Uraraka hadn't felt the heat from one of Bakugo's grenadier explosions since her senior year of high school but she couldn't remember the blasts feeling this hot. It was a searing, white-hot heat that felt like it might pull the skin off her face. He had grown more powerful than she could imagine and the sheer force of the blast was testament to that.
She found herself sliding back a few inches as she threw up her arms to shield herself from the scorching explosion. It was over in the spanse of a few seconds before the blinding light dissipated and she finally made her move, running down the path the explosion left behind. The smoke and dust covered her as she tried to locate her target. The back of her mind chanted at her to be careful. One bite from Viper could mean the end of this fight and she was stuck with only close combat options.
However, her luck ran dry as the fog began to quickly creep back in to where Bakugo's blast had cleared it and she was forced to retreat. She glanced up to see that Bakugo had blasted himself high into the air to try and get a better vantage on the villains. His eyes suddenly found hers and the red in them gleamed at the fight. If the stakes weren't so high, she would smile at that.
"I'll take Noodle-neck," He shouted at her. "You need to take out his extras!"
She nodded at him and turned back to face the cloud of gas again. She needed to avoid the fog at all costs. Without something to protect her face, she couldn't chance even a whiff of Viper's deadly poison.
While she felt confident in her abilities, she couldn't lie that she was feeling the pressure. She could hear the helicopter circling overhead as it filmed for all of Tokyo to watch live. It had been a long time since she'd been in a high stakes fight. What if she's lost her edge? Could she really handle two serious villains on her own?
"Don't just stand there!" Bakugo's voice sounded so far off, almost like her own mind said it to her. "Fucking fight!"
Oh yeah… She's a hero. This is her big debut, her redemption moment. This is her opportunity to show that she's still got the goods and that she is a heroic force to be reckoned with. She'll be damned if Bakugo of all people showed her up.
"Handle yourself!" She barked back and finally felt the smile on her face. That is what All Might always said right? Save people with a smile. And with this fresh motivation, she turned around and eyed the asphalt that had been destroyed and piled up on itself in the corner of the parking lot. Perfect.
Her fingertips touched the largest piece of asphalt she could find and it slowly lifted off the ground. She needs a target but right now, she couldn't see anyone through the fog that was still steadily growing closer.
"Screw it," She murmured before hucking the concrete into the middle of the battlefield, hoping it would give up one of her enemies in the fog and smash into them. As quickly as the asphalt entered the gas cloud, it seemed to disappear. "Release," She pressed her fingertips together and heard what she assumed to be the asphalt chunk smashing into the wall of the warehouse on the other side of the fog.
She began to repeat this motion, throwing large slabs of concrete, metal, and asphalt into the dense cloud, hoping it was hitting something or someone. She spied Bakugo sailing over the purple haze, blasting explosions as he went and dodging attacks that she couldn't see. She was beginning to grow worried that all three villains had focused their attacks on him and she was just mindlessly throwing rocks into a cloud.
She pressed her fingertips onto a thick slab of concrete that had once been a sidewalk when she felt something slam into her back. All the breath left her lungs and she stumbled, twisting her body to try and see her attacker but found nothing out of the ordinary.
Her butt hit the ground and she gasped for breath, her eyes scanning the ground. This had to be Cameo. His sneak attacks were of exceptional success. He was a master over his quirk and she knew she'd have a hard time catching sight of him. However, this didn't deter her efforts. She'd had plenty of practice catching someone with an invisibility quirk. This would be no different.
"R-relea-" She struggled to finish the word with her empty lungs as she pressed her fingertips together. The cement slab that had been teetering suddenly regained its gravity and flopped down the opposite way into the dirt, kicking up a layer of dust. Her eyes immediately landed on a figure in motion. Almost as quickly as she saw it, it blended back into the dusty air. He was coming for her.
Touch something.
Her fingers reached around her as her lungs finally seemed to recover but she found nothing within reach. Instead, she grabbed a handful of dust and dirt and threw it out in front of her. She hoped she managed to get some in her attacker's eyes before she used her left hand to balance as she back flipped herself back to her feet. Her ears seemed to perk as she heard what sounded like someone's feet pivoting.
There you are.
