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“Are- are you sure about this, Shouta?” Hizashi stuttered, hugging himself to calm his fear as he entered the dilapidated gates.
“Well, we have no other choice, do we?” The raven-haired man answered as he took a step inside the rotting temple.
It was no mystery that this temple had been abandoned ages ago; leaving it to decay and succumb to Mother Nature. From Shouta’s research - it used to be a place where people would gather for religious ceremonies.
Many documents described rumors of strange, almost cult-like gatherings that even made Shouta feel uncomfortable. He kept this information secret from Hizashi who is easily frightened by disturbing stories of such kinds.
After all, they weren’t here to investigate such rumors of old, but to capture any villain that might have recently used this mortifying temple as a hiding spot.
As they passed through a narrow tunnel, all they could hear were their boots splashing against shallow puddles and the loud drops that fell from the roof. It was eerily quiet, with the smallest hint of sound creating an echo that traveled through the whole building. Shouta was in front of Hizashi, being the only one with a steady hand capable of holding a flashlight.
The walls were closing in, leaving little room for two people. Hizashi started to feel cold, trembling as he passed by the walls plastered in some odd liquid he dared not analyze. He was never claustrophobic, but each second felt like he was slowly suffocating.
They finally entered a room covered in old, broken-down furniture. Shouta circled the room, eyeing every piece of furniture to find any clues on where they are. The place has been left unattended for many years, and the only living things were the spiders creating webs in the chairs and wall cracks.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
“Don’t touch anything, Hizashi,” Shouta ordered, “who knows what might be growing in these places.”
He heard Hizashi whimper beside him, and Shouta immediately turned back alarmed.
“Sho- Shouta...that wasn’t me,” Hizashi whispered, his voice shaking with horror.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Shouta’s eyes widened as he searched for the noise. He instinctively clutched his binding cloth and lowered his goggles to prepare for any surprise attack.
The tapping echoed once again through the room, and Shouta felt his confusion grow by the second. He knew he had pinpointed the direction of the noise, yet he couldn’t see anything .
He approached the corner where he was certain the noise originated from, but all he saw was a wooden table with some sort of vase.
Now that he had a better look, the vase looked more like an urn than anything. Shouta gulped, feeling a sense of dread that traveled throughout his body.
The tap came back, and it wasn’t until then that Shouta realized the source of the sound.
“The noise,” he started, “it’s coming from inside the walls.”
“W-what do you mean?” Hizashi asked, his voice betraying him with sniffles.
Before Shouta could respond, the urn suddenly flung violently off the table and landed on the floor right beside Shouta. The raven man backed away immediately, impulsively seeking for Hizashi’s embrace.
He didn’t have much luck, considering the scream that Hizashi let out. Any normal being would have screamed, but with his quirk, it wasn’t the most adequate time.
His blaring cry resonated throughout the room, possibly the whole temple. The place began to shake violently, toppling pieces of furniture and artifacts all over the floor. The walls shook with such force that new cracks began to form, threatening the stability of the building.
Hizashi looked frantically at Shouta, who was staring back at him. The loud hero reached out for his friend, and for a moment he saw Shouta approaching him.
Then he fell.
The floor opened, and Hizashi felt gravity take a hold of him. His hands stretched out for anything, anyone - but it was useless.
“Hizashi!” Shouta screamed out, running to save his friend. He couldn’t prevent him from falling, but he would be damned if he left without Hizashi.
Shouta kneeled down at the edge of the gaping hole on the floor. The thick dust and smoke made it almost impossible to see anything below him, but he was sure he could make out an unconscious figure that had to be Hizashi and weird objects surrounding him.
“Hizashi, stay there!” Shouta yelled, “I’ll be down there as quickly as possible.”
Shouta looked around the room to find a sturdy object to tie his binding cloth, but it proved difficult given the vulnerable state of all the furniture that threatened to break apart any second.
Below the wreckage, Hizashi gained consciousness. He winced as he felt a sharp pain on his ribs and right thigh. He turned around, facing the roof, and gasped when he saw his right thigh bleeding with a shredded piece of glass pierced through it.
He leveled his breathing as he closed his eyes to prepare for the pain. He carefully grabbed the piercing glass with two fingers, and with the strength of his adrenaline - he plucked it out from his skin.
