Ichijiku (Tigress)
Knowing Toshinori and All Might are one and the same shakes my world, but ultimately isn't too overwhelming once I get used to it. In fact, it makes some things a little easier whenever he has to leave abruptly or how he only has to give me a certain look and I know plans have to change. However, it's not until a tanned hand slaps around my mouth and I'm pulled against a taut chest that I realize exactly why Toshinori kept it a secret for so long.
I try screaming through my nostrils and my muscles push against the person behind me in a flight response, trying to escape. A deep voice growls in my ear.
"You're All Might's girl, aren't you?"
I bite his hand in response.
"Easy now," He grunts, fingernails digging into my cheeks and making me grit my teeth. "If you want an easier death, you'd better comply."
You're a dumbass if you think I'm going quietly. I think, but I nod as I wrack my mind for strategies to escape this situation. Forcing deep breaths into my lungs, I make myself remain calm. When his grip loosens, I only get a glimpse of two golden eyes before the world spins into darkness.
. . . . .
All Might's smile lights up the streets as he scans the city for trouble. He's starting to learn that with his injury, he doesn't have as much time patrolling as he used to, but he's too stubborn to take it lying down. He alternates between walking and encouraging citizens with floating across the skies to remain vigilant for danger.
A bank alarm shrieks a block from his location and he speeds off in a flash of blue. It appears to be a typical robbery, something easy for the robust hero to put a stop to. He's got four men and their bags of money outside the bank when one of them speaks, fighting his restraints.
"You…ergh! You have no idea what's in store for you, All Might!"
"Hahaha! Perhaps not, villain, but I know that justice is in store for you!" His iconic smile stays cemented in place as red and blue lights dance in his vision.
"I wonder what your precious girlfriend has in store for her?" The man snarls, lifting his head with a vicious grin.
"Girlfriend? Ha! What gave you such an idea?"
"You can't hide that shit from me. My boss has already looked into it. You can act like you don't know who I'm talking about all you want to, but it'll only make her die faster."
A menacing blue glow emanates from All Might's eyes as he tilts his head down towards the villain, face now shrouded in shadow. He grips the front of the man's shirt and pulls him up to his face.
"What are you playing at, fiend? Who do you work for and where is she?" He growls, making all four men cower under his gaze. Even the man he's talking to loses his smirk and trembles in his grasp.
"G-Got your attention now, d-do I?" He scoffs, trying to brush off his intimidation.
"Where is she?" All Might repeats.
"Why should I tell you?"
All Might pulls the man away from the wall and then slams his back into the brick building. He doesn't utter a word, only glares at him and waits for an answer.
"I'm not obligated to tell you anything, Big Man. Catfish has the location hidden. Even if you could fly up and find her, she'd be dead by the time you got there."
All Might's heart stops momentarily in his chest as menace drips from his aura.
"Where is your boss, then?"
"He's waiting for you in the Roppongi district."
Close to my agency. All Might leaps from the scene as the police officers arrive, promising explanations and leaving bank tellers to give the rest of the account. When he coughs up a handful of blood, he knows he's in trouble. I'm going to need help on this. Ichijiku needs me.
As he floats across the city towards his agency, he's on his phone.
"Endeavor Agency, this is Endeavor speaking." The familiar voice of his rival huffs.
"Endeavor! This is All Might. I need your help in the Roppongi district immediately. This is an emergency!" He keeps his smile in his voice, but the panic can't be helped. Not when his reason for living could die at any minute.
"All Might!" He wonders just how hard Endeavor is clenching his jaw to keep from saying some quippy remark. "I'll be there soon. Is there anything I should know before I reach your location?"
"It's Catfish."
. . . . .
When I open my eyes, I'm trapped. Darkness surrounds me and breathing is difficult. As I start moving to feel around for my surroundings, my shoulders and legs bump against hard wood. Panic settles inside me as I reach above me to feel the same thing.
I've been buried alive! That bastard buried me down here. How am I going to get out?! Am I going to die down here? The more frantic my thoughts, the more frantic my breathing. As soon as I realize this, I close my eyes - not that it makes a big difference - and inhale deeply, holding for a moment, and then exhale. I can get out of here. I just can't panic. Toshinori will find me, but I have to find a way out of this coffin first. The box is made of wood, so it's not metal or anything reinforced that we can't break.
