17To the guest asking about Kirishima calling Katsuki by his first name: While I like to imagine the relationships in 1-a and all the mess I headcannon they had to deal with let each other call one another by their first names- in this case it was more that Katsuki was so deep in shock, I imagined calling his first name would be more efficient. Like if you've ever been in a mess like this- where you're in shock- It tends to be more….attention grabbing and groundingto be called by your first name than 'miss/mr….' or in this case by a last name.
This chapter was from the flower prompt of HikaHika on my discord. Flowers in question were Gladiolus- you pierce my heart and Camellia- my destiny is in your hands.
Katsuki's phone was ringing.
It was the ringtone he'd assigned to Aizawa-sensei.
It was a deep seeded, instinctive respect and habit that had him answering the phone. He didn't say anything, even then, just pressed the 'accept call' and pulled the phone up to his ear. His breathing shook.
"Bakugou." Aizawa's voice was steady in that way it only ever was in emergencies. "I'm on my way."
And gods, that was a comforting thought, even past the fog that had settled on Katsuki's mind. It didn't matter in that moment that Katsuki was a Pro, that he had been in, dealt with, lived through all kinds of disasters and attacks, that he was an adult.
Aizawa was coming. He was on his way, and Aizawa-sensei always knew how to handle emergencies. He'd know what to do.
Still- Katsuki didn't respond.
He transferred his teacher to his wireless device, and began circling the rubble, looking for a place he could begin to search. He was trained for this, he knew how to react, how to dig through the rubble, if he could just get his own thoughts in line. His breathing shook some more, and his hands as well, as he began to work on the rubble.
Icyhot would be useful in keeping the ruble steady once he was finished flash-freezing the crooks. Kirishima would also be of use to dig and work in the more unstable areas without worry of being knocked out. The police and emergency services would also help, where the fuck were they?
"Shit nerd, what the fuck?"
Izuku moaned, low and pained, as he shifted his weight.
He had only spotted the bomb a few seconds before it went off. He'd had the time to get Kacchan and the little girl out, the time know he wouldn't be quick enough. It had been a simple choice, in the end. He'd launched Kacchan out the open emergency exit, and turned to deal with the bomb in any way he could.
A quick stomp of his foot, charged with One for All, and he had a deep hole.
He'd dropped the bomb into it, trying to limit how much would blow up. It hadn't worked very well, but it had limited the damaged area, limited how much damage it could do. The problem was the power of the explosion. Despite being so far underground, how Izuku had already been moving away, the explosion had still taken the mall out. Still thrown him, and destroyed a good portion of the area, anyway.
Izuku was exceedingly glad he had spotted it. He didn't want to imagine what the explosion would have been like if it wasn't muffled by the depth underground.
It had sent the floor out from under his feet, and sent him flying, but his desperate action had done what it was supposed to do. His eyes trailed down, looking over his body. He hadn't been wearing his reinforced and padded hero outfit, not during an outing with friends.
His breathing shuddered.
He was surrounded by torn bits of metal, tons of rubble, various merchandise that had been destroyed or tossed by the blast. More than the glass he had all over and in his body, more than the rubble that had pinned his legs, the fallen beam across his core, the trunk of his body- not crushing, propped up by another bit of the building, but unable to be shifted at this angle without causing it to become so-or the head wound that trailed blood into his eyes, Izuku didn't want to look at the piece of rebar that had impaled his arm at an angle.
He couldn't get the leverage he needed to pull himself free with his quirk, and even if he could he wasn't sure it was a good idea to jolt or shift anything around him. Not to mention he was almost sure that the rebar in his arm was bent at one end. That still wasn't taking into account how much more blood he would lose if he pulled the rebar free.
In short,Izuku was stuck. He was stuck and losing blood quicker than he liked.
Kacchan and the others would get him out, he knew, but would the rubble remain steady, and would his own wounds allow him to stay conscious while he waited?
Aizawa had gotten the alert a few minutes after the incident. Not only was his phone set to send him an alert for everyone in the Hell Class, but the Group Chat tended to explode whenever something happened.
In this case, Aizawa had been alerted by Kirishima over the group chat.
He usually kept the phone on vibrate, during hours where he was relaxing, but that particular group chat was specifically for emergencies, and Aizawa kept that one at full volume, playing klaxon alarms as the alert noise.
Sometimes he didn't get the alert until after whatever had happened- if the news didn't tell him first- but other times someone had a minute to request help, or just send a location.
So when the klaxon alarms went off, Aizawa had jerked up to his feet, vaulting his couch to get to his phone of the counter behind it.
Red Riot: Aizawa-sensei, we need you at the Kiyashi Ward shopping mall asap. There was a bomb, and Deku
There was a moment where nothing else followed and Aizawa felt his heart try to claw its way out of his throat to shrivel up and die in a corner.
Oh god, had one of his kids-
Red Riot: Deku didn't climb out of the rubble. Baku isn't taking it well. He's in shock. If you could call him or something on your way? I think it would help.
Aizawa rushed towards his door, pausing only long enough to shove his feet into his shoes, even as one hand worked on calling Bakugou. He was calculating various ways to the mall and which would be quicker when the phone was picked up.
