#i called you hundreds of times...not a reply; he's gonna quit someday; you ran away again....you ran away from me

[lisbonsteresa]

doing horribly

[pinkanonwrites]

I loved the animal crossing vs karasuno boys hcs u did!! Do u think u could do another one with a different team? Maybe nekoma but u can choose whatever!! Thank u 😊

AAAAAAHHH This has been sitting in my drafts almost-completely finished for MONTHS and I’m FINALLY GONNA POST IT! Thank you for the request, I love Nekoma so, so, so much! (Fukunaga please call me. I’ll do all the talking)

(( Also also since I did all boy villagers in the Karasuno one, this one has all girl villagers))

LONG POST BELOW!

Kuroo Tetsurou

“Celia is so pretty!~ I love her so much!”

Kuroo’s attention snapped to you, doing his best to keep his face neutral as his brain went rocketing off in the worst direction possible. Pretty? Pretty girl? You like a pretty girl?

He had no room to judge, he also liked pretty girls. But there’s no way you liked this pretty girl more than you liked him, right? Right?

He pulled his attention back to the practice match just in time to avoid getting wailed in the face with a volleyball, able to turn it into a clumsy receive at the last possible second. If his teammates noticed, they were at least kind enough not to call him out.

When he sidled up to you at the end of practice he did his best to sound fake concerned, not legitimately worried.

“You replacing me with some cute girl? I could hear you mooning from all the way on the court, you know?”

You just laughed and shook your head, lifting your phone to show a character from the game you and Kenma had been gushing about. Your phone lockscreen had been set to a picture of an, admittedly adorable, cartoon eagle.

“I finally found someone who had Celia in their town. I wanted her so bad!”

Kuroo snorted, ruffling the top of your head. “Well I’m glad you got her. Next time give me a warning before you start going all mushy for video game birds, alright?”

Kai Nobuyuki

“Oh, Lily! Lily, you’re so beautiful!”

Kai barely gave more than a twitch to indicate that he’d heard what you’d said. He’d heard you gush about celebrities or anime characters you’d liked before, but not to the degree that you’d call them just by their first name.

“New favorite character?” He offered, continuing to pack his practice bag and try not to look too curious about who you were fawning over.

Luckily for him, you were more than happy to supply the answer yourself, squiggling under his arm and holding your Switch up to his face so he could see your colorfully-dressed character sitting at a picnic table with an adorable cartoon frog.

“She’s so cute! I can’t believe I got her in my town.” “I didn’t know you liked frogs so much.” He breathed a silent sigh of relief, feeling silly for letting himself worry, even the tiniest bit.

“Yeah, well she’s the cutest frog!”

“Cuter than most frogs I’ve seen.”

Kai fought a smile as you began passionately debating the cuteness of real life frogs, tugging you a little bit closer with his arm.

Yaku Morisuke

“Ah, Cleo! How could anyone ever be so cute?”

Yaku didn’t much enjoy it when you called him cute, but hearing you call somebody else cute was somehow a thousand times worse. He could swear he felt his own blood pressure spike with that sentence alone.

“Ooh! Who’s cute?”

And there’s Lev. So much for his blood pressure.

You held up your phone screen to Lev and he began nodding along in agreement with you, which somehow made Yaku feel even more irritated than he already did. A stray volleyball rolled across the floor near him, and he sent it spiralling into Lev’s lower back with a kick.

“Quit talking about cute girls and focus on your receives, shithead!”

“OWWWW!!! Yaku-senpai, so mean! You could’ve missed! Then how would you feel?”

“Get back on the court, Lev.”

“I’m sorry!” You said when you pulled Yaku aside after practice. “I just was just really excited about Animal Crossing, I didn’t mean to distract Lev.”

“Animal….. Crossing?”

“Yeah! I got a really cute villager!” You held up your phone and showed Yaku a picture of the pastel horse that had just moved into your village.

“...Oh. Cleo.”

“Mhm!... Are you okay? You’re turning a little red. Maybe you should drink some more water.”

Kozume Kenma

“Rosie! Oh, Rosie is definitely best girl.”

Despite being very well-versed in Animal Crossing, it still caught Kenma off-guard for a half a second to hear you so openly mooning about your favorite villager. Luckily for him the two of you had been talking about Animal Crossing since the new game was announced, so he’d had plenty of time to get to know your favorites.

“Did you find someone to trade with you?”

“Yep! I just need to get Egbert to leave so she can move in! Get outta here, chicken!”

Resting his chin on your shoulder, Kenma watched with a small smile as you started building cliffs around the perimeter of Egbert’s house, determined to get him to move away. Maybe someday he’d have to deal with the discomfort of hearing you openly moon about someone attractive. Thankfully, today was not that day.

Fukunaga Shouhei

“You’re so perfect, Ellie! Don’t ever leave!”

Fukunaga glanced at you and quirked an eyebrow, but you were far too immersed in your Switch screen to notice. Your expression had dropped into this soft, moony-eyed gaze, one that Fukunaga wasn’t used to seeing directed at anything that wasn’t him when you thought he wasn’t looking.

It felt… weird.

“Oh! Shouhei, do you wanna see?” You finally seemed to notice him glancing in your direction, scooting over to show off your screen. “Ellie was moving out of Kenma’s town and he let me take her! Isn’t she cute?”

While your character ran circles around the little tan elephant all Shouhei could do was watch you smile with a warm, fuzzy feeling blooming in his chest.

“Second cutest here.” He quietly replied.

Yamamoto Taketora

“Molly! She’s so cute I can’t even handle it!”

Normally Yamamoto would find the idea of you fawning over a cute girl to be equally cute. That way the two of you could fawn over cute girls together!

But it was significantly less fun when it meant that one hundred percent of your attention was on your phone and zero percent of your attention was on him. He spent the majority of the day landing awesome spikes only to snap his attention towards you and see you fully immersed in your phone screen.

Finally his not-so-quiet grumbling about your lack of attention got the better of Kuroo and he hollered over to you, asking what you were looking at. Before Yamamoto could shush him you raised your phone, showing off an adorable cartoon duck.

“I finally got Molly in my town!”

Kuroo burst into laughter as a blush crawled its way across Yamamoto’s face and up to the tips of his ears, taking a swing at Kuroo to try and get him to shut up.

Haiba Lev

“She’s so stoic and cool. How can you not be completely in love with Whitney?”

“I can be stoic and cool.” Lev grumbled.

“She’s got such pretty white hair and sharp eyes.”

“I’ve got white hair and sharp eyes.”

“I should get her some flowers.”

“Can’t you get your boyfriend some flowers?”

“Hm? Lev, hun, did you say something?”

