Whispers of the South Wind

Chapter 9

He groaned, struggling to push his body off the ground. Everything felt wrong; his head was spinning as he attempted to clear his vision, his amber eyes desperately darting around to try and gain his bearings. His body ached and strained with the effort, every limb feeling like it had been made from lead as he struggled to move. He could hardly see in front of him, squinting to bring things into focus. His vision had never been this blurry before. Had he knocked his head that hard when he landed?

His throat burned from the way All for One had held him, and his ears were ringing, making it difficult to really hear anything else happening around him. Through blurry eyes, he watched as All for One finally departed from their battlefield. He panted, resting his head on the ground for a brief moment. He just needed a second to catch his breath, that's all. He just needed a short break, and he'd earned it, right? It was just five minutes; he only needed five minutes...

However, a soft groan finally made it past the ringing in his ears, and he found the strength to raise his head. Who was it? Were they hurt and needed help? What the hell was he thinking? He was Hawks. He needed to get up, needed to get back out there and help. He was trained for this, after all.

He let out his own groan, lifting his head and narrowing his eyes until he found the source of the groan he had heard. He struggled to push himself up, his wings not responding to him despite attempts to use them for some kind of leverage. He bit his tongue, turning his head towards his back, his heart twisting at the sight.

All for One really had taken his quirk.

Was that the reason his body suddenly felt so funny, why his eyes were so out of focus? He let out another small groan, pushing himself to his knees as he struggled for breath, his chest burning with the effort. He couldn't focus on Fierce Wings right now; he would just have to deal with it all later. He needed to focus on helping the people around him, and that's when his eyes finally landed on the source of the groan he'd heard earlier.

Fumikage.

He pushed himself onto his feet, stumbling towards where his intern was lying as he fought the dread in his stomach. He could feel his heart pounding against his ribs as he tried his hardest to recall his rescue and medical training. He was so unnaturally still, the rise and fall of his chest so faint, he almost missed it the first time he looked him over.

"Tsukuyomi," he said, gently shaking his shoulders, but there was no response. The young hero's body was bruised and scraped, the majority of his hero outfit missing as he lay in a pool of...blood? The crimson liquid squished between his fingers, causing him to look down in horror as he scrambled backward with a yelp. He didn't remember there being so much blood when he ran over, but now it was rushing out of him like a fountain. Dear god, why was there so much blood?

And then suddenly he was falling backward, screaming as he twisted and writhed through the air. He needed to spread his wings, catch himself, but he couldn't. They were gone, and he couldn't stop the panic that raced through him as he screamed for help. He turned his head watching as the ground got closer and closer before squeezing his eyes shut and bracing himself.

He sat up in bed, panting as he kicked off the comforter that was tangled around him in panic. He tried to roll out of bed and stand, but the damn thing tangled around his legs, sending him crashing to the floor. He tried to catch himself, missing and landing chin first on the ground. His teeth crashed into his tongue, his mouth filling with the taste of copper as he let out an angry groan.

"Fucking shit," he cursed, quickly spitting the offensive-tasting liquid to the floor, groaning as he tried to calm himself. The war was over, he was safe. Fumikage was alive, still living happily in Japan. He was currently running his old agency, and from what Jeanist had told him two nights ago during their latest phone call, he was happily planning his wedding to his high school girlfriend.