i hate you. (Bakugou Katsuki x OC)

21 | I of the Storm

The blade wound on my arm throbs in time with my racing heart, each pulse a countdown. I have limited time before whatever adrenaline is keeping me conscious wears off.

I duck as Stain's blade arcs toward me, feeling the whoosh of air as it barely misses my head. I retaliate with the lead pipe I acquired from the floor moments before, aiming at his knees. He's too fast. He jumps back, landing lightly on his feet and moving his bloodstained gaze to Tenya.

Tenya... he's a ball of raw anger and desperation. Every move he makes is fueled by the desperate need to avenge his brother. I can see it in the way he moves—powerful, yes, but reckless. Too reckless. He's not thinking straight. His engines roar as he launches himself at Stain, and for a second, I think he might actually connect. But Stain sidesteps, his blade slicing through the air toward Tenya's neck.

God damn it. I throw myself between the blade and Tenya. The impact of Stain's swing against the pipe makes my already weak arm scream in protest. The force of it sends me stumbling, but I grit my teeth and hold my ground.

"Tenya, stop!" I shout, my voice cracking with desperation. "This isn't right."

My plea falls on deaf ears. Tenya doesn't even glance my way. His eyes are locked onto Stain with a ferocity that terrifies me. It's like he's forgotten everything else—his training, his classmates, even his own safety. The only thing driving him now is his thirst for revenge. "I'm going to kill him."

I grunt in frustration, but it's useless. He charges forward, engines roaring louder than before, the air around him rippling with the sheer force of his quirk. I don't have enough time to release the pipe that Stain's knife bears down on as Tenya launches a devastating kick, his full power behind it.

Knowing full well what's about to happen, I raise my leg to block his hit. Native's boots absorb the kick for a moment, the force reverberating through my body. My legs begin to tremble as Tenya's foot continues to push toward its target. The mechanisms inside my shoe begin to crumble.

"Tenya, please," I hiss out, the force of Stain on my arms and him on my leg isn't sustainable. I can't keep this up. None of us can. "Tensei won't forgive you if you do this."

Tenya freezes at the mention of his brother's name, his eyes widening with a complicated mess I recognize as grief. For a split second, underneath it all, I see the old Tenya, the one who always thought things through, who always put others before himself. But the moment is fleeting.

His eyes narrow again, but there's a concern to them. "This is for him."

"No, it's not," I insist, feeling my strength waning as Stain presses harder against my defense. "Tensei would never want you to continue the cycle of violence."

Stain grins, a twisted, bloodthirsty expression that tells me he's enjoying this—feeding off Tenya's rage and my desperation. "Look at you heroes, so blinded by your ideals. So easily tainted."

"Shut the fuck up," I snap, the weight of his words as heavy as the pressure on my limbs. "I'm trying to save your insufferable life here."

Stain's eyes flash with something dark, primal. He releases my pipe from his blade. The sudden shift of weight is the last straw for my boot. It all but disintegrates off my foot as Tenya's kick sends me scraping against the ground. His eyes flick toward me, concern breaking through his rage for a moment.

That's my opening. It might be my only chance to get through to him before he does something he can never take back. And if I can't stop him with the truth, I'll stop him with a lie.

I focus all my remaining energy, summoning every ounce of willpower I have left. The air around us begins to shimmer as I weave the illusion—a mirror image of Tensei, before the stitches and braces and tubes, stepping between Tenya and Stain.