Making a Choice

Screaming.

Cries for help.

Begging for mercy.

That had been the first thing that rang through his ears as he struggled to stay awake.

A young boy, no more than five laid on the concrete floor; the world around him, had lost its color, as it had begun to revert to black and gray. The only color that remained was himself. His once blue t-shirt had been darkened with the color of red as well as parts of his skin on his arm, leg and face. No matter how hard he tried to move, all he was met with was agony as he felt as though something had been stuck deep within his body.

Another child had been crying, as whoever had been had been holding him within their small arms. Though his body felt cold, the only thing that felt warm was the child's tears.

The voice soon spoke, belonging to a young girl.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

He knew all too well who the voice belonged to as he saw the once bright colored hair, began to lose its color. He tried his best to reach out to her, but the pain he felt prevented him from doing so. He could only utter one thing, in the hopes that the person who had been crying could hear him.

"Lo… Li… Chan…"

***

Katsuki awoke with a gasp as he sat up suddenly. Though he had been taken back when he didn't find himself in the cafeteria UA had provided but rather outside in the field of trees that had surrounded the school grounds. He saw that he had been close to the stadium as well as the fairgrounds.

It hadn't been long before he realized how it happened, or at the very least, he had an idea.

"THAT DAMN OLD WITCH!" He couldn't help but shout as he activated his Quirk, "IF I EVER SEE HER AGAIN, I'M GONNA KICK HER ASS!"

It hadn't been long before he heard someone let out a groan beside him. He turned and saw the source of it.

"Reina!" He exclaimed as he moved beside her.

He took her in his arms, taking care of the wound on the back of her shoulder, "Reina! Hey!" He said as he shook her a little, "Can you hear me!? Wake up!"

He had gotten no response, as she moved as if she had been a ragdoll. Katsuki's body shook at this as he thought of a worst case scenario. "Reina!" He said as he used his hand to hit her cheek, "Reina, please! Wake up! Wake up damn it! Stop playing around and open your eyes!"

Finally he saw her eyes move, ceasing his own.

With a soft groan, his red eyes mixed with her odd colored ones as she looked up to him.

"Katsuki-kun…?" She said softly as she went to rub her eyes, only for her to wince slightly when she felt agony, "... Is that you…?"

Katsuki's eyes showed relief as he couldn't help but smile, "You know something… You gotta stop making a habit of scaring people."

"Ah… Yeah…" Reina said as she sat up, "... Sorry…"

She could hear the faint ring sound in her head, as she ran her fingers through her bangs. She didn't know what the hell happened or as to what she was doing outside. She just seemed confused; when she tried to picture what had happened, it had only been a bit blurry.

Then it hit her suddenly.

An image passed her by of a girl with a crazy looking smile. Eyes that looked as though they had belonged to the devil itself; a knife and a gun in each hand. A tune like that of a siren echoed, creating a ring as her laughs kept on going and going.

She felt as though she was drowning as it started to become harder to breathe.

"That's right… I remember--!"

The image went by her as if she had been charging at her. With her laugh echoing through her head.

"--There was a Villain--!"

The sound of a gun went off, and she could've sworn she felt something pass her by.

"--A Villain came here--She was here at UA--"

The pain in her shoulder seemed to have become intense, as she felt the shot hit her again. She felt a sting pain in her skull, as if was being dragged. The image of the Villain, and the image of something else started to mix, creating like something out of a nightmare; tears began to form as she gave a horrified expression as her eyes started to turn to gold once more.

"--She tried too--She tried too---She tried too--"

The next thing she knew she was snapped back into reality as she felt the arms of someone familiar wrap around her. Katsuki started to shush her gently, as he started to brush through her hair.

"Calm down Reina…" She heard Katsuki say softly, "... I'm here now. You don't have to be scared."

The voice of the Villain as well as those that overlapped started to dimmer; though tears still ran, she felt safe at that moment.

"...Your Quirk… Did it stop hurting you?"

Reina only nodded her head as her eyes changed back to the odd color.

"Take a deep breath."

She slowly shut her eyes as she did as she had been told. Katsuki held her a bit longer before he broke out of the hug; he helped Reina wipe the tears off of her face.

"There was a Villain Katsuki-kun…" Reina said to him as her body shook a little, "... There was a Villain he--"

"I know." He said, "I had a run in with her too. The crazy bitch managed to give the slip. But if I see her again, there's gonna be hell."

