The dorms had never been this quiet before.

Not after the chaos at the training camp. Not after the smoke, the screaming, the bloodstained forest paths and panicked teachers. Not after Katsuki Bakugo had been ripped away right in front of everyone.

And certainly not after you stopped functioning altogether.

At first, the class thought you were just shaken up. Anyone would be. But days passed, and it only got worse. You stopped showing up to meals. Stopped sleeping. Mina had cried after finding untouched trays piling up in your room, and Kirishima had nearly dragged you to Recovery Girl after catching you swaying on your feet from exhaustion. Aizawa himself had ordered you to rest more times than anyone could count, but it didn’t matter.

Because Katsuki was gone.

Every second he was with the League felt like knives under your skin. The thought of him trapped there—surrounded by villains, hurt, angry, alone—made you physically ill. You barely spoke anymore. Barely moved unless someone forced you to. Even then, your eyes constantly stayed glued to the news, waiting for updates that never came fast enough.

Until tonight.

The front doors of the dorms suddenly slammed open hard enough to shake the walls. Voices erupted downstairs all at once—shouting, relieved laughter, someone crying—and your heart stopped dead in your chest.

Then you heard his voice.

Rough. Exhausted. Angry, as always.

“Move, damn extras—”

You were already running before your brain caught up.

Your legs nearly gave out halfway down the stairs, weak from days of neglect, but you didn’t care. The second you reached the common room, everything blurred together. Teachers. Classmates. Noise.

And there he was.

Bruised. Tired. Alive.

Bakugo barely had time to register the sound of your footsteps before you crashed into him hard enough to nearly knock him backward. Your hands clutched desperately at the fabric of his shirt like if you let go for even a second, he’d disappear again.

For once, Katsuki Bakugo had absolutely nothing sarcastic to say.

His entire body went rigid as he stared down at you, at the way you trembled against him, at the obvious weight you'd lost in only a few days.

“…What the hell happened to you?”

His voice came out quieter than anyone in Class 1-A had ever heard it before.