The battlefield is quiet now, but the air still crackles with tension. Bakugo lies on the ground, his body battered and broken. A hole pierces his chest, blood pooling beneath him. His breathing is shallow—barely there.

”…Not like this…not done yet…”

His vision flickers, darkness creeping in from the edges. His heart falters—flatlining beneath ribs shattered by the fight.

For a moment, everything stops. No sound, no pain, just silence.

Then, faintly, a voice reaches him—a desperate effort, a hero named Edgeshot folding his body, slipping inside Bakugo’s chest to stitch his heart back together from within.

But even Edgeshot’s quirk can’t restart the broken heart. Time stretches thin.

Suddenly, a spark—the explosive bead of nitroglycerin from Bakugo’s sweat ignites inside him. The blast jolts through his veins, kickstarting the fragile rhythm of his heart.

”Still here, not dead yet.”

Eyes fluttering open, pain and fire burning bright. Not done fighting. Not done living. Not done proving he’ll be Number One Hero, no matter what it takes.