Shouto finds that no matter how hard he grips Akemi's hand, he can't stop the fact that she's still being pulled back. He's pulling with all his strength, but she is still bit by bit being dragged into the misty black portal.

The look on Akemi's face is one of desperation, dense with terror, but Shouto finds that no matter how hard he tries, he just can't stop her from slipping away. For a split second, Akemi looks almost fragile. As he grips her hand tighter, their eyes meet.

Akemi's amber eyes gaze into his, and all of a sudden, hers flicker dimly, a million emotion flashing by in the span of a second before she closes her eyes and her gaze settles in some sort of grim acceptance.

No, no no she can't—

She opens her eyes again, and this time, Shouto sees the tears. They leak from the corners of her eyes as she gives him a soft, gentle smile. Nothing like the bright cheerful ones he sees at school: no, this is a small, sad one.

Like she's given up.

"I'm sorry."

Her whisper reaches his ears: it's soft, hoarse, and tired all at the same time.

With a slight squeeze, her grip loosens and her small hands slip through his almost too easily. He lunges forwards to grab her, to save her, but he barely grazes her fingertips before she disappears into the mist.

He drops, landing on the ground awkwardly. Behind him, Midoriya stares with wide eyes, disbelief and horror coloring his face. Shouto shakes as he gets onto his knees.

He had her. She was right there. He had been holding her hand, pulling her to him, but she'd let go. He had let her go.

He breaths, inhaling and exhaling air rapidly. What is he going to tell them? Iida, Ueno, Kōki—

Shouto gulps in air greedily, letting his hands fall to his sides. They brush against something on the ground. He looks down, horror, shock, and blunt disbelief coloring his features—

"Spacing out on me, Peppermint Swirl?"

—It's Akemi's phone.

Shouto wants to cry. He wants to cry and scream and wail as he picks up the small device, but his throat is closed and his eyes are horribly dry as he stares at the phone that Akemi had called her own.

Staring at her belongings won't bring her back, someone who oddly sound like Akemi whispers. You messed up. This is your fault.

How can you become a hero if you can't even save your friends?

Behind him, Midoriya screams.


Current Poll Results~ (from both the poll and the reviews)

Akemi's paring:

Todoroki Shouto: 21

Midoriya Izuku: 6

Ueno Hibiki: 6

Bakugou Katsuki: 4

Iida Tenya: 3

Iida Tensei: 1

Kaminari Denki: 1

Seiba Hiroi: 0

Others (Please state in review!)


Hibiki's pairing:

Shinsou Hitoshi: 8

Kimura Akemi: 6

Iida Tenya: 4

Midoriya Izuku: 0

Seiba Hiroi: 0

Todoroki Shouto: 0

Others (Please state in review!)


Yeah... Don't kill me plz.

Poor Shouto... *sniffles then dumps more angst into the story* writing this hurts so much but I love it!

Onto the comment(s)!

To darkpaladin89: I suppose... But she can't really risk all the lives, can she? She is kicking Shigaraki in the nuts though.

Chat with me here! https/discord.gg/2S7Cy4R