»»————- ☩ ————-««

For the first time in what felt like eons, Katsuki released a slowed and relaxed breath.

It was his eyes that had first caught his attention, those damned eyes that always sent his heart into a frenzy. More so than he'd like to admit. Katsuki watched as Shoto tensed―much akin to himself just moments ago―multi-colored eyes hardened. Those eyes that held the key to Katsuki's heart, the key to his mind, the key to his soul. 

Finally, it felt like he could breathe. Like he could think. 

Everything else in the world didn't matter to the two except for each other. Staring at one another in an unspoken dance, expressing whatever pent-up emotions they had through their eyes. The windows to their very existence.

Katsuki watched, still dazed, as Soiren and Zara leaped towards him. The young woman a blubbering mess as she looked at her fearless, blond, leader. She had always been the emotional type. He heard, unmoving and unthinking, as Soiren scolded Izuku on his carelessness―explaining briefly how they would have gotten everything done a lot faster had he stayed put as instructed of him. Which inevitably turned into a bickering match between the two.

A weight had been lifted from Katsuki's body―both literally and figuratively as Zara hoisted Izuku onto her own back with great ease. Much to the freckled boys disliking.

Within seconds, Shoto's arms were encircled around Katsuki's shaking frame. He wasn't one to cry, it just wasn't in him to do such a thing. But right now . . . after recalling all of his near-death experiences . . . after being separated from the love of his life, not knowing if he'd ever see him again. Not knowing if he'd ever hear the gentle call of his laughter again. The soft caress of his lips against his own. Fuck, it was all too much.

He couldn't help it as large tears lapped along the rims of his eyes, trailing silently down his cheeks.

"Katsuki, Katsuki, Katsuki," Shoto chanted lowly, steadying the boy as he nearly collapsed in his arms. "My beautiful Katsuki,"

A sob shuddered through the blond's body, broken and raspy. His finger curled tightly into the fabric of Shoto's top, his nose trailing along the line of his jaw―inhaling deeply. 

"Are you okay?" Shoto pulled back, a tired sort of relief heavy on his breathtaking features. "Oh, look at what they've done to you," a fierce edge slipped into his tone, protective and angry as he examined Katsuki's injuries.

"They would've done a lot worse if it weren't for Izuku," Katsuki revealed quietly―well, more like begrudgingly―leaning into whatever touch he could get from the elder. "Don't get pissed off with him . . . I don't know all of the what happened . . . but I know it had something to do with my brother,"

"Neito?" Shoto seemed confused at first, only for his face to pull into a frown. "I wasn't aware that he was back again . . ."

"Me either,"

Alas, this was a conversation for another time. Because right now, all Katsuki's focus was trained on Shoto and the feeling of safety wrapping around his shoulders like a blanket. It was suffocating in the best possible way.

A shudder ran through his body, either from his sobbing or from the cold he didn't know what. However, it was an eerie kind . . . the kind that reminded him they still weren't out of the woods yet. Or maybe in the woods was a better term for their case.

Katsuki, as glad as he was to see the boy, glanced worriedly over his shoulder. The mountains were just as they had left them, calm and enveloped in the shadows the night sky provided. Though the blond knew better by now to know it was only an illusion―his mother would be gunning for him sooner rather than later once word of his escape broke out. 

Not to mention the death's of her beloved guards . . .

"We need to get the hell out of here," Shoto spoke up, stealing the words right from his mouth.

Just as he was about to agree, a sickening dread sunk deep into Katsuki's stomach. "What about Shinsou? We can't just leave him here―"

"That's already been taken care of," Shoto cut in quickly, swooping down to bring Katsuki into his arms. He pointedly seemed to ignore the expression of annoyance plastered on Katsuki's face as he began running effortlessly through the rocky terrain. "I sent in another extraction team to get him, just in case . . . well, something like this happened."

Katsuki hummed, nearly chuckling as he heard the man mutter a string of curses under his breath. Something along the lines of allowing Izuku to come with them being a terrible idea. 

Though, this only prompted Katsuki to truly think back to the boy's fearless―and brainless―actions tonight. It was shocking, to say the very least.

Even though Katsuki was more bull-headed and strong-willed than any other person alive, he had felt himself giving up. Feelings whatever strings of hope he held onto slipping through his fingers, slipping through his soul. While he knew Shoto would be coming for him―he didn't think he'd be alive to see it. It was only a matter of time before his mother returned to finish the job.

But then that hope returned, packaged up tightly in a freckled, five-foot-something, sarcastic-mouthed box. Katsuki's hope came in like a hurricane.

Wild and unforgiving.

If he hadn't been restrained to a post with a multitude of gashes littering his skin he would have found the sight funny. Izuku looked rather silly, swinging his weapons around with no clear purpose, blood smudged on his face and clothes. His technique needed work, but he still managed to take two well-trained guards out by himself.

It was impressive, Katsuki wouldn't deny that.

And as much as he didn't want to acknowledge his feelings, he was eternally grateful for Izuku. Sarcastic, pain in the ass, Izuku Midoriya.

"We should thank him later," Katsuki voiced, surprising himself and Shoto―who looked at him as if he'd grown two heads.

