Latibule

57 - ᴇᴍᴏᴛɪᴏɴꜱ

Previously on Latibule:

"We should stick together anyway," I added the obvious.

Tsu looked thoughtful "If you're protecting Bakugou, then shouldn't he be standing here with you guys?"

My heart jumped to my throat as I whipped around. A cold feeling spread in my chest as I, indeed, saw only emptiness behind us. But how...?

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Latibule — Chapter 57///Emotions

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I practically saw how everyone else's minds went into panic mode, also. Any calmth that had been in the air had immediately vanished and the stark negative emotions were getting harder and harder to filter out. You got this, I told myself, thinking of positive things, such as the way Bakugou had comforted me earlier.

"Nice trick, eh?"

I whipped my head around, only spotting the magician-looking man in the tree a few seconds later.

"I took the lad you're talking about with my magic." He tossed a blue marble carelessly in his hand. "A talent like his would be squandered, were he cast as a hero. We'll provide him with a grander stage where he can truly shine."

"Give him back." I surprised myself by speaking so firmly, not an ounce of anger in my voice.

"Give him back?" The villain seemed amused. I could tell from the air and his voice, for his face remained behind his black-and-white mask. "What an odd thing to say... Bakugou doesn't belong to anyone."

"He belongs with us not to us, douchebag," I snapped, my hands subconsciously charging up energy.

"We'll stop you!" Midoriya backed me up.

"Right now," Todoroki followed, a mountain of ice rising to the branch the villain was standing on in a matter of seconds. He was quicker, however, elegantly floating through the air.

"Why the aggression?" he inquired. "We merely wish to show him that there are options besides the fanatical world of heroism he's drowning in." He landed in a tree. "It's important to choose a path that aligns with your core values."

Would you shut up already?! I thought, firing at the tree without thinking. The magician jumped up again before I could hit him. It felt like a game of tag that was impossible to win, especially as Shoji came to a realisation.

"It's not just Bakugou, Tokoyami's gone!"

A wave of anger and despair drowned me as I looked at the villain. It seemed as if he was looking at me, too, at that moment. Slowly, he tilted his head.

"Emotions, what fragile things... So easy to manipulate."

I froze in my place, realising that he'd known what he was doing all along.

"Come on, girl, you know what you want. You want to kill me."

My muscles twitched, as if responding to his words on their own. I looked down at my hands in horror. But I don't...! It's just, it's just... Thick purple fog surrounded me. He does deserve to die, though.

My companions' pleas fell on deaf ears as I stared at the villain — and he stared at me —, charging up all of my energy in my palms. My body tingled, my feet going numb as I completely drained them of any energy.

And then there was a little prick in my neck.

A different kind of tingling took over my body as I swatted a hand onto the back of my hand, as if to hit a fly. The fog of emotions around me defused by the time I pulled out a small glass capsule. And though the fog had disappeared, everything still seemed foggy.

I felt myself lose balance and my back hit the ground. It only faintly hurt but I still felt the air expelled from my lungs. And just before everything went completely black, there was a flash of crystallic blue.