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' Iida Tensei '
...
He felt the man shift behind him, his unseen hand quickly-and none too gently-slipping beneath his head and lifting it so that he could reach for the button. He'd barely managed to follow Tensei's instructions before the fallen pro hero saw a shadow leaping above the wall of flames.
"Look out!"
"Shit!"
...
Tensei gasped when he was seized under the arms and literally thrown backwards before another roar of flames flew from his rescuer's hands, catching Stain's leg, but unable to stop his momentum so that the vigilante was forced to leap backwards in order to dodge the murderer's blade.
And, through the lightheadedness and confusion of blood loss, Tensei managed to get his first good look at 'Phoenix's' face.
He was young. Probably a few years younger than Tensei himself, with black hair and piercing eyes the same shade of blue as his flames, half-hidden by a black mask tied around the upper half of his face.
The burn scars that the speedster had seen on the young man's hand extended up his neck and one side of his face as well. His teeth were grit in concentration as he moved and dodged Stain's attacks. He was obviously trained, judging both by his precise use of his quirk and in the fluidity of his movements, but Stain was well-trained too, fast and strong and dangerous.
"Ingenium? Ingenium, what's wrong? Ingenium, do you copy?!"
Tensei forced himself to breathe, doing everything possible not to hyperventilate. His SOS had been received, but he couldn't respond. Couldn't even help fight back. He just had to hope that his allies would reach them in-
"Gah!"
Tensei's eyes widened as he saw a sharp spray of dark blood. Stain had managed to cut Phoenix's arm. It was a shallow wound, but judging by the way that those manic red eyes seemed to light up in glee as the Hero Killer raised his blade towards his face, it was obviously enough.
No, no, no-!
An invisible force suddenly threw Stain backwards, sending him slamming against the wall of the alley with a sharp cry of pain, the knife reflexively lost from his grasp. A moment later, a new set of footfalls entered the alleyway, out of Tensei's line of sight.
"The hell kept you, Wraith?!" Phoenix snapped, glancing backwards and wait, why can he still move if he's been cut?! The injured pro didn't hear a reply, but there must have been some kind of response because a moment later the first vigilante groaned and grumbled, "Is this really the time for puns?!" then, "I don't care if that isn't what you meant; just hurry up and cut Ingenium's armor so I can cauterize the wound! He'll bleed out if we don't do something!"
"Oh no, you will not be permitted to- Oof!"
Another invisible blow sent Stain flying a good twenty meters further down the alleyway. A telekinesis quirk, perhaps? Tensei didn't really have time to think about it.
All that he knew was that a pair of gentle hands were suddenly gripping his shoulder and rolling him over so that he was lying on his back rather than haphazardly on his side.
Still, the stranger left his face turned so that he couldn't get a very clear glimpse of him. All that he was able to make out in his unsteady peripheral vision was a skin-tight body suit and what looked like a black biker's helmet, albeit more sleek.
"Ingenium! Ingenium, if you can hear me, please respond!"
Tensei groaned as the person lifted his arm away from his side, gasping as he became suddenly more aware of the blood gushing from his wound. How long had it been since he was first stabbed? Two or three minutes, minimum? A person could bleed out in less than five without medical attention; how much more time did he have?
Judging by how cold his extremities felt, probably not long.
He couldn't see what his current caretaker-Wraith?-was doing, but he could see the bursts of blue light that indicated Phoenix and Stain had gone back at it at the other end of the alleyway.
Then he felt a gentle curl of cool air under his arm before a tight, even painful pressure appeared under it, settled firmly against his wound. A tourniquet? That would make sense for a cut artery but… No… No, something seemed off… There… The pressure was off.
There wasn't any pressure around his arm, just underneath. Was it… the telekinesis quirk again? Mentally applying some sort of pressure to stop or at least slow down the bleeding? Yeah, that… that could be…
Tensei twitched-twitched; was Stain's paralysis starting to wear off?!-when there was a flicker of movement above him and suddenly the black-clad vigilante was rushing past him, racing down the alley to help Phoenix against Stain. The pressure never left his arm though, so… tourniquet? No, he'd already eliminated that. It was… a quirk…?
Another round of shouting echoed down the alley, a burst of flame and a snarl of frustration, and then suddenly the pressure on Tensei's arm vanished, leaving him groaning in pain as his arm pulsed, his heart's desperate attempts to save him only serving to further push his blood out of his body.
That… That was odd, right? Telekinesis… Strong quirk… Could he not reach very far?
"Ingenium!"
The edges of his vision were going dark when Tensei heard pounding footsteps and groggily lifted his head to see Phoenix crouched in front of him, his blue eyes grim. "This is gonna hurt like hell, but try not to flail, got it?"
