The kitten truly was great company to you while Bakugou was gone, as it never left your immediate vicinity, even waking up to follow you around the palace. It calmed you to have constant companionship, though you still found yourself missing your lover severely by the time he was supposed to return. You knew what he had to do was important, as dangerous as it may be, and you had done everything you could to try and just accept that. Still, there was a selfishness that you couldn't quite rid yourself of. The time that you had together was limited, and no matter how much you tried to hide that sinking reality from your thoughts, it was impossible.

A week late from returning home, you couldn't stop the churning feeling in your gut that was telling you something just wasn't right. This delay was familiar to you, but not because it had happened before. Never once had he been held back or had any issues, so maybe that is what was making you so nervous. That, or it could be that this was one of the first signs of impending doom that you just refused to recognize. Because, if it was true and this was that exact delay that prevented the palace from being properly prepared for the attack, then that means there was no more than five months left.

Five months might not seem like a long time, but in this world where nothing was quick and simple, it was no time at all. On top of that, the entire five months weren't guaranteed. You didn't know when exactly the attack would happen at this point. There needed to be more proof, more circumstances and actions that were more concrete signs before you made any assumptions or decisions. But, with only your feline friend to keep you company while you waited for your lovers return, you couldn't help your mind from spiraling.

When the bell finally rang through the air signaling their return, you were quick to make your way down to the stables. Although you were excited that they had finally gotten back, what you weren't expecting was the severity of their condition.

Many soldiers had already collapsed from exhaustion, and from what you could tell, their ranks had been demolished to less than half. The many injured survivors tried to help those who were near death, and the healthy were left to carry supplies, shuffling about on sore feet and aching limbs. And, in the middle of it all, you saw the fluffy blonde head of your lover, using one arm to direct while the other helped support him on a makeshift crutch.

The urge to run to his side immediately was almost unbearable, but you knew better than to get in the middle of his work. Injured or not, Bakugou never left his troops until everything was taken care of. Right now, that meant sectioning off the injured for care, dumping off supplies, and leaving what little of the dead they had been able to bring home off to the side in preparation for burial. As you watched, stomach rolling and bubbling nervously as you worried about the state of Bakugou's own injuries, you could see his generals all doing just as he was.

None of them seemed to be in any dire state, except for Kaminari, who was squatting amongst the injured with many bandages wrapped around his head and over one eye. Even with his injuries, he was still checking on each man, deeming who was in immediate need of attention before commanding some of the healthy to take them to the infirmary first. Kirishima, Ashido and Sero were all over the place doing this or that, and in that moment, you wished that you could help.

A presence beside you made you nearly jump out of your skin, looking up at Midoriya's worried, freckled face. "A-ah, Midoriya, you scared me!"

"Sorry!" Midoriya's cheeks flushed a bit at his mistake, giving you a wary smile as he reached up to rub the back of his head. "I had called you, but I suppose you didn't hear me."

"No, I'm… I'm distracted, I guess." Looking back out at Bakugou, you noticed that he had paused his yelling and commands for a moment, speaking quietly to Kirishima. "He looks injured, but I can't tell since he hasn't turned to face me yet…"

"Their last report had said that they had failed, but it had been written so quickly that there weren't many details… But this is severe. He's never lost this badly before. Did… you know this was going to happen?" Although his voice was timid, as it usually was, you could hear a hint of blame behind his curious concern. Frowning, you gave a small shake of your head, keeping control of your emotions so that you didn't snap at him. He was a much higher ranking than Bakugou, and though he was incredibly informal, you knew that it wouldn't be good to argue.

"No, I hadn't been able to see the severity of the loss… But I had warned him that it was going to happen. He didn't… say anything?"

"He did mention that, but I think that his arrogance got in the way of taking your warning seriously. Until I hear the official report, though, I can't say– ah, Kacchan!" With Midoriya's cry of concern, you saw Bakugou nearly collapse, only held up by Kirishima's quick reactions. No longer caring about staying out of the way, you were quick to run to his side, supporting him from his other side to help him keep his footing.

