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“It’s beautiful!” Uraraka exclaimed gazing at the stunning winter scenery in front of her, the snow-covered mountains glistening as the sun shined.
“The mountains are quite breathtaking. A true sight worth marveling.” Iida replied, analyzing the picturesque landscape.
Midoriya’s green eyes scanned the view and he had to agree, the view was outwardly. How did something so beautiful exist?
The two were walking along a trail when they reached a clearing. The area was surrounded by a crescent of mountains that were wrapped around a frozen-over lake. A multitude of pine trees enclosed the body of water, encasing the place in a heavenly white glow. The place looked like it came straight out of a Christmas movie, untouched and tranquil. They’ve never seen something so amazing.
“It took some convincing but I’m glad Aizawa let us go to the mountains to do this winter hike,” Midoriya explained, “Because this is so worth it!”
Uraraka, who placed her gloved hands inside her puffy jacket, agreed, “Indeed! I never knew a winter hike would be so beautiful!”
“We just can’t stay here for too long.” Iida added, chopping the air in a mechanical fashion, “We are in avalanche territory, and it is quite cold. I rather not risk one of us getting hurt.”
“I agree, Iida,” Midoriya glanced at the scenery, “Honestly, this was the main place I wanted to reach, so we can head down and make our way back.”
Midoriya then gazed at some incoming clouds from the distance, his frown changing to one of concern, “Huh? Well, those clouds don’t look too promising.” He pointed.
“Hmmm, your right. Those clouds seem to be signaling a storm…let’s head out! Rather not get stuck in a snowstorm.” Iida voiced, adjusting his winter hat as the developing winds pushed the clothing slightly off his head.
“For sure!” Uraraka affirmed.
The three exited the clearing and made their way down the trail.
As they trekked back to their starting point, the weather got worse. The winds were blowing, making the air colder than it should be. The bitter wind blew powerfully on their exposed faces, causing their nose and cheeks to shine a bright red as the cold penetrated their skin.
“It’s getting bad!” Uraraka yelled, barely able to hold herself as the winds blew violently.
“Just keep going!” Midoriya shouted. The young hero squinted, the wind making it difficult to see. He took laborious yet careful steps while the wind continued to push, doing everything it could to prevent their advancement.
Suddenly, as if it were magic, snow appeared, mixing with the powerful winds.
“Dammit, the snow is here.” Iida implied, trying to shield his eyes as the snow blew forcefully onto their faces.
The three hurried their pace, essentially running down the trail. Although reckless, they were more concerned about getting stuck in what looked like a powerful snowstorm than getting a few scrapes and bruises.
“Over there!” Midoriya pointed. Within the blowing snow, a large clearing appeared, “This is the clearing we passed last time! We are almost out!”
Their hopes spiked. They were almost out of the trail and out of the developing storm. Without a moment to waste, the three young heroes made their way down to the clearing, the snow blowing in violent circles, making it nearly impossible to see even a foot ahead of them.
“Stay close!” Iida shouted, “It’s hard to see, don’t get separated.”
As Midoriya, Iida, and Uraraka ran down the clearing, they did not notice the cracks silently emanating from beneath them. With their steps continuously stepping onto the ground, the cracks simply intensified.
Uraraka stopped abruptly, surprising her two friends.
“Uraraka is everything—” Midoriya began but was then abruptly interrupted.
“Shhh! Do you hear that?”
The two listened intently, trying to tune out the roars from the blowing winds.
It was faint, but they heard it. It sounded like cracks coming from below.
Uraraka’s eyes widened. Is it what she thinks it is?
“Don’t move!” Midoriya and Iida froze in place. Uraraka took a few careful steps, the cracking resuming, this time louder and widespread.
“W-we need to get out now.” She uttered, her voice filled with fear, “It’s ice! We are on top of a large lake. We need to get out before—”
But it was too late. The ice snapped beneath them, exposing them to the frigid water. Impulsively, Uraraka activated her quirk and, without delay, touched Iida. His friend floated, avoiding the icy dip in a nick of time. She tried to reach for Midoriya, his body sinking into the icy water. But he missed him by a millimeter, his entire body submerged into the icy water.
“Deku!”
Ignoring Iida’s shouts, she removed the anti-gravity on herself and dived towards the opening. In a split second, she reached into the ice-cold water, grabbed Midoriya, and activated her quirk. All before her body splashed into the same waters.
“Gotcha!” She shouted as she reeled out a socked green-haired teenager.
Uraraka grasped Midoriya in her arms. He was cold…way too cold. He was shivering violently between his hands. But what frightened her even more was his breathing; it was too shallow. His eyes were closed, but from the looks at it, he was still awake, seeing how he jolted from the sudden movements.
