Protecting You (Katsuki Bakugo x Reader)

Chapter 80- Hero for Hire

Mirio slowly retracted his fist before leaning back and kneeling on the ground. Sweat dripped from his forehead down the side of his face, his golden hair completely disheveled as he panted. 

"I knew it...I knew it...I'm sorry...I had to (y/n)...I'm sorry..." Mirio panted out as he watched you come to terms with the recent information he threw your way. With your scarlet eyes fading back to their usual color, you sat up silently with bated breath, waiting for everything to process. Even before you knew what was happening, Katsuki was making his way towards you. It would only be a few seconds before you would burst.

And you did.

Loud, heart-aching sobs croaked from your chest as you held your face in your hands like a child. Mirio leaned forward and hugged you close to offer some sort of relief and support, your sobs becoming muffled in his chest. 

"It's okay...it's okay..." He tried to soothe you, but you were lost in the flood of emotion...and relief.

The Doctor tortured you for weeks. He tried everything he could to extract your quirk completely...to remove the last connection you had to your family. All of that pain and suffering you have endured...and The Doctor still failed. Your love and dedication to the people you cared for most allowed you to surpass whatever limits your body had. You were stronger than you thought...and Mirio knew it the whole time. 

"I'll take over, Tintin," Katsuki spoke with a mellow voice from your side as he sat down on the grass, letting you crawl into his arms. He was trying everything he could to hide his growing excitement over the fact you weren't truly quirkless. The guilt he felt inside from you sacrificing your quirk to save Dabi from him had eaten away his insides like acid...and now he felt intense relief. 

"Katsuki! I-...I'm not-...I-..." You could barely get a word out as the emotional overload and memories of your time locked with Eri in that iron cage was lifted from you. 

"I know baby, and I'm so proud of you," Katsuki murmured into your hair. Katsuki lifted his face from you to look at Mirio who was catching his breath from the stress he felt. If he was wrong...well, he didn't want to think about what would have happened to you. Katsuki held you in his arms and ran his fingers over your back delicately just as his mom used to do for him as a child. Katsuki was prone to tantrums and for some reason, this featherlight caress on the back was what got him to relax every time. It seemed to work for you too as you rested your head against his shoulder, so comfortable that you could have fallen asleep. "How did you know?" Katsuki asked Mirio.

"The flower Eri gave her at the festival...when Mineta pissed her off, the flower just disappeared through her and fell on the ground. I had a feeling that since she wasn't hit with a destroying drug like me that there was a chance that it could be reawakened. It was a gamble...a huge freaking gamble...but I know her and my quirk well enough to know that it is strongest when you feel like you're about to die. It's a defensive quirk...that's what it's meant for...and she just needed a good enough reason to use it." Before Katsuki could even respond, you turned around and pointed at Mirio.

"You better take that fucking vial or so help me God I will fucking stab you with it," you gritted towards your quirk companion. Mirio chuckled while standing up, walking over to Katsuki who was holding it out for him to take.

"Alright...you win." You had to look away when Mirio injected himself with it since the sight of needles drove you into a state of panic. When he was done, you looked at the boy that saved you after the Hagakure fight that felt like forever ago...the boy that went out of his way to never hold it against you that his quirk was copied. He was the one who helped you decorate your room...to take your very first physical picture with...he was a hero you could trust. Mirio stared at his arms and hands with a growing smile on his sunshine face. His eyes held a glow in them that was unmistakable, and with a bright pearly grin, they shifted from blue to red.