He’d been quietly murmuring under his breath since you started gushing about Animal Crossing but honestly, how could you not? Whitney was one of your dreamies and finally, after many a Nook Mile Ticket spent, you finally had her on your island. Maybe you had been going on about it for a bit, though.

“I’m sorry, Lev! I’m just excited. I wanna know what you said though!”

Lev puffed up, jabbing his thumb into his chest. “I’ve got all those things you love about this Whitney girl so much, so you shouldn’t need anyone else!” You stared at him in disbelief for a long, painfully awkward moment, before snorting hard as you dissolved into laughter.

“H-Hey!”

I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh!” You choke out between giggles, just silently holding up your Switch to Lev’s face to show off your character presenting some roses to a cartoon wolf…

… Named Whitney.

You don’t think you’ve ever seen someone turn that shade of red before.

“W-W-Well she must be your favorite because she’s so much like me! Right? Right?!”

Good save, Lev. Good save.

Inuoka Sou

“Piper’s just so cool and chill! That’s why she’s my absolute favorite.”

Oh. Oh! You liked cool and chill people? Inuoka had no idea. But that’s okay! He can be cool! He can be chill!

“Dude, you okay? You’re like… Vibrating.”

At least, that’s what Inuoka had thought at the beginning of the day. Truthfully he had no skill when it came to containing his energy, especially since every time he saw you it felt like his heart was doing the equivalent of spam texting you a dozen lines of heart emojis. By the time he had gotten to the end of practice he felt jittery and uncomfortable, like he’d been holding a lid down on a boiling pot of water. He just hadn’t been acknowledging it until Yamamoto pointed it out.

“Sou?” You had been waiting for him outside the gym! Waiting! For him! His heart felt like it did a kickflip off the inside of his ribcage as he enveloped you in a hug.

“I tried! I tried to be calm and chill like you like but I just can’t do it! And whenever I see you my heart goes a RAAAAAHHH so it’s basically impossible anyway! I hope you don’t mind!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hang on.” You cupped his face in your hands and he melted into your hold, smiling like an idiot. “When did I say I like calm, chill guys?”

“This morning, you were talking about some girl named Piper and you said she was so calm and cool and that's why you liked her so I thought if I could be like that you’d like me more too and-”

You pressed a finger to his lips and he couldn’t help but sigh, turning to putty at your merest touch.

“Babe, I was talking about a character from my game! You know, the one with all the animals?”

“Really?”

“Really?”

“So I don’t need to act all calm and cool for you to like me?”

“Of course not! I love you just the way you are.”

“Heehee~… I feel a little silly.”

“You are a little silly, babe.”

Shibayama Yuuki

“I’m in love! Flora is so perfect! I’ve never loved so much in my life!”

Shibayama stumbled over his own two feet when he heard you professing your love of this ‘Flora’ to one of your classmates during lunch. Glancing just around the door to your classroom, you were holding your phone in one hand and wildly gesturing with the other, leaving your friend chuckling at your excited antics.

He felt an uncomfortable sort of chill in the pit of his stomach, making his just-eaten lunch feel more than a bit unwelcome. Did you even like this Flora more than...him?

It was easy to tell that Shibayama was a bit out of it at practice, doing his best to stay focused but still uncharacteristically quiet. It wasn’t until you met him after practice to walk home that everything was cleared up to him.

“S-So, um… Who’s Flora?”

“Huh? Oh! Oh, lemme show you!”

You pulled out your Switch and ran your little character over to a flamingo and began talking to her, and Shibayama felt all the tension in his body rush out in a single breath. He let out a small chuckle as you fawned over the character.

“Yeah, she’s pretty cute!”

[thdorkmagnet]

How Far Would You Go For Love? Part 1

Hey everyone!! Today I got something different for you all. Not Star vs for once. That’s write, I branched out a little and wrote for another series I’m really into. My Hero Academia. I’ve been in love with this show for years and decided it would be fun to actually make something for this fun and entertaining show. So here I am! This story is gonna be for my fav ship in the show: Uraraka x Deku (I don’t know what the ship name is oops ^^;). I love these two dorks and their chemistry and I had to try my hand at writing them! This story is also in first person so I really am stepping out of my comfort zone for this one haha XD I really hope you enjoy! I had a lot of fun with it and I’m pretty proud of the results!! 

I shivered violently as the crisp, cold air sting my face and hands, any semblance of bare skin felt like it was being jabbed with a thousand sharp needles. I scooted closer into the warm body beside me, ignoring any feelings I had in favor of staying warm. I tried to ignore the way the form shifted awkwardly towards me, possibly trying to provide some sense of comfort, either for me or him or both. Thanks to the harsh wind in my ears and loud-pulsing heartbeat I barely heard Deku whisper to me, “It’ll be okay, Uraraka. We’ll find a way out of this.” I knew he was trying to make me feel better, to comfort me in my moment of terror but... well...

Comfort was hard to find when you were a hostage.

At the mental reminder of my situation I licked my lips and shifted uncomfortably, trying to ignore the coarse ropes rubbing up against my wrists or the sharp pain from the movement. My wrists had already been rubbed raw from my pointless struggling, my determination to escape stronger than the pain. 

Of course with every moment I became less and less sure escape was an option. 

 I'm sure Deku didn't feel that way but as always I was well aware just how big a gap there was between us. Deku was a born hero, he saved people without hesitation, and when I was with him I always felt like I could do anything. It’s why I looked up to him and wanted to be by his side. It’s why I strived to be as good a hero as he was someday.

... And it’s the reason I had fallen in love with him.

For a long time I had denied my true feelings for him, justifying them in my own mind to avoid having to face reality, telling myself I just thought he was cool and someone I admired and wanted to be like. But now, faced with the possibility of death or worse, helpless and alone in the hands of a psychotic villain, I no longer had the strength to fight it. If I denied my feelings for him anymore then I might die never coming to terms with them, to let that empty, gaping hole in my heart remain until the end. Because the truth was I had no idea how this all would end. Sure, I knew UA and the other heroes would do everything in their power to save us but-

No, no I can't think like that!I shook my head back and forth to try and rid it of the nasty, taunting thoughts. This isn't the end, it can't be. If I give up then this villain wins. I forced my brain to think straight, to be like Deku, and I took a moment to examine the situation at hand like he would. We were on the roof of some large building, probably abandoned, and although I hadn't gotten a good look over the side, judging by the amount of wind I was being constantly assaulted by we had to be at least 20 stories high. I shivered involuntarily again but forced my brain not to panic. 

Instead I tried to remember how we had ended up in this mess, hoping it would offer me a clue out of it.

 When Deku had first come to me with two special tickets to the grand opening of the All Might museum he had been beyond excited. I had seen him turn into the fanboy I knew and loved before but this was on a whole different level! He seemed almost over the moon at this. He was practically squealing when he told me in his typical Deku ramble how he had spent the previous night sending in what must have been hundreds of contest entries asking basic questions about All Might’s career and judging by the bags under his eyes he most likely hadn’t slept all night because of it. But all that work must have played off cause he was declared the winner.

