STRINGS // KATSUKI BAKUGO [2]

Chapter 69 // Roles

You landed in a crouched position in the dirt of the battlefield, Bakugo falling into a defensive stance behind you as soon as his entire body had left the cluster of portals.

You glared at the mob of villains settled some yards in front of you before scanning the crowd of heroes and fledging students huddled on your right side. 

You stood to your full height, eyes glaring daggers into Shigaraki. However, the villain seemed relatively uninterested. In fact, he made an effort to look at everybody but you, acting as if you didn't even exist.

'Doesn't he want this?' you thought, hoping your internal taunt would get the man to connect to you subconsciously. However, his voice didn't echo in your mind like you thought it would.

You brushed off the frustration brewing inside you and instead moved to charge in unison with your comrades. However, a faltering Bakugo caused you to halt.

You glanced over your shoulder at your husband, who was as still as a statue as he stared wide eyed at one of the few portals left in the distance...

...a portal that Midoriya was currently being pulled back through.

Neither of you had enough time to keep the boy from disappearing, causing you to curse. It hadn't even been five minutes, and the plan was already going south.

"Keep going!" you shouted despite your concern. "This doesn't change anything! We still fight! Go!"

The others followed through with your command, and your words even withdrew Bakugo from his state of shock.

"We keep going," you said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "He'll be fine. It's Midoriya."

"Yeah," he nodded, clearing his throat, "we keep going."

As Bakugo joined the various other heroes rushing to the center of the action, you lingered in the back.

Your role was not to be a fighter like Bakugo, not yet. You were starting off a a protector, keeping your comrades safe from outside threats other than Shigaraki such as any debris to be used a weapons or more minor villains that may be hovering around.

This would allow them to devote all of their energy and focus toward the deadliest threat: Tomura Shigaraki.

You made sure to balance your attention between everyone, not lingering your eyes on one single person for too long in case another needed unexpected help.

Hado, Amajiki, Jeanist, Edgeshot, Miriko, and Bakugo proceeded with most of the brute force whole Monoma and Aizawa hovered over the scene from above, sharing the man's Erasure Quirk in order to keep Shigaraki's overwhelming powers at bay and give the heroes an advantage.

You didn't really do much in the fight other than remove some scarily placed pieces of rubble until Shigaraki decided to target the person you had been looking out for the most.

The mound of disgustingly colored and malnourished hands that had been keeping Shigaraki swiftly mobile birthed another massive limb and swiped Bakugo right out of the air, sending him soaring toward a half-buried building.

Before the blond could react and save himself from crashing with the aid of his quirk, One For All's immense power branched out from each of your limbs, allowing you to reach Bakugo in seconds with the unreal speed Midoriya had granted to you hours prior.

You folded your body over his back as you wrapped your arms around his torso, bending your legs as you headed toward the ground, so you could slide into a steady landing by digging your knees into the dirt.

When you were completely stopped, you found yourself kneeled on the ground with Bakugo cradled in your arms like a newborn baby.

The boy blinked at you, clearly stunned by your actions. You hadn't yet displayed One For All's abilities through your own body, which acted as a slightly different host compared to Midoriya.

"That was both hot and kinda scary," he finally spoke, and his chose of words caused you to chuckle.

You stood before setting your husband back on his feet, finding the task oddly easy with One For All's power flowing through you.

"Thanks," he said, leaning forward to press a quick kiss to the side of your head. "You saved my ass and my new artillery."

You allowed your brows to furrow in confusion. However, before you could question him, heavy artillery erupted from the compressed pad stitched to the back of his costume. He went from boy to tank rather quickly.

"I gotta destroy his real body," Bakugo said through gritted teeth as he bent his knees, staring at the villain in the distance as his determination managed to grow even stronger.

You watched fondly as your husband speeded off, using his explosions to propel himself toward the scene at an inhuman pace.

Shigaraki's eyes followed the boy, aware he posed as a great threat to his brewing machinations.

You tilted your head, narrowing your eyes at the villain, who had failed to serve you any attention so far.

Some months ago he was dead set on taking you out. Now, he refused to even make eye contact on you. He was avoiding you. Why?

"I'm unsure of how strong this connection is. I don't know if he can hear what I'm thinking. I don't know if we can feel each other's pain..."

Your mind suddenly wandered to part of your confession that had been spoken to the hero commission and various of your fellow students.

Maybe you had more power within this tether than you realized. Maybe Shigaraki was aware of capabilities you didn't even have knowledge of, and he was worried that any sort of attention he gifted you would result in serving your favor, not his.

You slid behind a nearby boulder and sat on the ground, crossing your legs beneath your body as you rested your hands in either of your knees.

You closed your eyes, tapping into one of the several mediation rituals Tokoyami had taught you during recent weeks.

'Let me in,' you thought distantly, attempting to usenyour overflowing powers to break through Shigaraki's mental barricade. 'Let us connect.'

Then, as if you were drowning, every sound around you faded away until you were left in complete silence.

When you opened your eyes, you were greeted with darkness. The only thing giving you hope was a cowering figure in the distance....

....the small, abused body of a young Tenko Shimura.

[EDITED]