Crossing Fates : Book 1 - Escape (BakuDeku)

29 - Burning Blood And Margin Land

Izuku pushed at the fingers gripping his chin.

He was tired, damn it.

He muttered, "Would you stop talking so loud?"

"Izuku, look at me."

"I want to sleep," Izuku said, his tone petulant.

Why did that voice have to be so damn beautiful?

It crooned, "I know, but you can't. Suck it up, baby."

"Gosh, you're so annoying," Izuku sighed but opened his eyes.

He looked up at Katsuki, who smiled at him, his dark expression lit with an unfamiliar expression. On someone else, he would call it relief.

Katsuki propped his weight on one elbow by Izuku's head as he leaned over him. One side of Katsuki's face was a dark purple bruise.

Izuku's gaze left that puzzle and went on to others, traveling over an unfamiliar misshapen metal while they lurched in a constant, uneven motion. He lifted his head to peer out and he wished he hadn't bothered.

Monsters ran alongside them.

The sense of dread from before hit him full force. The surrounding land shimmered with magic that was growing in strength. It was too much to take in all at once.

"We're being kidnapped," Katsuki told him in a calm voice. "Car wreck, remember? I'm pretty sure they're hauling us into a Margin Land," Katsuki stroked his hair gently. "You're all right. You were hurt but it isn't bad."

Izuku looked down at his battered and blood-smeared body.

A switch flipped in his head.

"Oh gosh, I'm bleeding," he stammered. He brushed at his arms, scrubbed at the wetness streaking his face.

"Whoa," Katsuki said. The man grabbed his hands. "Stop panicking. I said you're all right."

"Make it stop. I can't bleed," Izuku struggled and started to hyperventilate.

"Keep your voice down. One of them might hear you," Katsuki put a hand over his mouth, holding him down. "Damn it, I just closed your wounds. You're going to cut yourself again if you're not careful."

"Kacchan, I can't bleed," he said, hysterical and muffled against the man's palm. "Do you understand? I. can't. bleed!" He looked at Katsuki with wild eyes. "Can you burn it?"

Katsuki stared at him, his golden red gaze arrested. "Izuku," he said, "you were cut all over."

"It doesn't matter," Izuku panted. "We've got to get rid of the blood."

After a quick murderous glance at what was happening outside their private cage, Katsuki said from between gritted teeth, "Shit. All right, hold still."

Izuku froze, pushing out the panic. Moving fast, Katsuki tore Izuku's pants above the knees and stripped the bloody cloth off him. The man used it to wipe his legs and the edge of metal that had cut him and wadded it up.

Izuku fought to wriggle out of his overshirt, hampered by their close space. Katsuki helped by shredding it and then he used it to wipe the cuts on Izuku's arms and his face as best he could. Katsuki added it to the wad of material he clenched in one fist.

Magic surged. The truck coughed and stalled. Goblins ran to unhitch the flatbed, calling to one another as they ran chains underneath. A dozen Goblins grabbed the chains and began to haul them forward.

"We've crossed over," Katsuki said.

Izuku had never been to a Margin Land before. His mother refused to take him, insisting their best chance at avoiding discovery was to hide among humankind.

Despite everything else going on, the feeling of the land was intoxicating.

He peered out the ruined window.

Majestic old-growth trees draped with vines towered around them. There was a symmetry to the land that fed his tired spirit. His gaze followed the thick twist of a tree trunk up until the branches spread out high overhead with the graciousness of a vaulted cathedral ceiling. Steeped with age, drenched with magic, everything looked richer, greener, and the early-morning sunlight shone more golden and bright.

Pain forced him to lie back. He whispered, "It's beautiful."

"I'm pretty sure it won't be where they're taking us," Katsuki said.

They both looked down at the short-sleeved lemon yellow T-shirt Izuku had worn underneath. The right shoulder was soaked red, along with an area at his waist where he had bled through the overshirt.

"Tear it off," Izuku said. He pushed away a panicked sense of exposure.

Katsuki's eyes went lava hot as he glared at the Goblins surrounding them. "Fuck if I will," he snapped.

The dragon shoved the wad of material into Izuku's lap and then ripped the shirt at shoulder and waist until he got all the bloodied cloth. What was left of the T-shirt was a ragged mess that left Izuku's stomach and shoulder bare but the collar was intact.

Izuku peered underneath it and sighed in relief. His skin was not bloodied.

Last of all, Katsuki tore off his own shirt, which was dotted with red spots. He tied the bundle up in the pieces of his shirt, then he held it up in one hand close to the crumpled window opening. His eyes narrowed. The lava in them flared just as his Power did. The bundle burst into flame.

"Thank you," Izuku breathed.

Katsuki said, "We are so going to talk about this when we get home."

Izuku shrank against Katsuki's chest, away from the flare of fire, staring as the man held the ball in his fist. It burned with too much intensity, fueled by his magic. Izuku felt the heat lick along his skin but he was unburned.

Katsuki sent a sideways glance outside, a quick evil look, then flung the flaming cloth with enough force that it slapped a nearby Goblin in the face.

"Two birds, one stone," Katsuki shrugged when Izuku stared at him.

He watched with interest as the screaming started. The Goblin ran in erratic circles, slapping at his flaming face and howling.

The fire refused to die. Instead, fueled by Katsuki's Power, the magic of the land and whatever was in Izuku's blood, it spread to the leather armor.

Izuku turned away from the gruesome sight. He covered his ears and buried his face in Katsuki's chest. Katsuki cupped the back of his head and watched as the Goblin fell down and died.

Payback was a beautiful bitch and was also a good friend of Katsuki's, and they were just getting started.