Uraraka's screams ring out in his ears. Deku's whole body trembles from all the emotions pouring out into his limbs, struggling to focus as his vision becomes a sea of red.
His eyes scan the villains before them as he forces his jumbled brain to make sense of the situation.
Another scream pierces the air and he spares her a quick glance as she collapses onto the floor, clawing at her stomach.
"Your friend is dying," Shigaraki mumbles through the gray hand cemented to his face. "It's a simple trade-off and a win-win for us either way. Somewhere far from here, a blood-manipulating friend of ours is using her DNA to rip her apart. Cell. By. Cell. Give yourself up or she dies."
Toga gives him a wink and smile that sends shudders through his body. The memory of her sucking the blood out of Uraraka at the training camp suddenly flies through his mind and green sparks start to shoot off his body as he feels the power light up each and every cell in his body.
Dabi clicks his tongue as Uraraka screams again, and Deku can already make out her muscles as the skin on her arm begins to split and peel. His gaze flits once more between her and the villains and he takes a deep breath to think, eyes trained on the open palm of Shigaraki. The villain's fingers twitch slightly, and Deku can already envision the way his body would begin to crumble. First would be his chest, his heart and then it would ripple outward-
"D-Deku, don't!" his friend screams from her position on the ground, and he kneels by her side, letting her head rest against his lap if only for a split-second.
Tears blur his vision as he tries to make out the familiar brown eyes that have been by his side since he stepped through the gates of U.A.. Th-this was all wrong. His ears are numb but he feels the sobs rack through his body as he runs one hand through her brown hair. She's biting her lip, fighting the pain, shaking her head at him even as the skin from her cheek flies straight off. They were supposed to have more time than this.
From Stain and Toga, he knew that most blood quirks were dependent on the quantity of blood the user had access to-which meant that without getting more blood from Uraraka, the villain had to stop eventually. But he also had no idea how much blood Toga had gotten that night-and if they had gotten any more from one of their numerous villain encounters. His blood was probably stained across a couple alleyways by this point.
There were too many unknown variables-the exact specifications of the villain's quirk, how much longer Uraraka could last, how fast heroes could get to this practically deserted mountain village. The only constant in this unstable problem was his ability to save her.
That's what a hero would do, right? He tries to picture the situation through All Might's eyes, through Todoroki's eyes, through even Kacchan's eyes, but his brain is too shaken to come up with even the sparks of an idea.
He can save Uraraka by trading his life for hers, and that's all he knows for certain. Insane as they were, he had never seen the League of Villains make a bold-faced lie, and he knew, somehow, that she would live to see another day if only he didn't. Or maybe it was just his desperate hopes overcoming his sense of reason.
"Please don't," Uraraka manages to choke out, fingers wrapped weakly around his ankle. Pieces of her bone were visible now and he can see the red tendons outlining her figure. "I can make it. P-please don't go."
He smiles at her even as the tears are dripping down his face and ever-so-gently, lifts her head and lays it against the floor. Her nails are digging into his leg with what little is left of her strength, but he just shakes it off and calmly, slowly makes his way towards the villain and his outstretched hand.
Dabi gives him a suspicious look, but he holds his hands up in the air as he takes another step. Shigaraki makes some motion with his hand and behind him, he can hear Uraraka gasping for air, the screams finally silent.
When Shigaraki's fingers are just a centimeter from his chest, he spins his whole body around, ignoring the light brush against his costume and the decay now gnawing away at him. He sends the embers of One-For-All into his leg and swings it down hard against the villain's spine-not enough to kill him, but enough to permanently immobilize him.
Toga's coming at him with a knife now, and Dabi's hands are sparking with blue, but he knows the decay will finish him off before either of them can reach him. In his last moments, he locks eyes with a stunned, but safe and alive Uraraka.
He tries to say "I love you" but the words turn to dust.