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Her head is throbbing.
Even so, Ryumi thrusts that feeling aside and focuses on the task at hand.
Shouto.
She has to protect Shouto.
He hadn’t even reacted to her voice and that scares her. “Please, please, please.” She whimpers, touching his face. He’s so pale and still.
He looks like he could be sleeping. Maybe he is sleeping. She prays he’s just sleeping.
At least he isn’t dead.
She hunches over him, spreading her wings to better shelter him from any falling debris. Her sprained wing can barely extend, but she forces herself to ignore the pain, shoving it to the back of her mind.
She brushes his hair away from his forehead.
He moans, eyelids fluttering, but he doesn’t open his eyes.
Ryumi adjusts her position as best she can, keeping her eyes peeled. She isn’t blind to the danger that still surrounds them. She’s done her best to drag Shouto back and out of the line of fire, but they’re not safe.
The Pro Heroes have managed to keep the villains at bay, away from her and Shouto, but not before one of them had managed to unleash a massive shockwave that had impacted several blocks, crushing cars and flattening any civilians unlucky enough to be in its path.
Shouto had reacted before she did, shoving her to the ground before she had realized what was happening.
She has no idea how many people have died, how many people might still die if this continues. Ryumi wants to protect them all; the idea that more people might die is driving her mad. But she can’t leave Shouto unprotected. And she can’t protect anyone else with her wing and ankle the way they are.
Frustrated, she wipes her tears away and grits her teeth.
She feels so helpless.
“-ey!” A voice breaks her out of her daze. Ryumi snaps her head up to find herself face to face with a female Pro Hero. “I’m going to get you both to safety. Can you walk?”
“No.” Ryumi shakes her head, blinking back tears of frustration. “But Shouto… You need to get him out of here. He’s hurt worse than I am.” She can’t carry him as she is now, but the female hero only nods.
Gently, very gently, she scoops Shouto into her arms and rises to her feet. “You’re going to have to climb on my back, kid. I’m not leaving you here.”
Ryumi folds her wings as best she can, still carrying her wounded one gingerly, and wraps her arms around the woman’s thick neck.
Sensing her distress, the woman gives her a sympathetic look. “It’s okay. You’ve been through something traumatic. No one is going to hold that against you.”
It doesn’t really make her feel better, but she appreciates the effort.
There are paramedics already arriving on the scene. The moment she lays eyes on them, Ryumi feels herself wilt just a little in relief. Still, she can’t help but wonder if the presence they have now is enough for all the wounded there must be, but she stops wondering when the female hero hands off Shouto. “Two wounded,” she says.
Ryumi slides off her back, keeping off her injured ankle as best she can, and watches anxiously while the woman helps get Shouto onto a stretcher.
“I have to go,” the hero says, but she gives Ryumi’s shoulder a gentle, reassuring squeeze before she does. “You’re going to be alright.”
And then she’s gone, rushing back to the battle before Ryumi can even blink.
“Let me help you.” A paramedic is at her side almost immediately. He tries to usher her away, putting his hand on her shoulder.
“Wait.” She resists at first, her eyes locked on Shouto. He’s still limp, his face entirely too pale. She doesn’t want to leave him, but there’s nothing she can do for him if she stays and it’s in both of their best interests that she allow herself to be looked over.
Reluctantly, she allows herself to go with him, but he doesn’t lead her very far- only to the edge of the sidewalk while she’s asked to sit down. She’s offered a blanket, which she accepts automatically. She runs her fingers along the edge, just to give herself something to do. Her eyes keep flickering to the side where she knows they’re looking after Shouto.
“Is he your friend?” The paramedic follows her eyes.
Something tightens in Ryumi’s heart; she hasn’t confessed yet. She hasn’t even fully come to terms with her own feelings. “Yeah,” she says. “Something like that.”
“Well, he’s going to be just fine.”
She bristles, recognizing the platitude for what it is. You don’t know that. She bites her lip and keeps her mouth shut.
It’s not fair; they’re doing the best they can and she knows this. There are five other people, not including her or Shouto, who have to be taken care of. This disaster has them stretched thin. But she’s scared and she’s helpless to do anything about it and she hates it. She looks at the paramedic. “Take care of them first. I’m fine. I can wait.”
He glances at her. “We’ve already sent those with the most severe injuries to the hospital.”
“There has to be someone worse off.” She doesn’t understand why she’s arguing with him, why she can’t just let herself be taken care of.
“Let me see to this ankle.” He glances up at her. “I’m Aoto. And you?”
“Ryumi.”
They’re back safely at U.A. and Ryumi has never been more relieved.
Every now and then, she catches herself flexing her wings, relishing the powerful feeling of them being whole and unbroken.
Shouto glances at her as she does it again, but there’s no teasing smirk, just a meaningful glance.
He understands how much her wings mean to her, how afraid she is of losing her Quirk.
Ryumi leans against him, her head coming to rest on his shoulder.
Shouto stiffens initially, taken by surprise, before he relaxes, his own head coming to rest against hers.