She lunged to her right, her fists pulled up to protect her face as she twisted her entire body and threw a kick that connected with something hard and she managed to catch the silhouette of her opponent. Her right fist left her and tried to get a jab on Cameo, praying her fingertips would meet him. But this wasn't Cameo's first time fighting either. He threw his body back into a lean without a moment to spare, leaving Uraraka's hand outstretched. She grunted at her failure and immediately tried to pinpoint her target again.
A hand clamped around her wrist, yanking her forward in an attempt to land her face-first in the dirt. She pulled her head down and somersaulted through the attack and grinned. "I saw that," She taunted and whirled back around to search for her opponent, her fists put back up to protect her face. "You have to fight with your eyes shut, don't you?" She fell into a light squat as she scanned the ground, praying footprints would give her a hint.
A long moment passed before Cameo appeared in his entirety, his quirk shutting off. He was a few meters away from her, wearing a sickening grin, "You're a sharp little sidekick, aren't you?" He was wearing a sheer, skin tight cloth suit that covered everything from the neck down but was essentially see-through. Now she understood why he was wearing a trench coat in the few photographs authorities had of him.
Cameo caught the flushed look on her face and grinned wider, "That tends to be everyone's reaction." He clearly had no shame in his image. "The thinner my clothes are, the easier it is to camouflage it."
Uraraka forced her eyes to look back at the villain's face and she furrowed her eyebrows, "I'm not a sidekick. I'm a pro." This was her opportunity. She pounced forward, hoping that she caught the villain off his guard.
Cameo's eyes widened in surprise but he twirled to his left, almost gliding away from her. "Oh, you've got spunk!" He pulled up his elbow and jammed it into her back as she narrowly missed him.
Uraraka felt the blow but forced herself to pivot her feet and re-purpose the energy she didn't get to use. Her response time was faster than she'd anticipated, pleasantly surprising her, and she decided in that split second to come in low. He dropped her body down and tried to force her way into his chest.
"Whoa now!" Cameo chuckled and barely missed her fingertips as she swiped at him. "What's that you're trying to do there?"
Uraraka grit her teeth and tried again, every move she made forced a heaving grunt from her chest. How is this guy so fast?! Was the non-use of his quirk meant to be a taunt?
Cameo flipped and cartwheeled away from her, "You were quick to figure my quirk out. You're obviously well-trained. What's your alma mater?"
Uraraka ignored the question and reached to the ground to touch a manhole cover that was half dislodged. She picked it up with ease and threw it like a frisbee at the villain, "Release!" She pressed her fingertips together before she began to touch every piece of cement and asphalt she could find, letting it accumulate around her.
"Ooo," Cameo cooed, "A gravity quirk!"
Uraraka forced herself to tune him out as she picked up a piece of metal rebar and began hitting her gathered projectiles. Chunks both large and small began hurtling toward the criminal. He began to spring away with twists, flips, and somersaults to dodge the attacks and Uraraka hoped he didn't notice that she'd thrown herself toward him as well, armed with the rebar and her unbreakable spirit.
She was in his face sooner than he expected and she made another pass at trying to land her fingertips on him. She needed to get him on the ground somehow but as soon as the thought popped into her mind, he reactivated his quirk and blended perfectly into the backdrop of the purple fog that was getting dangerously close.
But he was at a disadvantage now and she was aware of it. He had to keep his eyes shut to conceal himself completely from her. She stilled herself completely and listened, her eyes scanning the area for any space that looked even a little bit off. Her hands tightened around the metal rebar that she intended to use as a weapon.
Where are you…?
The soft sound of gravel shifting made her look sharply to her right, pivoting her body ninety degrees, but her eyes were met with an astonishingly lanky man with long, greasy hair that fell past his collarbones. His smile was contorted into a morose smirk. He was standing still, his upper body leaning heavily to the left and his yellow eyes seemed to gleam at her.
Uraraka was almost sick at the sight of the villain known as Constrictor. He was horrifying to look at and she could smell him. He reeked of a stench she couldn't even begin to name.
"Well hello," The revolting villain didn't seem to even move his lips as he spoke.
