Protecting You (Katsuki Bakugo x Reader)

Chapter 12- Betrayal

"Kick his ass." You heard Katsuki say from next to you, his thumb rubbing light circles on your hand. You looked up to see your name and picture on the jumbotron, Iida's next to yours. You sighed before grinning at Katsuki, moving your hand away from his warmth reluctantly.

"To the finals," you both grinned brightly at one another, but the sun reflecting a glow in those scarlet eyes left your chest feeling airy. You quickly made your way down the stairs that led to the locker rooms, taking the time to shake off your anxious excitement, then proceeded through the back doors to head towards the center stage. The audience roared with excitement as you walked towards the patient Midnight and Iida, the infamous brother of one of the fastest heroes, Ingenium. You had your work cut out for you. Midnight acknowledged you with a subtle nod, soon asking you and Iida if you were ready. Her feminine voice was nearly wiped out from the deafening sound of cheering from the audience.

For some reason, this didn't feel anything like when you did your mercenary work. You felt your sweat turn to ice, your heart racing, your fingers twitching...the sensation reminded you of every single time a cat was backed into the corner with every hair on its back raised. It wasn't like the earlier stages where there were plenty of students to watch and you could blend in the background. You didn't have a choice but become the center of attention now. 

You glanced at the doorway towards the locker rooms to see a tall man with shining gold hair, a pearly white grin, and a big thumbs up aimed directly at you.

Despite all of the noise and the endless chants surrounding you, for just a moment, you were just a little girl that needed reassurance everything was going to be okay. The sigh that escaped your lips alleviated a long forgotten weight that had lingered undisturbed for nearly a decade. It was the first time you truly understood why he smiled so much.

"BEGIN!" Midnight's arm and hand came down like a bar between you and Iida, signaling the start of the challenge. Survival instincts kicked in with a standard of professional coldness that observant viewers were startled by. You instantly had to shuffle away from Iida as he attempted to rush you to put you out of bounds. You jumped away, constantly light on your feet as you hopped from one spot to another, dodging him without using your quirk yet. His glasses reflected white in the light, giving away his position even though he was just a blur in your eyes. You had no time to activate either ghost or teleportation since the boy never gave you the chance.

What were you going to do? Tire him out?

You stood in the center of the stage as Iida seemingly came from all sides. You've been dodging him with your natural reflexes for several minutes, and he knew that he couldn't use his ultimate move because it took too long to charge. You observed how he ran, looking directly at you, and never what's above or below him. 

Perhaps I can teleport after all.

Before Iida could turn back after missing the hit, you teleported high enough in the stadium to avoid anyone realizing where you were. The moment you hovered in the air, you felt completely at peace. It was quiet...the wind was cold...but the sun above you felt so warm. 

You began to fall with Iida thinking he clipped you and sent you over the edge of the platform, once peaceful breeze morphing into sharp whips near your ears.

He paused a hair too long in one spot near the edge of the arena, only for you to teleport behind him and use the velocity of the prior free fall to kick him off of the platform.

The moment the shock of the kick entered your leg, a sharp pinch in your ankle had you gritting your teeth. Iida's face and chest skid across the grass surrounding the arena with his feet curled in a full scorpion over his head. The silent gasp in the audience was just before a raging cheer of praise, your image plastered across the TV for all to see.