They only had about 10 more minutes of walking until they would reach where Y/N parked her bike.
As much as is sucked to be powerless, it was a relief to have someone like Katsuki protecting her. He didn't take the task lightly. He had insisted that she walk in front of him so that she was always within his field of vision, and he would snatch her wrist and stop her from walking at the slightest noise. In all honestly, her wrist was starting to hurt, but it was better than being murdered by a hidden villain.
It was difficult to see in the dark, and Bakugou refused to let her use her phone flashlight to see where she was going, not even at the lowest setting. "You trying to call Batman? Turn that shit off. You're gonna signal our position," he had snapped. It made sense, but because she was walking in front, she kept running into branches and tripping over rocks. Bakugou seemed to be holding back laughter every time she did so which was getting on her nerves.
Y/N had never experienced this amount adrenaline coursing through her system, even in all of her times as Whirlwind. No amount of hero work compared to this. She felt invisible eyes on her, tracing her every move, waiting for her to slip up; but every once in a while, Bakugou's arm would brush against hers, and it was a stark reminder that she was safe.
His aura alone felt like a forcefield keeping danger away from her. He was like a grumpy guard dog. As a hero, he'd never be great with verbal reassurance-- but the safety she felt knowing he was behind her was weirdly empowering. Bakugou was one of the strongest fighters in the world, and the energy he radiated only proved it. He watched after her silently; Nobody was going to lay a finger on her with him around.
Looking ahead, Y/N could make out the silhouette of the van-- and next to it, her bike. She sighed with relief, breaking into a sprint now that it was in her field of view, but an angry hand yanked her backwards and slammed her against the nearest tree.
"What the hell--" Y/N started angrily, but Bakugou covered her mouth with one hand and with the other put a finger to his lips, gesturing for her to be quiet. He had her pressed firmly against the tree. Without moving his finger away from his lips, he peeked around the tree and his eyes deepened into a glare.
Y/N wanted to see what was going on but Bakugou held her in place. She could feel his breathing on her neck, and his heart started beating faster as he watched the scene unfold. Y/N finally heard what he was looking at.
"This is getting us nowhere. You don't even know that this is hers."
Bakugou's hand dropped from her mouth and pointed for her to look, still gesturing for her to be quiet. He crouched down, pulling her with him.
Behind Y/N's bike were two figures. It was too dark to see any distinguishable features, but one of them was noticeably taller. They were clearly talking to each other.
"It's gotta be hers. The bitch has spent a lot of time on this, I can see it."
Bakugou's glare deepened.
"This could be her boyfriend's. We're wasting our time. We should be searching the campsite so we can get to her first, or someone else is going to get the bounty," the taller one argued.
The short one threw up his arms in anger. "If you'd rather search the hundred acre campground, be my guest. I'm going to stay here. This bike is worth at least two million yen; if it's hers, she's coming back for it."
The taller guy sighed in frustration, but didn't argue. Y/N's blood boiled seeing him touch her motorcycle.
"I'm going to create a distraction. As soon as they leave, you get on that damn bike and go, as fast as you can. I'll catch up to you," Bakugou whispered, standing up to leave.
Y/N grabbed his hand. "No fucking way. I'm not letting them go after you. We don't know how dangerous they are," she hissed at him.
He crouched back down, giving her one of the most intense looks she'd ever seen. "Listen to me. We need to get you out of here as soon as fucking possible. It sounds like there are other people here looking for your ass. That bike is our ticket out of here. I will catch up with you. Got it?" he said, his voice just above a whisper.
Y/N wanted desperately to protest, but Bakugou's confidence was contagious. She reluctantly nodded. He stayed on the ground with her, not looking away, keeping his body pressed against hers. He looked like he wanted to say something; she was close enough that his huffs of breath warmed her cheeks. For the smallest moment, Y/N saw fear in his eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it had come.
His gloves reached up and gripped her face. "Don't do anything stupid, alright Tinkerbell?" he whispered, and with that, he vanished into the darkness of the trees.
Those moments alone were hell. She sat frozen behind the tree, waiting for the distraction to come. The more minutes past the more worried she got. Had he gotten hurt? Did he get caught? What if he--
BOOM!
To her left, in the direction he had gone, an explosion flashed and a mushroom cloud of smoke formed. If she listened carefully, she could hear his evil laugh, and the sound melted away her anxieties.
Sure enough, the two men that had been guarding her bike looked up in surprise before dashing towards the explosion. As soon as they were out of sight, Y/N bolted to the bike. In only a few seconds, she slammed on her helmet, turned the key, knocked back the kickstand, started the engine, and twisted back the accelerator on the handle.