Ingenium blinked dazedly back at him. He tried to nod, but his body didn't seem to want to respond. Had Stain paralyzed him again? He'd thought… it was wearing off…
Phoenix pursed his lips and shifted so that he was pinning the pro hero's torso down with his legs, one of his hands gripping his right arm. His free hand lit up with blue flames as he reached towards the knife wound.
Tensei blinked, staring at the blue light for a few seconds before he realized what was coming and squeezed his eyes shut.
Pain exploded through his arm and by extension his entire body as the fire made contact with his skin, sharpening his senses and suddenly sending him flying wide awake again.
Even prepared for it as he was, the pro hero couldn't quite suppress a scream from tearing at his throat, nor keep his body from bucking instinctively against the weight keeping him from escaping the pain.
In an effort to keep still, he focused on the sensation of Phoenix's fingers pinching his wound shut before the heat seared it closed, on the tears streaming from his eyes under his helmet, on the spasming muscle in his clenched jaw, on the acrid scent of burning hair and flesh.
Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it was over, and Tensei felt himself slump with exhaustion even as he gasped desperately for breath, his lungs abruptly free of the paralysis and weight pinning them.
His head swam and blackness briefly overtook his sight as he felt his body shift against his will. He was jarred back into consciousness when his back hit something solid, which he realized-slowly; far too slowly-was a brick wall.
"Ingenium, we've almost reached your location! Hold on, sir; please hold on!"
The last thing he saw before the darkness rushed back in and overtook him completely was Phoenix's facial scars, stretched in a small, sad smile before the vigilante turned and sprinted away.
...
Red.
Blue.
Red.
Blue.
Red.
Blue.
Voices.
Loud.
Pain.
Pain.
PAIN.
Nothing.
Quiet.
Beeping.
Slow.
Steady.
Constant.
Peaceful.
Tensei couldn't identify one moment when he regained consciousness. He was just suddenly aware where before he hadn't been.
And the first thing that he became aware of was pain.
His entire body, especially the left side, throbbed, aching and pulsing in time with his heartbeat. Still, it wasn't nearly as intense as he might have expected, all things considered. He must be on some really good painkillers, because there was no way he should have gotten out of being stabbed feeling this okay.
Honestly, there was a significant part of him that hadn't expected to wake up at all. If Phoenix and Wraith hadn't turned up-
Phoenix. Wraith.
The pro hero's eyes suddenly snapped open and he lurched, trying to sit up with the power of the spark of adrenaline that zipped through his veins as a sudden sense of panic seized hold of his chest.
He groaned as a spike of pain instantly lanced across his chest, keeping him from making any headway whatsoever in that regard. Closing his eyes once again and gritting his teeth, he decided to focus on breathing, forcing air in and out of his lungs, doing all that he could not to fall into the natural instinct of hyperventilation.
A hand fell on his.
Tensei twitched, surprised by the unexpected touch, his dark eyes fluttering open once more. His eyes flicked to the hand on his, tracing up the arm to a slim woman with dark hair framing a thin face, the light of the sunset streaming through the window, glinting off of her thin, wire frame glasses, and casting her simple medical mask into stark shadows.
"Ka-"
Tensei coughed harshly as the air caught in his throat, suddenly becoming aware of just how tight and dry his throat felt. He soon felt a gentle hand lifting his head, another one guiding a cup to his lips and helping him to drink.
The cool water sliding down his throat was a relief; by the time it pulled away, he could swallow much more easily, not to mention it was much, much easier to focus on his mother's face.
"Kasan," he murmured, smiling faintly and pressing her hand as it found its way back to his.
"Tensei," she murmured, her face crumpling in relief, her other hand rising to gently brush his bangs off of his forehead before reaching over to press the 'Call Nurse' button. "I'm so glad you're awake."
"Was… was anyone else hurt?" Tensei asked, his thoughts turning back to his two young protectors (at least, he assumed Wraith was young; he hadn't really been able to see their face).
"Not that anyone knows of," his mother replied, her voice slightly muffled by her medical mask. "Your sidekicks said that they found you propped up against a wall just outside of an alleyway. When they investigated, they found a puddle of… of blood further inside, as well as quite a few scorch marks, but no other bodies."
"I… see," Tensei murmured, frowning in concentration. Hopefully, a lack of bodies was good. Hopefully, that meant Phoenix and Wraith had gotten away safely.
Unfortunately, it meant that Stain probably had as well.
"How long have I-"
The door of the hospital room slid open, startling the both of them. For a moment, Tensei thought it might be the nurse, but then he heard a choked gasp, a clatter of metal on tile, and a cry of, "Tensei!"
"Tenya, keep your voice down!"