[A/N]: fairly long chapter lol

"Kacchan... What is that?"
Izuku inquired in a low voice.

Before Katsuki could even begin to assume what Izuku could've been referring to, a bone-chilling tearing noise rippled through the stagnant air.

Izuku's expression set into that of extreme worry, as Katsuki himself began to feel uneasy despite not fully knowing the situation.

He slowly inched around, eyes widening at the monstrosity they beheld.

"That looks like,"
The pitch-black liquid had started acting up again, lapping at the mouth of the cave with a vengeance as even the winds had begun to howl a twisted cacophony of shrills and cries.

"our way out."
...

Tenya cursed under his breath, evacuating the last of the civilians as his open wound stung coldly at his forearm.

There was a traffic complication, and a family drove into the side of the bridge.

He'd managed to prevent the vehicle from toppling over long enough to save them all, but somehow penetrated his wrist guards on jagged metal from the vehicle's shattered state.

It was painful at first, but he was beginning to tolerate it; after a few minutes of sharp breaths through clenched teeth.

Either that, or he was beginning to pass out.

Kagayaki was the furthest possible from civilization, the only other thing he could think of doing was throwing Tenya the ocean.
He didn't know how such an impact would affect the utter turmoil his quirk seemed to be summoning overhead.

All he could do...Was wait.

...

Now barely shy of a full on storm, the members of the camp collectively decided to trek towards the large opening that was tearing through the sky, leading to lord knows where.

"Kacchan, why are we going towards the giant hole in the sky?"

Izuku asked with an only increasing sense of alarm.

"Better we die trying to get out than live out the rest of our lives here."
Katsuki responded without meeting his eyes.

Izuku sighed.

Couldn't life just have mercy on him? Just this once? Why did everything have to be so... Tragic?

Katsuki halted abruptly, causing the people trailing behind him and Izuku to follow suit.

The mass of pure abyss was a merely a few yards away.

It stood at about twenty feet tall, arching between horizon and sky and towering over the group with an almost intentional malice.

The group looked at each other, silently agreeing that this was their best shot at escape.

The first person jumped through--nothing.

It was safe.

But just as they were about to start filing in, the liquid that lapped violently at their ankles began to solidify--to almost the consistency of a wet batter, curling up at their calves with a mind of its own.

"Shit!"
Izuku gasped, caught off-guard by the sudden change.

This place wasn't going to let them leave without a fight.

...

"Daddy?"

Shoto gasped softly, placing his hands at his tear-stained cheeks and wiping them furiously.

"H-Hey, pumpkin. What are you doing up?"
He was a bout to stand from his position on the couch, when Kanna waved her hands up and down, signalling that she wanted him to stay seated.

Upon his acknowledgment of her request, the girl promptly climbed onto cushions, crawling to sit beside her father.

He'd noted that her brown hair was messy, likely from a futile attempt to braid it before giving up and running to dad.

It made Shoto's heart heavier at the thought, but her otherwise everyday antics were enough to make him flash a small smile.

"Why're you crying?"
She bluntly asked, glistening azure eyes only growing wider.

Shoto didn't know how to respond.

How could he?
This was her father on the line here. He didn't even know if Tenya was struggling, or if he'd already finished his pursuits and was on his way home.

For all he knew, Tenya was right outside, about to open the front door.

Right...

Any minute now...

Shoto's eyes welled up with an exasperation, self-deprecation clinging to his throat.

What was wrong the him?

Two minutes with the possibility of facing responsibilities alone, and he was bawling his eyes out like a lost toddler.

He took a deep, shaky breath, wiped his face and sighed, before grabbing Kanna's smaller hands within his own.

"Don't you worry about it, I have it all under...Under..."

He bit his tongue.

Did he not know how to talk to his own daughter?

He was always awkward when it came to emotional confrontation-despite handling Kanna's papers, basic necessities and even school documents nearly singlehandedly.

But, he played almost no role in her emotional development.

Tenya was the one who'd stay calm and collected when she cried out of nowhere, stay with her if she had a bad dream, scold her if she'd done something wrong or read her stories until she fell asleep.