Uraraka forced the concern at fighting two villains from her mind and hardened her features. She needed a game plan to handle them. She could hear Bakugo's explosions a little way away and she decided that she would need him for back-up. The smile never left her face as she waited for the villains to act. She wasn't going to make the first move anymore. She'd make the finishing moves.
Constrictor didn't move at all, he just stared at her with slitted yellow eyes but Uraraka wasn't going to let it bother her. She had bigger fish to fry. A piece of her hero intuition seemed to scream at her and she whirled another forty-five degrees to her right, using the rebar like a baseball bat, and swinging with all her strength.
The metal connected and suddenly, Cameo's quirk was turned off again as he stumbled backward, spitting up a bit of blood and clutching his chest. She hit him! Now all she has to do is touch him… But it's never that easy.
Her instincts screeched at her again and she could hear someone behind her as she began to reach for Cameo. She fell down to her knees as quickly as she could, with just enough time to see two skinny, long arms swipe to embrace where she was once standing. Constrictor hissed with frustration and Uraraka rolled to the left, narrowly dodging Cameo's next attack and hurling the rebar against Constrictor's legs. He recovered too quickly from taking a metal bat to the knees but Uraraka didn't have enough time to flesh out that thought as she used her hands to spring herself back to her feet. She backed away to a safe distance and observed her two opponents.
It's time to bring out the big guns…
She knelt on one knee and pressed her hands completely to the cracked concrete she was on top of. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose before she smashed her fingers down into the cement and pulled up. A thundering crack could be heard as a massive piece of the ground disconnected from the earth beneath her and hovered a few inches off the ground. She hoisted her body to float on her back before she pulled up her other foot and kicked the piece she'd just broken away from the ground toward the villains.
It all happened so fast that the two villains didn't have any other choice but to brace for the attack. Uraraka didn't take the time to see how effective it was, she simply began working her way toward the other end of the destroyed parking lot where she hoped Bakugo was winning. She touched everything she could find along the way, hurling it at her attackers.
The fog seemed to be reaching its spread limit and Uraraka skirted it, going as close as she dared. She noticed that the villains avoided it like a curse as well, especially now that they were no longer wearing their gas masks. They chased after her as she moved with a fluidity that she'd perfected with years of sparring and experience.
She'd worked her way in a half-circle around to the other end of the battlefield, avoiding Constrictor's grip and throwing half-blind jabs at Cameo, praying her fingertips could finally connect. Truthfully, she was much more worried about Constrictor's quirk. If he managed to get her in his grasp, she wouldn't be able to get away and he'd squeeze her to death.
She could hear Bakugo's yelling clearly now and she almost smiled when she heard "Now die!" Smoke and ash moved through the air in between flashes of light and roaring booms. Through the mess of the battle, she caught sight of figure that she could only assume was Viper, hiding just behind the veil of the poisonous fog.
She finally pinpointed her partner when she saw the origin of one of the explosive blasts. She came to a sliding halt a few feet away from him as she laid her eyes on the two foes that had followed her. "Brace yourself!" She shouted at the blonde, who seemed to barely register that she'd arrived.
Uraraka took a deep breath and knelt again, smashing her fingers back down through the dirt below her feet as deep as she could dig them, "Split Gravity!" She grit her teeth and pushed her quirk's capabilities to the maximum output, her eyes closed tightly as she focused.
The earth beneath her groaned in protest and began to shift. Enormous cracks in the ground began to splinter away from where her fingers were dug in and it seemed like the pieces were beginning to become unglued from the ground. Massive cracks moved with alarming speed in every direction, staggering and breaking the ground. Every loose piece began to float as the destruction reached further and further away from her.
Hundreds of pieces of debris and pieces of ground seemed to pulse as they floated higher and higher. All three villains lost their balance, staggering for a foothold in the mayhem of Uraraka's destructive power. The ground seemed to fall apart under their feet and they couldn't escape.
Uraraka finally opened her eyes to observe the effect. Thousands of pieces of earth had splintered and broken away to float high above the destruction that spread many meters in every direction. She saw that not only her two opponents, but Bakugo's opponent as well, were trapped beneath her assortment of floating chunks. She released her hold on the ground and stood, her stomach aching and rebelling against her as she felt the weight of the many tons she was holding above ground. She pressed her fingers together and breathed out her command, "Release."