The sound was deafening. Anybody within a mile of her would be able to hear it. The headlights finally allowed her to see where she was going for the first time in the last hour, but the darkness in the trees around her felt like it was looming in behind her. For the first while it was going to be a dirt path, which meant she had to be careful. If she wasn't smart about her speed, small hills could launch her like a Mario Kart racer and destroy her motorcycle.
None of these fears, however, compared to the worry she had for Bakugou. Because they didn't know what those villains quirks were, he was at a major disadvantage, especially in the dark. She was praying to any God that would listen that he would be safe. She blasted down the dirt road, trying not to let the fear paralyze her.
She was about a mile away from where she started now, and that worry was sinking deeper into her gut. There was no sign of him and the roar of the motorcycle made it impossible to hear anything else. What if he had called out to her and she hadn't heard? What if he was hurt?
"TINKERBELL!"
Y/N could've cried in relief hearing that voice. She braked as quickly as the bike would allow without her getting thrown off the front. Because she didn't know where she was, she could only wait until--
Bakugou slammed onto the ground in front of her, sticking the landing. "GO GO GO!" He roared, climbing onto the back of her bike.
"PUT ON THE HELMET! NOW!" Y/N demanded.
"JESUS CHRIST, GO!" He cried, slamming the helmet on over his face and wrapping his arms around her as she hit the gas again.
The dirt path had turned into asphalt now, which meant she could really drive. She yanked on the gas grip, catapulting them into dangerous speeds. "Don't fucking let go!" She yelled.
"NO SHIT!"
Y/N hadn't had time to see who was chasing them, but she suddenly understood the gravity of the situation with she heard several gunshots. "What the hell?! This fucker has a gun?!" She shrieked, making an effort to no longer drive in a straight line.
"Yeah, and the fucker shot me," Bakugou spat. "Keep going! I'll handle those shitheads!"
Y/N had never gone this fast before. Period. The wind was almost painful against her knuckles at their speed. They were approaching 140 miles an hour, and she didn't feel much better about it when she felt Bakugou twist around and shoot a giant explosion from his palm.
"How the hell are they keeping up with us?!" she shrieked. Were they in a car or something?!
"The dumbass can fly," Bakugou growled, shooting another explosion. His quirk was making it difficult to steer, but she didn't dare complain. Whatever the hell he was doing, it was probably keeping them safe. Bakugou's grip around her waist was deathly tight, but she was grateful for it. Knowing he was safe on the back was better than having him off in the woods somewhere fighting God knows who to save her.
Suddenly, a bright green flash erupted right in front of her bike, launching straight up into the air above them.
Y/N yelped in shock. "IT'S DEKU!" Bakugou cackled.
That was the first time, and most like the only time, Y/N would ever hear Bakugou happy to see his rival.
There were too many sounds coming from behind Y/N for her to tell what was happening. Focusing on driving was getting more and more difficult. She started hearing blasts and yells. Both of Bakugou's arms were around her now, holding onto her for dear life as she increased her speed further.
The sounds of explosions seemed to fade into the distance behind them as the minutes passed. Whatever had happened seemed to be left in the dust; but before she could feel relieved, Bakugou's grip around her started to weaken.
"Bakugou!" She yelled. "You gotta stay with me, don't you dare fucking let go!"
There was no response, which made a jolt of fear shoot up her spine. Just keep driving. It's going to be okay. He's going to be okay. He has to.
"Kat. Kat, talk to me," she ordered.
"Keep going," he snapped, but his voice was weak. A really bad feeling started to grow in her stomach. He was leaning his head against her back now, not moving much.
"Where did he hit you?"
"The asshole got me in the stomach," he grumbled. "Fuck. It hurts."
"Hey. You gotta stay awake, okay? You gotta keep your eyes open. Don't let go of me." His fingers squeezed her shirt, but they were shaking as he did so. No, no, no. He had to be okay.
The next several minutes, tears were streaming down her face. She knew whatever had happened was really bad. He was fading quickly, she could tell from his grip. She called out for him and his responses were getting quieter and weaker until he wasn't responding. Her bike was going as fast as it could handle.
She saw Iida in the distance. He noticed her flashing her brights at him and he dashed to meet her, his legs lighting up with his quirk. She slowed to a halt and she realized she was sobbing.
"He's hurt, he got shot, I couldn't stop driving, I--" Her chest was heaving with sobs. Iida lifted Bakugou from the back of her bike, and Y/N realized that the back of her jacket was soaked in his blood. It was dripping down her bike onto the road. "Oh my God, no, he's got to be okay, he--"
Other people had approached the bike now, but she was crying so hard that she couldn't tell who. "Is he going to be okay? This is all my fault--" There was an arm around her now, pulling her away from the bike and leading her towards the building as she cried.
She looked up and saw Iida carrying Bakugou in through the doors, doctors swarming them.
Uraraka was the one holding her, and she hugged Y/N tightly as she sobbed.