Kiss of Life | K. Bakugo

Chapter Twelve

TW: Violence, Gore

I jumped out of the back of the ambulance, ready to assist in any way I could, but I wasn't prepared for the scene in front of me.

The compound was a large, stony mansion that sat atop a hill, surrounded by forest. Thick smog overtook the entire structure, leaving only about ten meters of visibility. Blood stained the grass and gravel leading up the driveway. Explosions of varying color and content appeared and disappeared rapidly amongst the smoke. The sounds of battle were deafening. Screams, artillery, clanging of weaponry.

I made my way toward the gate where wounded heroes were literally being piled. Not all of them were living. We grabbed those we could, while the ambulance driver called for backup. I could hear a helicopter approaching in the distance.

Just at the edge of where I could see before the smog became too thick, a fight took place. A large, beast-like villain stood, preparing to attack. It was probably 15 feet tall, with long claws, sharp teeth, and thick fur. How could that possibly be someone's quirk? I thought, Is it even human?

It lunged toward a group of heroes attempting to capture it. I recognized Cellophane as he shot long strings of tape from his arms that wrapped around the beast's legs, toppling it over. The creature spun out, doing its best to take everyone around it down as it fell. I wondered if that was the thing that mauled Shoto during the last mission.

I returned my focus to the injured people in front of me, doing my best to drag them to safety with my limited strength. As I neared the fray, I saw what I thought was a group of victims lying, writhing on the ground, but when the image became clearer, it was the stuff of nightmares.

I guess it technically was a group of heroes laying on the ground, but their bodies looked like they had been melted together, their limbs becoming one with others' faces and appendages. I could hear some screaming, while others lacked the ability to even make noise based on the positioning of the amalgamation. Was this even reversible? I panicked, trying to figure out a way to help but quickly realized there was nothing I could do.

I heard a familiar sounding explosion behind me. My head snapped to the sound, knowing Katsuki was the source.

I couldn't tell who or what he was fighting because his target was on the roof, obscured from vision. My mouth went dry, however, when I realized it looked like strings were snaking through the sky toward him. Horikawa.

"Die!" I heard him yell, as he shot explosion after explosion toward the strings with one hand, while he used the other to propel himself through the air. I watched him fight while fear shook me to the core. He expertly dodged or incinerated each attack, making his way toward the front lawn.

Then, without warning, a projectile shot through the sky from behind Katsuki. Time slowed to a crawl as I watched the missile-like object get closer and closer to his body. He didn't see it! He wasn't looking!

"Katsuki!" I screamed, trying to warn him. He looked my way, shock evident across his face. At the last second he finally realized the danger I was trying to alert him to. He immediately contorted his body toward the missile and shot off an explosion, trying to stop its trajectory, but it was too late. It ripped straight through the center of his body.

Still suspended in midair for a moment, blood poured from the gaping hole in his abdomen, and he suddenly plummeted toward the earth.

I don't know what came over me, but I took off at top speed toward his falling figure, right in the middle of battle. His inanimate body landed on the ground a few feet in front of me with a loud thud.