Chapter Text
The situation was dire, the dangerous environment not helping as the four heroes stayed in the cave they took refuge in. An explosion could be heard in the distance, with the occasional rubble flying not too far from where they stayed. The cave was dark, yet enough light peaked through from what wasn't obscured by a tree in the distance. There was a rock, almost shaped like a spike, a hero laid against, her slouched form being held up by her two comrades.
"We can't stay here forever," Mina sighed. Her right arm supported Momo's back, with the other holding down on a wound on her arm.
"A medic should be here soon," Denki said, panic evident in his voice. His jacket was wrapped around Momo's abdomen, using the sleeves. The blood obviously seeped through the fabric, and would be damp to a touch if they dare touched it. "We're doing everything we can right now."
From a short distance still within the cave they could hear another voice. She spoke boldly, yet fast, as she got straight to the point. Despite that the two could tell she was panicked, and close to completely losing her cool had the situation not require a delicate touch. She paced back and forth, constantly passing the three, as she spoke back to someone.
"She needs help right now," Kyouka reiterated. "We're in a cave in the southeast forest close to the huge waterfall."
She paused, standing in place before she anxiously tapped her foot. "Can't you send somebody to drop off some supplies then?" Kyouka sighed, a groan slipping past her lips as she dared look at the three heroes. She tilted her head back, taking a deep breath, as she accepted her circumstances. "Fine. I'll wait."
She walked towards the rock the three surrounded themselves by. Her onyx eyes scanned the situation for what seemed like the thousandth time. She could feel the similar pang in her heart, as it seemed to sink down to her stomach, the wounds making her cringe at the sight alone.
Momo Yaoyorozu, hero name: Creati. Her eyes were dazed, the usual dark eyes, holding a hazy grey. Her eyelids drooped, and opened in every passing second, as they fought to stay open. Her lips bruised, as dry blood reached her chin before stopping close to her jaw. A bruise was starting to form around her neck resembling the outline of a person's hands. Dipping down to her collarbone and chest were the occasional scratches and light bruising. A few mild scratches on her right arm, dripping blood down to her elbow. Stopping it further being the pressure from a hand. Momo's left arm was contorted in a way that made it bend uncomfortably, the limb obviously broken. Reaching her stomach was a huge deep gash, starting from her hip to just under her breast. Had the wound not be covered by a jacket it'd be spilling out blood at a rapid rate until she died from blood loss alone. Her legs were covered in scratches, a bruise and light gashes on both of her knees.
A daunting thought laid heavy on Kyouka's head as she saw her. Every part of her screaming to do something as she couldn't help but feel useless. The type of help she needed was immediate. They couldn't carry her to the nearest rest stop or else the wound on her lower abdomen would kill her in the process. The nearest rest stop was too far on foot in the first place, and Iida was occupied in another fight to run and get supplies. More blood covered Denki's jacket, her blood starting to drip off onto the floor. Kyouka's eyes widened in realisation.
"You two, get away from her" she ordered, pointing to the cave's exit as she stepped closer.
"What?!" Mina asked incredulously. "I'm sorry, are you not seeing this right now?" Her yellow eyes looked up into Kyouka's serious gaze. She gripped tightly onto Momo's arm, ignoring the blood that coated her entire hand at this point.
Denki looked up, glancing at Momo momentarily. His hand slightly pushed Momo's head so she didn't collapse on him completely. "Dude, I don't think that's a good idea," he said. "I'm not even sure if she's conscious right now."
Kyouka sighed as she stepped forward near Denki's side, crouching down to meet their gaze. "I know, that's why you two have to let me handle this," she said. She saw a look of apprehensiveness meet their gaze. "Let's face it. Help is not coming, okay? We cannot wait for help and hold out hope that she'll make it until then." Her voice shook, hoping her nerves wouldn't get the best of her later on. She looked deeply into both of her friend's gazes, wanting nothing more than their trust at this moment. "Denki, Mina, she's not going to make it if we don't do something more. She'll die." Her voice cracked over her words, as if her heart broke just from voicing it aloud alone.
Denki sighed out, his voice shaking as he assessed the situation. He knew she was right. He just didn't want to accept it. He met Mina's gaze after she leaned her forehead against the side of Momo', her eyes watering as she faced reality. "Okay. Fine. What's your plan Kyouka?"
"I have to stitch her wounds," Kyouka said. Her gaze specifically faltered to her lower abdomen.
Denki nodded his head as he understood what she was saying. "Do you even know how to do that?" He asked. He pulled at his jacket sleeves, tighter against her abdomen as it started to sag. He cringed at the blood that oozed out, her blood dripping down his wrists.