And then he offered me the second ticket and I thought I might die right there on the spot. While the museum itself sounded cool and everything, it almost felt like Deku was asking me out on a date! Something I had dreamed would happen for months now. It took every ounce of strength I had not to turn into a blushing, flustered mess at the very idea of such a thing.  I tried not to get my hopes too high and overthink it, but I couldn't help but ask why he picked me out of our whole class, considering anyone would be thrilled to go to a place dedicated to our awesome teacher.

He had grown slightly embarrassed by my question and I could still remember the adorable shade of pink on his cheeks as he explained that I was one of the only people who didn't judge him for his fanboy love of heroes. I tried to tell him nobody cared except maybe Bakugo but  before I got the chance Deku had nervously muttered something along the lines of “It’s different with you. I can be myself around you.”  And if my heart was any fuller in that moment it probably would have exploded.

We both decided to keep our 'date' a secret, Deku worried about upsetting the others for not inviting them, while I was more concerned about the girls finding out. I loved them but they were born gossipers, especially Ashido. The last thing I wanted was the whole school finding out that me and Deku were going on a date. Especially since I don't think Deku meant it to be one.

That still didn't stop me from spending a good two hours picking out the perfect outfit though, while trying to ignore my jittery nerves. I kept telling myself that this wasn't a date. That this was just a get together between two friends, nothing more. But convincing my racing heart of this seemed to be an impossible task. All my hard work paid off in the end when Deku spotted me, blushing and muttering under his breath something about ‘me looking really nice’ and how ‘he wished he had changed out of his All Might t-shirt' but I quickly assured him he looked fine and considering where we were headed, would fit right in.

What happened next I remembered all too well. As if I was reliving the same horrible events all over again. 

I can’t believe how lucky I am! Here I am, next to my favorite person in the world, walking side by side with him on a date! Well not technically a date but still it was close enough for me. I can’t stop smiling I’m so happy! Or wait, am I smiling too much? Is Deku gonna think I’m weird cause of how much I’m smiling? I glanced over at my friend, only to find he was too distracted to notice my weird smiling. He was talking to himself or maybe to me, it was hard to tell sometimes, going on and on about something. Probably All Might related if I had to guess. His eyes usually only gleamed like that when talking about his hero. Even if I couldn’t always follow along, I loved listening to how passionate he was about stuff like this and it was hard not to get excited with him, his enthusiasm was contagious.

As I listened to Deku’s adorable rambles, I gave a quick glace up at the towering building coated in All Might’s signature colors of red, white, and blue, his name displayed above the front entrance in bright, flashy letters. 

“Hey look, Deku,” I said excitedly to him. “I think that’s the place up ahead.” I pointed it out to him and his green eyes seemed to be filled with starlight. His whole face was practically glowing, he looked like a kid at Christmas, then again for him this probably was like a second Christmas for him. Before I knew it I was smiling like an idiot right alongside him. Date or not, I was just so happy to be here with him. Today was gonna be great because I was gonna get to hang out with the coolest guy I knew. Without realizing it, my hand reached out for his and to my even greater shock and surprise he actually held it back! I felt my cheeks heating up in a blush while my heart was busy pounding away a mile a minute. I was floating on cloud nine! Nothing my quirk could do could possibly make me feel more like this, like I was walking on air, only Deku had that power over me and I loved it. 

Just before the two of us could enter into the museum, however, a sudden scream reached our ears. The voice was muted and distorted from distance but there was no denying the call for help, nor the fear in the man’s voice. One quick glance at Deku and I knew we were both on the same wavelength, our thoughts for a moment one. Of course, Deku being Deku, he ran into the alley without a second thought, but I was proud to be right on his heels, ready to prove myself as worthy heroes in training and maybe even Deku’s equal. 

We immediately came across the victim, a man crouched on the ground, clutching his chest as if he was in some kind of pain. My lessons kicked in as I did my best to survey the situation: the man was alone so it didn’t seem to be a villain attack, from what I could see he wasn’t bleeding out or in any critical state, although that could be shielded by his arm. I watched as Deku knelt next to him, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder, asking the standard questions: ‘If he was alright?’, ‘What we could do to help?’, that kind of thing. But for some reason I felt an uneasy twist in my gut. Something wasn’t quite… right. 

Instead of answering his concerned questions, the man simply asked Deku if we were heroes. Something about the tone of his voice set me off, there was no sincerity there, only an underlying malice. But before I could voice these concerns, though, Deku had already replied with a cheerful smile. "Actually we're UA students."

The man smiled and I heard him whisper something dark under his breath, before his hands lashed out and grabbed onto Deku’s arm. 

I saw the look of confusion on Deku’s face before he realized the danger and started to pull away, lifting his leg to kick. The man, however, simply twisted Deku’s body around, holding his arm tightly against his back, the awkward angle looking incredibly painful. I watched as my friend squirmed and screamed in pain, demanding the villain release him. But the look in his eyes was what caught me off guard the most, they looked distinct and half-lidded as if he was struggling to stay conscious. 

“Let him go!” Wasting no more time, I threw myself into the battle, too, determined to free my friend from this villain’s wrath. Whatever he was doing to Deku, I needed to stop it now! I tried to touch him with my fingers, hoping to make him float so taking him out would be easier but he moved out of the way much quicker than I was expecting. He threw poor Deku to the side like he was a worthless ragdoll and for whatever reason, my crush was unable to catch himself as he landed hard on the paved ground, his head no doubt taking quite a bit of the fall, the impact making me cringe. I couldn’t help myself, my concern for my complain greater than my hero training as I turned and shouted, “Deku!” 

And that was the only opening the villain needed as he latched on strongly to my arm. 

The instant he did I felt my head grow fuzzy and everything began spinning in a nauseating circle. I was used to this feeling, thanks to my quirk, and did my best to try and pull away, but his grip was like a vice. Everything started to blur in a flash of colors and noises. I heard Deku scream my name, followed by a grunt, though I couldn’t tell if it was from him or the villain.

I knew we were running out of time to act, so I forced my brain to remember my training as I attempted a move to dislodge his hand from my arm, but thanks to my functionless mind, my movements were too sluggish and slow. I didn’t even have time to react as the man grabbed me by the hair and slammed me hard into the cement ground. My vision began to go black but just before the world faded away, I could hear Deku’s panic-filled scream call out to me, his voice slurred as he began to lose consciousness just like me.

And then there was nothing.

When I finally came to, I had a massive headache unlike anything I had ever felt before. My brain felt like it was on fire and I groaned in agony. I risked opening my eyes only to discover my uncomfortable position as this villain's hostage. I had lost track of how much time had passed since then but my guess was that it had been close to an hour or two.

