3: The rising sun bathes the forest clearing.

Ochako was used to waking up in pain. The boxes she slept on were a far cry from her bed at the college and they didn't leave much space to spread out. But this pain was different than the cramps she would get. It sizzled through her whole body, twisting and stabbing as she tried to move.

Mana exhaustion.

But why had she drained her reserves? She was still in the cellar…

Her eyes snapped open. The rising sun glared back. She pushed herself away, grunting as she fought through the pain. As she crawled forward her hand brushed against cloth. She flinched back, struggling to look up. When she did, her heart jumped as she came face to face with a corpse garbed in the Guards' colours. Looking at her periphery, she saw more.

Then the night before came back to her.

"Izuku…" she croaked. She crawled over the body. "Izuku."

She needed to find him. The last she saw he dived into a group of enemies and drew them away from her. Her hand slipped and she tumbled onto the grass, landing on her back. A thick fog had descended on the clearing, the sun beaming off the smog. "Izuku." She needed to move. She needed energy.

Ochako raised her arm.

The fog wobbled. She opened up her mana pool and she felt nature's energy moving to the focal point in her hand. The fog swirled as it coalesced around her arm. It smelled like the morning dew, felt thick like broth and just as filling.

As her body filled with energy she called out his name. "Izuku. Izuku!" She rose to her feet. "Izuku!"

Dozens of corpses littered the clearing, the blood long since soaked into the ground. They were all the Guards' colours. No sign of Izuku's green cloak. "Izuku!"

Her eyes scanned the area until they landed on a large tree. It towered upwards, likely hundreds of years old and rich in mana. There, nestled in its gnarled roots, a man in tattered clothes, sword stabbed into the ground beside him. It was only by his green hair did she recognise him.

She ran for him, tripping over body after body as she drew closer to his still form. A cold dread sunk her stomach. Cuts and slashes marred his body, the blood dried on what remained of his clothes. His head was hung over, limp like a doll.

"Izuku!" She closed the distance and cradled his head, trying to look into his eyes. They were closed. "No. No. Izuku!" He couldn't be dead. He was too stubborn to die. She pressed her ear to his chest. No steady thump that she used to fall asleep to. Next, she put her ear by his mouth.

Time seemed to slow as she waited, holding her own breath so that she wouldn't miss his own. Birds chirped in the distance.

Then it caressed her. His breath. His life.

Her tears fell faster as she clutched at his chest.

A/N: Just a quick one whilst I'm writing something else.