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@hissuccessor inquired : please don't go ( end me ) ╱ asks from my other blog.

𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗘 𝗞𝗔𝗧𝗦𝗨𝗞𝗜 𝗛𝗔𝗗 𝗠𝗔𝗗𝗘 𝗛𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙 𝗦𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗔𝗚𝗢, 𝗧𝗢 𝗞𝗘𝗘𝗣 𝗜𝗭𝗨𝗞𝗨 𝗦𝗔𝗙𝗘, 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗜𝗧 𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗦 . it was an unwavering promise he made before they entered their first war, something he made sure to fulfil in the second, one he nearly carried with him to the grave ╱ because if one of them had to carry a legacy on his shoulders, persevere with it, be the hero that he was granted the powers to be, then every step katsuki makes would strengthen izuku’s future too. it was not a promise that was meant to usurp the young bakugou’s own goals, but to remind the other to be there in the moment, alive ; to walk through life knowing it’s worth living.

it did not mean he wanted his career to be cut short. it did not mean he wanted for dynamight to be short-lived in the span of heroic histories ⸺ a bright spark of light, snuffed out too soon ⸺ but a promise is a promise.

even if nobody knew until the end.

one would think that villainy would be at an all time low with the absence of their biggest names in history, the void of a voice to lead them ╱ but villainy persists, and katsuki is one of the few heroes who carries a no-tolerance rule in their society, effective in villain capture and detainment. dynamight has earned a spot in japan’s up-and-coming heroes as someone who was efficient at everything he does : but he has yet to surpass izuku midoriya, hero deku, on the charts. katsuki likes to choke this up to their fanbases ⸺ people seem to prefer the more classic take on heroism, someone straight out of a comic book, and katsuki’s hero persona was anything but. ( but he never wants to sacrifice his authenticity, and so he falls a bit behind, just enough to miss out on beating his friend. )

today is a rare day that hero dynamight receives an urgent team-up request from the other hero in question. it’s something about an undercover mission they need extra hands for, a sticky situation where the firepower was needed, but it required a delicate touch that izuku knew katsuki could manage. izuku keeps the information light while informing him of the risk of civilian lives, the potential of an underworld bust on dangerous substances, the risk they had themselves by going in ╱ but hero dynamight, undeterred by such odds, accepts the request without hesitation.

he tells the agency to prepare and mobilise : all hands on deck, all sidekicks ready to support in the relief efforts. the short notice means nothing to the blond as he slips on his mask and gauntlets to go to the location specified by the other hero ⸺ and as the agency pulls itself together and sidekicks start flooding out the doors, with the explosive hero following suit, there is a sense of uneasiness as dynamight steps onto the streets. they are ultimately unaware of what is about to happen : even less aware, perhaps, that their quick glances and hushed whispers at the sight of the pro hero could be the very last time they ever see the hero on their streets again. ( ah, but there hasn’t been any reports on crime surging in their prefecture ╱ what is there to worry about ? even with dynamight’s agency on sudden high alert, even with the hero himself making his presence known, why should they ever think that they were looking at the possibility of loss ? )

katsuki makes it to the location ⸺ on top of a building, overlooking the city they were about to send into unrest ⸺ and sees deku, unmasked and cape wrapped tightly around his neck, kept close. the blond strides over and offers a quick pat on the shoulder.

❝ couldn’t keep me outta yer shit, huh ? ❞ katsuki says it bluntly, but the underlying tone is one of teasing, almost playfulness. he is almost thankful to be there. ( there comes an issue with being too good at one’s job ╱ villains never want to try and mess with his district, and while it’s a great thing, it gets a bit boring dragging in petty criminals. to be in a huge bust like this ? at least it’d be fun. ) ❝ they ain’t gonna stand a chance against us, y’know. fuck, they’re gonna run the other way when you show up. y’probably didn’t even need me here. ❞

he offers a grin for a moment before finally cutting to the chase. with a better guarantee nobody could know what they were on about, katsuki presses for a bit more information on what they were dealing with. it’s a drug bust ╱ they aren’t sure what the nature of the drug was, but there have been a few variants of different things that lingered after the wars, some with devastating effects. the reason they needed more people was because there were reports of civilians being held captive for ransom. or, worst case scenario, they were guinea pigs ⸺ both situations deplorable, and both reminding the hero that he was glad his agency were on top of rescue efforts. the final part of it all was that they had reason to believe that the criminals were prepared to counter even the strongest of the pro heroes ╱ that included them.

