STRINGS // KATSUKI BAKUGO [2]

Chapter 71 // To Save a Life

You snapped back to reality with a small wheeze, the long, subconscious interaction draining much of your pent up energy.

Tenko Shimura has disappeared, and he took Tomura Shigaraki with him. The only person remaining was All For One in the corpse of his successor. 

You pushed yourself to your knees, panting as you tried to catch your breath, which was easier with the help of One For All still pumping through your veins.

You finally stood to your feet, rolling your shoulders and cracking your neck as the aura of One For All branched out from your limbs, calming your buzzing nerves.

It was time to stop playing protector. It was time to stop being the peacemaker. It was time to stop making amends.

It was time to start fighting.

You rounded the boulder you had been resting behind for God knows how long as you sprinted toward the sight of the scene.

You nearly face planted with how quickly you skidded to a halt upon seeing what was going down.

Jeanist and Edgeshot were injured enough to struggle on their knees. The Big Three were rushing toward the center of the battlefield with fear plastered on their faces. Miriko was nowhere to be seen, and Bakugo....

...was in danger.

It was clear he was the one who put himself in the current position he was in, hovering within the heat and fire surrounding Shigaraki, his glowing palm inches from the villains face. However, the range, the power, the angle, was...

...lethal.

You proceeded forward, limbs powered by the inheritance pumping through your veins and decorating every inch of your skin in white branches that jutted every which way.

Then, just as you stepped into range, just as the heat greeted your body, the glimmer faded, and a gasp punched its way out of your throat.

You didn't have time to wish One For All back. You didn't have time to stop and gather your bearings. You didn't have time to take a break and wait for the stabbing pain in your gut to dim.

You only had time to jump.

You extended your right hand as your feet left the dirt, two strings shooting out from fingers you couldn't even clearly identify with the light encasing you.

The strings wrapped around Bakugo's right gauntlet, that very same hand having been extended toward Shigaraki.

His eyes widened as his crimson iris' managed to settle upon you through the cloud of smoke and heat burning your skin.

The explosion he had been brewing was too far along to stop. As you yanked his almost compromised body toward you, reaching your left hand out to wrap around his shoulders for more security, his palm erupted into a mound of flames just as Shigaraki released the attack he had been withholding.

Your back hit the ground, a sickening crunch flooding your ears just before the air left your lungs and darkness shuttered into your eyes.

¥¥¥

Best Jeanist willed himself to stand as soon as he caught sight of your and Bakugo's tumbling bodies.

The pro hero stumbled over to the two of you just as Bakugo slammed against the dirt, your body hitting the ground inches away from him.

Jeanist collapsed back to his knees as soon as he was within reach, hand extending to check the pulse of Bakugo first as the boy was closer.

His palm froze inches above the boy's heart as soon as he realized there was a massive whole directly above the space where the organ resided.

His wide, teary eyes slowly traveled over to your body, which was just as limp, bloody, and bruised as Bakugo's, your eyes glossed over in a haze.

Jeanist lifted his head at the sound of scraping footsteps, eyes landing on an incoming Edgeshot, who stared down at the two bodies in front of him with remorse and determination.

"I...can replace what has been lost," he assured, grunting at the dull pain flowing throughout his entire body, "but I am only enough to save one of them."

Jeanist looked down at his two interns, well aware that Bakugo was already dead, and you were spiraling down the same path quickly.

"There's no coming back from this for you," Best Jeanist stated, sparing his childhood friend a pained look.

"I know," Edgeshot forced a relieved smile, "which is why I'm leaving all the rest in your capable hands."

Jeanist averted his attention back to you and Bakugo, a shaky sign pushing its way past his pursed lips.

To pick between the dead and the nearly passed, to choose between two of his interns, to decide who should live out of an otherwise healthy boy and an unfortunate girl who was inevitably going to die, he wasn't sure he could do it.

Then, one of your fingers shifted, twitching ever so slightly. Your hand followed in suite, weakly scraping against the dirt and debris of the battlefield in search of something.

Your pointer finger curled around Bakugo's pinky, faintly squeezing, and the gesture wasn't to confirm his status. You already knew he was dead. Your efforts were to send a message.

"Save him," Best Jeanist finally exhaled, gently pressing his hand to Bakugo's unmoving chest.

Edgeshot quickly rounded your corpse to reach Bakugo, his quirk swarming his own body like a tornado of visceral energy.

As your glossed vision settled upon Bakugo one final time, your lips managed to curl into a faint smile, which remained plastered on your face as you took your final breath.

[Y/N] [L/N] did not die defeating Tomura Shigaraki, but she did die saving Katsuki Bakugo.

[EDITED]