it.”
“Oh.”
“And plus,” he gave Subaru’s hand a squeeze, “you saved my life back there. You shielded me from the explosion, found a hiding spot for me, then risked your life finding help for my sake. You did all that while being a mere civilian and that is really cool for me. You’re the hero they should be praising.”
And with that, Taiyo leaned in to place a kiss on Subaru’s cheek.
One second. It lasted one second, and yet it was enough for Subaru’s mind to go haywire. Memories of the first time that happened came crashing down on him in an instant, the ghost of that first kiss resurfacing and was now being overlaid by the fresh one that had just happened. His eyes blown open, his mouth hung agape, his face reaching a thousand degrees with red painted all over. It took a while for him to register that he hadn’t just hallucinated everything; the person next to him was Taiyo, the person who’d praised him as a hero was Taiyo, so that meant the person who kissed him really, truly was Taiyo.
But… that meant Taiyo kissed Subaru. Not Pleiades, Subaru.
“T- Taiyo…!”
“Sorry if that seems sudden…” Taiyo averted his gaze, a faint blush painted on his face also, “I just… wanted to say thank you.”
Subaru covered his face with the back of his hand, not daring to look back at Taiyo either. His gaze soon landed on his other hand gripping on the fabric of his blanket, just in time to find it glowing against his wishes. He immediately retracted his hand and hid it somewhere else, praying nothing had been burned to a crisp just yet.
Still, he mustered up the courage to talk, “Do you just… kiss whoever saved your life?”
“I wouldn’t just kiss anyone,” Taiyo scratched his cheek lightly, “but… you’re special to me.”
Subaru bit the inside of his cheeks. Don’t glow, don’t glow, do NOT glow-
“In all seriousness,” Taiyo enclosed his hand on top of the black-haired’s smaller, daintier ones, “you’re so precious to me, Subaru. I am and will always be grateful to have you here by my side. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I will always protect you no matter what.”
If that wasn’t enough of an indication of Taiyo’s love for Subaru, then nothing would ever be. Perhaps it was this love that had kept Taiyo going; this pure, undying love for Subaru that got him repeatedly risking his life and even defying people much more powerful than he was. His love was his strength, his reason to face all that the world threw at him, and from that love came a willpower that was far more unyielding than anything Subaru had ever seen.
Maybe this was how Subaru should be viewing his love for Taiyo: a source of strength rather than weakness. It was natural, it was complex, and above all it was human. Letting himself feel this love didn’t make him any less of a hero; rather, it strengthened his resolve and furthered his drive to protect all that was dear to him.
And plus, his love might have been reciprocated. Maybe Taiyo would choose Subaru; choose the normal, if not unremarkable, human beneath the heroic mask who had loved him from the beginning.
And maybe one day he would get to choose to be Subaru, too.