I let out a slow breath to calm my racing heartbeat. I had to find a way to escape. I just had to! Before- before... well I didn't want to think about that. I had to focus on getting away at any cost. But I was unsure what to even do,I had already exhausted all the other escape attempts I could think of, the few that came to mind. Maybe Deku had an idea?

He probably did but it wasn't safe to ask him, not with the villain pacing back and forth in front of us. I looked over to said villain and noticed he wasn't paying either of us any mind. Which was nothing new, ever since we got here, this unknown villain hadn't shut up about his plans. He had rambled on and on about his goals, about how he would make the heroes pay, how it was thanks to heroes his life was ruined. I had nearly let out a sigh of annoyance the moment he started up his cliche monologue but caught myself at the last second. It felt like every villain I encountered had the same flawed view of hero society. They all wanted to see it destroyed and replaced with their own messed up world. Didn't these guys have anything better to do?

 Now though, he just looked agitated, wringing his hands together nervously as he continued his incessant pacing. I could hear him mumbling something under his breath. It was clear he was becoming unstable. And that boded poorly for me and Deku. I had suspected this person was suffering from some sort of mental illness (after all what sane person would kidnap two high schoolers) and it seemed my suspicions were confirmed. 

What terrified me is what he would do when the little sanity he had left snapped? What would become of me and Deku when he got bored of us? 

The thought turned my blood to ice and I fought back the growing tears of defeat. If this was the end for me and Deku then... 

I cast a longing look at my crush, his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth set in a flat line. There were a few new bruises on his body and I guessed he hadn’t be taken so easily like I had. He looked so unlike the Deku I knew, the one who I had seen not a few hours ago, giddy and full-of-life, and I could feel the tears nearly spilling over just looking at him. This whole ordeal must be affecting him terribly, too. I didn’t want to do this, not here and certainly not now, but I doubted I'd have another chance, so I drew in a shaky breath to try and steady my frayed nerves, gathering what little strength I had left to muster.

"Deku," I squeaked and instantly regretted that decision. Gosh my voice sounded awful, like I had been gargling nails and hadn't spoken in a year. Not to mention the noticeable shake in my tone even though I had tried so hard to fight it. 

It was no surprise then that Deku whipped his head around to face me, his eyes wide and full of concern (most likely for me). When our eyes met though, I felt a small bit of warmth settle inside my cold, tired body. It wasn't enough to completely halt the despair I felt creeping into my mind but it helped to give me a little strength and hope to fight that overwhelming feeling back.

I tried to summon the courage to tell my crush my true feelings, to ignore the darkness and terror we were trapped in and create a small moment of light and love to cling to. But what I wasn't expecting was for Deku to smile at me.

He actually smiled! And I knew that smile better than anyone, I had seen it enough times to know what it meant. He was trying to provide me comfort. In this dark, hopeless situation, Deku still had the courage to smile. It was forced and shaky, his eyes full of fear and the corners of his mouth quivered with the effort of holding it together but it was there! And I was once again reminded of the true strength my friend had and by proxy how little I had in comparison. Before I had a chance to speak he whispered in a shaky but determined tone, "Don't worry, Uraraka. I promise we'll get out of here. I won't let this be the end. I swear."

I had no words with which to reply with but I could feel the tears threatening to spill over. Without thinking I buried my head in the front of his jacket and sobbed. I knew how weak it made me look, that a hero shouldn't behave this way but I couldn't help it. Deku didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve me. Even though he was scared and worried, he still had the strength to try and help me. He was a true hero and it scared me to think that he might not live to prove that to everyone.

Deku didn't say anything to me while I sobbed brokenly. He just let me work it all out of my system. He didn't even fuss over the fact I was completely drenching his limited edition All might hoodie. Instead he just leaned his head on top of my own, the only comfort he could offer with his hands tied uselessly behind him. The gesture only made me sob harder. Because gosh he was too good for me! 

I probably could have stayed like that forever curled up on Deku’s chest, if my loud bawling hadn't unfortunately attracted the attention of our unnamed captor. "Hey shut up you damn brat, before I make you!" He hissed at me, the venom in his tone enough to make me choke on my tears, trying feebly to stop their flow. 

While I was busy with that, Deku shot the man a glare and I felt him curl around me even more in a protective manner. He looked like he wanted to say something but he held his tongue, his attention shifting back to me as he began muttering meaningless phrases in an attempt to comfort me. It took a bit of effort but I finally managed to quiet my sobbing till it was nothing more than small whimpers. 

This seemed to quell the villain (for now) as he went back to muttering to himself and I tried to take this as a small relief. I blinked a few times to clear them of tears and felt shame at the sight of my friends tear-stained hoodie, the whole front of which was soaked in my tears. Deku’s stare was burning into my skin but I kept my head lowered. I couldn't face him after my breakdown. What would he think of me? Here he was being brave and heroic while I broke down over the littlest of things. 

Before the tears could start up again I forced myself to meet Deku’s eye, my heart pounding painfully in my chest. As expected, his look was one of pained sympathy and my cheeks felt like fire from the blush that spread over my face in an instant. I was the first to break eye contact, staring sheepishly at the floor. "Sorry," I whispered, trying to resist the temptation to hide in Deku’s hoodie again. 

"Don't be," he replied with a small shake of his head. "I know this a lot to deal with. I don't blame you for crying." He tried to crack a smile, joking awkwardly, "Beside you've seen me cry plenty of times before."

It was true. I had seen Deku cry more times than I could count but I never saw that as a weakness. When he cried I knew he was just overcome with emotion and was expressing it freely. I respected that. That he wasn't afraid to express himself. So why was it, I felt so ashamed of doing it myself? It just made me feel weak. Like the barrier between him and me had become even wider. I didn't want him to comfort me, I wanted to be strong enough to protect him.

"How are you so calm right now?" I wondered aloud. 

Deku shrugged. "I'm not gonna lie, I'm scared. Really scared," he admitted honestly. A shaky breath before he continued. "But... I have to keep smiling. I have to believe we’ll be okay. That the other heroes will save us. Cause that's what All Might would do. He'd stay strong no matter how bad the odds are."

I couldn't help but admire Deku for a moment. He really was amazing. And if he could keep believing, then I had to do the same. No matter how bad things got. 

Both me and Deku jumped when our captor let out a loud, guttural howl. It sounded inhuman, filled with malice and insane energy. The sound alone was startling enough but the fact that it had happened seemingly at random put me on edge. Whatever sanity the villain had seemed to have finally shattered as he began loudly talking to himself, getting more and more agitated by the second. "They aren't coming. Why aren’t the heroes coming? They should be here. Maybe they forgot. No, no they couldn't have. They must not think I'm a threat. But I am! I need to show them, I-I need to... give them a reason to come. Yes that's it." 

