Katsuki could feel his pulse hammering in his ears as he fought against the wind and chaos. The storm, Valerie's screams from inside the collapsing weather machine, and the blaring city alarms all seemed to meld into a cacophony that drowned out his usual, steady resolve. The rain stung his skin, but the real pain was the sheer fear carving through his chest, an unfamiliar and terrifying emotion.

His heart ached, each beat echoing with the unrelenting dread of losing her. This was a feeling he didn't know how to handle, one that twisted his insides and blurred the lines between rage and desperation. The memories surged unbidden: Valerie's laughter, the way her eyes lit up when she was talking about something she loved, the way she challenged him without fear. Her touch, gentle yet firm, grounded him when he was spiralling, and her fiery spirit, matched his own.

She has to be okay, he told himself, fists clenching so hard his palms bled from his own explosive sweat. He'd faced villains, near-death experiences, and every type of danger imaginable, but none of it compared to the bone-deep dread coursing through him now. If he lost her, if she slipped away in this storm, if she—

Katsuki's throat constricted, and his vision tunnelled, narrowing to the singular thought: I can't lose her. It was then, in that horrifying moment of clarity, that he realized the truth he had been avoiding for so long. He was in love with Valerie Black. It wasn't a passing crush or some fleeting feeling; it was something raw, something that terrified him because it made him vulnerable in a way he'd never been before.

His eyes burned, and he tried to blink away the tears mixing with the rain on his face. I can't lose her. Not her. The mere thought drove a new kind of power from deep within, one he hadn't tapped into before. His quirk burned hotter, fiercer, like an inferno roaring to life.

"VALERIE!" he roared, his voice cracking, the name tearing from his throat with a desperation that ignited his quirk to a level he didn't know he had. The explosions erupted from his palms in a blinding blue-white light, hotter and more destructive than ever before. The sheer force of it shattered the concrete around him, evaporated the falling rain in a violent steam, and sent shockwaves rippling through the storm.

Deku and Shoto, busy battling the now-mutated Todd—were momentarily stunned as they felt a massive spike in Katsuki's power. They turned to see him, a blazing beacon of raw energy and felt the ground quake beneath them. His explosions turned from angry orange flames to that searing, almost ethereal blue-white heat, like the core of a star had ignited in his hands.

Deku, wiping blood from his lip, looked in awe. "Kachan..." he whispered, feeling the intensity of his friend's power. Shoto's eyes widened, the steam from his own flames swirling around him. Both knew that something monumental had awakened in Katsuki.

The mutated Hurricane sneered, his grotesque form pulsing with energy from the quirk serum. "You think you can save her?" he mocked, his voice a twisted echo of the storm's wrath. "I'll rip you apart first."

Katsuki barely registered Hurricane's words. All he could think about was Valerie. The idea of a world without her was suffocating. His heart raced with the realization that she had become his everything. Her kindness, her strength, the way she saw through his walls—she had changed him, made him want to be better. And he was done holding back.

"You're not taking her from me," Katsuki snarled, his voice a fierce promise as he launched himself forward, explosions so powerful they tore apart the weather machine's outer defences. The structure began to collapse rapidly, but Katsuki pressed on, every fibre of his being driven by the love and fear coursing through him. You have to hear me, he pleaded silently. You have to make it through.

Inside the Machine

Valerie's vision was fading, the core's relentless pull sapping away every ounce of energy she had left. Her lightning sparked weakly around her fingertips, the electric blue fading to a dull, dying glow. The storm within the machine was deafening, but even through the cacophony, she heard him—Katsuki's voice, raw and broken, calling her name. The sound tore at her heart, a desperate plea cutting through the chaos.

Tears welled in her eyes and slipped down her cheeks, mingling with the sweat and grime coating her face. She clenched her fists, trying to anchor herself, trying to remember why she needed to keep fighting. "Katsuki," she whispered, the word escaping her lips like a prayer. She wished she could scream back, tell him she was still here, still fighting. But the core was merciless, draining her of every spark she had left.

