Chapter 1:

Everything happened so quickly that to Izuku it appeared to him as nothing more than a film real sputtering in the dark of his mind. Scenes only illuminated by the intermittent flashes of lightning which shattered the darkness around him. Kaachan was on the ground, broken and bloody crumpled beneath the feat of the final Shigaraki. The last and real Shigaraki - his hand stretched out grasping for his childhood friend. I won't let you take any more of my friends away from me! Izuku thought, his mind racing. Suddenly, feet moving before he could reason, as they always did, Izuku was there, in front of his friend facing the demon who had killed so many. He had interposed himself before Katsuki, resigning himself to the final embrace of the killer's outstretched hand. "You can't have him!" Izuku screamed, as Shigaraki's crazed eyes met his, a crooked cracked smile erupted from the murder's face. Shigaraki, now intently lunged towards him and firmly crashed both of his bloody, cracked hands onto Izuku's face. "Game Over!" Shigaraki shouted as searing pain erupting from Izuku's innermost being and his consciousness faded to blackness.

A rhythmic beeping coaxed Izuku out of a dark, dreamless sleep. His mind was clouded as he struggled to regain consciousness. His eyes fluttered open and he dizzily examined his surroundings. He was lying on a bed in a sparsely decorated room with white walls and white curtains over the small window against the wall.

The infirmary huh? Well, I guess this is better than the alternative…

Izuku's thoughts were interrupted by a mental flash. A demonic face, grin twisted in glee. A hand reaching for his face. Kacchan on the ground...

Wait, Kacchan, he's hurt. I have to see if he's ok.

Izuku tried to sit up only to be met by resistance and searing pain. Flicking his eyes downward he froze at the unexpected sight that awaited him. He was in a full body cast; arms restrained down by his sides. He tried to cry out in surprise but found that even his mouth was clamped shut somehow and wrapped in gauze. His attempted cries erupted as guttural groans which resonated painfully in his damaged form.

Immediately he heard rustling beside him in the dimly lit room. Thrusting his eyes the farthest to the right as he could without straining against his restraints, he tried to focus on the source of the sound. He focused in on the figure in his periphery and the form of his childhood friend fade into view. Katsuki Bakugo, sat up looking slightly better than Izuku it seemed – probably due to Recovery Girl's efforts. His head was wrapped completely in a bandage, tufts of his spiky blond hair jutting out from it like tufts of angry hay. Still in his hero costume, a ragged piece of cloth torn and decayed leaving gaps of his skin showing underneath. A piece of a broken gauntlet dangled like a bracelet off his left hand, the other nowhere to be seen. Izuku looked him in the eye for a moment, a glint of concern and pain reflected in his red iris's. Bakugo stood up quickly and left the room in a swift motion, not sparing Izuku a second glance.

Wait, Kacchan, don't go… I don't want to be alone… Izuku struggled against his bonds, fearing the solitude which now seeped into the room around him, casting a cloud of gloom on the pasty white walls of the sterile room. Izuku struggled to fight back the images which tried to claw away at his tired mind. A hand reaching for his face. A bloody grin sharper than any knife. Pain.

Izuku was dragged out of his thoughts by the metallic clang of the infirmary room door opening, the room brightening with the added light from the fully illuminated hallway. The ragged form of a man entered the room. His back was hunched and he walked slowly, seeming to consider each step before he dared come closer.

All Might? Izuku recognized his teacher, his idol, as he stepped up to the bedside where Kacchan had been moments before.

"Young Midoriya," All might said, tired and hunched in his slender form. "I don't even know where to begin…". All might paused as tears welled in his bloodshot eyes. "Thank you." He said after several moments, embracing his student in a light hug cognizant of his student's injuries.

"You did it, I can't believe I'm saying this. But you did it. He's gone. Like, like gone gone. Well, far as I can tell that is?"

Izuku's eyes begun to well with tears, fighting back every urge he had to break down and cry before his teacher. Gone? Could he really be gone? Could it actually be over?

"I know you have a lot on your mind young Midoriya. But rest assured, you are in safe hands. I'm going to be honest. You're hurt pretty bad. Recovery Girl worked nonstop for two days straight trying to save your life. Obviously, she managed to given that were having this conversation right now, but you're not completely out of the woods just yet. You suffered severe damage to your throat as well as broken bones in nearly every part of your body. You had several ruptured organs and you managed to shatter several vertebrae in your spine. Shigaraki's quirk did a number on your whole body. If not for young Bakugo's efforts we would have certainly lost you. In fact, he's hardly left your side since you two were brought in. But, anyway, we can talk more about all of that once you've recovered fully. Just rest assured that we are going to do everything we can to ensure you have a full recovery."

Kacchan saved me? How? The last I remember he was unconscious... But wait, All might, what about everyone else? Is everyone else ok? I need to know! Are my friends ok! Izuku's eyes bored into his teacher attempting to relay his frantic thoughts since his own body betrayed him in that moment. All Might let out a deep sigh, a single tear cutting down his cheek as if he somehow could understand what Izuku was trying to ask him.

"We are… We are taking care of everyone who is hurt the best we can. Recovery girl and all the teachers here are doing everything we can to make sure everyone who is hurt is cared for. Just get your rest young one, after what you've been through, you need it more than anyone else here right now". All Might reached out and ruffled Izuku's hair fondly. "You did a good job young man, you did so good. I can't begin to express how proud I am of you. Now, listen to your teacher and get some sleep. I'll come see you again in the morning."

With those parting words, All Might turned and left the room. As the door closed, Izuku thought he could make out the form of a familiar person in black and orange standing just outside the room. Kacchan? Izuku thought as sleep begun to claim him. The medication in his IV drugging him into a deep, dreamless sleep. Before he drifted off completely, a foreign thought echoed in his mind: Huh, how about that, an extra life? Don't mind if I do!