"You want to thank someone? Willingly?" his lover broke out into a grin, shaking his head. "I think you've lost too much blood, my love."

A short, cut-off laugh shot through Katsuki. Almost like a huff of air. "I'm serious . . . He saved my life . . . put his own life on the line just to save me. It was pretty fucking stupid―but anybody willing to do that deserves our gratitude, don't you agree?"

A beat of silence was exchanged between them. Nothing but the rustling of the leaves, thankfully, as they made it out of the mountains, across the river, and back on their side of the province. 

Something Katsuki easily realized to be confliction sparked in Shoto's eyes. Being as gentle as he possibly could―which doesn't say much for him―he pushed strands of hair from Shoto's face. Letting his hand rest on the boy's cheek.

"Look, I know you've been wary about trusting him, I have too, but after tonight he's earned at least some of our trust, no? He helped with Momo, Mina, and Kiyoka. Volunteered to help with rescue Shinsou and I―"

"Exactly. Why did he do all that?" Shoto cut in, his gaze undecided as they stared into the horizon. Unable to meet Katsuki's crimson eyes. "He doesn't know us. He may be Qui Metallum but that doesn't justify helping us when he could have declined,"

"Shoto you saw that damned Bunker," Katsuki presses, "All those bodies. I don't know much about how their people operated, but it seems like the children didn't have to take on as much responsibility as we do―he's the sole survivor of his people. Without a mother and father, a family,"

Izuku got on his nerves quite often, but they had that much in common. Katsuki's tribe hadn't been massacred in the most brutal way possible, but he still lost them. No matter how much he adored Shoto and his people, there wasn't much anybody could do to fill the gaping hole left inside of him. 

He understood Izuku's unjustified need to prove himself to a group of strangers, to prove his worth, to prove he belonged. Katsuki knew what it was like to fear being alone more than the fear of death.

Shoto sighed, seeming to accept the unspoken words he knew Katsuki had been thinking.

"You're right,"

"I know I am," Katsuki beamed, which soon turned to a grimace as a dull ache spread through his chest. "But can we hurry it up? I know I said I was fine but . . ."

Not needing to be told twice, Shoto picked up his speed. Weaving through the trees with purpose, soon catching up to the others who were waiting by a large . . . metal contraption of some sorts.

Katsuki inspected the vehicle curiously, eyebrows pinched and mouth parted. He was having difficulty indulging in his curiosity, however, as he swayed in and out of the depths of unconsciousness. An unholy amount of exhaustion weighed heavily on his body as the effect of adrenaline began to wear off, slowly seeping from his limbs and leaving him a pile of limp bones in Shoto's arms.

There was so much to say, so much to do. And Katsuki feared―somewhere in the back of his sleep-deprived mind―there wasn't enough time in the world to get it all done.

Just as he was about to ask what the hell that metal contraption was, he paused as punched-out screams filled the air. Someone, perhaps Zara, shushed and pleaded with Izuku to stop . . . but there was no use. 

"What the fuck happened?" Katsuki asked groggily, wincing as Shoto placed him down. 

"I don't know," Zara ran a hand through her inky locks, "One minute he was fine, complaining about his leg, and now―" 

Her words were cut off by a thrashing Izuku in Soiren's arms. "Son of a bitch!" he wailed, fingers seizing mid-air above his legs violently shaking. 

Through the thick cloud of moonlight, Katsuki muttered a curse under his breath as he watched the cloth around the boy's leg begin to clog heavily with red liquid. Izuku clamped down on his bottom lip, a low humming whine vibrating through his throat.

"If I don't sterilize . . . m-my wound now―" he wheezed screwing his eyes shut, "―it could get infected."

"Then what the hell are we doing just standing around?" Katsuki glanced at the group. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Soiren shot the blond a pointed look. "We won't make it back to the Bunker in time on foot. And none of us know how to work this . . . this Rover thing, only he does!" the words came out in a rush, "And I don't know about you guys but he doesn't look too good, right now."

"Speak for yourself," Izuku gritted, "I look sexy as hell . . . even with a stab wound close to getting gangrene." 

Leaning against the cold metal of the Rover's hood, Katsuki ran a hand through his hair.

He couldn't think, with Soiren and Shoto's bickering, Zara's incessant fretting, and Izuku's pained cries and sarcastic comments Katsuki couldn't fucking think. It was all too much, and there wasn't enough fucking time to get through it all! He had just been kidnapped for fucks sake . . . Kidnapped by people he once viewed to be his tribe, his friends, his family.

Now, not even minutes later he was faced with the duties only a Ductor had. The same duties he had spent most of his life running from―which landed him in this very position in the first place.

Everything was swarming in his head, blurring into one confusing jumble of unintelligible worries. Problems others created yet he had the responsibility of solving. 

Don't panic. Don't panic. Don't panic.

"The Iniuidicatus River," Shoto breathed, breaking Katsuki from whatever downward spiral he was close to falling into.

"What about it?" Katsuki questioned, wondering how chemical-infested waters would be of service now.

