"You need to go."
"But–"
"Go, Sai! Please. Do not let them catch you."
There's a grunt, followed by the sound of crunching metal. A stuttered breath, a pained hiss, and then a litany of curses.
"I will find you. I promise."
In the dark of the night, Sai looks at Shielda like it's the last time he'll see her. His hands grip at his backpack, cloth crumpling beneath titanium silver as Shielda grants him one final smile, strained and sad and so much like goodbye.
"I know you will."
And then she closes her eyes, pulls at her strength and brings the building down on them as Sai runs and runs and runs, away and out into a world that hunts them.
.
"You need to stop this."
"And you need to back off."
Api hisses when Air digs his fingers harder on the tender flesh of his arms. He tries to escape but Air just yanks him back, eyes frosty and lips pressed into a thin line.
"Air, I swear to–"
"Shut up," the other cuts him off harshly, and Api goes still, realizing that his brother is actually angry. "I know you need this, okay, I really do. But one day you're going to piss off someone, someone more powerful and dead serious about hurting you and when that day comes, I won't be able to do anything about it."
"Air–"
"Please," his brother whispers, voice fragile in a way Api has only heard once and it makes his heart drop, knowing that he's caused this. "Don't let it get to that, Api."
.
Up on the rafters, Sai watches the match unfold.
There's nothing special about it, really; just a regular fight between two hybrids, except that they're elementals, which means that they get twice the hype a normal fight would get.
Powerhouses, the audience calls them.
Liabilities, sai wants to sneer back.
People like things flashy, but flashy brings eyes on you, paints a target on your back. It's stupid, yet that's what the people want, and so the Miser delivers, pitting the Class A's together no matter the cost.
The ones in the ring are two fighters Sai is familiar with. The first one is Blackjack, a lady who can control tar, deadly in both mind and reflexes and one of the crowd favorites. She carries herself with a grace of the very best, dark liquid ever-present and constantly pooling at the base of her feet.
And in the middle of her trap lies Inferno, the newest and most reckless pyro Sai has ever seen, his face far too young for the dark of the underground.
.
"Winner: Inferno!"
Api grins as the crowd goes wild, high on adrenaline and self-satisfaction as the referee raises his arm, officially declaring him the winner. It's not every day he gets paired with a Class B, and even rarer when one poses a challenge, but Siren had been strong, in full control of the crowd even when Api had been his main target.
It's fights like that these remind him of Air. For a moment, Api allows himself a fantasy where his brother would actually join him.
And then he makes it to the cashier, acquaints himself with her wry smile and the usual wad of cash and remembers that no, his brother would never join him, because Air is better than him in both powers and disposition.
Api licks his lips and tastes blood. He smiles anyway, takes the money, and then turns back around to head for the exit.
It doesn't matter, he thinks; swipes the back of his hand across his mouth in an attempt to clean himself up. Air would never understand, having been blessed with water, but Api doesn't really need him to.
He bumps into someone just before he reaches the door. Api is tired but he apologizes, except it's a moot point because the guy is already heading for the ring. There's anger in the line of his shoulders and bruises at the curl of his fists, but it's the green and red and gold of his outfit that catches the pyro's attention.
Titan, his jacket reads.
The top hybrid of Class B.
.
"Match, begin!"
The bell rings.
The crowd cheers.
They circle each other.
When thirty seconds pass with neither of them attacking, Sai lets himself smirk at the other. "Scared?"
Inferno blinks, tilts his head at him. Something in his eyes shifts and Sai watches, stance ready as the other drops his hood, palms glowing a familiar amber. There's a bloodthirsty grin slowly growing on his face.
"Try me."
A breath—
And then they move, meeting in the middle in a shower of smoke and sparks.
.
"Why would they hate you?"
"Because."
"Because what?"
"Because I'm a monster, okay?" Api grits out, quiet and startlingly bitter. "I hurt people."
"Not on purpose," Sai counters immediately, and it surprises him, the sudden protectiveness that settles in his chest. He looks at Api now, wide-eyed and cautiously hopeful, knows that he's found a part of the truth behind the other's mask and curls his fingers around a wrist, next words soft but no less firm.
"You are not a monster, Api. And you do not like hurting people. I know that now."
.
Api peels off the last layer of cloth and promptly has to swallow down a curse.
Shit, he thinks. Shit, shit, shit.
The wounds are even worse like this. There's no fabric to distract Api from all the torn skin, cuts jagged and painful enough that the sight of them makes Api wonder if he has them, too. And then there's all the blood, sluggishly leaking but still leaking, even with all the pressure Api had tried to apply earlier, back when they'd managed to spare enough time.
"Api."
At this rate, Aai will be lucky to last a week.
"Api, look at me."
He wishes air were here. At least then Api would know what to do, or - or that they'd have water—
"Api–"
"Shut up," Api snaps, and then immediately regrets it when he sees how worn down Sai looks. "I'm - I'm trying to think."
"And I want to help you," Sai murmurs. His neck is twisted at an awkward angle, what with the wounds on his back, but his eyes are patient as he reaches out and twines their fingers together. Api drops his head, swallowing down fear and guilt.
"Sorry."
"We will be fine."
"I never said we wouldn't be," he mutters, squeezing their hands just a little bit tighter.