The World Changes: Renegade Rising.
I held on. Pinned under a massive pile of twisted metal and crushed concrete, I held on. Underneath the oppressive weight killing me, I held on. I clung on so tightly to my life. My legs were on fire with pain and I barely was able to keep my eyes open due to the sting of blood falling into one of them.
I'm down here! I'm down here! Come get me! Mom?! Katsuki?! Momo?! I'm down here!
Nothing but the crushing weight and the sound of shifting. If any of this shifts anymore, I'm dead. I'm DEAD. I was always the survivor, but I felt tears start to fall. I put my all into that last attack. I'm out of energy.
No one will save me. I'm alone. I let that fucker get to me. Now I'm gonna die…
Momo. That smile she gave me, that sweet… soft smile. Dancing with her, loving her. I didn't even get to say goodbye… dammit. Now I'm trapped, running out of air, 'Mom… Katsu… I'm sorry…' I thought, 'This is goodbye…'
Katsuki. That rough, bitter attitude. Those days watching him rise to the top with me coming up to meet him. Those days were over.
*Pop…. Skitter… pop.*
A spark lit up my face, and I looked down at it, 'Momo… find someone who makes you happy, even if you're forced to marry someone…'
S.
O.
S.
No. I won't bow out here. I won't let myself die. That man is pure evil. I couldn't beat him, but I burned him, so killing or subduing him wasn't impossible. We could beat him. We could beat the ultimate evil…
Sparks, don't fail me now!
I saw the explosion and felt the ground SHAKE. Windows shattered, car alarms blared, the concussive wave made the store glass shatter. I grabbed the others and dashed out.
"Looks like the party started without the heroes…" I snarled, "Ditch the disguises, it's go time,"
Momo and the others nodded, I knew we were on a time crunch, then, we heard a huge crash, and then I felt dread set in, seeing All Might drop-in, "Young Renaru! I AM HERE!" he yelled. He crashed down and we didn't see my brother's curly ashy-blond mop pop up anywhere.
The man in the suit coldly laughed, his voice carrying, "All Might… you have come too late! That precious little hero of yours is dead!"
We all felt our hearts drop to our stomachs, that pile of rubble… he couldn't be under there, could he? Worry clouded my mind as I ran towards the rubble, trying to listen for breathing, crying, yelling, anything.
*Pop… Skitter… Pop…*
S.
O.
S.
My eyes widened, my breath came out fast, Suit Guy turned towards the rubble, "Still alive…? How bothersome,"
I started to dig, my desperation palpable. 'C'mon you bastard! I ain't losin' you!' I thought, tearing through the rubble to get to my brother. I didn't see him, and I could still hear him. Momo was desperately clawing at the rubble, too.
So were Dumbass and Tape-Boy. Grape too. Thanks to All Might, he bought us enough time to dig out my brother, who was bloody and a gash cut his eye, his lid was shut, but he was awake. He looked up at me, his other eye cracked open, both of them staring up at me.
"Katsuki… I'm sorry…" he sniffed, tears mixing with the blood.
I picked him up, hugging him, "Shh…" he was so small. So broken. He has pushed to the very limits of his strength again and crushed by a building. He was crying his eyes out. I grit my teeth, seeing the villains starting to regroup.
Momo summoned up a shield and an iron bar, seeing that Faker. Her eyes shined with determination. Sero and Denki flanked me and Renaru. She turned her head to look at me and Renaru.
"I've got this… you guys get Renaru out of here!" she yelled.
Renaru shifted and I saw him smile, "Go get 'em… Momo…" he sighed.
I nodded and started to run back to the police, which was here too alongside the heroes. I ran on, not stopping until I saw an ambulance, I had the paramedics take him, but he still was talking. That was good. They took a look at him and it turned out he broke his legs in two places.
When they told him that, he paled and said, "Don't take my legs,"
I stood in front of the girl that stole my face. Her toxic eyes shone and her hair was golden. She'd be pretty if she wasn't obsessed with blood and my beaten-up boyfriend.
