A/N: It's a beautiful day to read fanfiction! Have some coffee, tea, or whatever your morning drink of choice is and get ready for the next installment of Don't Deny Me!
Chapter Nine: Rescue
Wrong.
She needed a lot more than wit and strength to pass a test like this. How did she get it in her mind that she could be a real hero with a quirk like hers?
You did pass the entrance exams, she reminded herself. That had to count for something, right? Except…she passed the Shiketsu entrance exam, not the UA one…and with Shishikura's help. Maybe he was right; she really was useless. How could she rescue people with a defensive quirk?
"Minus points!" One of the actors playing a little boy shouted at her.
"SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU MORON!" Katsuki roared as he pulled her up from the hole she'd fallen into. "GIVE US A SECOND TO GET YOU OUT!"
"Hmm," the HUC member said thoughtfully. "Maybe that girl purposely dropped into the hole to get a better look at my surroundings… Okay, I won't take away points this time! But you'd better hurry up and rescue me!"
Aisla nodded, breath heaving. "It's just one boy," she reported to the others. "He looks alright, other than some minor scrapes and bruises. The walls look stable enough, but we should get him out of there as soon as possible."
"Of course you should get me out as soon as possible!" the boy chastised. "Why would you wait?!"
Katsuki's rage-filled glare fell on the actor. "Because you're low priority, which means if there was someone more hurt than you close by, you could wait!"
The boy huffed but said nothing else as they quickly came up with a plan to get him out. When he was safely on the ground, Katsuki instructed him to get himself to the first aid station.
"It's right over there and you aren't even injured so get there yourself!" he yelled when the boy argued.
"Minus points for your bad attitude!" he hollered in return. "And for sending a little boy off all alone! Someone could kidnap me!"
Katsuki scoffed. "Whatever. No one would want an ugly ass kid like you anyway."
"Bakugo!" Kirishima facepalmed.
"Maybe you can try being nice?" Kaminari suggested, looking uncomfortable. "Hey there, little boy. You're going to be just fine, alright?"
"Is that the best you can do?" the boy asked snarkily.
Aisla resisted the urge to mimic Kirishima's facepalm. This test was proving to be much more than just rescuing. She had no idea social skills would be just as important as quirks in this round.
The boy actor took off toward the first aid station, grumbling all the while about how inconvenient it was to walk all the way there by himself. Aisla hoped Katsuki didn't plan on making every person they rescued help themselves, but she wouldn't be surprised if he tried.
A muffled voice caught Aisla's attention and she shushed the chattering boys, much to Katsuki's annoyance. "Listen." She pointed in the direction she thought it was coming from.
Katsuki's expression turned excited. "Hell yeah! Let's get us another victim!"
"When you say it like that, it just sounds creepy," Kaminari commented.
"I agree," Aisla chimed in.
"NO ONE ASKED YOU!" Katsuki shouted as he stomped forward. "COME OUT, COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE!" he called loudly.
Now, Aisla did facepalm.
"You know," Kirishima murmured into her ear, "if I was the one waiting to be rescued, I think I'd rather stay buried under the rubble."
Aisla stifled a laugh and Katsuki shot them both a death glare that immediately sobered them up.
It only took them a minute to find the source of the noise—an elderly man trapped under some debris. The building around him looked stable upon first glance, but further inspection proved this to be an incorrect assumption.
"We should try to find someone with a quirk that can help stabilize the rubble around this man," Aisla suggested. "If we try to move it ourselves, I'm afraid the whole building will crumble."
"I DON'T NEED ANYONE!" Katsuki roared, but amazingly took her advice and waited for further instruction.
What needed to be done now was beyond her since none of their classmates were within sight. Even Todoroki had ditched them at the start of the round. He'd plunked her down right next to Katsuki and then disappeared before she could so much as open her mouth. Katsuki had grumbled something about just another extra but didn't ask her to leave him alone, so she'd taken that as acceptance.
"We can help!"
Aisla turned toward two students from a different school, a boy and a girl. The girl shot her a thumbs-up and then clapped her hands together. She pulled them apart slowly, creating a giant bubble between her open palms. She winked at Aisla's baffled expression, then carefully placed the bubble between the man and the ceiling. It held firmly, much to the UA kids' shock.
