hurry up, hurry up, hurry up!
shut up, i’m going as fast as i can! jaehan veers into an aisle of bandages and neosporin, squinting past the low lighting of the store’s backup generator and his own shitty eyesight to look for a distinct red container. it was a risk being out here while the city was blind, but with no telling how long the blackout would last, he didn’t want to end up stranded empty-handed at his dorm. not that his screaming anxiety would listen to that logic.
he makes it to the end of the aisle, dodging the few other people who had apparently caught the same idea, and relief floods him when he finally spots a stack of first aid kits on one of the top shelves. “excuse me,” he whispers to the closest person, a dark-haired, seemingly safe looking man. ( why is he whispering? ) ( in the dim lighting, it feels like he ought to or his voice might punch those last lights out. ) jaehan ducks his head politely, beginning, “could you please get one of…”
he trails off when he raises his head and his eyes inadvertently trail past the man’s shoulder, landing on the drugstore’s tall front windows. they afford a view of the darkened street, but there’s something off– jaehan knows how darkness looks on streets, and this looks different than the one he walked through before. this looks hazy. the darkness looks lighter, but also thicker somehow. smoke?
he blinks when he realizes he’s spaced out, and with some reluctance he glances back at the man. “sorry, i…” overhead, the lights flicker. somewhere outside, an engine groans. “do you see that?”
it’s in moments like this that he finds his quirk extremely helpful. the panic was expected, he supposes, but that doesn’t mean keeping everyone from panicking completely was easier, not when the blackout was the main source of it. there’s just something about having one of your senses messed with that’s terrifying - in just a split-second, you’re suddenly vulnerable. it’s what prompted him to use himself (his hands, to be exact) as a makeshift torch to help send some of the civilians back to safety.
but there’s something weird about the darkness. it feels heavy, threatening, unnatural. the blackout itself was already unnatural, but there’s something else that seem to be itching on him, a kind of annoyance that’s only present when his hero senses are threatened. an attack maybe? possibly. and considering the range of this ‘attack’, it’s only natural for him to restock on some medical supplies.
the nagging feeling stays, and for some reason it has him reaching into his quirk more than he’s used to, just to check if the connection is still there. he turns when someone asks for help to reach one of the medical kits overhead. he lets a small flame lick his arm to keep a light for them both,. with a nod, he soundlessly grabs the medical kit and attempts to hand it over to the other male - except he seem to be spaced out. “hey,” he calls in a whisper (which is weird), just as the guy points at something from behind.
max turns, his ears picking up on a type of noise - is that en engine? is this one of the villains? suddenly he’s on high alert. “no, but i hear something,” he says instead, because it’s getting harder to see somehow. or is it just him? he squints a little. damn this eyesight “what is that?”
