…What happened?
She can't move. Can she? She can't feel anything when she tries. Her fingers are stone cold. It's not her fault. He'd been desperate. If only he had just admitted he needed some backup, she wouldn't be in this situation. She'd lost her hat somewhere in the chaos.
Stupid Ground Zero. Always taking the hardest choices by himself. Stupid. Stupid.
Stupid.
…
"Agh…"
Camie tries to stand, rocks and pebbles toppling off her body as she moves. The earthquake struck this place hard. She abjectly wonders if everyone made it out alive, if everyone she knew was okay. She's only eighteen. There is no way she is going to die.
…Right?
Successfully getting herself into a crouch position, Camie scours the mountain of rubble for any signs of life. Luckily paramedics and other heroes are rushing her way. She can't feel her arm, nor her leg, and she honestly doesn't even want to see the damage. No. She can't. She won't.
She wants to see Bakugou.
Where is he? Is he alright? He better be. His stupid face has been crowding her dreams lately, and she can't pinpoint why. Why…
…
She had twisted her gaze at the wrong time.
There, trapped under what looks like a couple tons of rock and rebar, is the unmoving body of Bakugou Katsuki. He's prone, his lower half completely hidden by the dilapidated building. Camie's eyes fly wide.
A gentle whisper.
"Bakugou…?"
He…
He'd… saved her…
She remembers now.
The panic ensuing its way through her bones. How Bakugou specifically yelled at her not to butt in. How even Shishikura called her a moron for rushing to Bakugou's aid. How ferociously swift that building was coming down on top of her.
How Bakugou had shoved her out of the way.
"Hey…"
She limply crawls to his side, slow as molasses, her heart speeding up and despair sinking in faster than rushing water. She ignores the distant voices of other heroes.
"Bakugou…"
The second she lays her finger on him, he reacts. He coughs, loud and hoarse, eyes bleary and unfocused as he attempts to orient himself. He looks to Camie above him.
Red eyes meeting brown, with full confidence, he glares and tells her straight to her face:
"You goddamn idiot…"
Camie tears up, and sobs.
She never once understood how someone could so easily say they would die for another. The more she thought about it, the more it confused her. To throw away your life for someone else, no matter who they are, made no sense to her whatsoever.
Yet…
And yet…
She finally understands.
The day Camie Utsushimi understood love.
And as she finds herself sobbing into Bakugou's hair, holding him close as if to never let go, she understands. She understands the feeling of wanting to die for Bakugou. She understands the feeling of loving Bakugou.
Her knight clad in orange and black.
"I love you," she mutters without thinking at all. She says it, over and over. He remains unresponsive. Limp in her grasp. There's blood leaking from the rubble, from his head.
"I'm so sorry."
If only she hadn't rushed in there. It's all her fault, truly. She hadn't followed instructions, and here she is. She wants to switch places with him.
"I love you."
His silenced nature breaks her heart in shatters. Camie is sure anyone can hear her crying now. Despair taking over like the end of the world.
"Don't die," she pleads, crushing herself against him. "Don't you dare die. I love you. I love you…"
It takes four pairs of arms to pry her off.