Broken Smile of the Lost Child [MHA fanfic Rewrite]

Chapter 4: Through the Fire

Katsuki wasn't a religious person.

He wouldn't call himself religious considering the amount of profanity he's spouted and well.....he's a little $hit while his mother has enough fire in her to make even Satan shrink.

He was also still young so the concept of death never bothered to stay nestled in his mind for long. What's the point? He's only just reached double digits in his age, it's not like his body's gonna start going whack on him just yet.

But whenever he pictured the concept of 'heaven' he pictured to be...well...heavenly. A place of euphoria, free of pain or worries and all that cock and bull saints preach about. A place for souls who deserved a long break in this labor called life, living the rest of their 'existence' in peaceful content comfort.

That's why he instantly knew he wasn't in heaven when he woke up and after somehow grasping some coherent awareness, became aware of a few things.

One; the stiff sheets covering his body and the mattress that sure as hell was not his bed. They felt too stiff and didn't have the live-in feel his subconscious would effortlessly notice.

Two; the smell in the air. It smelled like chemicals or those cleaning solutions- bleach? No wait......it's antiseptic, the kind of stuff used for medical stuff.

He's pretty sure heaven doesn't feel or smell like that.

Three; the stinging itchy burning feeling on his face. It stung so badly it burned and it itched like an annoying mosquito bite. It reminded him of the old hag's slaps/smacks but those always gradually faded once he noticed them.

But these? The sting lingered on his face and the slight burning sensation stubbornly clung on to his skin. Why? What happened to his face? He wasn't in his room, that much he knew. Did he do something stupid enough to knock himself out while he was at Auntie-

Auntie M.

Izu.

Villains.

Fire.

His eyes shot open too fast and he hissed, instantly regretting it as lights blinded his eyes and his head pounded like a drum- wait....why was he only through one eye? Why couldn't he open his other eye?! What happened? Where was he? Where was Auntie M and Izu- wait, where the fu$k was Red?!

He vaguely recalled blearily seeing her collapsed beside him, bloodied, exhausted and.....broken. She too had been lying there beside him, resigning herself to whatever fate planned for both of them have it be getting consumed by flames or.........

Slowly turning his head around, worried sudden movements that were too jerky might send his brain into a freaking parade, relief flooded his veins and god, he could've cried on the spot when he saw the familiar redheaded form of his childhood friend still unconscious in a hospital bed beside him.

Her arm was wrapped up and she was injured but he couldn't care less because she was there, she was alive, both of them were still alive.

Katsuki was glad that his head didn't feel ready to tumble into somersaults. Now that he had a firmer grasp of situation awareness, he realized he could only see through one eye because his left eye was covered in a gauze eyepatch. He also noted that the rest of his face was patched up.

For a moment, his body tensed; a chill paralyzed his heart and he saw a hand shoot out, red eyes glinting with malicious glee, fingers outstretched to hurt him, to kill him and Tsuya and-

The door opened, snapping him back to reality. Blinking, he saw his old hag and the old man enter, Tsuya's dad with them.

The old hag's eyes made contact with his one visible open eye.