Has something ever meant so much to you that even the prospect of it being taken away hurt?
You haven't been hit or beaten. There isn't a bullet between your ribs, no bones have been broken, there is nothing inherently physical.
But it hurts.
It hurts so bad you grab your chest, wince at the pain, fall to your knees.
That's why people say it breaks their heart when they lose something... someone.
Loss and fear are weapons that cut deeper than any knife.
They crawl through the mind and body like poison.
It hurts.
It's the suffering that makes you fall in the end.
And people have the misconception that pain makes you stronger.
That's not true.
Pain doesn't make you strong.
It just destroys everything until strength is all that's left.
***
He couldn't move. Not a single muscle.
If he did, who knows what could've happened to her.
His hand shook involuntarily, his eyes wider than they'd ever been, fixed on the image of the girl's body as she was led through the doorway and out from behind the bar.
That guy. He held her by something implanted in her neck. Like a lead for livestock as she couldn't even lift her head.
Bakugo's teeth clenched.
Her feet dragged on the floor, her body unable to hold itself upright without help. The same clothes as before outfitted her, but dried blood outlined the back of her neck settled on her shoulders, the same place those electrodes and a single needle were inserted.
And her skin- it took a shade of gray over its color almost identical to her hair.
Bakugo recognized you instantly. But after he'd been picturing you safe, in Todoroki's care, waiting for him- After holding onto the hope of reuniting with you again, back home, safe, and just... seeing you like this...
He just couldn't move.
"You let him out, huh?"
Dabi spoke. He actually had the audacity to say something as the girl in his hold was barely breathing.
"C'mon Little Miss," his whispering spread across the now quieter, tension-filled room, made Bakugo's hands bawl into fists and his teeth bare.
Actually, it was more from how threateningly close Dabi's face was. How suggestively he smirked as he acted like he could do whatever he wanted. It was only then Katsuki noticed the blood on his nose. The way he held on to those wires in a fist. Drunk on control and the scent of your weakness.
"Aren't you gonna say hello to him?" Dabi teased, his lips too close to your jaw. "He's been waiting for you, ya know-"
"Speak to her again and I'll kill you."
Everyone's attention turned from Dabi to the center of the room. They expected the words to come from Bakugo.
After all, it was him standing there with a look of fear and anger that could kill in his eyes.
But it wasn't.
Shigaraki knelt to the ground, picked his father's hand from the floor like it was a fragile thing. When it once again covered his face, he rose silently to his feet.
Dabi took the message loud and clear, rolling his eyes as he stood back. Though he had little respect for Shigaraki, the authority in his tone wasn't one he wanted to conflict.
