Unveiled Winds || Katsuki Bakugou x Reader

Chapter 53 - Dynamite Burns Too

Relief hit you like a wave, too quick to show on your face.

He turned immediately, eyes scanning the mess of sidekicks, responders, and emergency crews around him,until they landed on the one person standing just behind the barricade, still catching her breath.

"Radiance!" he called.

Ayumi's head snapped up at her name, eyes wide. "Yes!"

Deku's voice dropped into something firm, professional. "We're heading inside,east wing. I need you to coordinate with the support crews, make sure the medics stay clear of the unstable zones. And if we're not back out in five, send backup. Loud."

Ayumi stared between the two of you for a second, clearly torn. "Wait, you're actually—"

"Please, Ayu," you said quickly, already stepping past. "Just do it."

She hesitated only a second longer, then nodded. "Okay. Okay, I got it. But you better come back with him, Y/N. Both of you."

You didn't answer. Just met her eyes once, then took off at Deku's side, sprinting toward the smoke.

The second you and Deku crossed the threshold, the heat hit like a punch to the lungs.

Smoke curled through the hallways, thick and suffocating. The air stung your eyes and throat, and the fire roared somewhere deeper in the structure, relentless and wild, like it had no intention of dying tonight.

"East stairwell's still standing," Deku called, already veering left. "But it won't hold for long, come on!"

You followed, feet skidding against cracked tile, one hand braced on the wall for balance. The building groaned above you,deep and structural, like the bones of the place were about to give.

Midoriya moved fast, his footing controlled, bursts of green lightning dancing at his heels to propel him forward and shield him from debris. You tried to keep up, but without your suit or proper boots, every step burned.

A low rafter fell just ahead of you, charred and screeching. You gasped and threw your arms up, summoning a gust strong enough to divert the worst of the smoke and push the heat back long enough for you to dart past it.

Deku was already looking back at you. "Y/N, you good?!"

"I've been better," you coughed out. "But I'm fine—keep going!"

He didn't question you, just nodded and turned sharply up the nearest stairwell.

You followed, but the burn was building in your legs, lack of gear.

Another explosion boomed somewhere above, closer this time. The walls shook. The stairwell vibrated underfoot.

"He has to be on the fifth or sixth floor," Deku muttered, eyes scanning upward. "That's where the worst of the structural damage is, and the fire's climbing. He'd go there to stop the spread."

Of course he would.

You pushed forward together, the smoke growing thicker, heat clawing at your skin, the crackle of flame echoing through the broken building.

By the time you reached the fourth floor, the building was screaming around you, beams groaning, glass cracking under heat, fire chewing through the eastern walls like it had something to prove.

You stumbled once more, nearly falling to your knees, and Deku caught you again without a word, steady, focused, even as sweat ran down his face and his freckles were smudged with soot.

"Stairwell's blocked," he coughed, eyes darting across the smoke-cloaked hallway. "We'll have to cut through the admin wing."

You gave a quick nod.