The battlefield, that had just been ripped up, suddenly collapsed in on itself again with frightening and deadly force. Rocks, concrete, pipes, grates, and everything else imaginable fell with abandon to bury their enemies.
Bakugo was stunned at Uraraka's show of force. She had just ripped up the entire battlefield and then dropped it on top of the villains. Was this a new ultimate move of hers? He turned his head to observe the woman he was fighting alongside and nodded in approval, "Fucking hell, roundface. That was some powerful shit."
"This isn't over," She replied with a stressed tone but nodded her thanks. "That was just meant to buy us some time to come up with a plan. We need to work together. I know that if we can do that, we can take these guys down before backup arrives."
Bakugo rolled his eyes, despite how right he knew she was. He'd never admit it but he was struggling against Viper. He couldn't quite get the upper hand. With Uraraka's help, especially if she kept pulling moves like this, he'd be able to land a finishing blow.
"Cameo can only use his quirk when his eyes are closed," Uraraka spoke fast, "Constrictor will try and hug you. Do not let him."
Bakugo was thoroughly impressed. She'd already figured all this out? "Viper waits until you're close enough to him to strike but he doesn't seem to want to leave the fog. We have to draw him out."
Uraraka watched as some of the rubble began to shift and Constrictor's lanky limbs started to pry himself away from the mess. "We need to turn them on each other."
"Fucking obviously," Bakugo growled. "We have to rile up Constrictor."
"I'll go after Constrictor," Uraraka looked deadly, "You try and get Viper close enough to him that they get in each other's way. When they turn on each other, you blast them both and I'll go in to take away both of their gravity."
Bakugo didn't have time to give his approval as the rubble that had buried the Mamushi leader seemed to be thrown away like it weighed nothing. An angry and dirty man rose back to his feet, his eyes shone an electric yellow and his pupils were dangerously narrow. "I guess I underestimated you, little girl." He shook out his arms, particles of dirt and broken rock falling off his suit jacket. "First, you interrupt an important meeting between myself and my subordinates," He turned to look at Constrictor coldly as he tucked his hands into his suit pockets, "But then you try to kill me? I thought you amusing at first, but now I'm angry."
Bakugo sensed an attack before it even began, "Duck!" He snarled and shoved Uraraka into the dirt before following. Two projectiles flew through the air above them and disappeared but Bakugo didn't pay it any mind. He immediately rose back up on one knee and released a continuous round of fiery explosions at Viper. "I'll draw him out," The blonde half shouted at the brunette that was rising back to her feet.
Uraraka turned her head to see that Constrictor was running at them and she didn't have the time to try and locate Cameo. She took off running in between Constrictor and Viper, hoping to draw the skinny villain her way. She touched a huge chunk of earth that had been ripped out of the ground during her ultimate move and launched it toward him with a smile. She hoped the smile held the taunt she wanted.
Bakugo released a huge explosion, aiming it at his target. He was beginning to feel that familiar ache in his forearms and elbows that came with long battles. And his grenadiers were taking longer and longer to refill with his sweat. His mouth was a desert and his chest heaved with effort. He'd been fighting for quite some time now. How long could he realistically keep this up?
He glanced Uraraka's way to see her pirouetting through the air, staying a safe distance away from the most vile looking villain he'd ever laid eyes on. She was battling her heart out and it was clear that she wanted this win. If her display of power only a few minutes ago said anything about Uravity, it was that she'd improved more than Bakugo had ever considered giving her credit for. The years had been good to her and her techniques were nearly perfected.
Bakugo turned his gaze back toward his own opponent, only to see that he'd singed a little bit of Viper's finely groomed hair. "Ha!" The blonde felt a small victory. He hadn't been able to land a single hit on Viper. The villain was so unimaginably fast. His speed reminded Bakugo of All Might back in the day. He seemed to effortlessly dodge the blonde's explosions. But perhaps Bakugo was wearing him down... Or maybe, Bakugo was speeding up.