"Now it's my turn!" The boy stepped forward and placed his hands on the stone beneath the man's body. It grumbled loudly, like an earthquake, then turned into a pile of dust beneath his hand. Kirishima rushed in to grab the man and pulled him out to safety.
"Not a terrible strategy," the man said flatly.
"I'll take him to the first aid station," the boy offered.
"Try not to incinerate him, 'kay?!" the girl called after him sweetly.
He grinned in return. "Don't worry about it, Hina! You know I've got this! Right, old man? You totally feel safe with me!"
The actor didn't look so sure but didn't say anything to contradict the boy as he took off in the opposite direction.
"Thanks for the help!" Aisla chirped when he was gone.
She got a wave in response. "Totally! Good luck, you guys!"
"Psh," Katsuki scoffed. "I could have saved him myself."
"The next one's all yours then!" Kirishima slapped his back. "Now let's get rescuing!" He shot a hand in the air then started for another area.
They spent the next half an hour looking for people to help. They didn't find many, but they were able to help the ones they did find on their own—though mostly due to Katsuki's reluctance to accept any help. He was the most stubborn person she'd ever met, which wasn't very helpful in situations like these. Despite this, they weren't doing too bad so far. She wasn't sure how the point system worked, but she didn't think they'd been docked too many. With the exception of…
"THIS IS ALL BULLSHIT!" Katsuki snarled when one of the HUC members took more points away from him. She could sense his growing frustration as much as she could see it written on his face. He just didn't know how to do things gently, it seemed. He was brash and liked to get things done quickly. He did not like to take his sweet time and placate people.
Aisla had a flashback to when they were training for their provisional licenses and they all got buried in an underground mall. Katsuki had been the main catalyst that allowed them all to get to safety. He'd been efficient then, too, but she also had to give him credit for thinking outside the box. It was his idea to find the emergency generator and restore power to the mall so the rest of them could get out easier.
You went through so much just to save a dummy, she thought. I know you can save these people, too.
Aisla would put her whole life in his hands, but looking down at the couple that stood below them…she had to stifle a laugh at their traumatized expressions. Clearly, these two did not share the same sentiments as Aisla did. She saw Katsuki as a hero, someone strong and brave. This pair saw him as…what? A demon?
Probably, she decided. With those angry red eyes and that murderous expression, all he needed was a cape and some horns to complete the look.
A giggle escaped her lips before she remembered to slap a hand over her mouth. Five sets of eyes peered at her like she was crazy. She tugged at her hair in embarrassment. "Um…sorry?" she tried.
"MINUS POINTS FOR DISRESPECT!" the man yelled.
"Aw," she pouted.
Kaminari patted her shoulder and stage-whispered into her ear. "Don't worry, Aisla. No one can have as much disrespect as Kacchan over here."
"I HEARD THAT, YOU DAMN SPARKPLUG!"
Aisla couldn't help but laugh at that. Sometimes, he had the worst attitude, but it also made for some quality entertainment.
"That was so annoying," Katsuki complained when they'd gotten the pair to safety. They were trudging along another broken road, listening for any more disaster victims.
"It wasn't that bad," Kaminari disagreed. "At least we got them out! We almost couldn't reach them. Imagine what that would have cost us!"
Aisla agreed. She couldn't fathom what repercussions they'd get for not being able to rescue someone. How embarrassing would it be to have to give up and admit defeat? The amount of points that would be taken from them in that scenario would undoubtedly put them out of the running.
She was just starting to think everything would be smooth sailing from then on when a voice called out to them. It was faint and sounded believably scared, so much so that Aisla actually had a moment of panic where she thought a real rescue was about to take place. Then she caught sight of the person in question, up on the top floor of a dilapidated building.
"Up there!" Aisla pointed, drawing the attention of her three companions. He was gesturing wildly to them and calling out as if in real danger. Aisla carefully surveyed the building's damage but didn't see anything of immediate concern. It looked like it would hold up alright if nothing disrupted it.
Like Katsuki, her mind supplied as she watched him standing there, eyes alight with anticipation of what they were about to do. Or whatever it was he thought they were about to do since Aisla had no idea how to go about this one. She just hoped his plan didn't involve explosives.
"So," she asked casually, "any ideas?"
"Of course, I have an idea!" Katsuki growled defensively.
