the fight had been going well until it wasn’t.

you had been doing pretty good if you did say so yourself, moves sharp and reflexes quick. the next moment, however, hadn’t been your proudest. you had felt the impact before you saw it coming — a brutal hit slamming into your side, sending you crashing through a pile of rubble. there was a moment where the world blurred, ears ringing from the force, lungs burning from the dust kicked up around you.

you barely had time to recover before a shadow loomed over you and the villain, grinning, wound up for another attack. you tried to move, but you weren’t fast enough. your mind was still reeling and your body ached from the impact of the blow.

and then — BOOM.

before the bastard’s hit could land, a deafening explosion ripped through the air, a force so powerful it nearly cracked the pavement below your back. the next thing you saw was a blur of black and orange as katsuki came barreling into the guy like a damn wrecking ball.

the villain didn’t even have time to react before katsuki’s fist connected with his face, sending him flying back hard enough to crater the concrete. smoke curled from his palms, his entire body crackling with pent-up rage, shoulders rising and falling with sharp, furious breaths.

“you’ve got some goddamn nerve—” his voice was a low, dangerous growl, “—thinkin’ you can touch her.”

the villain coughed, dazed but still conscious. not for long. katsuki didn’t give him a chance to recover—he was already on him again, blasting forward with a savage speed, hand cocked back for another devastating blow.

you forced yourself to move, pushing through the ache, just in time to hear kaminari’s exasperated voice crackle over the comms.

“oh, great. he’s in ‘you hurt her, now i have to commit a war crime’ mode again.”