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Ryumi wasn’t sure how it was possible, but a clock was ticking.
Somewhere, out there in the darkness, she could hear it echo amongst the rubble.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
It was the only sound she could hear besides trickling water and crumbling concrete. There were no screams, no voices… nothing but the empty passing of time.
I used too much energy… Her thoughts were murky as she tried to stay awake, her legs and tail numb to the pressure that had held her down since she awoke from a revenge-driven attack upon her captors.
She didn’t know these men, nor why they took her. But the moment they threatened to sever fingers, something in her snapped and her quirk raged through the building they had kept her locked in. They had given her quirk-erasing drugs, but the dragon inside her burned away the toxin quicker than most. Or at least, that was her theory.
And now, she was trapped. Her body both weighed down by exhaustion, and a thick concrete slab crushing everything from the waist down.
Her hands were bloody, her fingernails cracked from scrambling at the wreckage around her. Her throat burned from the dust she was breathing in, her lungs spewing what looked like coffee grounds with every cough. I must be bleeding internally, too. Great.
Light started to leak through the cracks of the rubble around her, dawn bringing a new day. The warmth of the sun radiated through her veins, but it wasn’t enough. Not enough to transform again, barely enough to stay awake, even.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
Pain started radiating up her spine, though it was hard to tell from where, exactly. Her whole body throbbed from her constricted blood flow, her hands starting to grow cold.
I have to get out of here right now. Come on. Transform… She willed her body to grow, imagining scales and wings and the strength to pull herself out of this mess. But the rush of energy from her quirk didn’t come. In fact, just the attempt to transform turned her bones to lead, weighing her down even more.
Sleep. All she wanted was sleep… Her eyelids drooped and she could feel dark circles start to form. Dying… was she dying? No, she couldn’t be. She wouldn’t be bested by some lame concrete slab!
But what could she do? Sleep and hope she would wake up recharged? Scramble more to keep herself awake? Both were bad ideas. After all, if she lost consciousness, she might not ever wake up again… She needed to conserve her energy.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
The clock, the warmth, the almost comfortable numbness of her extremities. They were an almost perfect recipe for sleep. She had to focus on something, anything. Counting the seconds, listening to the drip of water from somewhere, even counting all the shattered bits of blue tiles around her.
Were they once part of a kitchen? Or a bathroom?
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
Crash!
A sudden wave of sound assaulted her ears. “She’s under there, I know it!”
Creaking, crumbling, metal clanking against metal.
“Don’t try to stop me!”
“She’s alive, and I’m getting her out!”
She knew that voice. It was his voice. “Shoto! I’m here!” She reached out her hand, her fingertips just breaching a sunlight-soaked crack in the rubble. “Shoto!”
“Ryumi!”
She gasped as she felt warm fingers intertwine with her own. He reassured her, “I’m here. Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine!” She lied, desperate not to invoke panic in him. “Just get me out as soon as you can. I can’t transform!”
“I will. I promise.” Todoroki squeezed her fingers. “I’m not leaving your side until the rescue squad digs you out.”
Time felt like it had stopped altogether as she soaked in every ounce of warmth from Todoroki’s fingers. She couldn’t see him, but she could imagine his face just a few feet above her, holding on until the rubble could be cleared.
“Stay awake, Ryumi.” Todoroki spoke to her. “Keep talking. So you don’t fall asleep, okay?”
He must have felt how lifeless her hand was as she slipped in and out of consciousness. “Shoto…” She asked. “How long have I been gone?”
“A few days.” Todoroki answered, his voice struggling to stay steady. “The… the longest three days of my life. I was worried about you.”
“Hah,” Ryumi found the energy to tease. “Missed me that much, huh? You should know I can handle myself. I would have figured something out if you hadn’t come.”
But as she laughed, her lungs convulsed with a rough, hacking cough. More blood splattered over the ground.
“You sound awful.” Todoroki said. “You’re hurt, aren’t you? Don’t lie.”
“I…” Ryumi frowned. “I’m sorry.”
“What’s the situation, Tempest?”
Tempest? Right. He was using her hero name to encourage her to set her emotions aside. To make sure she knew she had to tell the truth rather than try to protect his feelings. They were heroes right now. And assessing the situation was the first part of the rescue process.
“I’ve been crushed under a concrete slab. My legs and tail are numb and I’m bleeding internally somewhere.”
“Alright… Alright…” His voice was trying its best not to shake, but Ryumi could still hear it waver. “They’re almost there… just hold on.” His words were nearly drowned out by the movement of concrete.
Then.. sunlight. Blinding sunlight that made Ryumi squint and cover her eyes. And footsteps, dozens of footsteps and chattering among her rescuers to determine how best to remove the slab from her lower body.
But all that fell away as Todoroki hovered over her, brushing her hair from her face and wiping blood away from her cheek. “You’re going to be fine. I promise. You’re fine. I’ve got you.”
“I know.” She reached up to cup his cheek in her palm. “I’m fine now that you’re here.”
Her arm dropped to her side, dark, warm sleep casting over her like her favorite blanket. From somewhere far off in the distance, she swore she could smell homemade chocolate chip cookies and the flame of a hearth.
She was safe, she was warm, she was saved. And Todoroki was right here by her side.