But he's fighting for me. The thought rang through her mind, igniting a flicker of determination. Memories began to flood her consciousness, crashing over her in waves.

She remembered her childhood, a time when the world was both simpler and infinitely more painful. Her mother's gentle smile was always a bright spot in an otherwise dark existence. Valerie could still hear her mother's lullabies, soft and soothing, even when her stepfather Todd's rage roiled in the background. She remembered the nights they would sneak away to stargaze, her mother whispering dreams of a better future, one free from fear. "One day, you'll be free," her mother had promised, brushing back Valerie's hair. "You'll find people who see how wonderful you are."

But that future had seemed impossible when her mother's light was extinguished, when the grief and guilt nearly consumed her. Todd's cruelty had defined her teenage years, and even as she grew into her quirk, the shadow of being his experiment loomed over her. The feeling of being trapped, of never truly belonging, had been suffocating.

Until Japan.

Valerie's mind shifted to the present, to the life she had carved out for herself, thousands of miles away from the pain of her past. She thought of Aizawa, the man she had come to see as a father, his stern yet compassionate guidance shaping her in ways she never imagined possible. He had looked out for her, trained her, and most importantly, he had believed in her when she struggled to believe in herself.

The memory of him introducing her to Class 3A was still vivid. She'd been nervous, unsure of her place among such strong and confident heroes-in-training. But her fears had been quickly dispelled by the warmth and acceptance of her classmates. She thought of Izuku's relentless kindness, Shoto's quiet strength, Mina's bubbly enthusiasm, and Denki's constant joking—each of them had become a part of her heart. They weren't just classmates; they were her family, a family she had found on her own terms.

And then there was Katsuki.

Her mind lingered on every moment they had shared, from the sparring matches that left her breathless to the rare but treasured moments when he let his walls come down. She remembered the way his eyes softened when he thought no one was looking, the way he pushed her to be her best while never letting her give up. The fierce, unyielding spirit he had, the one that matched hers in intensity and fire. Valerie had never expected to care for someone like him, but here she was, her heart beating to the rhythm of his explosions outside, his voice pulling her back from the edge.

Katsuki is fighting for me, she thought, feeling her heart swell. They all are.

Todd's words echoed again, the poisonous taunts that she was nothing more than a weapon, a tool. But she forced them aside, shaking her head. I am not just a weapon. I am Valerie Black. Her mother's love, Aizawa's pride, her friends' support, and Katsuki's raw, unfiltered love—these were the things that defined her, that made her who she was.

Her lightning flared to life again, brighter this time, refusing to be snuffed out. Her pulse steadied, and she clenched her fists harder, feeling the electric energy sparking anew. The core still pulled at her, but she wasn't going to give in. Not yet. Not when she had so much to fight for.

Katsuki, she thought, her determination hardening. Wait for me. I'm fighting, too.

Outside the Battle

The battle raged on, chaos erupting in waves of destruction. Hurricane's mutated form had grown grotesque, a terrifying amalgamation of quirk-enhanced muscle and swirling storm energy. His eyes, now a sickly neon blue, glowed with the malevolent force of the quirk serum he had taken, and his voice boomed with the echo of the storm he commanded.

Izuku and Shoto were battered, barely holding their own. Shoto's flames roared to life as he countered Hurricane's icy winds, but even his fire seemed fragile against the tempest, and his left arm trembled with fatigue. "Shit, he's stronger than before," Shoto muttered, wiping blood from his split lip. His breath came in heavy pants, but he stood his ground, fire crackling fiercely alongside a bitter cold.

Izuku, bruised and bloody, gritted his teeth as he struggled to keep up. His body was straining under the weight of One For All, green lightning flashing around him in bursts. "I know, but he just keeps coming!" he called back, forcing himself forward in a desperate lunge. His attack, driven by every ounce of strength he had left, was met with a brutal gust of wind. The force sent him crashing into a crumpled car, metal groaning under the impact.