Zara caught wind of their conversation, her unusually purple eyes widening. "The berries that grow there should ease his pain. I don't know much about them, but my sister used to be a healer, she used to rub the berries on my wounds to take away the pain and slow the swelling."

Katsuki gave a firm, but thankful, nod in her direction with this information. Feeling somewhat calmer than before, Katsuki carefully made his way towards Izuku, mindful of his own ragged wounds.

"What do you say, Doc? You're the expert here, do you want to do that?" Katsuki asked tentatively, pushing Izuku's matted curls from his face.

"I don't give a shit . . . what you do―" he broke off mid-sentence as his face convulsed with pain. "―as long as this pain stops, I'd like the fucking floor if I had to. Or worse . . . I'd hold a conversation with Soiren all night,"

Soiren, looking unimpressed, tightened his hold on the boy. "Bold words from someone who's carrying you right now. I'll bury my fist so deep inside―"

"My ass?" Izuku chuckled weakly, eyes heavy. "Calm down, Soiren, no need to get so freaky with me. All you had to do was . . . ask,"

Ignoring his sarcasm Soiren broke off into a sprint, hopping through the trees with the others following closely behind him. 

It was by then―with Katsuki secure in the arms of Shoto once again, the nighttime wind blowing across his heated skin and open wounds―that Katsuki found himself, once again, getting exhausted. Mentally, physically, emotionally. He nearly succumbed to his body's need to shut down, however, every now and then the gentle touch of a finger sweeping across his neck and jaw would wake him up.

Shoto was trying to be strong for him, Katsuki could tell. 

But no matter how many times the dual-haired boy smiled down at him, the blond could see right through that mask. He was breaking, too.

"Keep those eyes open for me, Katsuki. We're almost there," Shoto instructed softly, brokenly. 

Never had the strong and unrelenting man Katsuki had come to love sound so open, raw, fragile. So, summoning whatever strength he had left, he kept his eyes open . . . watching the blurred painting of the trees whirring past him, the still velvet-black sky, and Shoto's hard and impassive face. 

Katsuki wasn't sure how much time had passed, seconds, minutes, hours―it all blended together in his head. But then he heard it. The soft and unpredictable trickling of the river's current, going upstream for now.

Izuku had gone uncharacteristically quiet by now, though every now and then Katsuki would hear his whimpers and punched-out groans. Telltale signs of life.

Opening his eyes crimson eyes wide, Katsuki took in the sights before him. Distracting himself from his overwhelming fatigue.

The Iniuidicatus River flowed steadily yet violently just the same. Its waters glowing a luminescent blue beneath the moonlight, illuminating the rocks and fish that rested at the bottom. Vines holding a multitude of flowers grew from the shoreline edges of the river, snaking across the ground like animals. 

As promised, there were berries that grew on said vines, some of which were poisonous others that had healing properties.

"Here," Zara sighed, her hands glowing green from the crushed berries. Gently, she smoothened the odd substance across Katsuki's wounds, instantly he felt a cooling sensation rake through him. 

Soiren did the same to Izuku, who constantly made joked about the man 'feeling him up'. Though Katsuki figured that was his way of distracting himself from . . . well, everything they had just gone through.

The berries worked like a charm, still, they did nothing to aid his exhaustion; in fact, it proved to be more arduous to keep his eyes open as the berries' properties kicked in.

"If you guys are up for it," Shoto began after gently propping Katsuki and Izuku against a large tree trunk. "Do you think you guys can talk about what happened? So, we all have an understanding for what we're up against?"

Izuku nodded weakly while Katsuki gave a non-committing grunt in response. Slowly and hazily, the green-haired male recalled the events leading up to his capture. Explaining how Neito and Camie crossed the border to collect him, how they tied him up, and attempted to gain information. Izuku had also taken the initiative to unravel some theories about Neito and Camie―how he managed to find the relationship between the two and Katsuki, and how Neito appeared to be doing this all for leadership. 

Possibly to overthrow his mother in place for Ductor, and quite possibly start a war.

And through his prostration, Katsuki felt the flickering fire of anger sprouting through him. Of course, this didn't surprise him about his brother . . . but it didn't make it any less better. Neito had always been looking for leadership―ever since they were younger.

"Katsuki? Honey, did you find out anything?" Shoto asked softly, tapping his knee with his fingers.

Now, the moment of truth . . . the moment he had been trying to evade. 

After his mother had practically whipped the life out of him, another series of events had quickly escalated in the room. And now, with all eyes on him, Katsuki knew he had to share.

"Well . . ."          

Hello Cricket Cultists!!

This chapter I struggled with just a bit. I tried to demonstrate how hectic and confused Katsuki's mind was through the monologue, but I kept getting the pacing wrong so I ended up re-writing this a couple of times. It actually would have been up last week but again, the pacing was wrong.

He's overwhelmed, you know? After being kidnapped and tortured by his own family, having to turn around and deal with the leadership he had been running from his whole life RIGHT AFTER he just escaped was a lot for him. 

I feel like he was tearing at the seams a bit. Trying to focus on everything all at once while evading the truth at hand. 

I can't wait for these next few chapters.

Questions/Comments/Anything?

Until we meet again!!!