The Tinker

Chapter 36 - Gunshot

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.