Heartbreaker | BNHA x Reader

[39] Acknowledgement

"...START!"

Once Present Mic let out that familiar, resounding cry, you knew you had scarcely a few seconds to react. In preparation, you had already pulled up your system interface, with your inventory open. You retrieved your trusty baton in the blink of an eye, and clearly, not a second too soon, because Katsuki had already lunged at you.

He was fast. Faster than you were, in any case. Thanks to his explosions, he could propel himself across the arena in no time flat, and it was a miracle that you'd even managed to dodge in time. You gasped for breath as you regained your footing, gripping your baton tight and angling it towards him.

This wasn't going to be an easy fight. You knew that. Realistically, you would probably lose, and you felt like absolute shit after all the times you'd already been sent to the infirmary today, but you refused to just give up. You refused to just roll over and resign yourself to your fate. Katsuki wouldn't like that either. He wanted to see you give it your all. He wanted you to give him a challenge.

When I used this to try and escape from Dabi, it worked... so I may as well do it again.

Your eyes briefly fell to the ground, on a spot close to Katsuki's feet. You only had a moment to focus, but just like when you'd been attacked by Dabi, you were able to use your critical hit ability to pick out a few weak points. You slammed your baton down against the targets, as quickly as you could, and as planned, a dust cloud sprung upwards, momentarily obscuring Katsuki's vision.

All you could do was run. You needed to close the distance, fast, and attack him from one of his blind spots. Thanks to all your training and the skill points you'd progressively invested into your stats, you were getting stronger. You were becoming more powerful, more agile, and more durable.

Unfortunately, Katsuki still had you beat in every possible way.

"...I figured you'd try to sneak up on me from behind. You're way too obvious, [Name]."

He emerged from within the cloud of dust, snatching you up before you could get close enough to swing your baton. He gripped you by the wrist with one hand, and you could feel the heat of his nitroglycerin-coated palms searing your skin. You couldn't even swing your other hand or kick him in time. He proceeded to grace you with an explosion right to the face, and had to grit your teeth, nearly toppling over from the pain.

It was rough. Your body was already in terrible condition after the hell you'd put it through today. You were exhausted from the strange ability you'd used during the Cavalry Battle, when you'd miraculously crafted that invisible wall, and having randomly collapsed near the end of Izuku's battle against Shinsou.

You felt like giving up, to be honest. You were just so fucking exhausted. Plus, the hot, stinging pain of Katsuki's explosions sort of reminded you of being burned alive by Dabi, and it was triggering some kind of PTSD response.

Still. Even if you were fated to lose in the first round, you had no intention of tapping out. Not while you still had some fight left in you.

You swiveled on your foot, just enough to rotate your body around and elbow Katsuki in the face. He dodged it, unfortunately, but he backed off for a moment, grip on your wrist loosening, and instead of running to safety and taking a second to catch your breath, you charged straight towards him, bullseye targets appearing on various parts of his body.

This time, he couldn't reposition himself in time. Your blow connected with his stomach, and he bit back a curse as the critical hit ability activated upon contact, amplifying the damage several times over.

But you didn't stop there. You needed to take advantage of this momentum, to push forward while he was still doubled over from the pain. The only way you even had a chance of winning was if you hit him with a barrage of attacks, an onslaught of blunt, heavy force.