Heartbreaker | BNHA x Reader

[28] Two Systems

You were going to die.

It wasn't the same as USJ. Back then, at least you weren't alone. Aizawa and Thirteen had given it their all to protect the students, and in doing so, they had bought enough time for All Might and the rest of the heroes to show up.

But here, you were all on your own. Nobody knew that you were in danger, so naturally, nobody was going to come and save you either.

As things stood, your death was all but guaranteed.

"Be a good girl and stay put," Dabi hummed. He let loose another wave of flames, and you swore you'd already lost your ability to scream. The heat burned your throat and made it nearly impossible to choke out any sound. Your nerves were quite literally on fire, and you found yourself craving death, because at least then, you would be freed from this excruciating pain.

Every time you gasped for breath, the hot, dry air made you wheeze brokenly.

I... messed up. I should have... invested my skill points into vitality. If I had, then maybe my body could have endured this...

You were still clinging to the last ropes of your consciousness, but you just didn't have the physical fortitude to resist Dabi's attacks. You weren't like Kirishima. You couldn't harden your body to reduce the damage you took. You weren't like Iida either. You didn't have the speed to make it out of here in time, especially when you were incapacitated from the pain.

It was really over. You were actually going to die here, and all because you'd decided to go out for a late-night convenience store run.

What a fucking joke.

Still, it was human instinct to try and survive. With the last bit of strength you had left, you pulled up the system interface and withdrew the first weapon you laid eyes on. This turned out to be your trusty baton, and it appeared within your tightly-clenched fist, although your fingers were trembling as they tried to hold onto it.

Dabi slowed his steps and gave you a curious look. "Hm? What, your Quirk lets you create weapons or something? If that's the case, then you should've made a gun. It would've at least given you a fighting chance."

You couldn't have mustered up a response even if you wanted to. Your throat and lungs were burning like crazy. But he was right. A long-ranged weapon would have been ideal for a situation like this. It was too bad you only had melee weapons. They were the only ones you knew how to craft. What good would a baton do if he could just keep setting you on fire from afar?

God. Everything hurt so fucking much. It was a miracle you were even still conscious, but you doubted that would be the case for long.

Dabi was still too far away for you to land a proper hit on him. You could try to get up and lunge at him, but he would assault you with flames before you even managed to close the distance. In that case, there was really only one thing you could do.

Create an opportunity to escape.

You'd never done this before, so you didn't know if it would even work, but it wasn't as if you had any other options left. Before Dabi could strike you again, you stared pointedly down at the concrete, towards a spot right in front of his feet. You focused with all your strength, unwilling to so much as blink, and miraculously, your tactic paid off.

It seemed like your critical hit ability didn't just work on people. So long as you designated something as your target, it would still take effect.

Those familiar bullseye-looking targets appeared on the ground, and without wasting a second, you slammed your baton down against one of the weak points, cracking the pavement in one fell swoop. Chunks of the ground went flying everywhere, and a dust cloud had formed in the midst of your attack. It wasn't much, but if nothing else, it would provide you with a bit of cover as you tried to run away. For just a few moments, Dabi's vision would be obscured.