With that the man slowly turned towards us with a long, creepy expression stretched across his face. The little comfort me and Deku’s conversation had brought me was shattered in an instant when I saw the look in the villain’s eyes. Those were the eyes of a corned animal. The eyes of a beast pushed to its breaking point. There was danger in them and I knew at once things were about to take a very, very bad turn. 

For a few tense seconds we just stared each other down, captor and captives waging a mental battle and I had no clue who was winning or losing. The air was so thick with dread I could almost feel it with each breath I took. There was no sound, only silence, but that seemed to have mesmerized the villain, like he was waiting for it to break. And I feared what would happen when that pin dropped and that silence was shattered. 

Then, with no warning, the moment was broken, the villain moving towards us in a flash, a crazed look still in his eye. I flinched instinctively, closing my eyes and waiting for the pain to start. There was no doubt in my mind I would be the target of his rage since I had been the biggest nuisance to him. He would be quick to dispose of me. 

But to my surprise it was Deku who cried out and my eyes snapped open in shock. The villain had a tight grip on Deku’s hair, his fingers laced painfully in his green curls, while the other hand fumbled to undo the knots around Deku’s wrists. But being Deku, he put up a resistance, squirming and making the job difficult for our unknown assailant. Meanwhile, I was forced to watch powerlessly with my own arms bonded uselessly behind my back. I shouted to the villain and kicked my feet but it did nothing to deter him. 

The villain growled in frustration, giving Deku a wild shake that made my stomach twist into knots. He leaned down to hiss in his ear, but I was able to make out the chilling words, "Stop fighting or the girl takes your place instead." 

I watched with horror as Deku calmed his resistance, allowing the man to finish his work still glaring daggers the whole time. No, no this was all my fault. I was being used against him! Deku, the one I loved was about to die to save me. This horrible villain had just twisted my sweet Deku’s heroic nature into something wrong and despicable. 

The villain eventually loosened the ropes enough that Deku was no longer pinned in place, but his hands were still tied tightly behind him, keeping him weak and helpless. I thought I might puke as I watched the man drag my friend away by his hair. By his freaking hair! I could hear the roots tearing but Deku, to his credit, suppressed any screams through gritted teeth. 

I continued to scream and thrash in my bounds, desperate to help my friend, to save the boy I loved from this nightmare. I could feel hot, sticky blood dripping from my wrists, every movement painful from where I had rubbed the skin raw struggling but still I fought. I refused to give up. Not until Deku was safe. "Let him go! Leave him alone!"

Deku didn't give up either, determination hidden behind the fog in his eyes as his body glowed green. I recognized the power of his quirk immediately, the air itself filled with electricity as he swung a leg towards the villain in his signature shoot style and I sucked in a breath, daring to hope this terror might finally end.

But Deku’s reflexes had been dulled thanks to whatever this villain's quirk was and his movement’s sloppy and formless, at least compared to the lightning fast attacks I was used to seeing from him. Our capture was able to easily snatch Deku’s leg before it made contact with his face, a new look of dark fury flashing in the man's crazed eyes. 

And then he began to twist Dekus ankle, my crush struggling to hold back his pained whimpers. He moved slowly, so slowly, and oh gosh I don’t think legs can bend that way! I was gonna be sick, I wanted to look away but it was as if I was under a spell, mesmerized by the horrible display, while my brain and mouth begged and screaming for it to end. But he just kept twisting,

 ...and twisting,

 ......and twisting,

Until...

Snap!

Deku’s blood curdling scream burned itself into my subconscious and I watched with teary eyed vision as my friend writhed on the ground, his foot twisted at an awkward angle, already red and swelling. My heart ached inside my chest. It hurt so damn much to see my crush and best friend hurting so much, while I was powerless to help him. I felt sick, my stomach in knots and my blood cold. Without realizing, I had stopped struggling, I lacked the strength to even raise my arms. It felt like my heart had just shattered along with the bones in Deku’s leg.

And then, while the two of us writhed in our own agony, the villain started to laugh. Actually laughed! 

And I saw red.

I was not an angry person, far from it, but that laugh, that sinisterly gleeful chuckle, made me feel for the first time ever true unyielding rage. And it scared me.

My struggles renewed stronger than ever, I didn't care if I ripped my arms off! I was stopping this! For a second I had a flicker of a thought, wondering if this was how Bakugo felt all the time.

As I fought valiantly against my bonds I watched as the villain slowly pulled open his coat and a glint of silver metal caught my eye. 

My heart froze and I could see from the corner of my eye the fear in Deku’s eyes as the gun was pulled free from its holster. The man seemed amused by our fear, a cruel, wicked smile splitting open his lips revealing a layer of crooked teeth. The villain soaked in the power he held, taking his dear sweet time as he cocked the deadly weapon. 

The click caused tremors through my body, the realization that all of this was actually happening hit me hard. There was a real weapon before me and right now it was loaded and ready to kill. 

The barrel was soon aimed and level with Deku’s head and despite how brave and strong he was I heard a tiny whimper escape his throat.

And I lost all sense of self control.

I pulled violently against the thick ropes, blocking out the pain completely as I twisted my arms as much as I could in any attempt to get free. I didn't have time to waste, in a matter of seconds Deku would be dead. Finally I heard a loud snap behind me and I had no idea if that was the ropes or my wrists themselves, all I knew was that I was free.

 I scrambled to my feet, running at the villain as fast as my sore legs could carry me. I didn't hesitate, I didn't think, I was reacting on protective instincts right now, my only goal to keep Deku alive. I slammed hard into the man's back, jabbing my elbow into the center of his spine, just like I had been taught. I knew this wouldn't be enough to knock him down, his stature was much greater than mine, so I reached out for the gun hand, my fingers just barely managing to brush skin, but that was enough for my quirk to do the job. 

The shift in weight was enough to knock us both off our feet. On the way down I heard a loud bang next to my ear, causing it to ring loudly. The ground was much harder than I expected, my body skidding painfully across the rough terrain. I could feel skin being scraped off, the pain sending jolts to my stunned brain. When I came to a stop my whole body was radiating pain, I could feel every gash and bleeding cut as they throbbed in agony. 

 But I quickly shoved all of this to the side, focusing my attention back on my hurt friend. Deku looked shaken up, his leg still twisted at an unnatural angle but other than that was no worse for wear. I could see a tiny indention in the ground next to his head and realized the bullet must have missed him by mere inches. 

But at least it did miss.

Deku’s eyes were wide in what I could only assume was shock and fear, his gaze locked on me and me alone. I had never been happier to see those green irises in my life, the relief that he was still alive and breathing far greater than anything my battered body could complain about. Deku was still alive, that was all that mattered. 