"You're not gonna use your quirk on it, are you?" Kirishima asked, echoing her concerns.
"OF COURSE NOT, I'M NOT AN IDIOT!" he roared in return. Then he cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled up at the man. "HEY! HOW'D YOU GET STUCK UP THERE, YOU MORON?!"
"Katsuki!" Aisla chastised. "You can't ask someone that!"
"I was working late when an earthquake suddenly hit the building," the man explained in a loud, dramatic tone, apparently choosing not to be offended by Katsuki's comment. "It all happened so fast! One minute I was working on a spreadsheet for tomorrow's meeting and the next minute, the building was shaking, my body was trembling, and then…it all came down."
"He's really playing it up, isn't he?" Kaminari commented dryly.
"Let's go see what the damage looks like on the inside," Katsuki instructed and started trudging forward without waiting for their opinions.
"The stairs are all blocked!" the HUC member called down.
"WHO SAID WE'RE TAKING THE STAIRS?!"
"He's gonna dock you points for your bad attitude," Kirishima warned.
"MY ATTITUDE'S FINE!" he retorted.
Aisla bit back a smile. Katsuki was so cool when he was focused on his work. He was always so sure of himself and had great ideas. She admired that a lot. Sometimes, she wished she could be more like Katsuki. He didn't care what people thought about him or the things he said. Aisla wanted to be more confident in both herself and her abilities.
The whole right side of the building and more than half of the front had caved in, effectively blocking their entrance. It was at least ten-stories tall, so Aisla couldn't think of any way to get to the top unless they flew there. Unfortunately for them, no one in their party had that particular quirk.
Katsuki could probably blast himself most of the way up, but she didn't think he could make it that far. Even if he did, he would have a hard time getting back down with the other man slung across his back. Besides that, if he got too close to the building with his blasters, he could cause the whole structure to come crashing down. Then the actor would be in real danger, and something told her they wouldn't be rewarded for saving someone from a disaster they'd created.
"I think the first thing we need to do is secure the area where that man is stuck," Aisla suggested.
Kirishima nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah… that's a good idea, but how are we going to do that?"
"Easy," Katsuki said with a grin. "We just use this debris to hold up the walls around him."
Aisla sweatdropped. "Something tells me it won't be that easy."
He snarled. "WHO SAID IT WOULD BE EASY?!"
"He really expects us to haul a bunch of rubble up the side of a building…" Kaminari complained.
"SHUT UP, YOU IDIOT!" Katsuki snarled at him. "THAT WOULD TAKE HOURS!"
"Then what…" Aisla started.
"I'll just make an explosion and you all catch the pieces that fly up there!"
They all blanched.
"GET MOVING, EXTRAS!" he ordered. He jabbed a finger at the side of the building that looked to be the least stable. With walls that had collapsed in various places, dirt and pebbles sprinkling the ground every few seconds, it was a literal death trap.
"No way!" They exclaimed simultaneously.
"Not happening," Aisla declined with a shake of her head.
"You really wanna kill us don't you, Bakugo?!" Kaminari whined.
"YOU'RE ALL A BUNCH OF COWARDS! GET THE HELL UP THERE BEFORE THAT MAN FALLS!"
"Let us help!"
Aisla turned and found the same pair who'd helped them earlier running up to them. A smile made its way onto her lips.
Oh, thank god. She breathed a silent sigh of relief that she wouldn't be climbing up the side of a building.
"Alright, here's an idea!" The girl, Hina, if Aisla remembered correctly, quickly offered up a plan to get the man down.
"Getting a little old up here," the actor complained mildly. "And a little sore from being crushed under all this rubble." He emphasized a few words as if to remind them of their task.
"SHUT UP, OLD MAN!" Katsuki shouted back. "No fucking way," he told Hina with finality and crossed his arms over his chest.
She arched an eyebrow and mimicked his stance. "Excuse you, Mr. Hothead, but this is the best plan of action! If we don't get this man to safety soon, the whole building could come down."
"She's right, Bakugo," Kirishima said. "We don't have a better plan."
"NOT. HAPPENING."
"But you were about to send Aisla up there anyway, so what does it matter now?" Kaminari asked, lifting his arms in a shrug.
Katsuki seethed. "I WAS NEVER GOING TO LET HER UP THERE, YOU MORON!"
