You promised...

The Vice Captain repeated the words in his head as he searched the decimated city turned battlefield. You wouldn't be another casualty, a number in a growing statistic. It's why you were an exception to his rule of not getting attached.

He trusted you with his heart. Don't break it. But Hoshina's faith wasn't blind; he knew you would survive.

It was a subtle movement, the sound of pebbles crackling against each other in the distance. He may have been smiling when he peeked under to see you alive, but Hoshina had never run faster.

"There you are." His shoulders untensed when his hand found yours, a callused thumb brushing over your pulse point. Still beating. "You had me worried for a moment." He was supposed to give a grin, but all that spread across his face was a relieved smile.

"Don't go anywhere, alright?" The remark slipped out instinctively. He had to lighten the mood somehow while he got you out.

Hoshina reached behind his back. His swords scraped against the concrete as he wedged them between the rubble and the ground, lifting it up carefully. That should do it. They were made for fighting Kaiju, so the weight of a boulder was nothing.

He carefully freed you, slipping his hands in and pulling you out, body battered and legs crushed. He knew it hurt like hell, but you'd live.

"Aaaand up we go." Hoshina had you in his arms the second your face met sunlight. It was almost like he was the one trapped; the air wasn't thick, and his chest lightened.

"You did well." He whispered against the crown of your head as he began carrying you away to the nearest field hospital.