Shoto felt so useless--so meek.

He'd been so uninvolved... Even in his own daughter's life.

What Tenya had done for him and this family was irreplaceable, precious moments and valuable life lessons that no one could ever buy or sign for.

Shoto could feel his heart race, a cold feeling setting in his spine--when it all came to a halt.

His hands...were warm.

Tiny, pudgy fingers latched to both of his index fingers, an unmistakable warmth emanating from the soft skin.

This...Was life.

In this moment, this second, this life was gripping onto his, searching for an iota of hope behind his own, tear-ridden expression.

Kanna wasn't testing his abilities as a parent or as a therapist.

She was a daughter who needed to hear from her own father's lips, that she was safe and loved-and that despite the scary changes that came with life, every little step was progressing to a new tomorrow.

He combed his hands through chestnut locks, exhaling a tranquil breath to extinguish whatever doubt he had clouding his mind.

"It's because I'm scared, honey."

"...Why?"

"Well, because there are scary things in life. But, there are also reasons to not be scared--reasons like pride, love or admiration.

Now, I may be scared, but that doesn't stop me from wanting you to be happy and healthy in every way possible.

I'm sure you get scared sometimes too, and that's perfectly normal for anyone. Sometimes, you may want to cry, run, yell or keep to yourself.

Just know, before you ever need to resort to those, that I'm always in your corner.
I'm always going to want to be there for you, even if you don't want me there. Got that?"

Kanna giggled as Shoto ruffled her already unkempt hair.

"Yup, yup! I hear you, dad." She laughed.

Shoto smiled, before pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Then I'm glad."

...

Tenya's vision was beginning to blur, likely from the loss of blood.

His legs gave out from below him, as he collapsed near one of the bridge's pillars.

He let out a weak chuckle hearing the sounds of sirens in the distance.

Officers and lower rank heroes would make it, after all.

"How foolish,"
He exhaled dryly.

This was his pathetic attempt at thinking like Izuku; in the end he was no more useful than a handful of lower-rank heroes.

The number one hero was really gone.

Tenya was in a cold-sweat from the blood loss, the contrast of warm tears trickling down his cheeks feeling like acid on his skin.

Was this...The end?

...

"What the hell is this?"
Izuku exclaimed, rearing his fist back to land a fatal blow on the writhing substance.

The black ooze persisted, curling back at his ankles as soon as it had disappeared.

"We need to get everyone else out first!"

Katsuki yelled over the pelting waves that were now shin-deep, threatening to knock him over with proper strength at any moment.

The others weren't doing much better, as the adults tried their best to keep the kids--for lack of a better phrase--above water level.

By now, only a total of three people had even made it through the pocket of abyss.

Izuku was practically yanking people from the substance, since physically resisting it proved to be pointless.

Before long, he was only left with Katsuki and a child, who was visibly struggling against the force of the lapping waves.

The small child thrashed against the force of the storm, making it impossible for Izuku to get a proper hold on him.

"H-Hey! You've got to keep still, I can't!–"

He wasn't prepared for the final stride of the opaque waters, that swallowed the boy whole.

Izuku's blood went cold, as he hastily began to claw and pry at the thick obsidian waves that had began to set like gelatin around the sunken child.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!"
He cried, boring holes in the fingertips of his gloves.

"That's enough! I'll get him out, you go ahead!"
Katsuki snapped, shoving Izuku towards the pitch-black rift that had begun to crackle and flicker with an unseen energy source.

He plunged his hands into the tar-like liquid, anchoring to the unmistakeable weight of the boy.

Just as he was about to pull him above the surface, his miscalculation of the weight forced his upper torso to sink, before his entire body was encased with the substance.

Izuku hitched a cold breath.

No.

He was not getting taken away from him again.

"Idiot!"
Izuku yelled, tears glossing over his veridescent orbs like an emerald lake.

He let out a broken yell, bands of green lightening flickering from his arms as he grabbed onto Katsuki, ensuring their safety as he tugged with all his might.

The sheer force of his quirk sent all three of them in tumbling head-first into the pure abyss.