"I swear if you don't do it properly she can end up with some sort of infection," Mina added as she started to truly look at how beat up Momo's body was. The fact she was even alive was a miracle within itself.
"I know," Kyouka muttered. "I don't want to risk hurting her, but it's our only choice." Her eyes gazed towards Momo's face, willing every part of her body to not break down.
Mina paused in thought. "How will you get the needle and-." She couldn't finish her sentence as she saw Kyouka's expression. Guilt rode heavy on her as she stared at Momo's eyes, as if she was looking back at her. Her voice carried on, "are you sure this is our only choice?"
Kyouka nodded. "I'm positive." She turned to face the hero to her side. "Denki, her hero costume has to come off, by the way, so.."
He huffed, getting up onto his feet as he forced a smile. "Yeah, I know. I really didn't want to be a part of this anyway." He walked towards the cave's entrance, looking back to meet Kyouka's gaze. "You save her, Kyouka. I trust you."
Momo's body sagged over Mina more, as Kyouka helped straighten her body out.
She turned towards Mina. "You can stay if you want, but-."
Mina interrupted her, already standing up, and following Denki out. Before that, she made sure Kyouka could handle Momo as her body was close to collapsing against her. "No thanks, I don't want to break your concentration. Plus, I really don't want to see this."
Kyouka immediately moved slowly, leaning her body against the cave's wall, Mina stood near beforehand. She made sure the jacket around her abdomen stayed in place, careful to not stress the wound any more than she'll have to.
"Hey Momo," Kyouka whispered. She squeezed her shoulder hoping Momo could hear her. "Hey," she called out to her. "Can you hear me? Are you there?" Her voice was both gentle yet urgent as she lightly shook her.
Momo let out a whine as she looked towards the familiar voice. Her hazy and dull eyes met Kyouka, in what for her was a blurry mess.
"I'm going to have to stitch your wound, okay? I'll make sure you're safe, I promise." Momo's head bobbed back as if she was nodding to Kyouka. The action made her momentarily hesitate, as she thought about what she was going to ask her. Her tone dropped as she squeezed her shoulder tighter. "But, you're going to have to create a sewing kit for me. Not even a sewing kit, just a needle and a thread. Can you do it?"
Momo let out a pained, almost forceful laugh. She seemed completely delirious as she spoke, yet her voice was as soft as ever. "You never ask for me to create anything. This would be the first."
"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry." Kyouka muttered. It hurt seeing her like this. "You're in a lot of pain, Momo, and I wish I didn't have to ask you for this."
Momo closed her eyes then opened them slightly, as if she understood. Her body moved briefly, a bright light forming around her right hand as her lipids moved out. Then, as soon as it happened it fizzled out, and disappeared as she let out a groan in pain. She let out a pained breath as tears started to form in her eyes.
Kyouka panicked, immediately holding onto her hand, squeezing it comfortingly. It hurt. It hurt so much knowing she was the one causing her to push herself way past the limit. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, but I know you can do this." She spoke honestly as she looked deeply into her eyes, hoping Momo could see her enough to understand her. "You're so strong. You're one of the most hardworking people I know. If anybody could do this, it's you."
"It's so hard," Momo whined out in an unfamiliar tone.
"I know, I know." Kyouka repeated. Her voice shook as she willed the tears not to fall. "I won't ask you for anything else, I promise. Just please try. I know you can do it Momo."
"I can't even see you Kyouka," Momo said. "It's all so bright." Her body twitched as if she was trying to move her hand forward. "Your voice is-."
Kyouka interrupted her, as she heard how painful it was just for her to speak. "I know. I know." She repeated as she willed the tears not to fall, her eyes watering as she watched her best friend struggle to do something that was once so natural. "Just stop talking and save your strength. You can do this Momo. I believe in you." She spoke each word honestly, from deep in her heart as she met Momo's gaze. Her hand squeezing Momo's hoping that it'd somehow give her more strength.
Slowly, Momo tried again, the creation time a lot slower as her hand glowed. She whined in pain, her eyes growing more hazy as she groaned. Her head shifted back as if she was losing every ounce of strength left in her. Then, a needle and some thread fell from the back of Momo's hand, Kyouka's free hand catching it before it fell onto the ground.
Momo's body grew weaker, as it started to slide down to the side. "I got you, I got you." Kyouka panicked, holding onto her as she straightened her body. "It's going to be okay."
Kyouka ripped a part of her shirt quickly, as she wrapped her arm with it. She'd stitch that part afterwards, but first she needed to focus on her lower abdomen. With shaky hands out of pure nerves alone, Kyouka focused on putting the needle through the thread.
