"Please hurry—"
"Turn off your light."
Aizawa's hand twitched in his sleep. She was running to him and he was reaching out to her, again. The silhouette of the Nomu behind her swayed. He was reaching. Her fingertips found his. His hand tightened as the Nomu kept coming, steps like thunder. Aizawa didn't let go, though he knew already what would happen anyway. But another step and a step and a step, and Aizawa realized the steps weren't in his dream anymore. He opened his eyes, and Momo was kneeling in front of him.
He had a moment where he questioned whether he'd actually awoken, then he saw the sheen of panic as she shoved a stack of papers into his hands. Aizawa sat up straighter, reading her cues. Trusting her completely.
"Start signing these," she whispered.
He took the pen she was offering and did as she bid, glancing toward the door to keep watch while she had her back to it. This was what the life of a Hero had done for him — he was alert, twitchy, ready to reach for his boot dagger before he'd wiped the sleep from his eyes. He didn't need time to clear his head.
"What's wrong?" he asked, scribbling his name across the bottom line.
Momo leaned in, hands on the seat of the chair as she raised so slightly for her lips to be as close to his ear as possible. He could run his hand down her arm, feel goosebumps track up her skin, and tell her he wanted to take it back. Not now. This wasn't the moment.
"They know," she mouthed, the air from her whisper sending terrible chills down his spine. His eyes moved past her to focus on the doorway. "You've been under surveillance for months. They have a warrant for your arrest."
His head turned sharp in her direction and their eyes met, and he knew this was it. This was the wax that sealed everything that had happened between them. She'd had a choice to make and she'd chosen him.
"I'm sorry to wake you up for this, I know you're tired, Mr. Aizawa," Momo said as a nurse passed the room in the background. He saw the opening, the cover, she was laying down for him.
"Can I sign the rest of these after I have some coffee?" he said, putting the papers back in her hands.
"Of course."
They both rose to their feet. Her hands were trembling as she looked to him, and he knew she needed his confidence. He didn't let the tightness he felt in his chest show. He'd known this day might come, would come, he just hadn't expected it to be today. He felt words on the tip of his tongue. Asking her to go with him. Telling her if she can't go with him now, he'll come back for her.
"Go," she urged.
He had nowhere to go.
Majestic stood in the doorway, brim of his hat low, with his sidekick Deopshot beside him. Aizawa saw both their eyes go to Momo, though — a factor they hadn't counted on being present. Momo was still facing him. He saw her throat work to swallow.
"What are you doing here, Yaoyorozu?" Majestic asked.
"There were more papers that needed to be signed off on," she said with so much fucking innocence as she turned cheerily, smiling and bright, to face this false prophet who believes they were mentoring her to be a Hero. "Do you need another statement? I can take that, I've done a few before."
Instead, Majestic said, "Can you step out."
Aizawa shifted slightly, moving his leg to a more comfortable position to reach for his boot dagger. He didn't have his visor up, Majestic would see if he erased his quirk, and it might be better to erase Dropshot's anyway. What was he willing to do to walk out of here a free man, he abruptly wondered.
Momo hesitated; she'd need to pass by him to go behind the "safety" of the Heroes. Her eyes touched his and he read the permission in her unwavering gaze before she made her move, starting to cross to go to Majestic as though there was nothing here for her to wonder about.
A split second. His arm arched down to his ankle as he raised his leg far enough off the ground for him to snatch his boot dagger from its sheath, then swept up and around Momo's throat. He kept the blade away from her face, using his forearm instead to yank her back against him while his other hand grabbed her wrists. The Heroes came further into the room, but he'd solidified his position behind Momo now, and he felt how steady she was in his arms as he laid the edge of his blade against her throat.
"Come any closer and I'll open her up."
"Let her go, Eraser Head. There's nowhere for you to run," Majestic said, a hand stretched out in good will.
"Don't call me that." Aizawa chuckled. He gave a soft tug on her wrists, cueing her to follow him as he took a few steps back. Putting more distance between them and the Heroes.
"Mr. Aizawa," she whispered, but behind her back, her quirk was working. He felt her hands moving to grasp something, and she passed it into his fingers. Aizawa let go of her to take it and she kept her hands folded behind her as though he still had a hold on her. "I—I don't understand—"
"And you don't need to," he said, sparing a single glance down. It was a window hammer, with fucking five strike points. His smart fucking girl. She knew he wouldn't have time for multiple hits. He'd have one shot and not a moment to spare. He led her to take another step back. Then, to Majestic, "I didn't think they'd send someone so…capable when the time came."
"You didn't think we'd find out as much as we did then, did you, Danchou."
Aizawa squeezed her wrists to let her know he was ready, and Momo tilted her head back, giving him more of her throat. He flicked his wrist, taking the blade away, and let go of her as he took a half step further away. The window was in striking distance now.
"Well, Kannagi, at least you can say you tried."
Aizawa whirled away, the hammer gripped tight in his fist, and the sound of the hospital glass shattering left his ears ringing. He'd done it, though, no second strike was needed. Aizawa leapt through the busted window, not feeling a thing as the jagged edges cut his clothes and skin, and jumped.
Four floors up, too high to land safely, but he had his capture tape. He launched it out to wrap around the window washer's scaffold that hung outside second floor, and the worker shouted, grabbing onto its framework as the whole thing swung hard before capsizing. Aizawa dropped to the ground, falling into a roll that carried him a good couple yards away from the building. He came up sprinting into the parking lot, mind racing just as fast as he. Where was his car? Not this lot. Could he steal one? He didn't have his kit, he'd need one that was unlocked — and he'd still have to hot wire it. No. Keep it simple. If he got to the road, he had his Hero ID on him. He'd just hijack somebody's car under the pretense of an emergency. He'd need to ditch it within a few minutes, but it would buy him a couple miles and a little time. He could rinse and repeat if necessary. Aizawa didn't look back at the hospital as he made his getaway, the world so fucking vivid. The clouds above. The sharpness of the air in his lungs while he ran. He had a moment of understanding what freedom truly tasted like, before he felt the pain jolt through his left shoulder.
Hot. Fucking hot. It seared through his shoulder like he'd been stung by a hornet, and that shit shot down his arm. His steps faultered, and he hit his waist on the side mirror of a parked car as he stumbled. His mind was still focused on his plan to get to the road, to get some wheels, and it all slowed…down…His reached his hand out to steady himself on a vehicle beside him, feet still moving, but he realized through a fog how heavy he felt. His gaze went to his hand. Slow. He was slowing down. As his knees went under him, he realized he wasn't going to make it to the road. He wasn't going to get to go back for Momo.