Aisla scowled. She put her hands on her hips and lifted her chin in the air, taking on a look of petulance. "Well, it's a good thing I don't need your permission, isn't it?"
She ignored his baffled expression and began walking over to the building to carry out Hina's plan. Her comrade, who introduced himself as Hitori, waited for her at the base. Aisla caught up to him as he was examining the building's structure, kicking at stones and humming to himself.
"I think it'll hold," he explained when she stood next to him. "As long as we don't do anything too crazy, like start a cataclysm!"
Aisla shuddered. "That's not even funny."
He chuckled under his breath. "Sorry. I forget that not everyone shares my sense of humor. Anyway, shall we go?" He bowed low before her and gestured grandly toward the wall. "Ladies first~"
Aisla sighed and tilted her head back to examine the distance. Her eyes widened and she swallowed hard.
Katsuki was right. I should stay on the ground.
No, you can't! You have to help them! You haven't been useful at all this entire day!
She took a deep breath, let it out, then began to climb.
"You've got this, girl!" Hina called up after her. "Hitori! Better not let this dude's girlfriend fall to her death, 'kay?!"
"Of course not!" He shot back with an amused tone. "I'd never let a lady fall!"
Aisla swore she felt him wink. She could tell he was one of those boys, always flirting with girls no matter who they were. Or maybe she was just overthinking things.
A light breeze blew up her skirt, bringing attention to the fact that she was in a skirt. Fortunately, she'd had enough sense to wear a bodysuit underneath, but Hitori was undoubtedly getting a glimpse of much more skin than she preferred to share.
Something else dawned on her and made her forget about her less than appropriate hero costume—the fact that Katsuki hadn't denied that she was his girlfriend. Hina had shouted the words loudly, and he hadn't exploded on her as he normally would. What did that mean?
Her churning thoughts made her lose her footing, and for a second she was sliding down, hands scraping painfully against stone and feet desperately searching for something solid. The ground was a blur beneath her, already too far down for her to see anything but distorted shapes—or maybe it was just her fear playing tricks on her. She thought she might have heard Katsuki shouting something at her, but she couldn't make out the words from this height.
"I've got you!" Hitori's hand caught her foot as she skidded down toward him, giving her the foothold she needed. Her heart hammered rapidly inside her chest, and for a moment all she could do was stand there with her foot still clutched in a stranger's hand. She could feel him straining to hold her up, but fear made her freeze in place.
"You're okay," he called up to her. "Do you want to keep going?"
Aisla nodded, not knowing if he could even see the action. Finally, she gripped the stone wall with her bleeding hands and pulled herself up until her other foot could find something to stand on. Once she was stable, she pulled her other foot free and started climbing once more. She shakily ascended the tall building and tried to ignore the pain in her hands and left knee, which must have hit the wall on her way down. To make matters worse, her stomach still throbbed almost unbearably and she hoped she hadn't opened the wound.
"Almost…there…" she panted. She needed that burst of encouragement to get her the last few meters up the wall, to convince herself that soon she would be back on solid ground. Unfortunately, it wasn't the sturdiest place to stand, though it probably wouldn't crumble under her feet. Small blessings.
Once her hands finally found the lip of the floor they needed to be on and their target was in sight, Aisla used the last of her strength to pull herself up onto a thin ledge, barely wider than her own feet. The roof was almost completely missing from this floor, and since it was at the top, sun shone in from above and wind blew chilly air against her face and between her bare legs. She cursed herself for not wearing leggings under her costume.
"Whoa, bummer there's not much space up here, huh?" Hitori mused when he joined her seconds later. "Oh well, it'll be fine! Shall we?"
Aisla felt frozen again but forced the fear down and managed a crooked smile in return. If this boy was going to act brave, whether or not he actually was, then Aisla would, too. She would push the fear aside and help her friends! She didn't want to be useless anymore today. She had to do something to prove to all of her friends, to her mentor, and to herself that she was worthy of being at UA and she would become a hero.
"Don't worry, we're here to help!" she told the man as she and Hitori approached. He was on his stomach, propped up with his elbows. A large piece of the roof leaned against him with just enough room between to keep him from being crushed. He didn't look as concerned as Aisla thought he should be, with his chin resting in the palm of his hand and fingers tapping against his cheek in either boredom or impatience. She hoped they wouldn't be graded on how long it took to rescue this guy, because honestly, she couldn't see how they could be any faster.