"Kyouka," Momo softly said. "Can I go to sleep? It's so bright. I can see tiny dots of rainbows. It hurts my eyes." Her voice cracked as she struggled to say each word.
"No, no, no!" Kyouka rushed out. "Stay with me, Momo." Her eyes focused on the needle and thread, finally managing to get it through. She shifted closer to her. "I'm going to take off your hero costume, okay?" With trembling hands she started to take off Momo's hero costume, cringing at the way it stuck to her skin due to the sweat and dry blood that covered parts of it.
As if she didn't notice anything that was going on, Momo continued to speak in a complete daze. "Do I have to?" She asked. "I want to go. Did I do enough? I'm so tired, Kyouka."
"Shhhh, save your strength Momo," Kyouka gently said. She placed her forehead against hers briefly before pulling away. "I'm so sorry. This is going to hurt a lot. But I swear to you, I'll keep you safe."
She looked back down at the wound that was still covered in Denki's jacket. With hesitant hands she held down on it, watching as blood coated her fingers. She pulled at the sleeve, to expose a part of the deep gash, resisting the urge to gag as she saw how bad the injury truly was. With a small part of the wound exposed, she immediately started to stitch it. She pierced the skin with the needle and started to pull the thread through, stitching it back together. Kyouka worried as she didn't hear Momo groaning in pain. She glanced up seeing her hazy eyes as Momo softly continued to breathe. Her eyebrows knit in worry as she realised Momo was starting to lose feeling in her abdomen from the nerve damage.
"Hey, I'm going to tell you a story, okay?" Kyouka started, as she continued to stitch the wound. She wanted Momo to stay awake, a deep part of her fearing that the moment she went to sleep she wouldn't wake up. If not that, then at least something to distract Momo from it all.
"When I first met you, you were so intimidating. It was so weird if I'm going to be honest." Her eyes looked over the stitched area, unsure if she was doing it correctly, but continued to pull the needle through. "I wasn't really used to being that intimidated by someone. Usually, I'm able to bounce off another person pretty easily. I can just chill and be my ordinary self. But with you, it was always different." Reaching the end of the exposed part, Kyouka pulled the jacket back more, making sure to place more pressure on the unstitched wound.
"I don't know what it was. Maybe it was because you're so pretty. Or maybe it was how unbelievably smart you were. Your quirk was the literal coolest and all of it just scared me." Her voice cracked, as she pulled the thread through the skin. "Then, you talked to me during class. It was casual and short. But, you asked if I was okay after I hurt myself during training. I remember thinking about how soft and kind your voice was." Everything felt so overwhelming and a part of her just wanted to cry, but she continued stitching, pulling back the jacket more. "Then I started to notice you more. I started to want to talk to you more. I learnt more about you, and I just wanted to see you."
"Then, unknowingly, you started taking up more and more space in my mind. I was completely, and undoubtedly infatuated with you." She pulled back the jacket completely, throwing the damp and heavy article to the side, as she moved on to stitch the last part. "I don't know how you didn't notice it. But you never pointed it out, so I just went with the flow. We started hanging out more. I started attending your study sessions, even though I never needed them. And I listened to every word you said because the way your eyes sparkled when you talked about something you were passionate about was beautiful."
Her hands carried on, partly off of adrenaline alone, until she finished off the last part. She bit off the remaining piece of thread, and tied it, as she moved on to the smaller wound on her arm. She took off the piece of her shirt that was putting pressure on it, as she began. "Along the way, as we continued to do our little routine, I accepted that what I was feeling wasn't just some dumb infatuation. I truly and wholeheartedly fell for you." She stitched the wound next to it, finishing up on the last part. Her hands continued on naturally, growing used to the action.
"At first, it was scary, but it started scaring me less. Because, it was you." Kyouka spoke honestly and earnestly. She put her hand down finishing up stitching her opened wounds. She sat next to her, against the wall as she spoke softly into the empty cave. Her eyes glanced to the side to see that Momo's eyes were still open and hazy. She couldn't tell, but Kyouka felt like maybe Momo was staring at her. "You were the one I fell for, Momo. Then throughout it all, I knew that no matter what happened, it would be okay. It'd all be okay because it was you."
As she finished off her story, she heard Mina and Denki's shouts in the distance. They were guiding the medics to the cave, probably having run off earlier to find them. As a group of people surrounded her, Kyouka stepped off to the side so they could carry her onto the stretcher. Then she let out a breath out of pure relief as she watched them exit the cave, rushing to tend to her wounds.
She felt Mina and Denki's hands on her shoulder as they stood by her side. "You okay?" Mina asked.
Kyouka nodded. "Yeah. I'm okay.”