"Katsuki, you need to rest–" Your own gasp interrupted you as you could finally see the severity of his injuries, or at least, what was covering them. His robes were basically in shreds, the huge gap and tears in them revealing a cloth bandage that wrapped around his abdomen all the way down to his right knee. It was stained and dirty, with blood, dirt, and who knows what else. The pattern of the blood gave away what shape his wounds must have been in, as the line went across his stomach and down his thigh. He had many other injuries that were left uncovered, but they were minor. This large wound, however, was life threatening, and you couldn't believe that he had still been standing and commanding troops all this time.

"I don't need to rest. Both of you get off me!" With a shove, Bakugou pushed Kirishima off him, though he couldn't quite do the same since you were on his injured side. Frowning, you knew better than to take the command personally, able to see just how frustrated he was at himself. You could tell that, outside of what excruciating pain he must have been in, he was humiliated. Bakugou took his work very seriously, and he prided himself in taking charge and losing very few battles during his entire career. But this wasn't just a simple loss. This was a powerful, crippling blow.

Able to feel him trembling from head to toe, you kept yourself beside him, giving him further support to his weakened side. "No, Katsuki, that's enough now. Kiri and the others can take it from here, you can't push yourself like this–"

"I can and I will!" Bakugou snapped at you, his glare darker than you had seen in a very long time. "I already let them all down… All because of what you told me! So back off, and let me do what I must!"

Feeling an ache in your chest from the pained way he blamed all of this on you, you found yourself at a loss for words, only able to stare up at him in shock. He couldn't be serious… Could he? Was he actually upset with you, or had he just become delusional from the pain and exhaustion? In fact, you couldn't even remember what it was he was referring to. You knew that this battle was going to be one of their biggest losses, as this was such an important one it had even been on one of your tests in college. There hadn't been a single detail that you didn't share with him, from what you could remember. What was it that you had told him outside of the facts that made him so upset?

"Katsuki… I–"

"I'll die standing here if it means that I can make up for even a little bit of the trouble I caused them. Now get off me… You stupid… woman–" A weak fluttering of his eyes as followed by another near collapse, which made you fear that you were going to be crushed under his weight. Instead, he was caught again, but this time by Midoriya. The happy and bright expression he usually sported was now furrowed with a mix of obvious anger and annoyance,

"That's enough, Kacchan. Kirishima can take over from here for you. We're taking you to the infirmary."

"No-!" Bakugou tried to push Midoriya off him, but it was impossible, all his energy nearly drained. "Get off me, Deku, you moron! I don't need your help–" As the belligerent blonde tried to take a step on his own, his leg gave out on him, nearly sending him to the ground again if not for the help of his companion. With a sigh, Midoriya shared an exasperated glance with you before he started towards the infirmary, no longer finding it necessary to try and stop Bakugou as he shuffled forward with the help of his crutch.

Although you felt that, at this point, your company wasn't something that Bakugou wanted, you followed behind them silently. With every step, gasp he made or groan of agony, you felt the weight of guilt only grow heavier on your shoulders. Yet, you still didn't know why. What was it that you had said or didn't say? The burning question was digging a hole right into your brain, and it didn't stop, not even as you sat beside him while his wounds were tended to. You helped silently when it was requested of you, and you kept your gaze averted from his wounds because it was just too gruesome for you to look at. There was even a point that his pain was so severe that he clutched on tightly to your thigh, digging his fingers into your clothing and skin. It only made your heart ache further, and though what he had said to you hurt you deeply, your love for him overcame your sadness. So, you held his hand and comforted him, which is what you knew he needed right now.

Eventually, he fell into unconsciousness, sleeping through the rest of the wound cleaning and wrapping process until he was tucked up under blankets. He had already been stricken with fever from the days of traveling with an open wound, and according to Ochaco, it was truly a miracle that he was even still alive. She was even worried that he could still die at any second, and though you tried to pretend to be worried as well, you had a hard time doing so. Not because you weren't worried in general, but just because you knew that it wasn't yet his time. But there was something else that you did know and that you wanted to tell him as soon as possible.

This was the first sign of impending doom that you had been waiting on. The severity of the deaths and injuries, the set back of the army arriving home late, and one of the top generals out of commission told you that the huge fatal attack was going to come very soon. It rested on the tip of your tongue, burning your taste buds like you had just bitten into a sour fruit, and you wanted so badly to tell him. For days, you waited for him to regain full consciousness, the disgusting secret only growing more foul on your lips the longer you had to wait. Still, you suffered through it, taking care of him until the day he finally became alert.