it was no wonder deku requested a team-up. this was a nasty situation with too many factors that could go wrong : but katsuki, with determination in crimson and grin filled with poorly shielded rage, would seek the perfect victory.

night falls and the two pros have since moved from their meet-up point to another roof closer to the location, using the cloak of darkness to better approach the determined location of the criminals they were taking in. their comms are on : dynamight hears the familiar voice of uravity through the private line they share, monitoring from her location on the north side, followed up by tsukuyomi’s own clarifying his position in the east. he then hears creati coming in from the west ⸺ katsuki wonders if izuku extended the team-up invitation to most of their class, seeing as they were all capable heroes in their own rights now. it would make sense, at least ╱ they were all trained by the best.

he takes the chance to pitch in through the comms : ❝ ‘s dynamight. deku and i are in position in the south. who’s givin’ us the go ? ❞

❝ it’ll be ingenium, ❞ returns creati’s voice, ❝ he’s currently leading the scouting team to scope out the place and make sure it’s clear for us to go in. he has vantablack and lizardy with him, so we’re in very capable hands. ❞

ah. members of former 1b ? katsuki turns off his comm and huffs.

❝ got a hell of a lotta pros out here, deku. i dunno if i like it. ❞ crimson turns to the other in the darkness, brows furrowed. ❝ we dunno what the hell they got in there ‘n they could very well be plannin’ t’use whatever the fuck this drug is to hit us hard. we better have our priorities right. ❞

whatever izuku says in response is quickly overshadowed by the blond turning on his comm again to listen for iida, biting back any retort. he is nervous ╱ the sudden lack of information was becoming more vital every second they spend waiting, and katsuki is sure that these villains haven’t gotten themselves in a bad position without contingencies. these kinds of organised criminals don’t just reveal things like this.

what was the drug for ? why leak information now ? did the commission have more information than they’re giving to their heroes ? ⸺ and if they were, then this was a dangerous game they were playing, being kept in the dark. hero society was barely recovering after the wars : they can’t afford another hefty blow.

and the presence of civilians inside was discouraging at best for the explosive hero, terrifying at worst ╱ why were they there ? there had to have been a surge of missing persons reports in some prefectures, especially the one they’re in right now, and if there were, was there no definite conclusion on relation ? did they all share similar quirks ? were they all of a specific age group, gender, or were they too random to determine ? the blond grumbles in thought ⸺ he has plans to ask. he’d figure out what the hell was really going on behind the scenes once they’d clamped down on these assholes.

izuku asks about what he’s thinking about.

❝ nothin’, ❞ he offers after a brief silence, ❝ dun worry about it. ❞

❝ ingenium reporting in, ❞ cuts through the comms, and katsuki is already at his feet and on the edge of the building, looking down at their target. ❝ once the alarm is sounded by vantablack on the east side of the building, you’re all clear to move in. tsukuyomi will be keeping the majority of their forces preoccupied. uravity, creati, be prepared to work on the rescue efforts. deku and great explosion murder god dynamight, you’re tasked with finding and destroying the majority of the drugs, but leave some for forensic analysis ! ❞

katsuki glances at izuku and rolls his eyes at the comment. he can see the freckled hero stifle a laugh as he snaps back : ❝ dun tell me what to do, sonic the hedgehog. ❞

the seconds tick by. a minute passes, and katsuki’s hands twitch, the warmth emanating through his gloves briefly before cooling down again. as soon as he hears the wailing of the alarm from the east, the blond turns his gaze to izuku with a wide grin, and immediately jumps off the building into the fray ╱ the guards are taken down by the pro within seconds, knocked out and thrown aside before he blasts his way through the door.