He was safe and I could rest.

 But just before I could collapse and sleep for a hundred years, I heard a familiar voice yell to me, the tone dark, twisted, and most of all angry. "You bitch!" 

I glanced up to see a new terrible sight. The villain was still alive and he had his gun. Thanks to my quirk he was currently suspended in the air, his body doing slow turns. I must have hit him harder than I thought because he was dangling over the side of the building, a long, deadly drop waiting just below his feet. 

The look in his eyes... that was the look of a killer and I knew at once I had made a terrible mistake. 

"You're gonna regret that," he hissed at me, venom dripping from every syllable. He once more raised the gun and I flinched, expecting to be staring down the loaded barrel. But instead, he pointed the gun at Deku and fear clenched my chest. 

"I'm gonna make you hurt," the monster said, grinning at my pain. He knew where I was vulnerable, we both could see it and one of us was too late. 

I tried to stand, maybe I could shield Deku or push him out of the way somehow but my body refused. It was failing me at the worst possible second. 

I saw the terror in Deku’s eyes as they jumped from the gun to me and then back to the gun. 

"Your boyfriend is dead, ya hear me!"

My brain scrambled for an idea, searching tirelessly through my limited options for some way out of this mess.

But I didn't have one.

Nothing would work.

It was over.

My heart squeezed painfully in my chest as Deku tried to reason with the villain, trying to delay his death. "Please, you don't wanna do this."

I saw the man's finger slowly pressing against the trigger and I knew I was out of time.

Out of options.

Only one thing would save Deku now.

My hands moved on their own, my fingers pressing together as a strangled cry escaped my throat. "Release!"

And then the villain vanished.

Disappearing over the side of the building.

His echoed screams reached my ears, every second growing softer.

Softer.

Softer...

And then they just stopped.

The abrupt silence caught me off guard. After the rush of terror and adrenaline that had been so present a moment ago, the peaceful atmosphere that remained felt strangely out of place. A cool breeze tickled my sweaty face, blowing my hair and ripped clothes all over the place. 

Was it really over?

It had all happened so fast that my brain took a moment to process it all. All I could do was stare at the spot the villain had just been, before he -before I-

My hands flew to my mouth as I choked back a sob.

No.

No I didn't.

I-I couldn't have.

That was impossible.

But I had.

I had just killed someone. 

A feeling of guilt unlike anything I ever felt before hit me at once as the reality of my situation sunk in. I had just broken one of the only rules a hero had to follow. I was a murderer. My breaths had become shuddery and shaky as I fought back the tears that threatened to spill.

In a desperate attempt for comfort I looked to Deku, hoping he could somehow make this whole, nightmarish situation better. But the face I was greeted with was anything but soothing. Deku was staring at me with wide, pained eyes, his body tense as he regarded me and he flinched when I turned his way. Almost like he was afraid of me. The normally bright green of his eyes that I loved to look into had darkened greatly. I could see the judgement in his eyes, I could feel the disappointment from where I was. Deku saw me for what I had become, a killer, someone unworthy of being a hero. Someone unworthy of Deku.

I felt sick, bile rising at the back of my throat and I whimpered struggling to hold it back. But I could no longer fight off the tears, Deku's dark expression had been my breaking point. The tears flowed freely down my cheeks, burning my skin. 

I sobbed pitifully, burying my face in my hands as pain and guilt racked my body. How could I do that? How would I ever be able to face my classmates again after what I had done? How could I call myself a hero? 

 Warm arms wrapped around my torso and I tensed in surprise, looking over with tear-stained vision to see Deku. Deku was hugging me. I had wanted that for so, so long and now I couldn't even enjoy it. I didn't deserve to enjoy it. His eyes were full of sympathy and I could see tears forming in his own vision, but that just made the pain worse.

I didn't deserve to be forgiven. Not by him, someone who was already a greater hero than I could ever hope to be.

"Its okay, Uraraka," he whispered, tightening his hold as my sobs only grew. "It's not your fault, it'll be alright."

Not my fault? Was he blind? No. Leave it to Deku to sugar coat reality, to see the light in the endless darkness. He somehow didn't believe it was my fault when it so clearly was. 

"I'm so sorry," he muttered and I felt something wet drip on my shoulder. 

He was apologizing. Why? I was the one who killed that guy. This was my fault, not his. 

I couldn't stop crying, no matter how much I tried to silence my pitiful sobbing, I couldn't. My body and mind had taken all it could handle and it needed to feel no matter how much I wanted to suppress this. 

I couldn't escape this. This feeling was my burden to bear now.

The cold wind swept over my body, chilling me to the bone. For a long time, I just sat there, weeping in Deku’s arms as he spoke soft words of comfort to me, holding me as if I might break. As if I deserved forgiveness. But I didn't. I had saved Deku from death but at the cost of my own morals. 

And the part that scared me the most was that I didn't regret it.

Despite the heaviness on my heart and soul, the guilt that was seeking to crush me and pull me under, at the end of the day it didn't matter. Deku was alive. He was safe. 

And nothing else mattered but that.

Part 2 coming... whenever I can finish it ^^;

[armadanovel]

It was three o’clock in the morning and already it was a terrible day for Chris Anderson.  Five hours previously, he had been lying in bed in his own room, warm and on the brink of unconsciousness. Now, he was outside in the pouring rain on his way to an emergency war council. Of course he’d known this would happen someday. He just wished the apocalypse could have waited until morning.

On the other side of the country, Olivia Stangerson was updating her facebook, oblivious to the chaos unfolding a couple thousand miles away. To her, the closest thing to the end of the world was the two shiny rows of metal brackets that were now adorning her teeth. It wasn’t that it would ruin her social life; heavens knew that she had no social life to ruin. No, it was more because contact sports were a rather uncomfortable past-time with a face full of sharp metal things. She really couldn’t fathom why her coach would insist on the things, or why she had agreed to them. However, the fact remained that she was now stuck with braces for the next year at best. With thoughts full of her match the next day, the sixteen year old fell into a deep slumber.

Armada, Chapter 1

That had been years ago. After a real live dragon destroyed most of her town, she decided that the reports of an apocalypse were not exaggerated. After some time dodging creatures and trying to find any signs of humanity, she packed up and headed north into Canada where a voice over the radio had said there were fewer monstrosities. It turned out those reports were entirely falsified and she had just made it to a point just north of Fort McMurray when her car had been wrecked by a small, strange fox like beast with glowing eyes and she had been forced to go on foot back into the relative safety of the ruined town. Once there, she wandered the hamlet’s small, slightly destroyed shopping district, occasionally grabbing or replacing an item she found useful.

Leaving the shopping area behind, she headed into the residential area, hoping to find something that would replace her old Volvo. However, instead of finding a nearly indestructible Swedish car, she found voices.

