The air is thick with dust and the sharp smell of burning concrete. Shigaraki's twisted laughter cuts through the chaos as his decay spreads outward in a wave of crumbling ruin. The ground beneath is unstable, cracking and splintering with each passing second. Y/n — a student of Class 1-A, a hero in training, someone who has fought beside Bakugou and the others through thick and thin — is standing just behind him, breath ragged from the fight.

The attack catches everyone off guard. A direct hit meant for Katsuki, raw and unrelenting, barreling toward him at full force. But before it can land, Y/n moves.

The impact is immediate. A sickening crack echoes through the ruined battlefield as Y/n takes the full brunt of the hit, body thrown backward like a ragdoll. Time seems to slow as she crumples to the ground, motionless, the dust settling around her still form.

He's on his knees beside her before he even realizes he's moved, his hands trembling as he pulls her into his arms. For once, there's no shouting, no cursing, no fire. Just the sound of his breathing, ragged and uneven.

His voice breaks. The words hang in the air, raw and unfinished. Around them, the battlefield rages on, but here, in this small ruined space, everything feels impossibly still.