How did they even get you up here? she wondered with the faintest twinge of annoyance.
She knelt in front of the man and assessed the situation further. The roof had caved in almost entirely, leaving only a few places that were being held up by pillars. Directly above the HUC member was a stretch of roof about two meters across. A piece of this seemed to be what held the man captive, angled just slightly over his back and against the wall to his right. If he'd been standing even a foot to the left he would have been crushed for sure.
"I feel so lucky," the man answered flatly.
Aisla wondered how long he'd been waiting around and almost felt bad for him, but his implications that they weren't being fast enough for him annoyed her. While he got a cozy seat up on the rooftop, Aisla had to risk her life to come rescue his ungrateful self.
You're getting petty, she scolded herself, then forced a smile onto her face as she looked back down at the HUC member.
"I apologize for the wait, sir. We're going to get you down as safely as possible. Alright?"
"Heck yeah, we are!" Hitori agreed with a thumbs-up. "Hina!" he called down to the others. "We need that quirk of yours, ASAP!"
"You got it, Hitori!" Hina yelled back.
Hitori turned back to the man. "Don't worry, we'll get you a nice cozy bubble to float down in. You'll love it! It'll be fun!"
Aisla didn't think that sounded very fun at all, but she'd never traveled via bubble before. She didn't want today to be her first time, though, and kind of wished Uraraka would show up and float them all to safety.
"That was a lot smoother than I thought it would go," Aisla admitted quietly as they waited for the bubble to float up to them.
The plan was to use the bubble to stabilize the roof so they could pull the man free. Hina had explained that she would have gone in Aisla's place, but her quirk worked against her. For each bubble she created she grew more exhausted and the bubbles she created became smaller and less durable. Trying to scale a wall and use her quirk would have been impossible for her.
Hitori's role was simple: he was the brawn in this operation. He would be the one to lift the stone from the HUC member's body so Aisla could pull him free. If Hina had enough strength left, she'd send another bubble up to bring the man back to the ground. If not…then they had to go with Plan B.
"What's Plan B?" Aisla had asked suspiciously.
Hina and Hitori exchanged uneasy glances. "We make the tower fall."
Aisla shivered at the memory. She didn't like the sound of Plan B, even if they'd sugar-coated it in a way that made it sound simple and easy. Something would undoubtedly go wrong if they had to go that far. The HUC member might not even allow them to attempt something like that. Aisla wouldn't if she was in his position. She would just fail them on the spot and call for a proper rescue.
"Ready, Haru?" Hitori asked, pulling her from her thoughts once more.
She shook them off and followed his gaze to the giant bubble he held between his arms.
"Help me place it, okay?"
She nodded, and together they managed to position the bubble so it held the roof up in place of the stone. Hitori immediately set to lifting the stone block, teeth gritted and muscles straining.
"It's…too…heavy…" he complained. "I need…just a little…relief…"
His arms released the stone, right hand raised and fingers emitting black sparks which he lowered toward the roof piece. Aisla had only half a second to comprehend what he was doing before his fingertips pressed against it and the whole slab began to deteriorate…and then the building crumbled.
Aisla screamed for him to stop but it was too late, she was already flying into the air, whisked up in a current of wind that came out of nowhere. She flipped through the air at a dizzying speed and felt real terror fill her as she waited for the ground to rise up and greet her. She gritted her teeth and pinched her eyes shut against the wafting dust cloud around her until finally, she smacked into something stomach first. She coughed and sputtered for breath as the wind was knocked clean out of her.
"AISLA!" Katsuki shouted from below. "DON'T MOVE!"
She waited until the coughing fit subsided and she could somewhat breathe again before daring to open her eyes. Beneath her was a tower of stone bricks no wider than four-feet square. It wobbled precariously like it would topple over if she so much as breathed.
"Katsuki…" Her voice shook with fear.
What did you do, Hitori? she wondered as her eyes searched for him through the cloud of concrete dust.
"HITORI!" Hina screamed.
Aisla tried to adjust her position, but even moving onto her hands and knees made the whole structure shake violently.
"DON'T MOVE, AISLA!" Katsuki repeated, more urgently.
