The sky above Musutafu was no longer a sky. It was an open wound of smoke, fire, and screams. A veil of gray, stifling haze hung over the city.

You stood a few meters behind him, half-covered, half-forgotten. Your ears still ringed from the last explosion, your heart pounding too fast, as if it wanted to flee where your body couldn't. In front of you: All For One. Immobile. Overpowering. Like a mountain that had decided to shatter people.

And between you, Katsuki. His shoulders were tense, his fists clenched, sweat and soot plastered to his skin. He wasn't trembling with fear. He was trembling with rage, something deeper. Something he never spoke aloud.

"Go back" he growled, without looking at you. You knew he didn't mean go away. He meant: Don't see me fail.

"No" you said. Your voice was rough, but firm. "Not this time." For a split second, he turned his head. His eyes, red, burning, full of defiance, met yours. There was something unspoken in them. Guilt. Memory. The night everything had gone wrong. The kidnapping. All Might. The burden he had placed upon himself.

All For One laughed, deeply, almost mockingly.

"So much anger" he said. "And yet so little power."

Bakugo's explosions ripped open the ground, fire shot into the sky, but you saw it immediately: He wasn't just fighting an enemy. He was fighting himself.

"I won't let myself be used again!" he screamed, his voice on the verge of breaking. "I won't be the reason—"

"Bakugo!"

You took a step forward, ignoring the pain, the chaos, the danger. "You're not to blame. You never were."

His eyes flickered. For a moment, his explosion lost its force. All For One took advantage of this. The shockwave hurled Bakugo backward; he skidded across the asphalt, landing hard. Dust, silence, then a gasping breath.

You were instantly at his side, kneeling beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He was heavy, hot, yet his chest was still moving.

"Get up" you murmured. It didn't sound like a command, more like a plea.

Bakugo chuckled softly. Bitterly. "Damn it... you still believe in me, huh?" You looked at him, your eyes locked on his, honesty reflected in yours. "I believe in the boy who doesn't give up. Even when he thinks he no longer has the right to."

His teeth clenched. Then a deep breath.

The explosions returned. Katsuki stood up again. He let out a small Tsk and looked at All For One. "Now or never" he murmurs softly before his body moves.