“Iida! Where are you!?” It was impossible to see. She had to find his friend soon…Midoriya could not stay in this storm. Exposed to the cold. He’ll die.
“Over here!” Iida came rushing in, his engines activated. Allowing him to maneuver whilst mid-air.
“Deku fell into the lake! He is soaking wet! He is not doing okay! We need to get out of here or he’ll risk hypothermia!” Iida gazed at Midoriya, and the sight was frightening.
He was pale and his shivering was intense. Midoriya was obviously suffering from the worsening stages of hypothermia.
“Okay! Give me Midoriya and hold on to me. I’ll find us shelter.”
Uraraka did as she was told and placed Midoriya in his open arms. She then held onto this friend, prepared to propel into the wind.
“Hold on!” And they were off, speeding rapidly through the air.
“This should do.” After five minutes of searching, Iida found a cave that seemed to provide ample shelter from the cold and snow.
“Okay…Release.” Uraraka placed her fingertips together. She deactivated her quirk, allowing the three to lower themselves to the ground.
Once lowered, Iida and Uraraka ran inside with Midoriya bouncing limply within Iida’s arms, his energy completely spent.
Uraraka grabbed her phone from her backpack and turned on the flashlight. The cave seemed to be empty, with no animal in sight. It was not the most adequate shelter, but it at least felt a little warmer than outside thanks to the absence of wind and blowing snow.
The three walked deeper, the storm roaring outside with no sign of stopping anytime soon.
With her flashlight in tow, Uraraka searched for a good area to rest. Thankfully, they found one, a good leveled-out area where they could lay Midoriya down.
“This should be good. Lay him here.” Uraraka voiced.
Iida did as he was told and lowered the shivering teenager.
“We need to get a fire started, anything to warm him up! I-I have some matches, but we need wood.” Uraraka implied, trying to maintain her calm. However, she was terrified, Midoriya was getting worse. He needed medical attention, but they couldn’t continue walking in this storm. Not in his state. If they did, they could risk making Midoriya’s already worsening condition worse.
“I’ll grab some. While I’m gone, try to keep Midoriya warm.” Iida exclaimed as he activated his quirk. Uraraka nodded, “I’ll be back.” He then rushed out; his mind pinpointed on his mission.
The young heroine directed her attention to his friend. His eyes were still closed. Worried, she moved to wake the teenager.
“Hey, Deku.” She shook his shoulder gently, her fingers flinching upon feeling how cold and soaked his clothes were. If only she had an extra set of clothes with her.
Uraraka waited for a response and to her relief, Midoriya stirred and opened his eyes, halfway.
“U’raka?” He slurred.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“C-cold.”
“I know,” She placed her backpack down and took off her winter jacket. She then placed it on the shivering young hero. Afterward, he grasped a few hand warmers from her backpack and placed them underneath his body, hoping to reduce the cold coming from the floor, “This should help. Sorry, it’s not much.”
“W’ere a-am I-I?”
“We are in a cave,” She placed a hand on his forehead, her heart sinking upon feeling how cold his skin felt, “You fell in a lake. We came to find shelter so we can get you out of the storm.”
Midoriya was having a hard time remembering the order of events. Everything was too fuzzy. He was also tired…very tired. He wanted to sleep but the cold was so intense, he couldn’t stop shivering.
“No, Deku. Sorry, you need to stay awake, okay? I promise it’ll be over soon.”
Midoriya’s glazed eyes stared at her, her image blurring. Agreeing, he nodded, “O-okay.”
“I’m here!” Iida suddenly appeared carrying various twigs in his hands, “How is he doing?”
Midoriya turned to look at him, smiling weakly, “H-hey, I-I-Iida.”
“He is shivering a lot. He is also cold to the touch, and he’s also slurring quite a bit. I gave him my jacket and I added a few hand warmers under his body.”
Iida exhaled, “Okay. Well, at least he is shivering, it means that his body is working on providing him warmth. I would be more worried if he stopped shivering. Oh! Just letting you know, while I was outside, I sent an SOS alert. There’s no signal so I can’t contact anyone, but thanks to UA’s software, I was able to at least send that.”
“Thanks, Iida. Let’s hope they receive it and can find us soon,” Uraraka glanced at Midoriya, “Because he is not getting any better and there is so much, we can do in these conditions.”
While listening, Iida placed the bundle of twigs on the floor, in the middle of the cave, near Midoriya “I know, let’s at least get the fire started. Do you have the matches?”
Uraraka searched through her backpack and grasped a small box, “Here!”
