Speak (Bakugou Katsuki x Reader)

[36; together we shall]

"How could you say something like that, Katsuki-kun...?"

You stared up at him, knees collapsed and eyes overflowing with tears. Katsuki coughed and wheezed. He was no longer staring at the hero before him, and even All Might made no motion to move.

Of all people, Bakugou Katsuki was willing to surrender—simply because he was unwilling to cooperate with his teammate. Here he was, the boy who faced all obstacles with everything he had, even if the odds of winning were low and pressures high. You'd seen him be less afraid of villains than working together with Izuku.

What a load of shit.

"[Name]," he began, barely croaking out his words, "I just can't—"

"Pull yourself together, already...!!"

Out of nowhere, Izuku's form came soaring through the air, fist colliding square with the blonde's jaw. The force sent Katsuki spinning a few meters back, and Izuku rushed forward in turn, grappling him by the arm. His emerald eyes flickered back towards your form.

"[Name]-chan!" he cried out, "follow us, now!"

You didn't have energy in spades, and there was probably only a select few times at most that you could safely use your life-speed without collapsing from fatigue. Nonetheless, this was the best opening you'd had in a long time. Katsuki was still groggy and disoriented, and didn't have the strength to shake off Izuku's grip. You sped past All Might, matching your allies' pace. If you could just get out of the hero's sights for a few moments and regroup, maybe you still had a chance at salvaging this thing.

"Get the fuck...off me," Katsuki muttered, flailing weakly in Izuku's arms. "I said get off me, Deku you little—"

"Katsuki-kun, shut up."

His head lolled forward, eyes widening into saucers as he looked up at you. Unlike earlier, your voice no longer rang gentle and concerned. Your irritation was as plain as day, but at this point, you were past hiding it.

"She's right," Izuku frowned. "Giving up doesn't sound like you at all. Why not at least try using me before jumping the gun like that? I definitely don't want to hear you of all people saying that it's fine to lose!"

Katsuki grimaced, but didn't manage a retort. You'd managed to put some distance in between yourselves and All Might, though it was more than likely he was just toying with you and allowing you a bit of a head-start. The time you had was incredibly limited, for sure.

"As of now, we've still got a ways to go until we reach the exit gate. All Might will find us in no time before we even get close." You'd hidden in the narrow alley in between two buildings. You and Izuku were standing upright on one side; Katsuki was slowly regaining control of his body and steadying himself on his feet. "We can't afford to keep messing around anymore," you spoke, narrowing your eyes in Katsuki's direction. "I know I'd said I'd support you, Katsuki-kun, but I refuse to do it if means that you're just going to give up. I didn't sign up for this. I expected you to try your very best, right up until the end."

He pressed his lips together, saying nothing.

"I don't care what it takes," you went on, "or how hard we have to work for it. I just want to leave here knowing that none of us will have any regrets about not giving it our all."

You took a step forward. Katsuki was averting your gaze, reacting only when he felt your fingers cup his cheek. You offered him a small smile.

"Please, Katsuki-kun. I know you have it in you to do this."