I remember reading an article somewhere about tying my shirt around my head to keep dirt particles out of my face. Though it's a tight space, with steady breaths and a stubborn disposition, I wriggle out of my shirt and tie it around my head. I brace my back against the box and kick the top above me.
There's no telling how long I work at it. My bones shiver with despair and I worry this will all be for nothing as it becomes harder and harder to breathe. But then a loud crack encourages me to redouble my efforts. When I shove harder with all the strength in my legs and dirt starts pouring in, I have to remind myself to keep my breath steady.
I shove all the falling dirt down to the empty space at my feet, slowly making my way to a seated position as loose earth continues to rain upon me. When I can finally stand, I let the remaining dirt compile under my feet, and shove the rest out of the coffin. When I finally breach through the surface, I can see the colorful world filtered in the blue fabric of my shirt.
I untie my shirt and pull it down to more clearly see my surroundings; tears trickle down my cheeks as I locate a ledge I can reach. Clawing the edge of it, I hoist myself up and haul myself out of the hole.
The metal ends of five guns swivel in my direction and take away all the breath I've just earned.
. . . . .
"I thought you'd put this guy away months ago!" Endeavor roars, focusing on minimizing collateral damage while All Might fights a dark-haired man.
It's been a minute since the fight started and Endeavor can see Catfish is already winded. The only thing in his favor is his quirk. With the ability to manipulate tectonic plates, minor earthquakes cause the number two hero to help civilians and avoid as much damage as possible while All Might fights.
Regardless of the wild goose chase, All Might has Catfish restrained in minutes.
"Where did you put her?" He grounds out, fighting against every murderous urge in his body.
"What's it matter to you?" Catfish grins broadly even as he trembles under the large man's gaze. "She's dead by now anyway. You can only last two hours tops when you're buried alive."
Buried alive?! No. No, no, no! All Might's face gives him away. Agony flashes across his features, and Endeavor speaks up to cover for him.
"If she's dead now, then why keep her location a secret? You seem proud of your work, then show it to us." He says.
"You'd be surprised how many isolated parks there are in Tokyo to hide dead bodies in. All it took was a keen observer to choose the right one." Catfish taunts.
All Might slams a fist into his face, knocking out the villain as he restrains him.
"What did you do that for?!" Endeavor barks.
"I know the park. I know exactly where she's at. Hurry!" All Might takes off, speeding off as Endeavor stubbornly attempts to keep up with him.
"How do you know?"
"Odaiba Seaside Park. It's the only place Ichijiku and I could have been seen together recently." He grunts at himself, doubling his pace as the world flashes by in a blur of color. "I'm so stupid! She's going to die because of me!"
"Not with both of us on the scent."
. . . . .
"Catfish! What are we supposed to do if the girl makes it out before All Might gets here?!" One of the gunmen speaks into an earpiece.
When another pair of arms grip mine, instinct takes over. I did not work this hard to be trapped again! I yawn, exaggerating the sound to make it louder and more potent, even as the cost of my action wreaks havoc on my throat.
Their bodies drop around me, fast asleep in a circle. As much as I want to take the time and bask in my freedom, I don't have the luxury. I take only one minute to realize I know this park, before the sound of dogs barking in the distance sends me running.
"The dogs will find her!" I hear a voice call. "The rest of you search the park!"
Where do I go? I don't have my phone so I can't let Toshi know I'm safe. But I need to find somewhere to hide until he can get here. Up a tree. The idea seems the most likely to keep me hidden so long as I put some distance between the dogs and my captors. I drive my toes into the dirt, pushing my asthmatic lungs to keep going so I can make headway.
When I see a small pond, I rush over and slide into the murky water despite the frigid temperature. It seems a small price to pay for another chance at life. I hold my breath and duck under the surface before coming back up and hearing the pack of dogs closing in.
I swim downstream a little bit before hopping out and sprinting again. My poor lungs burn for oxygen, but I make a mental promise to them that they can breathe all they want to when we're safe. A large ginkgo tree comes into sight and gives me the remaining motivation to push my legs harder across the grass.
