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He did it. Midoriya did it.
With the kindling embers of One for All, Midoriya landed one final blow on the villain, defeating All for One and ending his reign of terror. At the same time, he stopped Shigaraki. However, he wanted to save him, to save that kid who had been a prisoner of the villain’s clutches for so many years. But in the end, he accepted death, and knowing no other way out of this dire situation, he allowed Midoriya to end his anguish.
Now Midoriya flew, mid-air, and his arm raised in victory…well, could you call it a victory? He ended the war, but at what cost? He couldn’t save Shigaraki and he lost the one power that allowed him to pursue his dreams.
So, as he remained suspended, he watched in somber realization as the winds from his One for All punch dispersed the clouds, allowing the long-awaited rays of the mid-day sun to shine upon the destroyed land. Its vibrant glow illuminated his surroundings, dust from the calamity seemed to dance within the sunlight, almost glimmering in celebration.
“It's…over.” Midoriya suspired, wincing as the adrenaline from the past hours began to subside, allowing him to feel the grave extent of his injuries.
His head was bleeding profusely. The warm crimson liquid ran down his eye, staining his vision in red. There was a large gash on his face that stung as the dust-mixed winds blew on his face. His body ached and burned. It felt like he was being burned alive while at the same time being pricked with pins and needles that mixed with the overwhelming aching sensation of overused muscles.
Suddenly, Midoriya’s moment of weightlessness stopped. Soon he began to plummet toward the ground with breathtaking speed.
Midoriya didn’t do anything, he let himself fall, his limps flopping like a ragdoll. What could he do? Float is gone so he can’t use that power to stop his descent. So, he lay as gravity pushed him down, letting the force take control of his body. His head pounded in agonizing waves, getting worse by the encompassing weight of the gravitational pull. He probably had a concussion, the confusion that manifested with his headache was evidence of that.
He wondered if this was how he would die, how he would go down as a hero, falling to his death. Well, he had a good short run, he just hopes that his mom will be okay without him. He hopes she finds support and does not wallow in loneliness.
Midoriya closed his eyes and focused on his breathing, trying to overcome the overwhelming pain that caked his whole body. He was going to die as a hero and that was okay. That was what he wanted, to fall in the line of duty, especially after victory.
So, it’s okay, he was happy with this.
But before he could await the impact of the solid ground, someone crashed into him and swiftly grasped him into a cradle. Jolted, he opened his eyes and gazed at his unexpected savior. His eyes widened upon noticing who it was.
It was his childhood friend, Bakugo.
“Don’t you…dare die…on me!” Bakugo voiced through hitches, doing everything in his power to enunciate his words.
“K-Kacchan…” Midoriya whispered, his voice horsed.
His eyes felt heavy…so incredibly heavy. His body was begging for rest. A sharp pain coursed through him, and an overwhelming confusion clouded his mind. To make matters worse, an unsettling chill crept over his body, leaving him feeling strangely cold.
“Hey! Stay awake!” Bakugo shouted in desperation. Midoriya followed and opened his heavy eyes, looking at the teenager’s bloodied face. Bakugo flinched upon seeing Midoriya’s dilated pupils, “It’s gonna be…okay! We are going…to get you help…just stay with me!”
Midoriya tried to nod, but he just stared, his vision clouded. He could hear explosions around him…probably Kacchan’s? They sounded muffled in Midoriya’s ears as if he were swimming underwater.
Staying conscious became an immense struggle. After the final blow, it felt as if the weight of the world had crashed down on him. He could feel everything, his pains and aches. But he could feel something else, his friend’s agony.
He could feel Bakugo’s warm embrace, but he was shaking. Not only that but his breathing was ragged, and he couldn’t ignore his audible winces as he attempted, yet failed, to keep them afloat through the weak propulsions of his quirk.
“Kacchan…you're—hurt—I can—”
“Shut the…hell up!” He yelled as they continued to fall, desperately using his non-injured hand to stop their descent but to no avail. His hand, the one that was mangled, and bleeding profusely, held onto Midoriya. The flowing blood began to stain Midoriya’s clothing, mixing with his own, “Don’t say—a thing—you’re in…shock!”
Midoriya looked at him, dumbfounded.
Bakugo glanced at him and then at the ground, terrified at how close the ground was getting, “Your skin—you look so pale, and your breathing—” Bakugo gulped, “Anyway, don’t freaking move and stay awake! I’m gonna—I’m gonna save us!”
Midoriya couldn’t help but look down. They were going to crash; Bakugo did not have the strength to stop their descent.
“Stop…” Midoriya begged.
“What!?”
“Save…yourself…” Midoriya uttered through shallow breaths, “You're gonna…hurt yourself…”
Bakugo's eyes darted between the ground and Midoriya, his quirk blazing as he desperately tried to keep them both airborne, “I can’t…do that…dammit! Your gonna…live!”
Midoriya was running out of strength, and he was becoming more and more disoriented, it was getting increasingly hard to think coherently. Also, his breathing…why was it so hard to breathe? He wanted to stay awake but couldn’t. Eventually, the pull of unconsciousness became too strong, and he began to flutter between the world of wakefulness and sleep.
“Izuku! Don’t you dare!”
He was so tired.
“Please! Don’t…do it!”
He just wanted to sleep.
“DON’T DIE!”
Midoriya’s eyes fluttered, prompting Bakugo to shake him and plead desperately for him to remain awake. But all he received in response were weak winces and the occasional half-lidded, glazed gaze.
“Kacchan…thank you…for everything…”
Then, to Bakugo’s fear, his eyes closed, his vision going to black. He let the pull of sleep bring him deeper, lulling him in. All that he felt was the wind on his skin until that became dull due to the overwhelming numbness that started to course his skin. Bakugo’s screams resonated but they too became muffled.
But before he truly succumbed to the floaty sensation, something wrapped tightly onto his waist.
“I got them!” That voice sounded familiar. It sounded like Yaoyorozu.
Midoriya forced his eyes open, the abrupt jolt in his surroundings pulling him back to consciousness, if only briefly. In his delirium, everything that happened next seemed like fleeting, fragmented images.
The wind stopped; he was no longer falling.
New hands appeared. He stared, his eyes half-opened and his gaze unseeing. There were people grabbing him and there were others talking but they were so jumbled and muffled.
“Deku—he’s—” That was Kacchan.
“Midoriya—bleeding—shock—hospital!”
That one sounded like a woman. Could that be Yaoyorozu again?
“Bakugo—attention—hand—wrong.”
That was someone else. But Midoriya could not recognize who that voice was.
Then more hands but this time he was lifted and put somewhere, somewhere squishy, it felt like a mattress. Almost immediately, whatever he was lying on began to move, jolting slightly with every bump in the terrain
Then something was put on his face and large puffs of air forced themselves into his nostrils.
“Midoriya—awake—okay.” Midoriya watched, confused at the blurry and mysterious person looking down on him, “stay—us.”
Midoriya couldn’t hold on.
“Midoriya…”
He was so tired.
“Quick—losing him.”
He let himself fall, deeper and deeper until the world went silent.
The talking, the screams, and the rumbles…they all ended.
It felt so quiet.
So tranquil.
One for All was gone, their voices nonexistent.
Nobody was there…he was all alone.
All alone in this darkness…nobody to tell him that everything will be okay.
Because right now, he doesn’t know if he will be okay.
If he will ever be okay.