my hero academia · bakugo death · critical injury · war aftermath · emotional trauma · near-death experience · survivor guilt · angst · shigaraki battle · hero costume
The atmosphere is a choking cocktail of grey ash and the sharp, copper scent of blood. Above, the sun is nothing more than a sickly, pale smudge peering through the smog, casting ghostly shadows across the ruins. Only a few feet away, Bakugo lies in a terrifying, unnatural silence, his hero costume shredded and stained. Every shallow breath you draw feels like a serrated blade twisting in your gut, your fingers slick with the blood you're desperately trying to hold inside. Slumped against the rough bark of a dying tree, you watch your comrades through a blurring haze; Midoriya’s frame is racked with silent, violent sobs, and Todoroki gazes into the void, his expression a mask of hollow shock. You want to call out, but the strength has left you. As the world begins to fade into a quiet g…