Undead Revolution (⛔☁️)

S8 - 7. [Removal]

Katsuki stood amidst the carnage, blood still dripping from his knife, but all his focus was elsewhere. The sharp scent of iron, the bodies strewn around him, the stunned silence from the heroes, it all faded into the background. His eyes were locked on Teskai, lying crumpled on the cold ground, barely moving.

For a split second, nothing else mattered.

His pulse raced as he scanned Teskai's body, checking for injuries, trying to assess how badly his friend had been hurt. The faint rise and fall of Teskai's chest was enough to ease the knot in his stomach, but it wasn't enough to quiet the fury building inside him. He had risked everything to get Teskai back, and now, here he was; alive, but hurt, broken in ways that ran deeper than just the physical wounds.

Katsuki's hand clenched tighter around the knife, his knuckles white, but his grip loosened as his gaze lingered on the hacker's face. The bruises, the blood, the way Teskai's body seemed to tremble with each shallow breath; everything hit Katsuki harder than he expected. His heart twisted painfully in his chest. The chaos of the battle, the violence, the blood: it all dulled when compared to this.

Teskai had kept quiet. Teskai hadn't given him up. Even through torture, through everything, he had kept Katsuki's identity a secret. He had fought to protect him.

A flicker of something, guilt, anger, maybe both, surged through Katsuki. This was his fault. Teskai had suffered because of him, because of Deadpool. Because he hadn't been fast enough. Hadn't been strong enough.

He wanted to do more. Wanted to tear every one of those bastards apart for what they'd done. But he couldn't, not now. He could feel the weight of the situation creeping back in, like a slow wave washing over him.

The heroes stood frozen, their wide-eyed stares still locked on his exposed face, but Katsuki couldn't, wouldn't, care about them right now. His mind was buzzing, still focused on Teskai, on getting him out of this mess. As the silence dragged on, however, the reality of his unmasking settled in.

He glanced up, eyes cold, daring anyone to step forward. To do anything. But no one moved. No one spoke.

The silence was deafening.

Katsuki Bakugou.

The name hung in the air like an accusation, a shadow of his past that he couldn't escape from. Eraserhead's face was locked in shock, disbelief clouding his usually sharp gaze. One by one, each hero's expression shifted from confusion to betrayal, but no one made a move to stop him.

They were stuck. Good.

Katsuki's eyes flicked back down to Teskai, who was still slumped against a ground. The hacker was barely holding it together, weakly conscious and muttering incoherent apologies.

His jaw clenched. This wasn't Teskai's fault. None of this was his fault. And he wasn't about to let the heroes, or anyone, change that.

He sheathed his bloodied knife, bending down to scoop Teskai's limp body into his arms.

"'Tsuki... I..." Teskai's voice was hoarse, the words barely audible. Katsuki shushed him, his mind already racing to figure out the quickest exit.

But as he turned, ready to make his escape, one of the heroes stirred. A hero's hand twitched, but Katsuki shot him a glare that froze him in place.

"You're not stopping me" Katsuki told them, his voice laced with dangerous calm.

The heroes hesitated, still locked in their confusion and disbelief. Eraserhead's mouth opened, but no words came out. He was too lost in the whirlwind of seeing his former student, the boy he thought was dead, now standing before him as Deadpool.

Katsuki started to move, each step deliberate, his grip on Teskai tightening. The facility exit was just ahead. He could make it. Just a little further.

But just as he reached the threshold, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise; one of the heroes was about to make a move.

Before anyone could act, a wall of blue flames erupted behind him, the intense heat surging forward and forcing the heroes to step back.

"Not so fast" Dabi's voice drawled from behind him, his smirk unmistakable even through his voice. "Let him go"

Katsuki didn't even need to look back. He knew Dabi had his back. He kept moving, his heart pounding in his chest as he made his way toward the exit.

Behind him, the heroes hesitated again, their attention split between Katsuki and the flames.

"Dabi, you-" One of them started, but Dabi just chuckled, his blue flames dancing dangerously in the air.

"I'd stay right where you are if I were you" Dabi warned, his voice light but laced with malice. "Unless you want to get a little toasty"

The heroes stopped, the tension thick between them, but none of them stepped forward. Dabi's flames were enough of a threat to keep them in place, buying Katsuki the time he needed.

Without another glance back, Katsuki disappeared, carrying Teskai with him.

Word count: 842