"Aww! Renaru-chan was SOOOO cute…" she pouted, "But it doesn't matter!"
There was that gecko parody of Stain and that magician. Todoroki and Midoriya backed me up. Iida did too. We couldn't fight, we had to buy time though. Plus some good old-fashioned revenge. Then, just as we were about to engage them, a whole bunch of guys flew past us and smacked right into her. Going into a strange black liquid.
"Nothing to fear, my children…you have all failed, but I am proud of your efforts, even if that boy cannot understand… your goal is loftier than theirs, now go, sweet children and fulfill my wish!"
Handman struggled as they got away, with him yelling something about being concerned for that… monster. In due time that faker will suffer, but for now?
All that mattered to me was that Renaru was safe. So far, I was relieved. Once I got back to safety, AKA my room, I was glued to the television, watching All Might's fight with that… monster.
My phone buzzed and it was Katsuki.
"Momo… it's Renaru. They moved him to the ICU, they're not sure if he'll make it. His quirk and the building falling on him fucked him up worse than he let on,"
"Katsuki… are you joking?" I asked.
"No, I'm not, Momo! My brother might be dying! Your boyfriend might be dying!"
I closed my eyes, my chest felt so tight. I felt eyes sting, and I started to sob, hanging up and grabbing Renaru's hoodie, burying my face into it and sobbing. That's all I could do. My boyfriend was a lot of things, immortal was not one of them.
If only I were there to stop them from taking him away. He wouldn't be fighting Death right now. He would be here. Holding me and telling me that everything was okay, that he was here now and nothing was going to happen except for us cuddling.
I tried to be his hero. I tried and… now I'm not even sure if I'll ever see him on his feet again. I heard a knock on my door and I felt something stab into me, it was rage. I knew who it was, my mother, coming to see what a mess her failure became.
"Go away!" I snapped.
"Momo…" she sighed, opening the door anyway.
"What? Can't you see that I'm crying? Can't you see that the man I love is fighting for his life in the hospital? Or are you too up your ass to see that?!" I raged, "Not only have you bad-mouthed him from the start, but you also pressured us into having sex! By making that stupid bet… it wasn't a declaration of love, it was just something to prove, regardless of if it was nice and something I always wanted!"
"Momo! Listen, I made a mistake…" she sighed.
"I should've listened to your feelings, and I'm sorry," she admitted, "Please, forgive me…"
I sat right by my son's side, seeing his chest slowly rising and falling, tears stung my eyes. My son was fighting for his life right now. His face was so peaceful… "Renny-pie… wake up for me, sweetie…" I sighed, kissing him on the forehead.
I laid my head on his shoulder, her arm around his arms. Holding him close, I held him like I would when he was little when things were simpler and times were hard, but we were happy. He was too much like his father when he was quiet.
"Renaru… c'mon… don't give up now, wake up…" I sighed, he must've been so scared, "So many people are waiting… your brother, your girlfriend, your friends… God, I must've been a sucky mom, right? I got drunk, I fell asleep on ya and yer brother… and… now you're in here…" I broke, crying.
"You… you grew up too fast… one moment you're five… and the next, you're a hero. You're smashing down barriers and… and I couldn't be prouder, so… wake up, got it?" I said I could only imagine what kind of fucked-up shit happened to him.
I still stayed with him, Katsuki was outside, pacing and growling like some sorta dog. The heart monitor beeped steadily, and I concentrated on Renaru's breathing. He broke his legs and ribs, they told us it was a goddamn miracle that he was still alive.
Then… I saw him stir, his eyes slowly opening, blinking, his single reddish-brown eye stared at me.
"Mom? What… what happened? When… OW! God, did I…" he mumbled, then shot up, "All For One! He's… All Might… He… he…"
I held on tight, "Ren! Ren, hey… it's okay… your brother and I are here, okay?" I assured.
