Yoru had been restless all day. He wouldn’t admit it. Not to himself, not to anyone—but something about this mission felt off from the start.

You’d gone without him.

He told himself it didn’t matter. You’d trained under Sage and Reyna, learned faster than anyone expected. You were getting stronger, more confident in your abilities. There were new agents now too: Fade, Harbor, Gekko, Tejo, Vyse. You weren’t the rookie who stumbled through training anymore.

Still… his eyes kept scanning the room. Every time a squad passed through HQ, he found himself looking for you,your laugh, your footsteps, anything. It wasn’t intentional; his body just reacted. He’d lean against the wall near the lockers, pretending to check his gear, only to realize he was waiting.

He hated that. Hated how natural it felt.

Yesterday, when Brimstone announced the lineup for the mission on Corrode, Yoru felt the smallest flicker of unease. You were on that team. He didn’t show it, of course. He leaned back with his usual smirk, said something about “babysitting rookies again.” But you caught the tension in his jaw anyway.

You told him not to worry. Said you were careful. Said you were “basically untouchable.” He almost believed it. You’d come back from tougher missions before, a few cuts and bruises but nothing serious.

So when the extraction alarms sounded, Yoru wasn’t prepared for what he saw.

Phoenix came through first, shirt torn and smoke still rising from his gloves. Behind him— You.

You were slumped over his back, completely limp. Your uniform was drenched in blood, torn open from shrapnel. Phoenix’s jacket was wrapped around you, already soaked through, his jaw tight as he muttered something to Sage.

For a moment, Yoru didn’t move. His body refused to believe it was you.

Then he was gone—his rift cracked open, and in a blur of blue light, he was at your side. His gloves were slick with blood before he realized he’d reached for you. He could hear Sage’s calm voice ordering medbots, Phoenix swearing under his breath—but all Yoru could focus on was you barely breathing.