Bright street lamps shone on the street and pavement of Japan. The night breeze blew coolly against the trees and their autumn-descending leaves. Stars twinkled silently despite the dark clouds hovering in the sky. Not a single vehicle in sight.
Quiet as it may be, heavy, labored breathing could be discerned.
Crimson droplets splattered across the pavement, leaving a trail of an iron-coated scent behind. A young man, possibly in his twenties, trudged painfully on the central lane of the road. His left arm favored his wounded right while placing all his strength on his right foot. The mangled state of his left kneecap throbbed with each step.
On spotting a bench nearby, he quickly opted to rest. With a sigh, he plopped on it without much further thought. He groaned once a sharp sting reached his ankles. That's right. He'd been running all day. His arms trembled, sore from all the energy he expended.
"There you are, Lucas! What were you thinking of splitting up?" A shrill feminine voice startled him to sit up in alarm and familiarity.
"Is that you, Catherine?" He asked, cautiousness in his tone. His blurry vision peered into the darkness where the bright lights aren't able to reach. He spotted her average frame approaching him steadily with crossed arms.
Curly brown hair and hood-front bangs were easily spotted, unlike those dark freckles resting on her hazelnut-like skin. Her forest green eyes took a brief look before widening, and then she ran to his side.
"Are you alright?" She asked with slight tremor in her hands, slowly reaching for her bag.
"Oh, definitely. I'm in great shape if you haven't noticed." Lucas responded with a painful shrug, barely covering the sarcasm in his tone. His gaze landed on her pout, and her hands withdrew from her bag. Quickly, he groaned.
"I'm not fine! Definitely in pain!"
"Oh, so now you aren't sarcastic."
"Well, obviously I don' tlook okay, do I? Is that all you have to say after not seeing each other for the past 2 days?" Lucas huffed.
Catherine clicked her tongue, reaching for her bag once more. She retrieved a bandage, carefully applying it on his wounds to prevent excess blood loss.
"I wasn't the one who called for us to split up. you said and I quote, 'I won't let myself get hurt'." She said, using a napkin to dab his blood-smeared face. "Especially the last run-in with the so-called league of villains."
"Thank you." He replied quietly once she finished. He cautiously flexed his arm, hissing.
"Careful. I don't have any more bandages on me." Catherine taunts, wagging a finger under his nose.
"Hmmm... How lovely." The man hummed only to receive a flick to the nose.
"Charming." She teased back. Leaning back on the bench, she asked. "So has it worked yet?"
He slowly shook his head, his eyebrows scrunched in a grimacing manner.
There goes the peaceful moment. He thought.
"I told you this was an entire waste of time!" She said, throwing her hands in the air from exasperation. "Why not get some help here in this world? they have villains, right? Surely there have to be heroes."
"No, Interfering would only cause more harm than good."
"And certainly you getting chased half to death every time isn't much of a problem? We've already encountered the villains here. What's the harm in doing the same with the heroes?"
At this point, Lucas heaved a sigh, unwilling to argue further. "We keep trying. We must. I'll try one more time." He responded seriously, facing her.
"No! You're in no condition to try anything else." She argued, tugging his uninjured arm's sleeve. Slowly, he reached his hand out and patted her head with a fond smile.
"Trust me. I know what I am doing."
A pink hue stained her cheeks as she looked down. She nods once he pulls away.
"Alright. I trust you." She took a few steps back away from him and the bench, watching from a safe distance, ready for his next move.
Lucas let out a satisfied grunt, hopping lightly to his feet. He gritted his teeth from the sudden jerk of his knee. Nevertheless, he remained steady. Autumn leaves rustled past them, forming a circular pattern. Lucas' eyes were closed. He focused, bringing his palm forward and rotating it in an anti-clockwise motion.
The autumn leaves dropped. Nothing happened.
All of a sudden, a white spatial void tore into existence, swirling a few inches from the ground.
"You did it, Lucas!" Catherine squealed in delight, enveloping him in a hug. His body tensed, letting out a sharp hiss, forcing her to quickly pull away.
"Yeah, we can go home now." He smiled, gesturing to the portal. "Let's head back. After you." She complied, making her way to the portal.
"When we get back, the revolution would be waiting for—"
But an eerie voice cut him short. "Not so fast. you thought you'd get away from us, Mr. Spatial."
Lucas' head hit hard against the concrete pavement, followed by a piercing throb that blurred other senses. He let out a grunt, forcing his eyes to spot Catherine, who cried out his name as she tried to run back to him.
"No! Run, Catherine!"
Summoning whatever strength he had left, he shoved his tackler off and ran towards the spatial portal.
"Catherine!" He yelled, seeing as she entered and was now waiting for him. But once again, he was shoved to the ground with more weight pinning his chest. He squirmed underneath, taking one last glance at his friend who attempted to rescue him, but the void was already closed off. Lucas let his head down, his silver hair covering his eyes.
He heard footsteps approaching and a familiar squeal that he didn't hope to hear anymore. Toga kneeled next to the restrained man on the floor, specifically next to his injuries, as she cooed at the sight of blood slowly seeping from his wounds.
"Looks like you won't be going anywhere anytime soon." Dabi said, reaching out to grab a handful of Lucas' hair, heat surfacing his palms.
Twice, still seated on the man's chest, turned to Shigaraki, pointing at Lucas, "Should I get off him, boss? He's not fighting anymore."
"He could be faking it. Can't have him creating more portals like last time." Spinner voiced, leaning next to a streetlamp.
Twice gave a thumbs up, which was soon met with a thumbs down. This particularly confused the restrained man.
"Do it...Mister." Shigaraki rasped to Mr. Compress.
"Alright." Mr. Compress stepped forward. Leaning, he touched Lucas, compressing him to a minuscule marble. With finesse, he tossed it up in the air and caught it in his hat, placing it back on his head.
"Shall we be off?" Mr. Compress tipped his hat.
And it's concluded in seconds that Lucas had been captured. Again.
・・・・・
Author's note
Hello, dear readers, Thanks for checki out my first fanfiction story. As the title suggests, This is a Kimetsu no Yaiba and My Hero Academia crossover fic. This is just the beginning, and I into the main plot soon. So, stay tuned!