"Were you crying again? I'm sorry…" he sighed, "I tried to stop him… but… I wasn't strong enough… now that fucker knows all about us… The one time everything counted and I… I came up short…"
His single eye started to leak tears alongside the bandaged one. I hugged him. We heard the door open.
"Mom, good news! They got him!" Katsuki yelled, seeing his brother up and the smile on that bastard's face was enough to make me remember how close they were. He put his brother in a one-armed headlock.
"Hey! Hey! I'm still sore, Katsuki!" Renaru snapped, "Did they kill him?"
"No, they're tryin' to see how he ticks, they said that your blast did more internal damage than external… All Might… he won," Katsuki sighed.
When I woke up, I didn't realize how tired Mom and Katsuki looked. When I got the news that All For One was in the slammer, I wanted something else. I wanted to force that bastard to tell me all he knew about his goddamn quirk. Seeing as Miss Ragdoll got her quirk snatched, something he proudly boasted of, I wanted to blast him to kingdom come!
But… I started to feel something spark in me. How did I survive down there? Any lesser man would be dead right now. Maybe I had someone lookin' out for me. Or maybe… I found the source of my power. I always got stronger after I healed up.
The more vicious the injury, the more powerful my blasts got, my whole body was an ammo dump, that was the first time I ever used Burning Full Salvo outside of my bands and… I felt so much pain, but I also felt so… assured?
"So… what now?" I asked.
Mom grabbed my shoulders, "Renaru, listen, maybe it's time to stop being a hero…" she sighed, and I froze, "No. That'll prove that Hero Killer right! I almost broke? That's fine! I'm not scared!" I forced out.
"You're lying, Ren…" Katsuki sighed, and I looked down at my hands, "Can'tcha just listen to Mom for once?"
"Mom… Katsuki… you two don't understand! I… I've come so far! The League of Villains is just another stepping stone to my dream to be crushed under my boots! If I give up… who's gonna stop the next All For One? Izuku and I… we understand what it's like to maniacally chase after our dreams… But… all I thought of was if he killed All Might… he would've hurt you and Momo and you too, Mom…" I hugged my knees to my chest.
"I was so scared… so scared that he'd win…" I gurgled, my voice thick with emotion, "I… I couldn't… let you guys down again! I couldn't do anything and it was my fault that… that… Dad left… If you just had Katsuki… you'd be… you'd be…" I felt a stinging slap from the two of them.
"NEVER say that, Renaru! It wasn't your fault… it never was…" Mom sighed, pulling me into her arms again.
"Yeah, you're not at fault, you dumb bastard…" Katsuki sighed, joining in.
"I was so scared! I couldn't move, I couldn't see, and… and… all I thought was sorry! I thought of all of you, I was so scared and worried and all I wanted to do was go home…" I sighed, sobbing and bawling. They hugged me tightly. My family, the only family I ever wanted.
"It's not your fault… it never was… you don't have to blame yourself if I were to go back to when I was younger… I'd do it all over again," Mom sighed, "I'd make the same mistakes if it meant I'd end up with you two again,"
"Mom?" I asked.
"Hm?" she ventured, "What's up?"
"I… I… love you guys so much! I… I wanna be a hero! I wanna be a hero so strong that people will remember me long after I die out… I'll put all I am into everything! Stain is wrong! All of those bullies and doctors are wrong! I… I came this far, gained so much… Mom, you always taught me that… that I can't give up, I know you worry a ton about me and Katsuki, but…" I choked up, my eye blurring.
"But I… I was so close to giving up…" I huffed out.
Mom and Katsuki still held me, but I also thought of the girl that made me feel like a hero for the first time… she was important too! I smiled.
Tomorrow was coming, and the sun, too, and the days with my friends and everything. Renegade's journey, no, my journey, wasn't anywhere NEAR over. I… I had to wrap up one more loose end!
I ran through the park, my muscles pumping and my bands making me cooler, there was no rest for the wicked, once I was given a clean bill of health and got my casts off, I ran through all the neighborhoods in my area, they all knew that I was gonna be a hero.