"So… She escaped." Reina said.

Katsuki noticed that she started to look uneasy again.

"Hey, didn't I tell you before?" He said to her, "I told you I'd keep you safe, and I mean it."

Reina gave a smile, "I don't doubt it Katsuki-kun."

It hadn't been long before she winced slightly at the pain she felt in her shoulder. At this Katsuki looked to see as blood continued to seep through her jacket. "Damn it!" He said before standing up, "Stay here, I'll get the kissy hag to fix you up!"

"No!" She said, stopping him in his tracks, "I can't go to Chiyo-san with this! If Shota finds out then--"

"Don't be an idiot!" Katsuki told her, "What's gonna happen if you end up getting infected?! Stop being stubborn, Lollipop Head!"

"Even so, I can't go to them with a wound like this!" Reina told him as she winced a little, "If I do… They'll probably tell me to back out of the Sports Festival, and… I can't."

"Are you just trying to get yourself killed!?"

"No, that's not what I'm trying to get by."

"Then what is it that you're trying to tell me!?"

"I don't want to back out, because I want to be able to compete! I want to see Izuku-kun and Floyd-kun in the finals! I want to be able to compete against them, so that I can show them what I'm capable of! I want to be able to fight you, and give you the fight that you want!"

Katsuki looked at her surprised as he couldn't find the right words to rebuttal with. Thus Reina continued on.

"I want to be able to play my part in the festival!" She said, "I don't care if I'm at risk, I just don't want to feel like I'm weak! I want to see it through to the end!" She looked up to him, as it looked as though she had been about to cry again, "I--I want to keep my word to you Katsuki-kun! I want to fight you in the Sports Festival, and show you what I'm made of!"

At her words, Katsuki had been speechless about it all; though it didn't help that she had been really stubborn like he had been. He did like that about her, though sometimes he wished she wasn't.

He let out a sigh, "... You can be such a pain in the ass… Can we do something about the blood at least? Your gonna get a lot of looks if you're seen looking like that."

Reina looked at herself, seeing the blood stain and cuts on her jacket.

"Yeah." She said before looking at her, "You should change your jacket too while you're at it."

"I know damn it!" He said, "It'll be easier if we head back to the stadium. There should be a first ai--"

Just as Katsuki went to make his way back, he felt his foot hit something. When he looked down he was surprised to see that in front of him there had been two sets of PE jackets as well as a white metallic box with a red cross in the middle. Reina soon noticed this as well when she stood up.

"Huh…" She said awkwardly, "... That's convenient. Where in the world did they come from?"

Katsuki picked up the items off the floor as he examined them.

"No way…" Katsuki said softly, "... Did she leave this here?"

"What did you say?" Reina asked as she didn't seem to have heard him.

"... Don't worry about it." He said as he turned to her, "Take off your jacket."

Reina had been taken back by this as her face turned a little red; though after a few moments of processing she had complied. She and Katsuki sat in the grass once more as she had her back facing him. She removed her jacket, setting it over to the side revealing her tank top and the wound she had gotten; the strap had been broken in two as her shirt had been held by the single strap.

Thankfully from what Katsuki could tell, the wound hadn't been that serious. Okay it was bad, but it wasn't anything life threatening.

"Well…?" Reina soon asked, "... Do you think it'll leave a scar?"

"No." He replied, "Don't worry about it."

He opened up the First Aid box and got what he needed; a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, a bandage patch and an alcohol pad to help clean off the blood. Getting out a tissue he poured some of the peroxide onto it before he situated himself so that he had been sitting behind her.

"Kay." He said, "I'm gonna clean up the wound now. This might hurt, but try not to move."

Reina only nodded her head as she held her shirt up. Katsuki soon started to go to work; every now and again when he wiped with the peroxide, she would flinch at the burning pain she felt. It hadn't been as intense as when she was shot, though it still hurt.

She didn't realize that Katsuki's expression changed, as he cleaned up her wound.

"Why do you keep worrying people, Reina?" Katsuki soon asked.

Reina looked over her shoulder as she glanced at Katsuki, "It's not like I do it on purpose…"

"Even so, you keep making it a habit." Katsuki told her, "First it was in middle school with the Black Knights, the assholes in our third years, and now these damn Villains."

