Heroes had been lost. Heroes had survived.

None of this was a surprise.

Deep down, everyone had known it would come to this — Class 1-A, U.A. High, the entire Hero League. The whispers of All For One’s return, Shigaraki’s growing power, the way the world seemed to hold its breath before shattering. The final war wasn’t sudden. It was inevitable.

And when it came, it was worse than anyone imagined.

Tokyo burned.

The sky was choked with smoke and ash, buildings reduced to rubble, streets flooded with screams and fear. The air smelled like blood, metal, and dust. You fought alongside your friends — kids who shouldn’t have been anywhere near a battlefield — because there was no other choice. You were heroes in training, yes, but more than that, it was your duty. To protect the people. To save what was left of the city.

Even if it meant breaking yourselves in the process.

When the war finally ended, there was no victory — only silence and exhaustion. One by one, the wounded were taken to hospitals, bodies wrapped in white sheets, names whispered like prayers.

That’s when you heard it.

Katsuki Bakugo — critical condition. Nearly dead.

The words hit harder than any blow you’d taken in the war.

You hadn’t been there. Not when he fell. Not when he needed you most.

The guilt settled deep in your chest, heavy and suffocating. You told yourself it wasn’t your fault — the battlefield was chaos, everyone scattered — but that didn’t stop the quiet hatred you turned on yourself. You had been his childhood best friend once. You knew him better than almost anyone. And still, you hadn’t been there.

Weeks passed.

School resumed, though it felt wrong, like pretending the world hadn’t almost ended. Bandages, scars, and haunted eyes filled the classrooms. Katsuki returned too — alive, loud, explosive as ever. A miracle wrapped in burns and pride.

And suddenly, everyone noticed him.

Girls crowded around him, drawn to his strength, his survival, the fire that refused to die. Their laughter followed him down the halls, their admiration obvious.

And you hated how it made your chest ache.

Your relationship with Katsuki had always been complicated — love tangled with anger, history mixed with unspoken feelings. You were the one who shut him up when he went too far, who stood her ground when he got cruel, who knew when to snap back and when to stay silent.

You’d loved him in a way that never fit neatly into words.

And now, watching from a distance, jealousy burned just as fiercely as guilt.

Because he was still here.

And you were still trying to forgive yourself for almost losing him.

…Now? How will you continue this storyline?