But I had one more thing to do. My eye healed nicely, even if I had a scar there, I still had both eyes! Go me! I boarded the train for the long commute to Momo's house. I had to see her. For some weird reason, she never showed up with the others when they came to see me.
I was worried. I showed up at the front door, her mother was gone again, but… when I opened the door. The living room was a complete depression crevice. I saw a small mass on the floor, wrapped in blankets with chip bags and soda cans surrounding it.
I didn't need to know who it was, it was her. My Momo was lying there, wrapped in my hoodie and three or four blankets. Her hair was messy, and she had bags under her eyes, she wasn't asleep, just staring blankly at the wall.
"Momo?" I asked, waving my hand in front of her face.
Nothing.
"Sweetie?" I tried again, nudging her.
Still nothing.
"Alright… c'mon…" I sighed, picking her up and slowly unwrapping her, she felt lighter in my arms. She still stares past me.
I saw her necklace sparkling in the light and I gently carried her to her room and bathroom, everything was in boxes. I took off her- my hoodie. She blinked a bit. I drew the water and made sure it'd be a good temperature.
"Baby, talk to me," I said.
"Mm." she grunted, "Are… you a ghost?" she mumbled.
"What?! No! Momo… babe… would a ghost be able to pick you up AND feel solid? Or…" I leaned forwards, kissing her, and it felt so good. It felt like coming home from a long trip and you just fell into bed. I felt her deepen it, but I yanked myself away.
"See? No ectoplasm, no Slimer gobbledygook, just your boyfriend who just got outta the hos-" I was cut off by her hugging me, did I mention that she was topless under the hoodie?
"I… I didn't sleep…" she sighed.
"I can see that… God, is this what's gonna happen every time I have a near-death experience?" I sighed, starting to remove my jacket and shirt, feeling gross from running over here. I helped her into the bath.
"I can wash," she said.
"Oh yeah? I thought you were lil', miss Hermit… lemme do this, it's good practice," I said, with a lazy smirk, I got in. She reached out and touched my facial scar.
"How did…" she mumbled.
"Oh, this? My quirk gave it to me," I sighed, her hair was all greasy and gross. Not like the glossy and pretty sheen of softness I loved to play with so much. All the girls in 1-A knew about my expertise with hair. Even if my own was an untamed mop of Spike Spiegel curls and spikes. I washed it, her back against my chest and I worked diligently.
"Renaru? I missed you…" she sighed.
"Yeah, me too… anything else?" I asked, "Because we got time and lots of it,"
"Uhm… maybe my…" she motioned to her body.
"Oh! Okay! That's fine!" I said, "Whatever you wanna do! I'm here to spoil the shit outta you, after all…"
I started to lather her, and I smiled at how much she liked it, yet she kept on trying to get intimate, but I was worried about that. My blasts have been gettin' stronger, and I didn't come… prepared. Shit. Momo sat in my lap, her hands caressing me, "How long has it been?" she asked.
"Uh…" I mumbled.
"It doesn't matter…" she sighed, "All that matters is that you're here…"
I felt myself slide into that comfortable rhythm and tempo, I wondered if she liked it. I wondered if I was good enough, I felt myself start to spark, I buried my face into her dampening hair, My arm was wrapped around her middle, her hand clenching my hair in one hand and the other holding my arm. I smiled, closing my eyes and feeling her move and squeak a little, with me peppering her with fast, tiny nips, she pressed herself against me.
"Mm… Mm…" she tried to keep quiet, but she couldn't.
"Ah… R-Ren… you've… gotten better…" she mumbled, taking a deep breath, her body glowing a soft blue down there, "I'm yours… It's okay…" she said, and I took that as a free license to start going faster, my sparks fired, turning the water into steam, she moaned and screamed, giggling and laughing.
"You know what…?" she hissed a little, her eyes staring at me.