“Are you sure we can just take it?” Said a deep voice “That feels wrong.”  There was at least two then, one male by the sound of it.

“Of course we can. The owners are long gone, and besides. It’s not like anybody else is here.” Alright, two males.

Only two of them. But they sounded almost human. It had been two months since she had heard or seen any living human beings. Loads of dead ones, sure. But living? Forget about it. After a moment of furious internal debate, she decided to let them be; she could wait until they left before getting a car herself. There was no way of determining how safe they would be. She slowly started to move backwards before turning and running- directly into a third person.

They both collapsed onto the ground with a loud oomph. So much for leaving quietly.

“Autumn, are you okay?” came the deeper voice from around the corner.

Autumn was the third person’s name, then. At least, she hoped it was a person. There were footsteps approaching and Olivia felt herself tense up, ready for a fight as she filed away the information.

“Autumn?” repeated the voice, sounding worried now.

“I’m fine, Mulch.” A muffled feminine voice said from beneath her. “I think we’ve got a fourth, though.”

“Seriously?” came Mulch’s voice.

“Yeah, assuming she’s capable of getting her fat ass off of me” She replied, shifting to glare at Olivia.

“Oh, yeah, of course, sorry.” Olivia stammered.

In her shock she had forgotten she was still on top of the other girl. She stood up and offered her hand to the other girl, pulling her to her feet.

“I’m Olivia”

“Autumn. Good to know there’s at least one other survivor with some manners on this god forsaken planet.”

It was the first time she got a good look at the other girl. She had shockingly red hair cropped close to her scalp and was one of the tallest people Olivia had ever met- that is, until the one called Mulch came around the corner. It seemed almost against the laws of nature for a man to be so bloody massive. He had to be at least seven feet tall, with arms the size of her torso and a head that seemed to be the size of a car tire. His hands could probably have wrapped around her waist without much trouble, and yet he moved with a grace that seemed only to emphasize his great size. As he came nearer, she saw that his face was covered in scars to go along with the bandages wrapped around his arms.

“Autumn, where on earth did you find this one? She’s even smaller than Jason!” the giant said.

“I ran into her, quite literally, on my way back to you guys.” Autumn replied, brushing dust off of her beat up jeans.

“Sorry, who’s Jason?” Olivia asked.

“That would be me.” A voice said from behind her.

Olivia whirled around to face the source of the voice that had somehow snuck up on her, cursing herself for letting down her guard. She cursed again when she realized who had snuck up on her.

“Not you again.” She said, slapping a hand to her forehead.

“You two know each other?” Autumn asked.

“Unless there’s another survivor on this planet that looks like that, then yes, I do know him.” Olivia replied.

“How?”

“This little asshole is the one who stole my timing belt back in Calgary. I thought Canadians were supposed to be nice?”

“I prefer the term ‘borrowed’” said the asshole known as Jason “Also, we’re polite. Not nice. There’s a difference. Anyhow, how’d you know it was me?”

Olivia had to stifle a snort.

“You ain’t exactly subtle, dickhead”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

(there’s gonna be filler here but I haven’t written it yet so enjoy a lil description of Jason.)

The first thing that came to mind was that somebody had somehow created him out of color, but ran out of ink when they got to his head. His arms and legs were covered in hundreds of vibrant tattoos; his neck appeared to have writing wrapped around it. His hair was entirely white; his face was pale, and thin to match his body, and his eyes... Olivia shuddered. His eye was pure black. The other socket was filled by a golden orb with a sun motif on the front of it.

“Jason O’Derren, at your service.” He said, taking an overly elaborate bow, seemingly oblivious to her horror. Turning to Mulch, he said “D’you mind giving me a hand with the truck?”

“Sure.” Came the easy reply.

Together they walked back around the corner of a surprisingly intact house, leaving the two girls behind.

(End of other bit that’ll be re written to fit with the story)

“Can I help you?” Autumn said bluntly.

Olivia realized that she was staring, and shook herself.

“Sorry, it’s been a while since I’ve seen anybody human. A couple fae, some shifters, and I think I saw a Selkie a while ago? Then there were the Jagr which might look human but let me tell you, they do not smell it. And then -- ”

She trailed off when she noticed Autumn hiding a smile with her hand.

“What’s so funny?”

“You’re rambling.”

“Sorry, its just -- I’m just excited. It’s been forever since I’ve had a proper companion”

Autumn’s smile faded, a little less mocking and a lot more sad. Pitying, even.

“Yeah, we’ve all been there. I ran into those two idiots a while back but being alone -- it’s not fun.”

“When did you move here?”

“Not long ago, though I’ve been scouting this area for a while. You?”

“I stayed here for about a week, had to come back when I ran into a weird little fox beasty that killed my Volvo”

Autumn nodded understandingly.

“We’ve run into that one before, he’s got a buddy we call the minstrel. Some pseudo human with a banjo who’s only purpose seems to be annoying Jason by being more hipster than him.”

“What did you mean by a ‘Fourth’?” Olivia asked

“We often have to split up when we go scavenging, but that means leaving one person by themselves. Having a fourth means Jason won’t have to go alone.” Was the reply

“Wouldn’t it make more sense to leave the big one alone? The other one... Jason, you said? He looks like he’d get blown over by a strong breeze. Stealthy, sure. But combat doesn’t seem like his thing.”

“You’d think so, but Jason’s actually an incredible fighter. Mulch is far more likely to be working on some project or another than to lend a hand in a fight.”

Olivia was about to respond when an engine roared to life just around the corner.

“They must have got it running. Let’s get out of this dump!” Autumn said excitedly.

They threw their bags into the bed of the elderly pickup truck and hopped in after them. No sooner had they closed the back when they roared off for some unknown destination.

“Where are we going?” Olivia called out over the noise.

“Back to the Armadillo.”

“The what now?”

“The Armadillo. It’s an old bunker from the cold war, used to be used for planning out naval operations.”

“Naval operations in Alberta during the Cold War.”

“Yeah, I don’t know either. I’ve found its better not to ask about these things, especially around Jason. The boy’s a walking history textbook when it comes to military stuff.”

“Dare I ask why it’s called the Armadillo?”

“The boys call it the Armada, but it looks a lot like a shelled rodent, so I call it the Armadillo.”

The rest of the journey was completed in relative silence. It seemed at least one of Olivia’s new companions wasn’t particularly talkative, which was good- It felt strange being around people again and Olivia had a feeling that it would take a while for her to get used to having a companion that could talk.

Soon the truck pulled to a stop next to a low-slung concrete dome that was covered in old, fading graffiti. There was, however, one spot of fresh paint where somebody – Olivia had a pretty good idea who – had painted the word ‘Armadillo’ in large letters. They hopped out of the bed of the truck, grabbed their stuff and joined the other two by the bunker’s heavy steel door.

