𝓥𝓲𝓬𝓽𝓸𝓻 | Katsuki Bakugou x Male reader

Chapter 11

He stayed there, hunched over, dry heaving as there was nothing else left to come out. After a few seconds it finally stopped. He leaned back against the stone, taking in shaky breaths while waiting for the lightheadedness to pass. He knew he should be moving, but if he stood up he would most likely pass out, so he decided to give himself one minute to recover. During that time he reorganised the supplies that he had carelessly shoved into his bag before.

(M/N) hadn't been in this part of the forest before, since there were no large rocks like the one he was resting on during his previous travels.

Where are the gamemakers driving me? Back towards the lake? To a new terrain filled with dangers? (M/N) didn't fully understand their intentions, but he knew whatever they were, they weren't good. He probably wouldn't be able to make it back to the pond, not with the wall of fire at least. But it would have to come to an end at some point, not because the gamemakers wouldn't be able to keep it fueled, but because they'd receive accusations of boredom from the audience.

(M/N) decided he would try to loop back around, though it would require miles of travel away from the inferno.

His plans were cut short when a fireball blasted into the rock about half a metre above his head, (M/N) leaped out from under the stone, energised by new fear. It was then that he understood the fire was just to get them moving, but now the audience would get to see some real fun.

As soon as he heard the next hiss, he dived to the ground, just in time to hear it fly over his head and into a nearby tree, sending it up in flames. He was already on his feet as soon as it passed over him, not even two seconds later, another fireball hit the ground where he previously was.

(M/N) could do nothing but desperately try to dodge every fireball sent his way, he didn't know where they were being launched from. They would come from the side, directly in his path, and from behind.

Years of watching the Hunger Games let (M/N) know that certain areas of the arena were rigged for certain attacks, so if he could just get away from this section, he would be out of reach of the launchers, wherever they were.

(M/N) didn't know how long he spent dodging and weaving incoming fireballs, but at some point the attacks began to slow down, which was good for him because he had started retching again. (M/N) was forced to stop as his body convulsed, desperately trying to rid itself of the fumes he'd been inhaling the entire time. Even in this painful state, he made sure to keep all his senses on high alert, waiting for the next hissing noise to fill his ears, but it didn't come.

(M/N) stood there, hunched over with his face scrunched up as he tried to regain control over his body, to stop retching, to be able to breathe, when his ears registered the hissing.

His muscles reacted, though not fast enough, as a fireball slammed into the ground directly next to him, but not before it grazed across his right calf. He shouted and dropped to the ground, rolling his leg back and forth which stifled most of the fire, but in his state of panic he ripped away the remaining fabric with his bare hands.

(M/N) sat there, a few metres from the blaze set off by the fireball. His calf was screaming and his hands were covered in red welts. He was shaking too hard to move, if the gamemakers wanted to finish him off, that would have been the perfect time.

(M/N) could only imagine what a good laugh they must've been having. Perhaps Keigo's amazing costumes had brought on this particular punishment for him. Though (M/N) knew he couldn't have foreseen this. He believed that Keigo really did care about him.

Maybe showing up completely naked in that chariot would have been safer for me...

The attack seemed to be over. The gamemakers didn't want him dead, not yet anyway. It was common knowledge that they could destroy everyone within seconds of the opening bell. The real fun in the Hunger Games however, was watching the tributes kill each other. Every so often they would kill off a tribute or two just to remind the players that they can. But they mostly just manipulate them into confronting each other face to face. Which meant, since (M/N) was no longer being fired at, there was at least one other tribute nearby.