His face contorted in pain, but he kept silent, not wanting to repeat the same incident that led him to this mess. He threw the bleeding glass somewhere far from him, which clashed with other objects he couldn’t decipher.
Hizashi started crawling backwards, using his elbows, but he kept meeting something strange. It was rough and solid, making his elbows ache. When he turned his head to take a closer look, his eyes widened when he saw bones .
Pieces of bones surrounding him in every direction.
Hizashi covered his mouth to prevent himself from screaming, but he couldn’t contain the tear that lingered on his eyes from falling down his cheeks. He was sure he had entered the gates of Hell, and Shouta was nowhere to be seen.
Where was Shouta? Where was the love of his life? Not that Shouta knows he is subject to Hizashi’s love. Now that he thought about it, he never got to tell Shouta how he felt.
He started to hyperventilate, feeling like air was poisoning and suffocating him. He feverishly shook his head, crawling away from the bones but they were everywhere. He felt something move quickly through his hands, and that’s when he knew that his nightmare was far from over.
“No, no, no, no,” Hizashi gasped, feeling tiny spiders skittering across the floor. He whimpered as he suppressed sobs filled with terror. He closed his eyes with such force that it ached, but it was miles better than being forced to see the spiders.
Ever since that time he fell into a pit filled with those crawling creatures; he can’t bear the sight of it.
The floor rumbled as heavy footsteps approached him in the dark. Hizashi panicked, hugging his knees for comfort as his breath stood still.
Eight twisted razor-like legs loomed above Hizashi, with black goo oozing off. The face with an exposed brain gave the indication that Hizashi was dealing with a Nomu.
A Nomu with a spider mutation.
Hizashi screamed in horror, with the Nomu screeching alongside him. It raised one of its sharp legs, and aimed it straight to Hizashi.
Before it could reach the loud hero, it was stopped by a white cloth that tightly grabbed the monster and flung it away from Hizashi. The Nomu crashed onto the wall, crying in pain. The attacker wasted no time in binding the creature, making sure its’ legs were tied up together. The sharp edges of the legs might have been a threat, but the raven man trusted the strength of his binding scarf.
Shouta darted towards Hizashi, and felt his heart shatter when he heard Hizashi’s cries of pain. He should have never left Hizashi’s side, but all he could do now was embrace his friend. Keep him safe in his arms.
Hizashi sobbed with his eyes shut closed, “Shouta...it was horrible, I- I just stood there frozen. I couldn’t do anything I-”
“It’s okay, Hizashi,” Shouta comforted, caressing Hizashi’s hair, “I’m here.”
“Thank you,” Hizashi whispered, “I’m sorry, I was too weak-”
“No, don’t say that,” Shouta said, backing away to cup Hizashi’s cheeks, “you’re not weak Hizashi. This was a phobia of yours, so don’t you dare apologize for something that wasn’t your fault.”
Hizashi’s tears started to dry up, and a small smile crept on his face.
“Can we go now?” he asked with imploring eyes.
Shouta smiled back, “Sure, I’ll call for backup and then we can get the hell out of here.”
Making their way outside of the temple was difficult, with Shouta maneuvering himself and Hizashi, who kept his eyes closed as he limped. Shouta ripped a part of his outfit to tie it tightly onto Hizashi’s injured leg before they left.
Once they reached the entrance, Shouta decided to sit down on one of the stairwells with Hizashi. The two were hit by the force of the sun as they catched their breath. Shouta knew more pro heroes and officers were coming to deal with the Nomu, and whatever hellish things could be hiding in that temple of doom. All they had to do now was wait, and then they will finally be free from all of this.
Hizashi leaned onto Shouta’s shoulders, thinking about how close he was to being severely injured, or perhaps dying. Knowing he could have died without letting Shouta know how he feels was troubling him, and he told himself that he would stop being a coward and do something about it.
He knows Shouta might not feel the same, but after today, he is willing to take the risk. Hizashi glanced at Shouta, who was staring blankly at the sky. He wondered what Shouta was contemplating about, but decided not to break Shouta’s thoughts.
Shouta gazed at the blue skies, which was a stark contrast from the dark surfaces of the temple behind him. In the sight of the purest natural light, everything became clear to him.
Maybe I should tell Hizashi that I love him.