“Mulch, if you’d do the honors?” Jason said

“We really need to fix that door mechanism.” Mulch sighed as he stepped up to the door.

Sliding both massive hands between the two halves of the door, he strained against the weight of aged steel. With a grunt and the sound of metal grinding against concrete the doors slowly slid open.

They walked into what could have been an everyday messy bedroom if it weren’t for the fact that instead of dirty clothes, there was barbed wire, and where you would expect to see a bookshelf there was a weapons rack complete with weapons, both modern and medieval. There seemed to be at least some semblance of order in the sense that the dangerous things were piled in one section of the room and the bikes, medical supplies and beds were in another, but Olivia had a feeling this was as neat as it ever got.

“Where’d you get all this stuff?” Olivia asked

“Found most of it, nicked the rest. Sorry, we haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Jason O’Derren, martial artist extraordinaire and the leader of this little group you see before you.”

“He wishes. No, Mulch over there is both the brains and the brawn of the operation.” Autumn said, gesturing at the mountain of a man that was now tinkering with the gears and pistons that operated the huge doors. “Also, probably the smartest person I’ve ever met.”

“What role do you play?” Olivia asked

“I’m the scout and weapons expert. Before all this crap happened I was well on my way to becoming a JTF sniper, so I know my way around the area really well - most of the stuff here I found and Mulch carried back while Jason protected him, at least until Mulch found a mechanics workbook. The guy learns so quickly, it’s unreal”

“Sorry, hold up.You were JTF?”

“You know what that is?”

“Uh, no. But --”

Olivia’s reply was cut off by a worried Mulch.

“Um, Autumn? You might want to see this.” Mulch said, pointing out the door with one shaking hand.

“What is it this time? ‘Cause if it’s a spider again I do NOT want to hear about it.” Autumn replied irritably.

“It’s substantially bigger than that” Mulch called back, sounding slightly terrified.

“Alright, what is going – Inside. Now!” Autumn yelled. “Mulch, the doors please!”

As Mulch began desperately tinkering with the wiring behind the door panel, Jason sprinted over to the weapons rack and grabbed a pair of swords and a long rifle. Throwing the latter to Autumn, he turned to Olivia.

“You might want to hide, just in case Mulch can’t get the doors shut in time.”

As Mulch shoved the wiring back into the wall and started punching things into a keypad on the wall, Olivia looked out the hopefully operational door to see what the fuss was all about. What she saw wasn’t a very welcome sight. The sky from east to west was almost black, filled from horizon to horizon with a massive swarm of something.

“What -- what is that. What are those.” Olivia stuttered,

“Those, my lovely companion, are Stymphalian birds. Almost exactly the same as the Stymphalians of herculean times, though thankfully less metal. However, they remain as carnivorous as ever, so stay well clear.” Jason replied, not taking his eyes off of the flock above them. “There is a chance they won’t notice us, so like I said. Hide, and whatever you do, don’t move.”

“Got it.”

Then, with many wing beats, the birds were over head. It seemed that they were going to just pass right over head until with a grinding of old gears the doors began to close.

“Mulch!” admonished Autumn.

“Sorry!”

In an instant, the flock had done a full one-eighty and was closing fast, and the door was closing agonizingly slowly. Autumn began firing, taking out the lead birds with astonishing speed and accuracy, and after what felt like hours the doors finally closed, just in time. Or rather, almost just in time. One bird had raced ahead, just escaping Autumn’s rifle, and buried itself in her arm. It took mere seconds for Jason to relieve it of its head, but the damage was done.

(Ahead: brief upcoming plot summary of what’s to come.)

As Autumn recovered, Olivia learned more and more about how life ran in the Armadillo as she attempted to fill in for the injured woman. In the mornings she and Mulch, who was a surprisingly good cook, made breakfast for the other two while they went over maps to decide where they would go once Autumn could fight again. After breakfast she would get lessons from one of the other three; mechanics from Mulch, stealth and weapons theory from Autumn, or hand-to-hand and special weapons training from Jason. She particularly enjoyed the lessons with Jason simply because it was fun to spar again, and who wouldn’t enjoy being taught how to use ninja stars?

A week later, Autumn and Jason had finally agreed on one spot to go to. It wasn’t far, a small Hospital about four kilometers from the bunker where they could get some more medical supplies. Jason had somehow managed to dislocate his shoulder while sparring with Autumn and so Mulch agreed to go alone on the condition that he would be allowed to make a stop at a ruined electricians shop. Jason was hesitant, but it wasn’t long before the fading sound of a truck engine signalled Mulch’s departure.

It wasn’t until it was around dinner time and Mulch still hadn’t returned that they realized something had gone wrong.

“It was only supposed to take an hour at most - I’m going after him.” Jason said after a tense meal.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Mulch is a big boy, he can handle himself.” Autumn said

“At least wait until morning.” Olivia added, hoping to calm the situation down before it could escalate.

“Fine.” Jason said, muttering under his breath.

Olivia knew that he would be gone long before dawn - the bond between those two was incredible and there was no way Jason would be able to sleep knowing his brother-at-arms was in trouble.

Her prediction proved correct, when she awoke in the night to go to the washroom his cot was already empty and one of the few bicycles that had a trailer was gone, as were several weapons and many medical supplies. What wasn’t expected, however, was Jason returning on his own a few hours later, covered in gore, and most importantly, alone.

“What happened?” Autumn asked

“It’s Mulch. He’s-He’s gone.“ Jason’s reply made Olivia freeze.

“What kind of gone?” Autumn asked with a shaky voice.

“I don’t know” was the even more unsteady reply.

The silence that took over the group for the hours that followed was almost tangible, and it was painful to see how Jason’s cocky shell was shattered by Mulch’s disappearance. Eventually Autumn and Olivia were startled out silence by Jason slamming his fist on the table.

“We need to do something instead of just sitting here, dammit! Mulch could be hurt, or dying, or any number of things and we’re just sitting here doing nothing? Get off your asses and lets go find him!”

“Be reasonable, Jason.” Autumn pleaded. “We can’t just go after him. We have no plan, no truck, and no idea what happened to him. It could be anything! Do you want to run into Grey again?”

Jason shuddered at the memory.

“No, but we can’t just leave him either! He could be hurt, or dying- if Grey is out there- we can’t just leave him to that.”

“I’m sorry, Jason. We need to think first.”

“The hell we do. I’m going after him.”

“Jason, no. You can’t!”

Olivia watched this exchange with growing frustration, seeing now more than ever why Mulch was the leader of the group. Olivia was logical to a fault- too logical, while Jason clearly followed his emotions.

(more to come at some point, let me know what you think!)