"What?" I asked.
"Burn me, go all out… or even better…" she crooned, turning around and kissing me, "Scar me, mark me… make sure that FAKER will never trick you again… do I make myself clear?" she asked.
"Uh…" I mumbled, she slammed me into the wall of the tub, her dark eyes stern, "Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear, Renaru Bakugou?" she asked.
"Uh… yes?" I mewed, she grabbed my shoulders, yanking me a little forwards, pressing her lips to my ear.
"Yes. What?" she hissed.
I smiled, "Yes Mrs. Bakugou…" I smiled, a spark firing in my mouth, causing smoke to lazily drift out.
"Good." she said, "W-wait… did you AHH!" I fired off a tiny spark right on her neck, She hissed and laid against me as I kissed the burn.
"You're mine… right? Don't be so bratty…" I chided, "Remember… I'm the one who's taking care of you…"
She moaned as I entered her again, that tiny burn didn't stick around, but I continued to tease and play with her using my sparks, and the whole time I was in her, she was panic-creating Matryoshkas. Did I scare her?
"Mm… Mm… I… I… Ee! AH!" she yelled, "Ow… Ow…" she hissed.
"Oh no! Oh god… did my sparks hurt you?" I asked.
"Mm-hm…" she mumbled, spreading her arms out to hug me, I accepted her into my arms, and she was crying a little, I let go on accident. I didn't mean to put that much force behind it. I… well, I came. That's why I bottled up my urges.
I didn't want another… accident. The loud noise scared her. She was shaking, "Babe… babe, I'm sorry…" I sighed, nuzzling her neck gently, bandaging her.
"I… I can't do it without my bands… I got a little too excited…" I admitted.
She kissed me, pulling me into her arms, "It's okay… I got a little overexcited, too… you know we're gonna have dorms soon, right?" she asked.
"What?" I gasped.
"We can… study… a lot closer… and do other stuff! I mean… uhm… if you want to…" Momo mumbled, her cheeks turning that cute shade of pink, tapping her fingers together, and looking down at her feet. I took her bathrobe off the rack and wrapped it around her.
"Feeling better?" I asked.
"Mm…" she sighed, "Thank you…"
"Yeah, I'm stayin' the weekend… gotta make sure you stay this way, I don't wanna see hoodie Momo too often, that was weird. You really… you really saved me back there, you're so cute… and heroic, and shy…" I mumbled, admitting this was harder than what I was gonna do next.
The Bakugou family curse was that we always know what to say until we're with the ones we love romantically.
"Dammit… I wanna… GOD, I WANNA TAKE CARE OF YOU FOREVER! I MEAN IT! NOW, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANNA EAT?!" I screamed, storming over to the kitchen.
"Renaru, honey, don't cook when you're angry!"
"I can and I will! Now sit down and pick out a movie or something…" I mumbled. I heard her shuffling around and I smiled, it was time for something special just for her. I thought really hard. So hard that I think my ears started to smoke.
I cracked my knuckles and started to cook something, just following my rhythm, more like stirring things that might go together. Momo chose a movie, and I didn't know which one. So when I was done, she unpaused it.
Little did I know that Momo was a huge fan of Star Wars. When it was all over, we had built a blanket fort and nested in the middle of it, watching the credits roll on Empire Strikes Back. Holding each other.
"If I ever end up like Han, I want you to track me down," I sighed.
"Sparky, you WERE like Han…" she huffed.
I mussed her hair a little, "Aww… am I really like Han Solo?" I wondered.
"Mm…" Momo mumbled, "I'm more of a Leia…"
I kissed her bandages, trailing up to her lips and meeting her there. I missed her. And I wanted to take care of her. Underneath this blanket fort… we were okay. We were burned, scarred, but no less together…
I loved her. I love her now, till next week, year, until the end of time… and I'll be the caring, doting husband for this weekend… I want to forget that I almost died. And Momo helped with that in spades. Here in her arms was where I belonged.