subtlety was never his strong suit.

but with most of the forces fleeing to the east side of the building to deal with one of their most powerful classmates, heroes deku and dynamight find very little resistance as they begin their search through the building ⸺ any resistance they encounter is easily squandered by their combined strength. katsuki finds himself slamming open the doors to every room they pass ╱ some have civilians, scared and huddled away, eyes brightening when they see two of their best up-and-coming heroes at their rescue. katsuki has to call on his sidekicks to hurry the hell up a few times.

but as they keep running into civilians and finding little evidence of the drug ever being there, the bakugou begins to question their information. what were they missing ? why was it that they were told the drug was likely being housed on the south side, but all they’ve found so far were dozens of civilians scared out of their minds ?

❝ the hell ? we shoulda found something by now. ❞ katsuki slams the next door open to meet an empty room, growling in frustration, quickly opening their comms. ❝ oi, dynamight here. we haven’t found the drugs yet. ❞

❝ what ? ❞ the shock in creati’s voice is evident. ❝ are you sure ? the information was reliable when we received it, they should be in the south side … are there multiple levels that you haven’t explored yet ? ❞ a pause. katsuki’s eyes narrow as he listens to her quickly usher more civilians in the correct direction. ❝ try heading towards tsukuyomi’s position, quickly. it’s possible they moved the drugs to throw off our intelligence. ❞

❝ or they were never here. ❞ katsuki storms down the hall towards the east part of the building regardless, gesturing for izuku to follow. ❝ worse, they had this planned all along, and they’re gonna use ‘em to take out the biggest players on the field. ❞

❝ then you shouldn’t ⸺ ! ❞

katsuki cuts in. ❝ fuck that ! i ain’t letting this stupid mission go to shit, and neither should you, so you keep focusing the damn rescues ! ❞

❝ but if your hypothesis is sound, we would be risking some of the biggest heroes in our society right now by sending you both in. we cannot afford to be ⸺ ❞

❝ i said focus the rescues ! i’ll call in when i fix this shit. ❞ katsuki takes out the in-built comm device from his mask and pockets it, turning to the freckled hero with frustration settling behind his eyes. ❝ don’t do anything stupid, got it ? they’re gonna be looking to wreck our shit when we get there, and the last thing i need’s anything less than a perfect victory against these assholes. ❞

with or without mutual agreement, dynamight uses his quirk to close the distance between them and tsukuyomi with ease ╱ and when he shows up, he sees the full might of dark shadow working their hardest to keep tokoyami safe at the core, using the shield of darkness to their advantage while the other heroes swoop in. the villains in question are undeniably carrying some power ⸺ quirk wise, and it seems most are carrying some guns, or even some needles with a substance in them. katsuki assumes the worst with the presence of the needles : the drugs were there, somewhere, but they can’t pinpoint the location. and if they can’t pinpoint it …

well, there was one thing he could do.

it requires getting his former classmate out of there, first. his dance of detonations begin and the villains are hard-pressed to keep up with his speed, izuku’s strength, and tsukuyomi’s overwhelming presence when they all work together. katsuki makes it a point to condense his explosions so dark shadow isn’t as affected ╱ and it doesn’t take long for them to get what villains tsukuyomi couldn’t get on his own, the explosive hero brushing off his shoulder with a scoff when the dust settles.

