A Means to an End | Katsuki Bakugou x Male Reader

Chapter 20

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It was as if in an instant, a painted window shattered, revealing the ugly world behind it. Laughter changed to screams, blood stained the pastel stones, real smoke darkened the special effect stuff made for television.

A second explosion seemed to split the air and left (M/N)'s ears ringing. But he couldn't make out where it came from.

He reached Mashirao first, tried to make sense of the torn flesh, missing limbs, to find something to stem the red flow from his body. Juzo pushed (M/N) aside, wrenching open the first-aid kid. Mashirao clutched (M/N)'s wrist. His face, grey with dying and ash, seemed to be receding. But his next words were an order. "The Holo."

The Holo. (M/N) scrambled around, digging through chunks of tile slick with blood, shuddering when he encountered bits of warm flesh. Found it rammed into a stairwell with one of Mashirao's boots. Retrieved it, wiping it clean with bare hands as he returned it to his commander.

Juzo had the stump of Mashirao's left thigh cupped by some sort of compression bandage, but it had already soaked through. He was trying to tourniquet the other above the existing knee. The rest of the squad had gathered in a protective formation around the crew and them. Denki was attempting to revive Izuku, who was thrown into a wall by the explosion. Ikara was barking into a field communicator, trying unsuccessfully to alert the camp to send medics, but (M/N) knew it was too late. As a child, watching his mother work, he learned that once a pool of blood had reached a certain size, there was no going back.

He knelt beside Mashirao, prepared to repeat the role he played with Wendy, with the morphling from 6, giving him someone to hold on to as he was released from life. But Mashirao had both hands working the Holo. He was typing in a command, pressing his thumb to the screen for print recognition, speaking a string of letters and numbers in response to a prompt. A green shaft of light burst out of the Holo and illuminated his face. He said, "Unfit for command. Transfer of prime security clearance to Squad Four-Five-One Soldier (M/N) (L/N)." It was all he could do to turn the Holo towards (M/N)'s face. "Say your name."

"(M/N) (L/N)," he said into the green shaft. Suddenly, it had him trapped in its light. He couldn't move or even blink as images rapidly flickered before him. Scanning him? Recording him? Blinding him? It vanished, and he shook his head to clear it. "What did you do?"

"Prepare to retreat!" Ikara hollered.

Denki was yelling back, gesturing to the end of the block where they entered. Black, oily matter spouted like a geyser from the street, billowing between the buildings, creating an impenetrable wall of darkness. It seemed to be neither liquid nor gas, mechanical nor natural. It was most likely lethal. There was no heading back the way they came

Deafening gunfire as Shoto and Yui began to blast a path across the stones towards the far end of the block. (M/N) didn't know what they were doing until another bomb, ten metres away, detonated, opening a hole in the street. Then he realised this was a rudimentary attempt at minesweeping. Juzo and (M/N) latched on to Mashirao and began to drag him after Shoto. Agony took over and he was crying out in pain and (M/N) wanted to stop, to find a better way, but the blackness was rising above the buildings, swelling, rolling at them like a wave.

(M/N) was yanked backwards, lost his grip on Mashirao, slammed into the stones. Katsuki looked down at him, gone, mad, flashing back into the land of the hijacked, his gun raised to over (M/N), descending to crush his skull. (M/N) rolled, heard the butt slam into the street, caught the tumble of bodies in the corner of his eye as Kosei tackled Katsuki and pinned him to the ground. But Katsuki, always so powerful and now fuelled by tracker jacker insanity got to his feet under Kosei and launched him further down the block.