Reina rolled her eyes, "So I'm trouble prone. It's not like I can't help it or break the habit. Even as a kid I always managed to get myself in a situation I couldn't get out of myself."

"Doesn't it bother you with what happens?"

"Of course it does. It's not like I like that sort of thing."

She heard Katsuki let out a growl at this. From this she knew he had been angry. "Katsuki-kun…" Reina started to say, "... I really meant what I said. I didn't ask for this kind of thing. I didn't ask for Villains to come and attack. None of us did. But… It's happened, even if we--or I didn't want it."

Katsuki stopped what he was doing as he let out another sigh. Reina looked at him with worry as she finally turned to face him.

"I know that it's not your fault…" He said with his head down to the floor, "... I know you didn't ask for all the bad shit to happen to you, but… Even so… Even so…"

She saw his body shake, as she could've sworn he had been trying to refrain himself from breaking down.

"I just…" He started to say, "... I just can't bear the thought of losing you…"

She had been shocked at this, as her face turned red once more. Though she couldn't help but feel that her heart gave a tug at the way his words sounded. Reina finally put her arms around him, bringing him in for a hug.

"Don't worry…" She said, "... You'll never lose me. No matter what happens… I'll always be here."

Katsuki looked up to her as he pushed himself out of the hug, "You better hold to that. Otherwise, I'll make you regret it."

"I don't doubt that…" She said softly as she pressed her forehead to his, "... After all… You are you."

For a moment, the two of them stayed silent, as their eyes locked with each other, as if they had both been hypnotized. Both of them felt their hearts beating at an unnatural pace.

"His eyes…" Reina thought in her head, "... I never realized… How beautiful they were…"

"... How can one look at her…" Katsuki started to think, "... Drive me so crazy…?"

The two of them started to lean forward unconsciously, as their lips had been almost touching; though Katsuki had soon reacted as he put his hand just over her mouth.

"Turn back around." He said, "So that I can put the bandage on."

Reina seemed to look embarrassed as she nodded, "Ri--Right. Of course." She turned back around and let Katsuki go to work.

"What was I about to do just now?" She thought as she put her fingers to her lips.

It hadn't been long before Katsuki finished up, and they disposed of their old jackets before they had put on their new ones. They started to make their way back to the stadium trying to keep it as casual as possible. Though every so often the two of them would look to one another before they immediately looked away when their eyes locked on again.

"This is so weird…" Reina thought to herself, "... He's supposed to be my best friend, and yet… I feel different…" She placed her hand over her heart as she couldn't help but give a small smile, "... Yet… It's a good kind of different…"

Just as they were about to enter the stadium, they stopped in their tracks when they saw two familiar people. One was a teen with indigo hair, and the other had been a girl with red and white hair.

"Fubuki-chan?" Reina said surprised before she ran to her, "Fubuki-chan!"

"Oh, there you are." Shinso said as he sounded tired.

Reina gave Fubuki a hug as Katsuki caught up with her. "I was so worried about you!" Reina told her, "Where were you?"

"I found her just outside the stadium." Shinso told her, "She was crying."

"So that's where you were hiding, Icey girl?" Katsuki asked.

Fubuki soon started to sign over to Reina, though Reina herself tilted her head a little as she didn't understand her. Katsuki rolled his eyes before saying, "She's saying that she's sorry, and that she didn't mean to disappear the way she did."

The three of them looked at Katsuki just in complete and utter shock.

"You actually understand sign?" Shinso asked.

"Duh." Katsuki said with a shrug, "It's not that hard to get."

"Okay… That I was not expecting." Reina said, as she had still been shocked.

Shinso sighed and shook his head, "Anyway… Fubuki here, has something she wants to tell you, before we head back in."

Reina raised an eyebrow at this, "... What is it?"

Fubuki only glanced at Katsuki before she signed what she wanted to tell her; at this Katsuki's eyes widened.

"No…" He said, "... You're kidding me right, Icey Girl!?"

Fubuki looked at Katsuki and only shook her head in reply. "What?" Reina soon asked, "What did she say?" Katsuki let out a growl, before he looked over to Fubuki; all she did was give him a nod.

Finally he turned back to her.

"She says…" Katsuki soon said, "... She's going to forfeit the match."

At this, Reina's eyes widened in shock.