( he shouldn’t have assumed that everything was going to settle ⸺ nothing was ever so simple. why would it be ? )

the next round of villains flood the room with more numbers, more quirks which were meant to counter theirs, whatever the substance was at their disposal. each wave they end up facing requires a bigger demand from the blond, from tsukuyomi and deku, from their quirks and their tactics as they fight them off. this was starting to go wrong. tsukuyomi was supposed to have taken care of most the opposition ╱ these numbers were still ridiculously high for what they were facing, and many were determined to get close enough to them despite all of them being efficient close-combat fighters. and then, there was a point where they were beginning to get pushed back ⸺ and a point where even izuku, with all his quirks and the strength of one for all, was in serious danger.

( i’ll keep izuku safe, whatever it takes. he told himself this in the ending days of their first year at u.a., before they marched onto a battlefield and faced horrors that 16 year old kids should never have to face. he told himself something similar way back when he was young, too, before their fallout and after he’d gotten his quirk ╱ i’ll keep him safe, the young bakugou had said, so proudly and brightly to inko midoriya herself, brimming grin the only factor she needed to know he was speaking the truth. )

it’s like the first war again. katsuki sees the threat long before izuku can react, overwhelmed by the presence of so many others, and his body moves without thinking. the promise lingers in the back of his mind for a moment as he shoves the green-haired hero out of the way and feels the foreign object pierce through his body ╱ through his lung, the offending item removed to make him choke on his blood, blood seeping into already-dark costume as he uses his strafe panzer to fend off the villains on this side. ( he needs to stop finding himself in these situations : his body is littered with the scars from the previous wars for all the same reasons, and if he makes it out of this one ⸺ though it doesn’t feel like it, with how he is already coughing out blood ⸺ it was just going to leave another one. )

tsukuyomi notices first, calls on dynamight to fall back, but the blond spits out the iron in his mouth and grins through the pain. deku is controlled, but angry : and if he also tries to tell katsuki to back down, the blond doesn’t hear. he has the arsenal of strafe panzer at his disposal ⸺ and he has some other promises to keep.

by the time the battle finally quietens down and the villains make their retreat, katsuki is almost certain that his lung ⸺ and all the other wounds he’s sustained in the prolonged fight, despite his best efforts to keep them to a minimum ⸺ were beyond repair. his quirk’s disadvantageous effects were starting to impact him as well ╱ dizzy, restless, flushed, sick to his stomach and making the world spin, forcing the blond to sink down to his knees and cough up any remnants of blood again.

❝ fuck. i ain’t done yet, ❞ katsuki grumbles, trying to push himself up on his feet but stumbling forward, barely catching himself from falling. ❝ need to ⸺ gotta get rid of this fuckin’ place. blow it up. ❞

❝ you’re in no state to be going anywhere except the hospital ! ❞ tokoyami spares a glance to izuku in sudden panic, moving in to try and lift katsuki up himself. ❝ come, dark shadow and i can take you there. this place will come down. we do not need to do more than what we’ve already done. ❞

❝ no. ❞ katsuki shoves tokoyami off, crawling over to one of the downed villains and grabbing something off him. he winces. ❝ this place is a shithole. i gotta set up my bracers fer detonation near the power source. y’dunno how to do that. ❞ he shakily holds up what he’d taken : a needle. ❝ but y’can take this t’the authorities, tell ‘em it’s what they want. deku, yer runnin’ me t’the heart of this hell. ❞

katsuki glances at izuku and sees the hesitation. ( he’s hesitant, too : the wounds meant he can’t survive if he rigs the place to explode behind them. there was no time to save himself and to save more civilians ending up like the ones they’d seen tonight. )

❝ izuku, y’gotta do it. i’ll make it. ❞

he hates lying. he hates saying it through gritted teeth, knowing damn well that izuku knew the truth. but the tiny bit of hope seems to be enough to spur the green-haired hero on just enough to fulfil katsuki’s request ╱ and with some final parting words to tokoyami and dark shadow, katsuki feels himself be lifted into izuku’s arms, giving the blond a chance to focus on rewiring his bracers.

a part of his grenadier bracer design was specifically for a situation like this. the cooling system he’d gotten installed on them also could act as a remote detonator if he rewired it just enough to reverse the effects ⸺ and, seeing as he connected it with the heating in his gloves, he could repurpose the gloves to intensify the effect. the best part was that there was a very large amount of sweat in both of the bracers to ensure that the blast would likely level the entire building ╱ granted that everyone would make it out before it happens. the heating could only be prolonged for so long.