"Don't look down!" Kirishima advised, which only prompted her gaze in his direction. Bad idea… The ground was farther away than it should have been, and her friends were barely even distinguishable below.
The tower swayed in the wind.
"I think she's panicking, man," Kaminari said with noticeable fear in his words.
"NO FUCKING DUH, SPARKY!" Katsuki retorted angrily.
"I'm fine!" she told them, even though her entire being screamed that she wasn't.
I'm not going to die here, she promised herself. I'll find a way. Just think, dammit!
"Where the hell are Froggy and Pink Cheeks when you need them?" Katsuki grumbled.
Aisla ignored that. She was frantically looking for Hitori and the HUC member as the dust cleared. She would get herself down, but not until she made sure those two were safe. A moment later, she found the HUC member hanging from a ledge and struggling to hold on. His feet swung wildly in the air and fear contorted his face. He was too scared to even call for help. Aisla wondered why none of the pros had stepped in yet. Was this part of the test? Were they just going to sit back and let them all die?
"AISLA!" Katsuki cried out. She'd never heard his voice so scared before. Was he really that worried about her? She had to figure a way out of this soon, before all of her friends started panicking, too.
Where are you, Hitori? Her eyes scanned the building, squinting against the sun. There!
She spotted him in almost the exact place he'd been before she was thrown from the roof. He stood there with an expression that said he was currently looking Death in the eyes and he had no way of stopping it from claiming his life.
He mouthed, I'm sorry, and then the last piece of the building fell.
"HITORI!" Aisla screamed, eyes locked on his. You will not die, she silently promised. "I WON'T LET YOU!"
Their eyes widened simultaneously as something passed between them. Time seemed to stop for an instant as images flooded through her mind.
Hitori's fingers touching stone.
Hitori straining against the weight.
Hitori winking at the old man and promising he'd be safe…
Then her own face.
The images all flashed through her mind like they were being sucked out through a vent, and then they were gone…and Aisla was falling. The tower disappeared from beneath her and her stomach lurched.
"Haru!" Hitori shouted, and for just a moment her eyes found him once more, standing at the top of the building, exactly where he'd been moments ago. Only now, the building had inexplicably repaired itself to the moment before Hitori had destroyed it. The HUC member was no longer hanging from the roof's edge and Hitori wasn't falling to his death.
They've been saved, she thought as she closed her eyes against the rushing wind. But how…? Aisla wasn't safe just yet, though, and fear made her eyes tear up as she waited to die. She prayed to whatever god was listening that it wouldn't be painful.
The gods were not merciful.
For a brief moment after her body smacked into something fast and hard, a searing pain shot through her. Luckily, the gods finally answered her prayers and the pain disappeared as everything faded to black.
A/N: Good morning! I hope you all had a great week! So what do we think happened to sweet Aisla? Do we think she will be able to continue on with the exam? What happens next with our heroes? Leave your theories down below!
Also, there's a small reference in this chapter to a character in another show. I don't know how many of you noticed Hitori's quip about starting a "cataclysm," but the word choice was not coincidental. For those of you who are fans of "Miraculous Ladybug and Chat Noir," it's a sort of tribute to that. When creating Hina and Hitori's characters for this arc, I spent a long time trying to figure out quirks that would be useful for what I needed them to do. Chat Noir can create a "cataclysm" that can deteriorate anything it touches, so I played on that and used it to my advantage!
Reviews:
The New Aged Hippie: Great question! I'm so glad to hear you found this story after reading The Ribbon and The Contract, which are both really great stories! Aisla is a character that I created way before I started publishing Don't Deny Me and let yellowchikadee use in her stories since it was fun to see her in another world so similar to this one. And yes, I DO have a few cameos with both Hana and Roan sprinkled throughout this fic! We tried to keep our storylines somewhat the same, so there are also a few scenes here and there you might recognize. We worked side by side with our stories, so we each took turns creating certain scenes that all of our characters would be a part of. I believe Hana has a cameo first, if you're curious!
Beta: yellowchikadee
Test Readers: yellowchikadee; Ashteriax
Fun fact: I actually rewrote this entire chapter because the first draft was so unbearable! So hopefully you enjoyed all the hard work I put into it! Also, we are now 78 chapters into this story, so stick around and see what's to come!