Bakugou didn't say anything, but the way his breathing shook, and how quiet he was would tell Aizawa more than words ever would with this kid.
Bakugou's hands were steady as Icyhot and Shitty Hair both fell in line with him, their hands working to carefully- so carefully, Izuku was under this mess somewhere- shift the broken building out of their way.
Icyhot's quirk was a blessing in that case, and Dunce face was working with the emergency personnel as they began helping the heroes, the civilians having been cared for, and the villains taken away in cuffs.
It was a relief as, one by one, various members of 3-A began to file onto the sight, eyes darting over the controlled chaos before they picked a place and got to work helping.
Aizawa's hand on his shoulder and the promise in his eyes had gone a long way to soothe Katsuki. He was still in shock- he could feel it, recognize it- but he would not be moved from his place helping shift the rubble.
And then they found the hole. It was obvious that Deku had acted to stop the bomb from having a clear shot at the surface.
Katsuki swayed in place, his face paling and eyes wide as he looked at the rubble filled hole.
Was...was Deku in the hole or…? Would he have even-
Katsuki sucked in a sharp breath and punched himself in the thigh, hard. He would not believe Deku dead until there was a body in his hands, pulse checked and lifelessness confirmed. Any other thought would bring him crashing down right now.
He knew that.
It was beyond relieving when Bass Bitch- Earphone Jack- made it to the scene. She was just in time to stop Katsuki's mind from wandering dark places, thinking about what it might mean, if Deku had fallen into the hole where all that rubble had piled up.
Jirou Kyouka had not been prepared for the emergency chat to go off while she was in the middle of a villain heist. She hadn't been trying to be stealthy or anything- she wouldn't have made such a rookie mistake as leaving a phone on, even the emergency chat, in a situation like that, but…
She'd been in the middle of a fight when it went off.
And by the time she checked it- and the horror that had swept her when she read the news, that Deku had been caught in an explosion… She'd had to finish with her current job, even if she knew her quirk would help find Deku in the rubble so much quicker. She'd rushed towards the mall as soon as she'd been able and prayed that whatever had kept Deku from getting himself out, it wasn't anything too horrible.
That he would hold on long enough for Kyouka to get there to help.
The ride over had been the longest of her life, having been clear opposite of the mall. Once the car had stopped, Kyouka had thrown herself out of the car and rushed past the crowd. She hadn't even paused, running towards the rubble, ear-jacks extending for the ground even before she finished kneeling.
She plugged the jacks into the ground and closed her eyes to better focus. Ignore the shifting of building, set aside all the noises she could pick up from the surroundings. Narrow her focus in on this area, on this collapsed building. She searched carefully, looking for any out of place breathing, any noises of life.
(She shoved the invasive thought that she might not find any away violently-)
It took her a few seconds- and confirmed that there was no other living person in the building, the heroes having evacuated it properly, thank the kami for small mercies- but she found it. She managed to pick up on the shaking, pained wheezing of her friend and her eyes snapped open.
"There!" Her voice rang out like a gong in the silence that had fallen while she searched. "He's right over there! He's still alive, he's breathing, but he sounds hurt! We need to be careful and quick!"
Her friends- everyone from her class who could make it, and more probably on the way besides, and the emergency personnel all responded immediately, shifting their focus over. Kyouka didn't hesitate to join them, her hearing focused in on Deku, tracking each and every exhale, each and every shift in weight. She also absently kept a part of her attention on the rubble itself, listening for any sort of shift under their feet.
She wished Uraraka was here, or even Thirteen. They'd be priceless in getting through the rubble over Deku at this point, but neither had arrived yet.
Katsuki's muscles ached. His arms and hands shook, but he refused to stop. Couldn't stop. Deku was beneath his feet somewhere, bleeding and hurt, and Katsuki could not leave him there.
He'd long since realized what Deku had meant, so long ago, when he saved him from the Sludge Villain. When he said that he couldn't stand aside when 'Kacchan's eyes looked like you were asking for help'. He'd lived that moment in reverse with various civilians. Had fought beside Deku more than once, and seen that flash of communication in his eyes, reacted before he could think in response to it.
Deku- Izuku- was family, and Katsuki would not- could not- stop until he was safe.
"Deku! Icyhot!"
Kaminari's voice echoed over the sound of shifting rubble, and everyone turned to look. Kaminari was shifting rubble aside quickly, but carefully, as he leaned over and spoke into the hole he had cleared.
There was only one person in this mess of a building that anyone would be talking to.
"Hey. Hey, Deku-hey. It's okay, we're here, we've got you- can you- oh shit, okay. No- no don't move-"
Katsuki flew over the rubble, his boots helping to keep his footing, as he didn't dare use his explosions near the rubble. He threw himself down on his knees, helping Kaminari open the area he had discovered Deku to be in. Icyhot was a step behind him, and he dropped to the third side of the opening peering inside.
Katsuki carefully didn't look at the picarlous way all the rubble was balanced. He only allowed himself to think about how to remove it. There was a quick conversation with Icyhot and then a slow, careful crawl of ice worked its way into the hole, working to support and strengthen the rubble around Deku. They didn't want anything to fall.