Viper reached into his jacket and threw a handful of darts filled with his venom at Bakugo, his speed still rivaling All Might's. However, the blonde had grown used to this trick and he easily dodged them. He needed to somehow move Viper close to where Uraraka was fighting. She was very close to the gas cloud now and she was holding off Constrictor for the time being, but it wouldn't last for long. They were playing at a delicate balancing act and Bakugo hadn't been able to deliver yet.
Bakugo managed to catch Uraraka's eye for a moment and the blonde hero had an idea. "Oi, roundface!" He shouted, "Float that son of a bitch!" But he wasn't sure if she heard him over the explosion he'd set off to hold back the Mamushi leader.
But Uraraka seemed to nod in acknowledgement as she floated up above her grotesque opponent. She'd been brewing an idea in her head on how to get Constrictor under her gravity manipulation for a few minutes and she figured that now was a good a time as any to give it a try.
"Release!" Uraraka let herself drop to the ground to the side of Constrictor and she took a hand-to-hand combat stance. She relied on her fundamental fighting skills heavily in any fight, so it always felt good to stretch that skill muscle. She couldn't get caught in his death grip or she'd be a goner, but she knew that the potential of it would allow her to get close.
She charged the villain, a battle cry ripping from her throat and a smile cracked her face. She slid in low, narrowly avoiding the swipes of his arms, and landing a hard kick on his knee. The villain stumbled but swiped at her again, preventing her for being able to lay a finger on him. If she could get behind him then maybe…
She didn't quite have time to formulate her plan before a hand grabbed the hair on the back of her head, digging into her hair, and pulled her back.
Cameo…
Bakugo suddenly caught sight of Uraraka's predicament. Cameo was not camouflaged as he gripped the back of her head, pulling it back completely and Constrictor was recovering from the kick to the knee. She was in deep shit.
"Uraraka!" Bakugo shouted as he watched Constrictor step close enough to grab her but the blonde was too far away to stop it. He felt his heart leap to his throat but he suddenly saw a gleam of determination in Uraraka's eye. That roundface idiot let this happen on purpose. She had a plan.
The brunette smiled widely as she reached up to grab the hand that was knotted in her hair, but before she even had to chance to activate her quirk on the villain holding her hostage, a green flash appeared behind her.
"Smash!" Midoriya's voice could be heard as his foot landed against Cameo's face, throwing the villain across the lot.
"Deku?" Uraraka breathed as she glanced after the green flash, her mind completely blank for a moment. Her eyes met green ones first but she quickly turned away to find red ones. And her brain seemed to short out for a moment as she wondered what was going on. She didn't even register the warnings in the red eyes she was looking into.
Bakugo watched in horror as Constrictor took advantage of Uraraka's moment of distraction. His arms snatched her from where she stood and his smile seemed to grow to out to his ears. Bakugo saw Uraraka realize what was happening and she began to squirm in the villain's grasp, her arms trapped at her sides.
A flash of green reappeared but Viper seemed to step in the way before the one-for-all user could return to Uraraka. Bakugo glared daggers at Deku for a split moment and he hated the green haired man for what he had just inadvertently done. He'd barged in uninvited and now it could cost Uraraka her life.
Bakugo surged to action, using his quirk to boost him toward Uraraka. He was going to blast that fucking greasy-haired freak straight to hell and then pull him out just to do it again. He was nearly there before it felt like he'd hit a clothesline and was thrown down into the dirt. His lungs emptied upon the impact and he was momentarily dazed.
"Not so fast, sparky," Cameo's voice taunted from above him and the blonde immediately began trying to pinpoint the location of the voice. He didn't have time for this shit.
Bakugo wheezed a breath and tried to sit up but felt a foot land on his chest. No, he definitely didn't have time for the shit. He began to work up an explosion aimed where he safely assumed Cameo was hidden but he didn't get the chance before he was clocked on his right cheek, bloody spit following soon after.
Uraraka was in trouble and he couldn't help. The thought was playing on repeat in his head as he ignored the villain for a moment to glance where Uraraka was currently caught in the grasp of Constrictor. He has to help her. He can't waste his time with this fucking shitstain any longer. She was fighting for her life while he was distracted. He needs to clear his head.