❝ aight, i got ‘em ready t’go. ❞ katsuki coughs, and the blood splatters down his mouth and over his chest, mixing with the red stain that was already there. ❝ call in ‘n tell everyone to get clear of th’buildin’. ‘specially the civilians. ‘s not gonna be pretty. ❞

they reach what they assume is the power source of the building, and katsuki struggles his way out of izuku’s arms to get his bracers in the right positions ⸺ he spares a glance back to make sure that the other is calling it in, telling the others to get as far from the building as they possibly can, and he can almost hear the uproarious chatter of questions upon questions on bakugou’s current state.

he can see izuku’s inability to answer. the blond takes a moment, between coughs and hacks and wheezes, to tune back into the comms.

❝ i’m fine. stop fuckin’ asking. ❞ another lie. crimson glances into emerald and sees the look of betrayal behind them, the sense of knowing. ❝ we’re ⸺ we’re gonna be out before y’know it. just gonna level this place to the fuckin’ ground. ❞

the comms fall silent as katsuki tries to refocus on his placing of the bracers, coughing as he fixes one to the closest power source and begins the warming process. when he struggles, stumbles, trips as he’s moving his other bracer to a different location, he feels izuku wedge himself into the blond’s side to hold him up ╱ to be something to lean on. katsuki can’t help but think of how grateful he is for izuku being there. the pain was starting to truly seep into his bones now, though, even as the blond finally leans to set his other bracer, stumbling forward and letting izuku catch him before he falls.

he was going to slow izuku down, getting out of here. he recognises this as he makes sure the second bracer starts heating up too ⸺ it would take a few minutes before they detonate and bring everything down, but each second was going to be valuable.

the blond sits himself down next to the second bracer and winces, coughs again, shutting his eyes when izuku tells him he needs to get up ╱ so he can carry the other hero to safety before the whole building would fall, so he could keep going and they could get to the hospital and get him treated. he’s so ⸺ tired. everything hurts. no amount of begging from the freckled hero warrants any movement from katsuki, besides a slight shift to get more comfortable ╱ he wheezes out a pained yelp when izuku tries to lift him up anyway.

❝ izuku, we don’t got time fer this. ❞ he feels izuku try again, more gently, but the wounds make it hurt and it sends more blood up the oesophagus ╱ it takes everything the blond has to pull izuku down instead. ❝ i’m just gonna slow you th’hell down, ‘n let’s be fuckin’ honest, i ain’t gonna … i’m not makin’ it out th’door. ❞

it’s not what either of them want to hear. it’s not what either of them want to admit, not even to each other ╱ because who were they if the other weren’t here ?

but katsuki has tested his luck one too many times, and he knows that this was going to be the final straw, the ultimate sacrifice. he can already imagine how izuku might carry it with him after all is said and done ⸺ it was izuku’s request. his invitation. his trust in the blond that led them to this moment, where katsuki lay dying and izuku was powerless to stop it, even with the strength of all might.

he doesn’t have the time to tell izuku that it isn’t his fault. he wanted to be here, he accepted the request, he put himself in danger’s way so that he might fulfil a promise he made to himself some time ago. he doesn’t have the time to explain that. the time he has is borrowed, prolonged only by his sheer will to ensure izuku make it out before the bracers detonated, bringing down the whole building with him in the centre of it ╱ but izuku lingers, and katsuki’s strength is fading fast. ( you knew this was coming, right ? when i said that i’d make it ? you had to have known i was lying. )

