Of Dreams and Memories

Prologue

Fire and debris littered the cityscape as the screaming of trapped civilians rang in Eijirou's ears. He shook his head to centre himself again, the ringing from the explosion still loud in his left ear. He had lost sight of most of his friends early on in the fight, but he also knew they could handle themselves. The smoke that now clung heavily in the air was a result of Bakugou firing off an AP shot at one of the villains they had been fighting. What none of them had expected was for it to be deflected, and the full force of the blast to come hurtling back towards them.

"Akari!" Eijirou scrambled to his feet, ignoring the bite of rubble against his skin as it reverted back to its natural state. His sister had moved faster than he'd ever seen to throw up a shield between them and Bakugou's explosion, but she was tired and the blast had shattered it and sent the two of them flying. He knew the damage would've been worse without her acting, but he could see the burn that ran along her forearm, having melted away her armour like it was nothing.

A blaze of blue fire came hurtling at them before he could reach his twin. Bracing himself, Eijirou paused when the flame never hit, looking up to see a thin translucent pink shield had fallen over their area. At least he knew Akari was conscious if she was able to summon another shield. He continued to climb over the rubble to get to his twin, glancing to his right to see Todoroki pushing himself to his feet while Bakugou went at Dabi again. At least the distraction would give him a chance to see how Akari was fairing. He felt himself slip slightly, an icy hand gripping his arm to help him balance. He didn't even have to look to know it was Todoroki, the two of them scrambling down the mound of rubble to where Akari was laying. The moment he caught sight of her, Eijirou felt his blood run ice cold. He'd expected it to be bad, but not this bad.

Blood had pooled beside Akari where the thin metal pipe had punctured her side. The burn on her arm was dark and he could see where the skin had begun to blister, from her elbow down to her oddly bent wrist. She was lying on her back, staring at the sky as her body convulsed violently as she coughed, blood filling her mouth. Eijirou felt guilt and anger and panic rush through him all at once. If only he'd been fast enough to move out of the way of the blast, she wouldn't have had to make herself vulnerable to save him. His shook his head as he followed Todoroki, who was now kneeling by her side, his hands roaming over her injuries to assess the damage. Even Eijirou could see the colour drain from his face and his eyes fill with worry. Todoroki may have been brilliant at keeping a neutral expression, but Akari had a habit of coaxing emotional reactions from him.

"We need to move the pole. Kirishima, can you pull it out?" Todoroki's question brought Eijirou out of his panicked state for a moment as he nodded, gripping the pole and using his quirk for the added strength he needed to pull it free from his sister's side. The yell of pain she let out made his heart stop for a moment as he threw it to the side, moving to support her head in his lap.

"We have to stop the bleeding." It was an obvious statement, and Todoroki was already moving to seal the wound with ice as he stroked his siste'rs hair.

Akari shook her head, gripping Todoroki's wrist with her uninjured hand. "It's not worth it..."

"It'll be fine, I can stop the bleeding and then we can get you some proper medical attention." Todoroki told her, his tone leaving now room for arguments.

"I've already... lost too much... blood." Akari rasped out in between coughs, her chest painfully constricting.

"We have to try." Eijirou insisted, stroking her hair back from her face and examining the burn she had on her forearm. The flesh was mangled and he had no doubt it was going to scar.

Akari smiled up at him tightly, gripping his hand as firmly as she could. "There are others out there you can still save."

"We're not leaving without you." Todoroki insisted, cupping her cheek gently and forcing her to look at him. "I can't leave you."

Eijirou and Todoroki both tensed as she coughed again, blood splattering out of her mouth. They moved her so she was on her side, able to spit out what had pooled in her mouth. It was a stark contrast to the grey cement underneath them. "I'll go find help. Just keep her awake, Todoroki."

"Hurry back." Todoroki nodded and Akari watched as her brother pushed himself to his feet, taking off towards where other heroes were taking civilians. It was the best place for him to find help, although he didn't want to leave her side.

"Shouto..." Akari winced as pain shot through her side as she moved her hand to rest it against his face, her thumb brushing over the rough edge of his scar.

He reached up to grab her hand, lacing her fingers with his as he kept using his ice to try and stop her wound from bleeding. "Just breathe and focus on staying conscious. Kirishima will be back with help soon."

"Shouto, stop. It's okay. I can't feel anything." She smiled softly, her eyelids beginning to flutter as she felt the fatigue replace the pain that had been coursing through her body. "I'm just... exhausted."

"Don't you dare close your eyes." He shook her shoulders, forcing her to open her eyes again, her red ones boring into his heterochromatic ones. "I can't lose you. I..."

"You'll be okay. You always were... the strong one." Akari nestled her face against his shoulder as he held her to him. "I... love you."

"I love you too, Akari." He muttered against her hair, pressing a gentle but long kiss to the top of her head.

Sakura jolted awake, her chest constricting painfully as she gasped for air. She hated when her visions disturbed her sleep. It was when they were most powerful, as she wasn't consciously able to control them. She must've made some kind of sudden noise because moments after she woke a pair of strong arms were gripping her shoulders. Her eyes were still blurry but eventually focused on the patchwork face in front of her. It was always Dabi who checked on her after a vision, she doubted that would ever change.

"What was it about this time?" He didn't even have to guess what had awoken her so suddenly.

"I watched a hero die... I don't understand why it's important. I keep seeing her face." Sakura sighed. She'd had visions of the girl before, but she couldn't place where she'd met her before. Her Quirk only allowed her to see visions of people she had touched. "It just doesn't make sense. You were there too in the fight. A few years older, though."

"I wouldn't worry about the girl. If she's a hero, she's not important to us." Dabi shrugged as he sat on the bed beside her, slipping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her to his chest.

Sakura ran a hand through her sweaty hair before burying her face in his shoulder. "I need to find out who she is."

"That's a tomorrow problem. I need sleep." He informed her, stifling a yawn as he sunk back into the mattress happily. "And so do you."

"Yeah, I know." Sakura mumbled as she curled up on her side, lacing her fingers with his as he draped an arm over her waist. She was going to savour the affection, because he sure as hell wouldn't be as cuddly in the morning.