"Alright fuckstick," Bakugo spit out blood onto the dirt, "I don't have time for this." Bakugo planted his palms to the ground and fired off an explosion from both sides. The earth beneath them shattered, throwing pieces in all directions and crumbling underneath them. He finally saw Cameo after his quirk had been deactivated and the scantily-clad villain seemed to fumble in the aftermath of the explosion, unable to get his footing back.
Bakugo hadn't fully recovered his breath and he took longer to stand up than he expected. He was wearing out and for a moment, he was a little worried. He wiped that doubt from his head as quickly as it came. Number one heroes don't worry about shit like that. Right now, he needed to save someone.
When he finally managed to locate Uraraka again, he felt his heart leap into his throat. She was clearly beginning to be crushed as Constrictor's long arms seemed to lengthen and wrap more tightly around her. Her face was turning purple and her eyelids drooped a little. But those brown eyes landed on red ones and seemed to soften, the fear leaving them. A long second passed between them before her eyes flicked away and looked toward the purple cloud of poisonous gas. She stared for a moment before her she began trying to twist her arm inside Constrictor's grasp.
Bakugo put two and two together and suddenly knew what she was going to do, "Uraraka! No!" His voice broke, his palms igniting. He felt a kick on the back of his leg and the blonde whipped around on one knee, his emotions slowly depleting to a mess of unknowns. "FUCK OFF!" The blonde roared with an unhinged rage. He thrust both of his arms forward and focused the chaos of his emotions into one single explosion. Cameo suddenly deactivated his quirk only to see the scene unfolding directly in front of him. The camouflage villain couldn't escape and he seemed to accept defeat as blinding light and white heat left Bakugo's hands.
Uraraka had lost all awareness of the battle that raged around her. She couldn't hear of feel anything anymore. All she felt was her ribs cracking and the fact that her lungs no longer could fill with air. She was fucked.
She fought to keep her brain on and the urge to not go down without a fight filled her slowing heart. With one last attempt, she managed to twist her right hand enough to place one single fingertip against Constrictor's thigh.
Yes. You're going down with me, you son of a bitch.
She used the last of her strength to kick against the ground, sending herself and her captor sailing weightlessly through the air, directly toward the cloud of fog. If she was going to die today, then she'd die being a hero. She wasn't the type to roll over and accept fate. She's better than that. She felt her left arm snap under the force of Constrictor's grip but the pain didn't register as she felt her head starting to nod off.
No! Stay awake! You have to until we get there. Just a little longer...
She forced her mind to stay alert and she felt the villain's grip loosen on her a bit as he registered that he wasn't regaining his gravity and that she was carrying them both into the poisonous gas.
"Hey!" Constrictor screeched and began to shake her hard, "Put me down, now!"
The brunette seemed to be in a daze as she finally saw the first waves of purple fog wash over her. She tried to find a way to describe how it smelled or tasted but her mind was too tired for that now. She felt broken. Unfixable. Was this truly all she had lived to see? This is really the end? She'd blink out of existence in a warehouse parking lot? That doesn't seem very fair...
The air around them began to steadily turn a darker purple and Uraraka finally felt her quirk starting to fade away from her. The villain had released her completely by now and he was floating singularly, fighting to get out of the fog. Desperately and aimlessly. But in a split second, Uraraka felt her quirk release without her command and both of them fell to heaps on the ground. The villain immediately stood up and ran for the clear air but Uraraka didn't really notice he'd gone away.
She breathed deep, letting her body recover a bit from the unimaginably tight squeeze that Constrictor had inflicted on her. Her lungs ached horribly and her breath sounded wheezy. She rolled over onto her back and stared at the swirling fog above her. It was an odd feeling to her that she was watching what would ultimately cause her death float so innocently over her head. Such a pretty shade of purple…
She lifted her unbroken arm to twist some of the purple haze around it and she reveled in its curls and swirls. She couldn't tell if she was already feeling the effects of the toxin or if her brain had taken some damage from Constrictor, but she felt cheerful inside her head. Her body was broken but her mind seemed to bloom.
She turned her head to see through the haze. Deku was trying to escape from fighting Viper, his green eyes resting almost exclusively on Uraraka's brown ones. Uraraka reflected on when she first met Deku. It was so innocent and cute. Now she looked at him and saw a good man. A strong man that worked hard, loved all, and smiled despite the despair he witnessed daily. But right now, he wasn't smiling. He was crying. She frowned innocently. Was he crying over her?