Aizawa made it to the fourth and last side of the opening above Izuku and growled half heartedly, his relief visible. "Problem Child!"
Deku's shaking, weak laughter reached them, his voice hoarse, but steady. "Hey, Aizawa-sensei. Sorry for the mess."
"Deku, you motherfucker."
"Hey, Kacchan." Deku's voice was soft, understanding of everything Katsuki couldn't bring himself to voice at that moment.
Eijirou leaned over Bakugou's form, eying the drop and the area around Deku. There...wasn't much room, but he should fit- and with his quirk he was the least likely to be hurt if anything shifted. Plus the rubble was blocking most of Deku from view, and Kirishima was certain he wasn't the only one that wanted to get someone down there to look at Midoriya.
"Aizawa-sensei? Could you lower me down?"
Aizawa eyed him for a moment, but he understood what Eijirou was planning anyway, and nodded with a curt- "Be careful."
Kirishima nodded and nudged Bakugou out of the way, and with a hand holding onto Aizawa-sensei's capture weapon, he waited until Aizawa nodded, properly braced. Once he had the okay, Kirishima lowered himself down, his quick ready to activate at a moment's notice. He didn't want to add the weight that he would gain once he'd activated his quirk until he was touching the ground.
It was nerve wracking as he slowly, carefully, lowered his feet to the ground. As soon as he supported his own weight, he activated his quirk, and kept himself low and distributed his weight as evenly as he could.
The rubble shifted a bit, made a few noises, but Eijirou remained calm. He'd done this hundreds of times before. He knew how to handle collapsed buildings and his extra weight. The fact he knew that Deku was the only other person down here only made it easier.
It was still careful, slow progress to make his way over to his trapped friend. And once he got there, his breath caught.
"Oh my god, Deku-"
"It- It's okay, Kiri."
"That is not okay, are you- Shit, okay. Hold on-"
Kirishima managed to breathe when he figured out that the large pillar had not pinned Deku to the ground entirely. Still- the rebar, and the various other chunks of rock were going to be a problem. Thankfully the building had collapsed in such a way that Deku was in a pocket of space.
The pillar on his body was a keystone in holding that up though. Kirishima couldn't move it without bring the entire rest of the building down.
He narrowed his eyes and worked his way closer, wedging himself close enough to gently examine the rebar. He reached into a pocket of his pants, pulling out a Hatsume special first aid kit, which enlarged once he set it down. His hands were steady and gentle as he worked to add padding around the rebar, working to shift or otherwise jolt it as little as possible. After that he dealt with the head wound, asked a few questions about it, and eyed the rest of the mess.
"Alright, I'm going to see if I can help you here- it's a small miracle that the pillar isn't crushing you right now, but I don't want to test that any longer than I need to."
Midoriya nodded, slowly, carefully, pain flickering across his expression. "The rebar is….it's still attached below me, You- you're going to have to break it first, and pull me out backwards. The rebar will get in the way because of the angle of the pillar."
Deku was already pale, but Kirishima felt his face leech of it's remaining color just at the thought. He steeled himself anyway, ignoring the quiver in his voice when he spoke.
"...Okay. Okay, we can do this." Eijirou took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. His hands shaking wouldn't be good, he needed to be steady.
This was going to suck.
Katsuki couldn't really hear what Shitty Hair was talking to Deku about, but he was anxiously continuing to clear rubble away anyway.
And then the scream echoed from the hole, and Katsuki jerked backwards, away from it, away from that sound.
He wasn't the only one, just like he was not the only one to jerk forward and hover over the opening like it would somehow make the situation clearer.
"WHAT THE FUCK, SHITTY HAIR?" Katsuki wasn't sure he wanted to know what happened, but at the same time, he'd rather know for sure.
"TODOROKI! I NEED A WAY OUT RIGHT NOW. Fuck- Deku, come on stay awake, fuck-"
Katsuki scrambled to get out of the way as Icyhot lunged forward, gaze intense, mouth in a firm line-
"I'm going to do this slowly, you have to guide me with the ice. I can't see anything, so I don't know what I'll shift if I just do this fast."
Shitty Hair called an affirmative, his voice shaking, before the longest few minutes of Katsuki's entire life passed. As soon as Kirishima came into view, cradling a limp- blood coated- form to his chest, Katsuki was reaching forward, offering his help. His heart skipped a beat as the rebar- broke roughly at the base- piercing through Deku's arm came into view.
His eyes were closed. Blood was drip, drip, driping down onto the concrete and his hair was matted with it.
"Is he alive?" Katsuki's voice didn't crack, but it was a close thing.
Kirishima didn't pause, moving as quickly and deliberately as he could without causing any problems, towards the paramedics.
Still, the red head took a second to confirm, his face stark white and smudge with streaks of ash and blood. "He's breathing- but...it's all up to Deku now."
Katsuki watched the paramedics swarm Red Riot, watched them bundle Deku onto a stretcher and towards the ambulance.
He watched, and he prayed, silent words to any god that would listen.