Chapter Text
You and Bakugou were called to a villain attack, the quirk used by the villain was unknown and he was already hurting a lot of people. He used hand-to-hand, as far as the reports could go. There wasn't a lot of information about this guy, you and Bakugou were going in blind.
And you both were so blind.
You hit the ground hard, your world fading into a blur of pain and cold. Bakugou's voice was the last thing you heard—raw, desperate, calling your name like it meant something. And then... nothing.
Darkness swallowed you whole.
Then, just as suddenly, light.
Your eyes snapped open, your lungs dragging in a sharp breath. The ceiling above you wasn't the ruined sky from the battlefield, but the plain, familiar one of your apartment.
Your heart thundered in your chest as you sat up, hands gripping the sheets. You were alive.
Your phone vibrated on the nightstand. The date on the screen sent ice through your veins. You saw what the date was, it wasn't something you paid attention to the first time you woke up to your alarm.
One month before the attack.
You died. You were sure of it. But somehow, you were back.
You had a second chance.
And no one knew but you.
On the morning you woke up, you didn't go to work right away. Your hands trembled as you gripped the bathroom sink, staring into the mirror.
It wasn't a dream.
The battle had been real. The villain's attack had been real. And the way Bakugou had screamed your name had been real.
You couldn't let it happen again.
Your phone buzzed with an alert. The pro hero agency had a mission briefing. Your mission briefing. The same one as before.
You exhaled sharply and made your decision.
This time, you were going to live.
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You kept your distance from Bakugou, same as before. You weren't enemies, but you weren't really friends either. The two of you were assigned together often, but your interactions were nothing more than sharp words and teamwork born out of necessity.
This time, though, you found yourself watching him more closely.
He was always prepared, albeit reckless. In your past life, it had been that recklessness that had gotten you killed. No—not this time.
You adjusted your tactics, subtly changing your positioning during missions. You stayed closer, covering him when needed, avoiding situations that could lead to the same outcome.
If he noticed, he didn't say anything.
But you knew he was watching.
He has definitely noticed.
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The night before your mission, the mission, you couldn't sleep.
You sat outside the agency, staring up at the night sky. The weight of your secret pressed against your chest. The knowledge of what was to come burned in your mind.
You wouldn't tell anyone. Couldn't.
But when Bakugou sat down beside you, you felt the urge to say something.
"Tch. You're acting weird," he muttered.
You exhaled a short laugh. "I'm always weird."
His eyes narrowed. "No. You're different."
You turned to him, taking in the way the streetlights softened his sharp features. He wasn't as harsh as he pretended to be. Maybe he never had been.
"...It's nothing," you finally said.
He didn't believe you. You could tell. But he didn't push.
That was fine.
You just had to make it through tomorrow.
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Tomorrow came fast. The villain came like clockwork, just as he had before.
A monster with a quirk that twisted gravity itself. You and Bakugou had fought him together before. You had died.
Not this time.
You moved differently, avoiding the deadly mistake you had made before. Bakugou noticed—of course, he did. His red eyes flickered with suspicion as you countered attacks before they landed, anticipated movements before they happened.
He didn't question it, though. He adapted.
The fight raged on, the villain stronger than expected. A wave of gravity crushed the ground beneath you. Bakugou cursed, blasting away.
You should've died here.
You didn't.
Instead, you moved before the attack landed, shoving Bakugou out of the way. His eyes widened as he hit the ground. You twisted mid-air, flipping to land on your feet, to check on him.
"What the hell?!" Bakugou barked.
You felt the blade before you saw it.
Cold, sharp, sinking deep into your side.
Your breath hitched, blood bubbling in your throat. The villain—he had changed his attack pattern. You had avoided your first death, only for fate to twist in on itself and strike you down in another way.
Bakugou was shouting your name. His voice was raw and desperate again. You could barely make out the shape of him through your blurred vision.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
You were supposed to live.
Darkness closed in, swallowing the edges of your world.