❝ this ain’t yer fault, aight ? ‘s always gonna happen. y’ever wonder why th’hell i always come ‘n … save yer ass from whatever ? ❞ because i made a promise. i’m not breaking it now. ❝ the world still needs deku, that’s why. y’need t’be here, carryin’ on yer stupid legacy of all might, ‘cause everyone needs you more than me. and ⸺ hah, maybe i still felt like i owed ya, this whole ... whole time. ❞

it still weighs on katsuki, sometimes. the comments he made when they were young and he was foolish. it didn’t matter how much he didn’t mean it ╱ izuku never deserved it, and it took too long for him to turn that around. atonement was a bitch like that.

his body feels clammy, colder, and his breathing feels shallow. the world spins and it takes all his remaining strength to keep his eyes open to look at the freckled hero, the same one fretting over the blond and trying to make things right ⸺ insisting that he could still make it through this, if he’d just let izuku carry him. when katsuki slowly shakes his head as a response, it’s the next words that strike him deeper than the pain searing from his lung, the bitter taste of blood on his lips :

please don’t go.

he doesn’t want to go. no, katsuki never wanted his life to be this short-lived, cut short all because of instinct defying his common sense ╱ he has experienced death before, and he tried to make a promise to his parents that he wouldn’t put himself in such peril again, if only for their sakes. yet here he was ⸺ on the brink of death, ready to go out in a literal blaze of glory, all for the sake of something he’s never going to witness. how bittersweet that this final action of his would have an impact he won’t even see.

katsuki ruffles through his pocket and manages to grab out the all might card they’d both gotten when they were kids ⸺ it had seen much better days, but there was clear evidence of restoration since the second war, carefully cleaned but still stained. he swears under his breath when he realises he would leave bloodied fingerprints on it anyway ╱ but he manages to press it into izuku, coughing.

❝ get outta here ‘n leave me. ‘kay ? i’m gonna be ... dead weight soon ‘nough, ‘n y’need all yer strength t’get ⸺ t’get outta here ‘n away from th’blast. ❞ ( don’t go crying for me now, you idiot. this was always how it was gonna end. ) katsuki slowly moves his hand away from izuku and leans back, crimson gaze falling to the bracer next to him, the very same hand pressing against it to see the progress. getting warmer. if izuku prolongs his leaving any longer ... ❝ at least ⸺ hah, at least y’can tell ‘em that dynamight saved the fuckin’ day, yeah ? ‘s what this ... this fuckin’ place deserves. ❞

he can kind of tell izuku hated that : how he was joking about it. making a spectacle of his impending death. katsuki finally shuts his eyes so he doesn’t see the look on the other when he lets go of the stubborn grasp on life he had.

❝ look, i’m gonna be right behind ya, izuku. get goin’. ❞

he wasn’t. katsuki can’t even move his legs or arms now, lethargic and tired and robbed of all strength he had ⸺ but as he listens to the thrum of one for all, as he hears the footsteps vanish into the distance, he could let himself rest. he had fulfilled that age-old promise he made to himself again ╱ and this time, it wasn’t just for izuku. there were others at stake too. they would all be safe from the absolute hell of this place.

katsuki almost expects to live long enough to feel the heat of the explosion, but when his eyes open to blinding light, he finds himself in a wide and never-ending field with a cliffside right behind him. the sun is shining down and warming every part of his body. it almost feels cleansing, a wash of resounding light ╱ the air is crisp and cool, full of sea salt, and there is the distant crash of waves in the distance, wisps of spring particles carrying themselves through the sea air. he almost feels small like this. crimson eyes stare at the new environment with childlike wonder as he slowly paces forward, hands running through the wildflowers as he looks for an unknown destination.

how peaceful it was, to be here, in a place so unknown. nothing hurts and all feels absolved in his soul. there is a moment where he glances over the edge of the cliff, wondering if anyone would follow ⸺ but when nobody does, there is relief.

after all, he is at peace, and everyone is safe. izuku was safe. and, all going well, he hopes to meet him here someday ╱ to learn of the legacy that he’ll miss.