She felt her mind beginning to slip a little but she didn't put much effort into deciphering why. Where was she anyway? Why does everything hurt? She turned away from Deku to look down at herself and saw her ripped hero costume. Had she been fighting? What happened?
She turned her head again and saw an explosion so large and so powerful that it brushed the hair on her forehead a little. Bakugo… She saw his blonde hair and giggled despite herself. She never really got the chance to feel just how dense those spikes were, did she? She felt her fingers on her right hand rub over the cold ground. She wondered briefly what it was like to touch his face and she sighed forlornly. He was so devastatingly handsome. He was smart and funny and perfectly angry. Her heart broke in her chest and tears streamed down the side of her face and over her ears.
I'm dying… I'm dying, aren't I?
Her foggy mind seemed to struggle to stay aware of herself and her situation as pieces of the fight came and went. She finally saw a man that looked vaguely familiar. He's not Bakugo or Deku… Who is he?
The man laughed maniacally as he fought off the heroes. She couldn't make out what he was saying, all she could piece together was that he was bad. Very bad. And with that, her body began to move on it's own. It was like an instinct kicked in that she had no control over and she could feel a half-smile on her lips.
She rolled over on all fours, her broken arm dragging along the ground as she slowly crawled, all the noise of the battle dying around her until she crawled in dead silence. Whoever he was…
I have to touch him, don't I? Or he'll hurt my friends...
A pair of red eyes watched Uraraka do the most heroic thing he'd ever seen in his life. Despite how mangled she was, she was still trying to fight. She crawled slowly, her brown eyes focused on one target in their haze. She stumbled a few times and she cried in agony when she fell on her broken arm, but only a few seconds would go by before she was on the move again, like something much bigger than herself was pulling on her strings.
"Uraraka…" Bakugo said softly to himself, his heart wrenching, as he dodged an attack from Viper. The blonde tore his gaze away from the brunette to see Deku was locked in Viper's sights now. This was his chance. He took a deep gulp of clean air before he launched himself headfirst into the gas cloud. He reached her quickly and he gently scooped up the brunette before running at top speed away from the action. His lungs screamed at him to breath but he held firm. He wouldn't be able to save her if he died with her.
"Bakugo…" Uraraka's voice was heartbreakingly tender as she reached up to trace the lines of his jaw. "You have the prettiest eyes." Her hand reached his hairline and she ran her fingertips gently through the spikes on the side of his head, "Your hair… It's just as coarse as I thought it would be." She sighed as she ran her hand back over the top of his head and let her fingertips trail back down on the other side of his face.
Bakugo finally burst out of the cloud, far away from the action of Deku grappling with Viper. He fell to his knees, laying Uraraka across his legs and leaning her head on his shoulder. "Urara-" He choked on the word. "You're going to be just fine." He felt his eyes growing wet and for once, he didn't care. "Just hang in there." His voice shook with nerves and fear as he began feeling around his utility belt for any first aid items.
"Go." Her voice was small but her eyes stared at him intently through a smokey gleam.
The blonde was shocked and he stilled, "Go? Why?! I can't leave you!"
"This is your big moment," Uraraka breathed and turned her head to look at where the fight with Viper was. "The bad guy is getting away. You have to capture him."
"No," Bakugo said the word with all the emotion of his heart. "I'm staying with you."
"For me." She breathed and turned her eyes back on him. "Go blast him. For me." She smiled so softly and genuinely. Like it was the last time she'd ever smile. "I'll be fine."
"No!" Bakugo shouted at her. "I'm not leaving!"
"Bakugo!" A male voice yelled but the blonde didn't dare look away from the girl in his lap. He could hear the footsteps approaching but the blonde was so enraptured in Uraraka's smiling face that he couldn't bear to look away.
"Bakugo," Kirishima fell to his knees in front of the blonde and brunette. "Oh my god…" The red-haired hero looked at the two broken people collapsed in the dirt. "Oh my… Oh my god."
Bakugo tightened his arm that held Uraraka close to him. "She's badly hurt. She's not…" His voice cracked. "I can't… I can't save her, Kirishima."
