Work Text:
One, two, three… four? No wait, five? Six?
Kendou lost track of how many shots were fired. She knew Tetsutetsu could handle himself with his quirk, but something was wrong. There was blood on the ground but it didn’t belong to her. She watched her classmate struggle to successfully throw a punch at their opponent. Her eyes fell on the gasmask laying on the ground and she hadn’t even realize that Tetsu was holding his breath. She wanted to scream out for help, but knew with the gas there was no use in trying.
Another gunshot sounded and she watched as Tetsu’s quirk struggled to keep his arm covered with its metal coating. She needed to do something, she needed to move… but something was keeping her back. No matter how hard she tried to move her feet and activate her quirk, she just stood there frozen in fear. The training camp was supposed to be safe. The villains weren’t supposed to find out where they were. Aizawa and Vlad said that’s why they had to keep it a secret.
She jumped back at the sound of Tetsu shouting out and she didn’t even notice the villain aiming his gun at her. She had to move. She tried to move, she really did, but with a quirk like hers, she didn’t stand a chance against a gun. It wasn’t until she heard Tetsu’s voice getting closer and closer until she finally managed to take a step back. She watched him jump in front of her just as the villain fired the gun and watched her classmate take a bullet to the head.
“Tetsu!”
She let his name fall from her lips as she screamed, voice muffled behind the gasmask she was wearing. She didn’t even know she was crying until she heard the villain mocking her. She was finally able to bring herself to run over to Tetsu, but the amount of blood that was covering the grass told her that something else wasn't right. She pushed her hand against his head and that’s when she realized that the bullet had somehow pierced right through his head.
She didn’t want to believe it. She wanted to believe that it was probably just him faking it and that he had a plan. She didn’t want to think that she was in danger. No matter how much she slapped Tetsu’s face or shook him to wake up, she never got a sign of life from him. She cried out his name, trying to bring herself to have her quirk activate, to grab her classmate and run away… but she was frozen again.
“Oh, woops. Guess I broke him.”
Her green eyes met with the mask the villain was wearing and once again, she found herself staring up at the revolver pointed to her head. She watched as the boy’s finger pushed against the trigger and then…
Kendou woke up in a panic, sweating and gasping for breath. It was just after midnight according to her clock on the nightstand and she had to kick the blankets off of herself. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with her hand and looked around the room as she caught her breath; well, tried to. She attempted to calm herself down, bringing her knees to rest against her chest as she closed her eyes. She whispered to herself, telling herself that everything was fine and that she would be okay.
“It was just a dream…” she said softly. “... it was just a dream.”
Her heart pounded in her chest and she wondered if her classmate was okay. She forced herself to move off her bed, forced herself to walk over to her door. She reached for the doorknob, keeping her hand on it for a moment more before she gathered up enough courage to open it and look into the hallway. As she thought, there was no one wandering around so it made it easier for herself to get around the dorm floors.
It seemed like the hundreth nightmare she had after their encounter with the villains back at the training camp. She knew she wasn’t the only one having the nightmares - the girls in her class and the other students of class 1-A had mentioned having them as well. She knew she was safe back at UA knowing that the campus was filled with pro heroes, but at the same time, there was a part of her that couldn’t help but worry.
She let her fingers run through her orange hair, combing out any knots she could find. She knew sneaking into the boy’s part of the dorms was risky, but she needed to make sure that Tetsu was alright. She knew he would probably be sleeping and figured she should just turn around to return back to her room. But she didn’t. She forced herself to continue walking, remembering the dorm number that belong to the silver haired boy.
She stared at the door in front of her, wondering if she should leave before she got caught, but no. She had already made up her mind and wanted to check up on him. She raised her fist to knock softly on the door, being as quiet as she possibly could. She didn’t want to wake the other boys that were probably sleeping soundly, but she knew that a simple quiet knock wasn’t going to wake her classmate up. So she knocked again, a bit harder than she had before and waited. She didn’t hear anything from the otherside of the door and wondered if he had even heard her. Knocking again, she let out a soft sigh when there was yet again, no answer or movement.
Kendou was about to turn around and walk away, giving up rather quickly than she usually would have, but the sound of the door unlocking from the other side made her take a step backwards until she was face to face with a sleepy Tetsu. He looked just as confused as he normally did when she ended up at his door, but he invited her in as always. Ever since they returned to the school, it became a habit. If she had a nightmare, she would find herself looking for comfort by her classmate… and boyfriend.
It was no secret that they were dating, it had happened just after the sports festival. Tetsu was the one to ask her first, acting on his feelings before she could even bring herself to. So the fact that she could never do anything in her nightmares made her weak. She shook the thought from her mind, trying to keep herself composed while he stepped to the side to let her walk in his room.
The two said nothing as she made her way over to his bed, practically falling on to it face first. Tetsu was close to follow her, though he did leave some room for her to lay down in a more comfortable position. The silver haired hero-in-training rolled on his side, reaching his arm out to grab at the girl’s side and pulled her close to him. She buried her face into his chest, letting out a shaky sigh.
“Wanna talk about it?” Tetsu finally asked, breaking the silence between them.
Kendou gave a little shrug, shaking her head. “It was the same thing as last time. The same nightmare… over and over again.”
Tetsu felt her shiver and he let his fingers work through her orange hair, placing gentle kisses to her head. It was a routine he was more than used to and he kept himself close to the girl, making sure she felt safe. “It’s okay, Itsuka. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
Kendou grabbed at his blue shirt, keeping a tight hold on the fabric. “I just can’t help but wonder if your quirk didn’t work. I mean, I know everything’s okay but it’s as if my mind doesn’t.”
Tetsu lifted her chin up to press their lips together gently. He wiped her eyes, wiping away the tears that started to form in the corners of her eyes. He kissed her cheeks, nose, and then her forehead again. “Itsuka, I said I wasn’t going anywhere, didn’t I?” He spoke softly, trying to reassure his girlfriend the best he could. “I have to protect you, remember?”
She couldn’t help but laugh. He always knew what to say to make her laugh even if he didn’t know it. “You protecting me? I think it’s the other way around, Tetsu, but whatever you say.”
“Hey, at least I was able to make you laugh.” he responded with a laugh of his own. “You know you can come to me for whatever, right?”
Kendou nodded, giving her boyfriend a kiss on the lips. “I know. I just want all these nightmares to be done and over with. I would actually like to get some sleep on my own.”
Tetsu blinked, looking at the girl with a pout. “You don’t enjoy sleeping with me?”
“Not when we could get caught. Don’t you know how much trouble we would be in if Vlad-sensei caught us?”
“Ugh, I don’t want to think about that.” Tetsu shivered at the thought, trying to shake it from his mind. “But in all honesty, I’m glad you can actually get some sleep with me.”
Kendou let out a tired hum in response, nodding as she buried her face into his chest again. She wrapped her arms around him and moved closer to him. She let out a quiet sigh, closing her eyes. “If you don’t stop talking I won’t be able to sleep.”
Tetsu grinned, kissing her head as he held her tight and close. “Alright, alright. I’ll shut my mouth, Itsuka.I’ll be right here if you need anything. Good night.”
“Good night, Tetsu.” Kendou said quietly, her voice just barely a whisper.