Explosive Touch [Bakugo Katsuki x OC] - Book 3

Chapter 5 - There Was Silence •2͏h͘r͞s•̛

"So, we going back to camp then?" Atsuhi muttered, sound muffled by the hand still covering her mouth in order to avoid a repetition of her earlier mistake by breathing in more of the no doubt dangerous gas still covering the surrounding area just as persistently.

"I'm worried about the others too... but we passed by Ragdoll at the halfway point before the gas appeared, so she should be able to handle that area. Plus, Mandalay said so in her message," responded Todoroki, walking in the lead, as he carried an unconscious Tsuburaba from class B on his back and regained his cool-headed nature even in such dire circumstances.

"They're just orderin' us around, goddammit," grumbled Bakugo, a hand put in front of his mouth too. He stood beside Atsuhi, the two walking at an even pace as his furrowed brows gave way to the minimal worry he felt, no matter how firmly he refused to express it verbally.

The three's footsteps were the only sound beside the light breeze picking up stray leaves to echo around the trees they were surrounded by. As such, it was no less than jarring to hear the pairs of footsteps suddenly decrease from three to two.

Startled from the unexpected change, Atsuhi glanced up at Todoroki, only to find him frozen still, and though it was only his back she could see, she assumed that he was staring at something up ahead. As the girl shifted her eyes to look on in the same direction, the other two pairs of footsteps went completely silent too.

"W-what is this...!?" Atsuhi breathed out, wide eyes fixated on the hunched figure up ahead. She first took note of the person's appearance.
They wore clad in only black, which covered their entire body. Here and there, something akin to restraints seemed to have been wrapped around them, restricting their arms and legs. The person moved sharply and with a twitch, muttering something about flesh and job underneath their breath.

"Oi, which pair went ahead of us...?" Bakugo asked cautiously, moving a step or two in front of Atsuhi.

"Tokoyami-kun and..." The girl glanced at the chunk of flesh beside the person's foot. "Shoji-kun..." She felt her heartbeat quicken at the sight of the bloody disembodied hand beside what she had now officially deemed to be a villain.

"Do not engage, huh..."

All three stood frozen still, as the villain slowly turned to face them, revealing a mostly covered face except for the sight of his disgusting mouth, held open by force via metal pieces attached to the black suit that looked much like that of a prisoner.

"Atsuhi... is this guy familiar at all?" Todoroki broke the silence, albeit with a quiet question, as if that was going to save them when the enemy already knew that they were there.

I might have heard about a lot of villains from my parents... but...

"Never seen him in my life..." she managed to squeak out through gritted teeth, as she gripped her fists in anticipation of his next move. This was not how this night was supposed to go.

The villain moved, turning in a speed so painstakingly slow, it only made the girl's heart beat faster.

And suddenly, her eyes widened.

"Bakugo-kun!!" she cried, turning towards the boy who only looked at her in surprise, as she pushed him away, the two tumbling down together.

Grunting when her elbows scraped the ground as she fell on her side beside the ash blond, it was only after a sudden ring from somewhere nearby that Atsuhi opened her tightly-shut eyes. Looking back towards the villain, she could now see the dozens of sharp blades sprouting from his mouth. And, more importantly, the single blade which had lodged itself within the ground a little ways beside her leg, where Bakugo had been standing moments prior, just until she'd pushed him out of the way of the momentary attack.