It was an early morning, with heavy rain and thunder crashing. You sat beside your husband, four days worth brooding over the truth and his words to you having set you in a nearly comatose state of waiting and watching. The book in your hands had gone unread, but you kept it open just so people would assume you were reading instead of your mind drifting off into oblivion. What first pulled your attention from the blurry words was a soft groan and a shifting of his arms. With one reaching out of the duvet that covered him to push the wet rag off his forehead, he rubbed his eyes, wincing from the pain that the nearby candlelight caused.

Shutting your book, you scooted a bit closer to him, tenderly placing your hand on his chest. "Katsuki…?"

"Where the hell am I…?" Bakugou mumbled, letting his hand fall to rest over yours. Still finding the dim light unbearable, he turned his head a bit to the side, resting his face into the soft fur of your cat. "Damn cat… You're what's been tickling my face." With a sweet meow, your cat stayed in its place beside his head, purring loudly in reaction to his touch. Unable to resist a small smile of your own, you turned your hand to hold his fingers gently.

"It's your own little furry personal nurse, Katsuki."

"Oh? Isn't that what you are?" Although his voice was weak and the exhaustion was still apparent, he cracked a smirk with his tease, instantly making your face flush violently.

"H-hey! I am not furry…" Pouting, you squeezed his fingers lightly in punishment, though all you received was another weak chortle from him. "You wake up after four days and the first thing you want to do is tease me."

"It's because I love you, [F/N]."

Your heart fluttered violently, feeling a rush of sudden emotion that you thought had been locked down tight. Even though you had tried to tell yourself over and over that you knew he wouldn't die from this, the worry had been steadily growing that maybe he wouldn't die, but would be comatose or completely bedridden for the rest of his days. But, now that he was finally awake, the relief exploded like a bomb, and you couldn't stop the violent wave of tears and hiccups.

"Oh Katsuki… I love you, too. I'm so glad that you're awake." Leaning forward, you rested your head against his chest, sobbing softly into the duvet. Pulling his free arm out from under it, he placed his hand on the back of your head, softly stroking your hair and rubbing your scalp with his fingers. The tender touch that should have calmed you only allowed more of the subdued emotions to break free, clutching on tightly to his hand, as if at any second he could vanish.

After a moment of letting you cry it out, Bakugou gave a heavy sigh. "I… didn't mean it."

Sniffling, you turned your head a bit to look up at his face. "What? Calling me furry? I'm not really upset about that, Katsuki–"

"–No. No, not that. I mean… what I said by the stables."

Frown crossing your lips, you carefully sat up from him. "I… I still don't really understand what you meant by that… I've tried to think about it… how I could have been the cause of what happened out there. But…-"

"You weren't. It was me. I had thought that, if I was strong enough… If I had enough courage and power, I could change what you said was going to happen. As if… I could change the future. But instead, all of this was because of me." Bakugou rubbed his eyes, squeezing the inner corners against the bridge of his nose as he sighed. "I went against our strategies… Thinking that, if I could just… do something else last minute, it would have a positive outcome. But I was foolish… and I lost so many men. They trusted me… I let them all down."

The meaning behind this was more important than you would have ever really expected. Not only had he attempted to change the future, but his actions ended up the cause of what you had known. If he had truly stuck with the plans, they still would have failed, but would it have been as severe?

Does that mean…. That if we try to change what we know will happen… Those actions just end up the cause of it. So, it's already set in stone…

"Katsuki… That just means that everything I know about what happens, what is set in stone in my era, is happening right in front of us. That no matter what I say… what we do… nothing will change what is meant to happen." You couldn't control the breaking of your voice or the new burning of tears in your eyes as your mind came to terms with this simple truth. You couldn't change the future, because all along, it already included you and all the actions you had taken. The deeply furrowed brow of your lover and his strong hand tightly gripped around yours made it clear that he understood this as well.

There would be no saving anyone from the flames. There would be no long and happy life together, growing old and having a family. The fire would swallow everything, and that included the man that you adored with every inch of your soul.

And yourself.