Hurricane sneered at them, his massive, twisted form towering over the rubble. "You can't stop me!" he roared, the storm growing even more violent. Lightning cracked across the sky, and winds howled, uprooting trees and snapping power lines like brittle twigs. "I am the storm! You're nothing compared to this power!"

But just as Shoto and Izuku braced for another crushing blow, the storm split with a brilliant, blue-white explosion. Katsuki's energy seared through the darkness, the heat of his quirk pushing back the roaring winds and evaporating the rain in a torrent of steam. His figure emerged from the blinding light, eyes alight with a furious, unbreakable determination.

Katsuki's quirk had transformed. His explosions, usually fierce orange flames, now burned white-hot, almost blinding, with an intensity that rippled through the air and made the ground quake. Sweat evaporated off his skin before it could even form, and his body felt like a conduit for raw, unrestrained power. It wasn't just strength; it was the embodiment of every emotion he'd been afraid to face, every feeling he had finally accepted.

He clenched his fists, and the energy pulsed around him, alive and ferocious. "Get out of my way," he snarled at Hurricane, his voice steady, unyielding. The memories of Valerie's laugh, her fierce determination, her unwavering support filled his mind. The fear of losing her was a terror he could no longer bear. I'm done losing, he vowed internally. Not her. Not this time.

Hurricane turned to him, his grotesque form seething with power, and sneered. "And what do you think you can do, boy?" he mocked. He raised his twisted, storm-infused arm, preparing to unleash another devastating attack. The wind around him howled, carrying debris and destruction in its wake.

But Katsuki didn't flinch. He stepped forward, blue-white explosions surging in his hands, his heart pounding with newfound strength. "I'll show you," he growled. The heat of his quirk intensified, and with a roar, he propelled himself at Hurricane. His explosions detonated with a force that rattled the ground and cracked the air, punching through the villain's wind barriers and blasting him back.

Izuku and Shoto, momentarily stunned by Katsuki's power surge, exchanged a look before pushing forward. "Kachan!" Izuku called out, his eyes widening at the sight of his classmate's awakened quirk. The sheer force of Katsuki's explosions felt like a star had ignited on the battlefield. But there was no time to question it. They had to work together.

Shoto's ice shot out, forming jagged spikes to pin Hurricane down, while Izuku lunged again, fists glowing with One For All. Hurricane, rattled but not defeated, thrashed against the assault. His body, twisted by the quirk serum, mutated even further, muscles swelling grotesquely as he roared in fury. The storm above churned, and lightning struck dangerously close, but Izuku and Shoto held their ground beside Katsuki.

With each hit, Katsuki pushed harder, his explosions driven by a force beyond rage—by love and desperation. Valerie, he thought, each blast resonating with his silent vow. He could almost feel her presence, hear the echoes of her voice telling him to keep fighting. I'm not giving up on you. Not ever.

Meanwhile, Aizawa and Present Mic, stationed at the base of the weather machine, worked frantically to find a way to shut it down. Aizawa's capture weapon whipped through the storm, his eyes bloodshot and straining to disable any quirk mechanisms they could. Present Mic's voice rang out, a powerful, desperate shout that countered the machine's disruptive frequencies.

"We've got to take this down," Aizawa growled, his voice low and strained. His heart clenched with worry for Valerie, but he couldn't afford to falter now. "She's fighting in there. We have to help her."

Present Mic nodded, his voice a fierce roar against the storm. "We'll find a way, Eraser," he shouted, determination burning in his eyes. "We won't let her fight alone!"

The battle outside and the struggle within the machine intertwined, a desperate clash of power, love, and unyielding will. Valerie, trapped and fighting with everything she had, felt the vibrations of Katsuki's strength and whispered her own silent promise: I'm fighting too. Wait for me.

The world around them trembled, but none of them were ready to give in. Not yet.