Since I've been scaling trees since I was small, the hardest part of climbing is just getting to the lowest branch. I leap and hug the tree with my arms and legs, channeling Toshinori and forcing myself to use every muscle to its full potential. Once I'm secured on the lowest branch, it's smooth sailing. I pant and wheeze as I ascend higher and higher, until the limbs feel too flimsy to hold me anymore.
I hug the limb I'm laying on, keeping my eyes trained across the expanse of the park. I shudder when the dogs come into view.
. . . . .
All Might catches sight of the disturbed earth quickly, hope alighting in his eyes when he sees five unconscious bodies surrounding the open circle.
"This is a sign she used her quirk! She must have escaped–" All Might barely gets the words out when he hears dogs barking across the park.
"Hurry! They must be chasing after her!" Endeavor warns.
The Symbol of Peace reaches the men and their dogs in seconds, shocking them when he moves faster than they can think. All Might uses the leashes on the dogs to simultaneously restrain their handlers and keep the pups from going anywhere.
"ICHAN!" He calls across the park, scouring the trees, the pond, the vast expanse of grass before them. "I'm here! Where are you?!"
Nothing. He uses his strength and jumps through the air, turning this way and that to get a good look among the horizon while Endeavor searches along the ground with a calmer head to help with focus.
When Endeavor finds footprints near a pond, he doesn't voice his discovery at first. He follows the stream downwards, thinking she must have tried to cover her scent and gain distance. He grins when he's proven correct as another pair of footprints shows up further down the stream.
The prints lead him to a group of trees, where he looks around for hiding places on the ground while All Might scours the sky. He's bending at the bough of a gingko tree when a drop of water makes the flames on his hair sizzle. Rain? He looks up.
And there she is.
. . . . .
My eyes close as I listen for dogs and villains alike. Fire swims through my aching muscles while the freezing weather numbs my skin. Dogs keep barking for what feels like hours before I hear a new sound.
"ICHAN!"
All Might's voice echoes in the distance, there's no mistaking it. I barely crack my eyelids as I try and search for him. A flash of orange follows the pondstream below, getting closer to me. A flash of red floats upwind above the trees, moving a little slower as it tries to find me.
"All Might…" I whimper, throat crusty and torn. I turn back to the orange growing brighter and looking more like flames the closer it gets. I suddenly understand. "Endeavor…"
When the flame hero reaches my tree, I try to move. My limbs, numb and cold, refuse even to twitch. Water drips from my shirt until I see him look up at me. Please… I want to say. I'm right here. Help. His eyes meet mine and I know I'll be safe.
Thump. I blink and All Might hangs onto the base of my tree, looking me over.
"Ichan!" His eyes glisten as he takes my limp body in his arms and hops from the tree to the ground. "I thought you were dead." He whispers, squeezing me close.
"I…am…here…" I squeak out, my lips twitching when I see him so distraught. I'll be your smile when you don't have the strength to find it.
A strangled laugh escapes him before he repositions me.
"Endeavor, she's freezing. I'm trusting you to keep her warm while I lead the police here." He offers me out to Endeavor, before kissing my forehead. "I'll be right back, I swear. Hold out until then."
Warmth floods every nerve ending and thaws me as Endeavor's body and quirk heat sinks into my skin. I sigh and shudder, slowly starting to bend my fingers the more I feel able.
"Good. Try flexing your toes, too." He encourages.
"You're like…giant…" I grunt, eyes rolling around as the world tilts. "Giant campfire…"
"Hey, stay awake. We want to make sure you can give a testimony to the police, okay?" Endeavor explains.
"But I'm so tired…" I whine, head lilting back. He moves his arm and it's tilted back up.
"I know, but you've got to stay awake. If you start falling asleep because I'm too warm, I'll be forced to let you get cold again."
"You're much ruder than I'd expect an electric blanket to be." I huff.
"I've been told something like that a time or two."
"It's okay…dun conform…" I yawn and pat his arm. "To stereotypes."
When All Might finally returns, it's with a posse of medical personnel and police officers. A bright light shines in my eye and I'm asked a multitude of questions, all of which I'm able to answer.
The questioning ends and they set me on a stretcher and tuck me into the back of an ambulance. All Might assures me around a cough that he'll meet me at the hospital, which I only allow because of the blood I see on his hand. But before he can leave, I call out for him one last time.
"All Might?"
"Yes?"
"Please don't charge me an ice cream fee. I swear it wasn't my fault."