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He fought off the headache from quirk overuse and the pain from his broken limbs.
He had to do this.
He had to save Kouta.
He powered up his arm once more and pushed Muscular off of him.
Muscular stumbled back into the wall and Izuku collapsed onto his knees.
He was done.
He blacked out.
Izuku came as Muscular towered over Kouta intimidatingly.
“Kouta!” he screamed as he stumbled to his feet.
He had to save Kouta.
“Izuku!”
He had to save-
Muscular swirled around to face Izuku, holding Kouta in hand in a death grip.
“You want to save him?” Muscular taunted.
“Yes!” Izuku reached forward to Kouta.
“Too late.”
Muscular used one hand to, in a split second, take up a rock and bash it into Kouta’s side, digging deep.
Muscular released Kouta as he crumpled to the ground.
Izuku lost his sense of emotion. This couldn’t be happening. Kouta couldn’t be hurt that bad. He had to make it out.
They’d be fine.
He had to be fine.
Izuku lashed out, running towards Muscular with his fist powered up as high as he could make it. It felt like his entire body was ripping apart at the seams.
He punched Muscular into the mountainside, making sure to bash his head extra hard. He wouldn’t be getting up for a while.
Releasing the tension from his body, Izuku crumpled to the ground next to Kouta.
Kouta looked weakly up at him, eyes begging for comfort.
“Izuku, I’m sorry.”
Izuku gently placed Kouta’s head in his lap and, with his limited mobility, combed his fingers through his hair. “Shhh… It’s okay. You’ll be okay.”
His phone was dead and Kouta was bleeding out fast. He wouldn’t make it even if Izuku did stop the bleeding, the wound was too deep and in too vital of a location.
He wouldn’t make it.
“You’re my hero, you know. I never knew what that meant before now. But you really tried. You saved me.”
Izuku looked down at him and tried to hold in his tears. He didn’t save Kouta, not really, not when Kouta was still dying in his arms. “I’m so sorry.”
He adjusted one hand onto Kouta’s neck to measure his pulse.
A faraway look came in Kouta’s eyes, “I get to join mama and papa now, right?”
“Yes, yes you do. They’ll be waiting for you when you wake up,” Izuku said gently.
“That’s nice,” Kouta said. “Can you sing me to sleep? Like they used to? I want to hear something nice before I go.”
“Of course.”
Who was he to refuse? It was only right that he should give Kouta his last wish.
“Deep in the meadow, under the willow. A bed of grass, a soft green pillow. Lay down your head, and close your eyes. And when they open, the sun will rise.”
Kouta slowly closed his eyes and relaxed into Izuku’s hold.
“Here it's safe, and here it's warm. Here the daisies guard you from every harm. Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true. Here is the place where I love you.”
“You’ll come visit me eventually too, right?” Kouta asked oh so innocently.
“Of course. You won’t even notice that I’m not there.”
“You promise?”
“Of course.” He really didn’t know that, but it was all he could do to try and comfort Kouta in his final moments.
“Deep in the meadow, hidden far away. A cloak of green, a moon beam ray. Forget your woes, and let your troubles lay. And when again it's morning, they'll wash away.”
Kouta smiled, eyes slightly opening to stare into Izuku’s soul. “Thanks,” he whispered.
His pulse went silent.
Tears dripping down onto Kouta’s body, Izuku gently closed his eyes. “Here it's safe, and here it's warm. Here the daisies guard you from every harm. Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true. Here is the place where I love you.”
Slowly, he eased himself out from under Kouta’s cooling body and lifted it up.
He activated his quirk in his legs, the only non-broken part of his body, to keep himself upright and walked into the forest with Kouta.
He wasn’t sure when the forest had stopped burning, but it wasn’t anymore.
Finding an unburned section, he laid Kouta down in the grass and gathered the dandelions that grew nearby, placing them around him.
He weeped. He should have been stronger, he should have been able to save him. It wasn’t right.
He should have been able to win.
He DID win.
Only, he was just too late.