“Thanks. Let’s hope this works.” Iida lit up some kindling that he forested. He neared it toward the bundle of wood, hoping the sparks would transfer to the rest of the twigs.
After a few minutes of trial and error, the fire started, the dancing flames and the emanating heat providing a well-needed sense of relief and hope.
“Thank god,” Iida sighed, “That should help, I brought extras so we can continue feeding it.”
“Thanks, Iida.” Uraraka replied, nearing herself toward the fire, and heating up her cold hands, “I guess, now we wait.” Iida nodded, agreeing with her.
The two sat in silence, watching the fire in contemplation while the cave rattled gently due to the violent pushes from the powerful winds. Their eyes constantly gazed at Midoriya, ensuring that he was awake, and his breathing hadn’t seized. Iida had offered his jacket and placed it on top of Uraraka’s jacket, acting as a second blanket. He then placed his sweater under his head to function as a pillow. They did everything they could to keep him warm, but nothing seemed to reduce the young hero’s shivering and discomfort.
After what felt like forever, gazing at the fire, and glancing at their friend, Uraraka spoke, “It’s been almost an hour…”
Iida stared at her, her worried eyes gazing back, “The storm hasn’t let up and help is not here yet…are you sure the SOS message was sent.”
Iida grabbed his phone and opened the UA alert system. He looked at the updates and saw the “sent” symbol on the SOS report, “Yeah, it sent.”
“Then where are they!” Her irritation was growing, “Why aren’t they here yet!? What is taking them so long!?”
“Uraraka, you need to stay calm. I’m sure they are—”
“Stay calm!? Iida! Midoriya is dying before our eyes! Have you not noticed how his shivering has started to slow down? You said it yourself, that is NOT a good sign. It means his body is shutting down! If he doesn’t get out of this cold and to a hospital, he will die!!”
“I—”
“U-Uraraka.” A soft whisper came from his friend. Interrupting Iida’s response.
“Deku? Are you—”
“D-don’t f-f-fight,” Midoriya panted through shivers, his breathing highly laborious, “Y-you n-n-need to s-s-stay calm. H-h-help w-w-will come…if n-n-not for m-m-me…t-t-than for you.”
Uraraka’s tears swelled, “Shut up, Deku! You will be saved. Even if I have to risk my life, you will come out of this, alive!”
“I—o-o-okay, j-j-just d-d-don’t fight, p-p-please.” Midoriya wasn’t sure if he’d make it out of this alive. But unable to maintain his thoughts streamlined, he simply agreed with her.
Midoriya proceeded to gaze at the cave’s ceiling, his eyes unfocused. Uraraka looked at him, conflicted.
She was struggling. All her fears kept bubbling upward. She couldn’t hold it, eventually, she began to bawl, her worries spilling uncontrollably, “I—I’m sorry, Deku for acting out! I’m just so scared. Please stay strong, okay!”
Without thinking, Uraraka laid down and wrapped her arm around Midoriya, embracing him in her warmth, “Don’t die, okay.”
“I-I-I won’t.” He mumbled, unsure if what he said would come true.
Iida was at a loss for words. Midoriya was still being his usual self. Despite being in such a vulnerable state, he was more concerned about his friends than himself.
Iida glanced at his ill friend who was wrapped in Uraraka’s embrace, his eyes closed. He’ll make sure to value his request. Instead of risking a fight, he’ll work with Uraraka to get themselves out of this. Even if it meant risking his life.
Iida sat in contemplated silence as Uraraka continued to hug Midoriya. He just hoped that help would come. That someone will take them out of this wintery nightmare, and soon.
.
.
.
“Over here!”
Iida awoken. Did he doze off?
“I found them!”
Iida’s vision cleared. He gazed at the unexpected visitors wondering who they were.
“Mr. Aizawa?” He uttered, sitting up.
“Hey, Iida. We are here. I’m glad you sent the SOS when you could.”
It looked like Midnight, Present Mic, and Ectoplasm were here as well. He looked at Present Mic, he was now holding onto the hypothermic boy.
“Can you walk?” Aizawa asked.
“Yes.” He quickly stood up and saw that Uraraka did the same.
“Good. The storm has calmed down. We have a truck parked near here and a few paramedics are ready to take care of Midoriya. Let’s go!”
Without a moment to waste, the group was ushered out of the dark and gloomy cave.
Iida took a breath of relief; he was glad. He was glad that Midoriya’s promise came true, that UA’s technology worked. He's glad that his best friend will survive. He did not know what would come next but at least they could put this traumatic event in the past.
They will be okay. Now he could rest—they all could—and for once, recover from this jarring trip.