There was a long moment of silence as the sound of the battle drifted further and further away. Uraraka used the hand on her unbroken arm to reach up again to touch the single tear that dripped from the blonde's eyes. "Please… For me. You have to... You have to end this."
Kirishima looked at the blonde and understood what Uraraka meant, "I'll get her to safety, Bakugo. I'll get her to a medic. You have to go after them."
"I'm not going!" Bakugo roared and glared daggers at his friend. "I will not leave her."
Kirishima had never seen Bakugo like this. There had never been a moment in their entire friendship when Bakugo had looked so emotional and menacing. The blonde hero was always, always stoic and devoid of any meaningful tone. But right now... The infamous and heartless Katsuki Bakugo was an open book. It seemed like in this single moment, he was feeling every emotion under the sun. Kirishima didn't know what to do or what to say. He sat back on his heels and felt his own heart break. "Bakugo…"
"Go…" Uraraka croaked and rested her hand against Bakugo's chest but was too weak to hold it there long. "Please Bakugo… Please!" She coughed and blood coated her teeth. "You have to do it. I'll be fine!"
The blonde took a long moment to look at her face. He admired the strength in her eyes. Despite it all, she was calling on him to be her hero. Even if he couldn't save her life, she wanted him to save her dignity. And she was right… If Viper doesn't go down today, her death would be in vain. "I will." He leaned forward and placed his lips gently on the top of her forehead, taking a long second to smell the sweet smell in her hair and trying to etch it into his mind forever. "I'll go... But only because... You asked."
"Because I demanded," She sighed contentedly, "But now I'm happy." She rolled her head back and slumped in his arms. "I'm tired now…"
Bakugo choked on a sob and forcefully swallowed it again. "God damn it, roundface… Uraraka. I am so fucking sorry." He looked up at Kirishima with an indescribable look. "Please… Kirishima, please."
"Go," Kirishima nodded at the blonde and came to take Uraraka from his arms. "Go get him."
Both men rose to feet, Kirishima cradling Uraraka in his arms now, and they nodded an unspoken agreement between them. Bakugo's eyes fell on Uraraka's closed eyes and he clenched his teeth, hiding his teary eyes behind his hair, before he turned away and blasted off.
Kirishima pulled Uraraka closer to him and watched as Bakugo took off after Deku and Viper. "He loves you, you know?" He looked down at the brunette to find that her head was rolled back over the top of his arm and her limbs were drooped. "I'll do everything I can to save you, Uraraka. So you have the chance to hear it from him yourself."
Okay hear me out...
I know you're freaking out right now, okay? Get up. Take a walk. Cool your head. Then leave a review and hate on me lmao.
I know that this is a pretty sketch cliffhanger. I've experienced my fair share of slow-burn cliffhangers and I have to say, I really didn't have a choice. My initial plan was to NOT leave a cliffhanger but the chapter was getting extremely long. I normally write approximately 10-11 pages per chapter and I was on page 14 by the time I reached this stopping point. So... I left it on a cliffhanger. BUT DO NOT FRET MY DEARS, I WILL HAVE CHAPTER 19 OUT SOON, OKAY?!
On an official side note, I was actually tearing up big time while writing this. I honestly felt the emotions of each character as I was writing them. I was blubbering over my laptop and my (amazing) man walked in like "wtf are you crying about" and I was like "I FEEL LIKE I'M WATCHING SOMEONE DIE" and then he went out and bought beer so I could have a drink while I cried it out... He's a keeper. But all in all, it was a super fun chapter to write and I'm already a decent portion of the way through Chapter 19 (I stayed up all night after I was done with this chapter because inspiration was pumping in my veins and I just couldn't stop).
If you didn't get a chance to head over to my profile yet, you should do that! I respond to all reviews on my profile page and I also have the link to my twitter account if you would like live updates on when new chapters will be posted and/or have conversations about any kacchako-ey things. If you head over to twitter, please make sure you say hello!
As always, lovelies, I think you guys are the best and I totally understand if you hate my guts right now. In fact, I encourage you to hate my guts. Hate away my dears. ILY ALL!
XOXOXOXO