Unveiled Winds || Katsuki Bakugou x Reader

Chapter 56 - Before It's Too Late

"Bakugou!"

Kirishima's voice echoed behind him, sharp with alarm. "Where the hell are you going?!"

But Bakugou didn't stop.

His boots pounded against the hallway floor, the slam of the stairwell door behind him rattling the frame. He moved with violent purpose, every step faster than the last, like if he kept going hard enough, fast enough, he could outrun the silence, the broadcast, the image of your face frozen in fear.

"Bakugou!" Kirishima tried again, chasing after him. "You don't even know where she is—!"

Bakugou didn't turn. Just barked over his shoulder, voice sharp and cracking with heat:

"Then I'll check her fuckin' apartment!"

He shoved through the exit doors without slowing down, the sound of them crashing open lost to the low hum of evening traffic. The sky was dimming fast, city lights flickering to life, but he didn't pause. Not for the dusk. Not for the burn in his lungs.

Not for anything.

Because maybe you were home. Maybe you were sitting in the dark, phone face-down, drowning in silence while the whole damn city tore you apart. And maybe, just maybe, if he got there fast enough, if he said something real for once—

Maybe it wouldn't be too late.

The moment his boots hit the pavement, Bakugou was already fumbling for his phone again, thumb slick with sweat as he redialed your number. The screen glared up at him — Calling: Y/N — before pressing cold to his ear.

One ring.

Two.

Three.

Still nothing.

He cursed under his breath, lowered it just long enough to glance at the screen, then hit redial again, faster this time. Another call. Another ring.

Still no answer.

His pace didn't slow. If anything, it picked up, feet pounding the sidewalk hard enough to sting his ankles, weaving through the crowd like a man possessed. Shoulders clipped, horns honked, voices barked at him from every direction, but he didn't hear a thing.

Didn't care.

All he could hear was the steady ring on the other end of the line, looping over and over like a warning bell. Like a countdown.

"Come on," he growled, breath catching. "Pick up. Pick up, damn it—"

Nothing.

He shoved the phone back against his ear, like pressing harder might force you to answer. But the line just rang again. And again.

Still no answer.

The ring cut off as he pulled the phone away from his ear again, jaw tight. He stared at the screen, Call Failed, like it had betrayed him.

"Fuck."

With a rough motion, he shoved the phone deep into his pocket, fingers clenching around it before letting go.

He didn't have time for this.

A few people nearby had started to notice him, turning their heads as he passed, whispering as they caught sight of the hero charging through the streets with fire in his eyes.

"Hey... was that Dynamite?"

"Yo, I think that was—!"

He didn't wait to hear the rest.

With a sharp pivot, Bakugou veered into the nearest alleyway, boots skidding on asphalt as he sparked his palms.

The first blast lit the sky in orange.