Crossing Fates : Book 1 - Escape (BakuDeku)

42 - On The Run

Izuku jumped to his feet and grabbed the blanket and hairbrush with shaking hands.

He started to stuff them into the bag.

No more Goblins. Please God. He'll be good and eat all his peas.

"Forget all that. Drop it," Katsuki lunged for his weapons. "Go."

If there was one thing Izuku could do well. He dropped everything, whirled and ran.

Everything inside went on red alert, all systems flashing. Adrenaline kicked his ass. His vision sharpened, his sense of smell heightened and his hearing became more acute.

He plotted out the best path ahead of him at the same time as he strained to hear any hint of pursuit.

There was nothing, no sound. There was just the wind waltzing through the trees, the sound of his own breathing gone ragged from fright and Katsuki racing behind him.

But he caught another whiff of Goblin stink.

His heart lurched.

Katsuki said in a calm voice behind him, "Fast as you can, Izu."

Wow, nicknames. Maybe they're closer now because they've done it? The dragon had told him to call him by his name too, or whatever he wants or that accidental bluff he had exclaimed hysterically during the wreck.

Not the right time to think about it, moron.

Right.

Izuku tucked his chin in, sought and found his stride, then kicked it out.

*****

Katsuki raced after Izuku as the sky became brilliant with sunrise.

Izuku seemed to have gone weightless.

Damn, the boy ran like a cheetah. Maybe faster. Hell of a thing to watch.

Izuku sailed over obstacles like fallen tree trunks and rocks, making the leaps look effortless, as if he simply chose to pick up his feet and fly.

Katsuki found room in himself for one more surprise as he discovered himself falling behind.

Good boy.

If Izuku had endurance as well as speed, they might be okay.

*****

Izuku let his mind go blank and live in the moment.

Nothing existed beyond the deep rhythm of his breathing, the athletic flex of muscle and bone, the sound of Katsuki running behind him.

They had plunged deep into the forest so that the infinite bowl of the sky became obscured with heavy boughs of green, but the morning light brightened and the day grew warmer until his skin was coated in sweat.

The forest was silent around them, ancient tree trunks twisted with secrets and imprisoned by creeping vines.

Izuku realized that since the Goblins had brought them over the day before, he hadn't heard another single creature nearby- not a rustle, peep or tweet.

Maybe it was because he was in the presence of the most apex predator of them all. Or maybe it was because Goblins swarmed through the forest like a terminal disease. Or both.

He doesn't blame any of them.

I wouldn't rustle, peep or tweet either if I were you, he told himself.

Then like a chill mist rising from the ground, a sense of cold Power crept over him. It licked along his overheated skin and tightened over his body, squeezing like a boa constrictor wrapping around its prey.