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Katsuki drags himself across the pavement, loose bits of asphalt grinding into open wounds as he scrabbles to pull his broken body away from the beast. He won't die here.
He won't.
Not to her. Not to him.
He pulls in blood-soaked air through gritted teeth, trying to ignore how raspy and rough it sounds, how each breath squeezes more and more life out of him, gets harder and harder than the last.
As he throws his arm forward and grips the concrete, torn flesh of his fingers stinging with every inch, he sees the shadow of the beast black out the lone street light in the alley. He feels the low rumble of her growl reverberate through the very ground under him.
He spits a mix of blood and saliva, craning his neck to make sure she sees his defiance. His blood may run in rivers, soaking his costume, drenching the ground, there may be at least one cut that went clear to the bone--
Katsuki hisses in agony as a particularly sharp pebble worms its way under him, lodging into the gash on his chest. He feels it when he breathes.
--But he will not give up.
"Fuck... you..."
The shadow's wings spread, and a deep, throaty laugh echoes from behind him.
"You're even more pathetic than Endeavor was." The dragon rumbles, and her forepaw presses down on his ankle.
Fresh pain ignites through Katsuki's body, a crunch that races like lightning followed by a wave of nausea like thunder as she puts her entire weight on him. He can't imagine how many pieces those bones must be in.
The dark muzzle of the beast peers down into his hazy field of view, fangs bared in a cruel grin. "He at least got a few hits in... All you are is too stubborn to die."
She snorts in his face, the hot air almost choking when he can already barely rake in enough to stave off the fire in his lungs.
But after a while, even agony becomes background noise. He heaves his other arm forward to pull another inch, and twists his palm upward on the right.
He has plenty of sweat. If only it wasn't so diluted by the blood.
Still, he fires what blast he can while her face is close.
It's more smoke and flash than anything. Not enough to harm her, just piss her off more. But that's fine... Anything to prove that he didn't give up. That he struggled to the bitter end.
Not that he's dying here.
He won't.
He can't.
Izuku is waiting for him. It doesn't matter if his fingers are going numb, if his peripheral vision is closing in.
The beast snarls, about to snap her jaws in his face.
"Ryumi."
The cold voice of his other nemesis causes her to stop short, even taking her claws off his mangled leg.
It's so much harder to grip the ground and keep pulling himself onward with the feeling leaving his hands. He fumbles and paws at the pavement, now unable to even sense the rough surface shredding his skin.
"Leave him." Todoroki commands his pet.
The dragon looks between him and Katsuki, reluctant to give up her prey but even more unwilling to go against her master. She obediently sits back on her haunches.
"He hasn't paid enough yet." She hisses, pawing at the ground in a mockery of Katsuki's efforts to escape. "We should make a proper example of him - like Stain would have..."
Todoroki shakes his head slowly, resting a hand reassuringly on her shoulder. "Oh, he'll be an example... eventually. But for now, he'll be a message. A warning."
The dragon ruffles her wings but stays in place. "Shoto..."
"Midoriya will be here soon." He says, strolling past her and around Katsuki, kneeling down in front of him. He stares directly into Katsuki's eyes, waiting the extra moment to ensure he recognizes his former classmate. "Remember that I let you live."
He wants to shout back, to unleash his fury on them both, to give them physical and verbal hell for betraying the heroes...
But his body won't let him. Broken, bleeding out, life leeching away in a filthy alley, unable to even scream because his lungs don't have the strength left.
He does glare though. And he puts all the rage he has into his deep red eyes. People called me a villain. But you...
Shoto stands, his face a mask of perfect confidence that he never had when they were in school. Brushing dust off his dark suit, he looks down at Katsuki and does something that infuriates him even more.
He shows just a hint of dark pity.
For an instant, he feels his hatred burn hotter than the pain, he lifts his torso an inch off the ground. But spite alone can't carry him.
Not on a shattered leg. Not with a sucking chest wound.
Todoroki shifts his right foot as he turns away, and a sheet of ice leaps forth to lock Katsuki in place - his idea of mercy, probably.
But it does spare his lungs from collapsing.
The dragon lowers herself to allow her master to climb onto her back. While her head is down at ground level, she sneers at Katsuki. "Shoto might only care because of Stain's teachings, but I still have more personal reasons to kill you."
"Ryumi..." He brushes a hand over her neck. "He's a fake, and he'll pay for degrading the good reputation of heroes. That's what matters. But not today."
She snorts again, taking care to kick some loose gravel back into Katsuki's face as she takes to the air. "Right. A warning shot. Beware, fake heroes! Anyone who allows fame and fortune overshadow the purity of saving others will perish!"
Ryumi roars, and a moment later the pair is gone, leaving Katsuki alone.
He takes a breath. And another. The effort feels insurmountable each time.
Can't die. Not yet.
Not here.
Not to them.
Not alone.
His vision is blurring more heavily now, the world an impressionist blob of washed-out color. Like some amateur that can't blend the colors properly, everything is gray and brown.
An orb of white disappears briefly in a smear of black.
Streaks of vibrant green, and a familiar voice.
"Kacchan? Kacchan! Stay with me..."
Katsuki coughs and chokes out a few words. "…Wha… took y… so long?"
And the cold embrace of darkness closes in, feebly resisted by trembling arms.