MHA REINCARNATION!

I remember the moment everything changed. It was a cloudy afternoon, with dark clouds swirling ominously, as if nature itself sensed the chaos that was about to unfold. We were on a mission—me, Bakugo, and Todoroki—three of U.A.'s finest, or at least that's what we had aimed to be. Our camaraderie forged in the fires of competition had grown into something unbreakable, a bond that outshone our individual accolades. I was the number one pro hero, but at that moment, I felt more like a child lost in the woods.

The villain we were after was unlike any we had encountered before. He called himself The Curdler, and his quirk was as insidious as it was potent. With a flick of his wrist, he could cast a curse that not only crippled us but left us teetering on the brink of despair. We fought valiantly, coordinating our attacks with the practiced precision of years spent battling side by side. Bakugo roared and blasted, his explosions illuminating the darkened sky, while Todoroki unleashed a torrent of ice to trap our adversary. But Curdler's devious grin seemed immortal, mocking our every attempt.

Just when we thought we had him cornered, he struck back. I can still hear the chilling words echoing in my mind: "This is just the beginning," he sneered before he unleashed a wave of dark energy. I felt it before I understood it—a heat that seeped into my muscles, an icy grip that tightened around my heart.

And then, darkness engulfed us.

Lying on the cold ground, side by side with Bakugo and Todoroki, time seemed to stretch infinitely, a slow unraveling of moments filled with agony. My body was screaming, a toxic poison coursing through my veins, eating away at me to the core. I wished I could say I felt angry, but the pain dulled everything else. It was a heavy kind of despair, one that coiled tightly around my chest, making it hard to breathe.

"Damn it!" Bakugo muttered through gritted teeth, but I could hear the crack in his voice—the worry that brewed beneath his bravado. I turned my head, meeting Todoroki's gaze. His usually stoic expression was marred by lines of pain, the ghost of fear flickering in his eyes. We all knew this wasn't just another battle; it was something far darker.

I let out a ragged breath and whispered, "What…what if we don't make it?" To this day, I don't know why I needed to voice that fear. Maybe it was the instinctual hope of banishing it by speaking it aloud.

Todoroki stared at the glistening clouds above us, their beauty stark against the horror we faced. "We've faced down worse. We'll find a way. We always do."

But even as he said the words, I could see the wobble in his resolve. I felt my heart sink further, knowing the truth nestled in the pit of my stomach.

Regrets bubbled to the surface, memories unspooling in my mind like a film reel. I thought of Mom. I had promised her I would take her on that dream vacation, a trip she had been dreaming of since I was a child. All those plans, sketched out in happy conversations at home, felt like a cruel joke now. I could almost hear her laughter, the way her face lit up when I mentioned the seaside.

Tears prickled at the corners of my eyes. "I'm so sorry, Mom…" I whispered, though she couldn't hear me. The realization settled over me like a heavy blanket. I would never be able to fulfill that promise. I felt utterly helpless.

Bakugo stared unflinchingly at the sky, his anger a tempest beneath the surface. "I have things I haven't done! Things I want to accomplish," he growled, the usual fire in his voice fading to a tremor. "I can't go out like this."

Todoroki sighed, his eyes lost in thoughts of his family burdens and his own longings. "There's no shame in regrets, you know," he offered quietly, almost pensively. "But we fight, not just for ourselves."

I wanted to believe him, to cling to that hope, but the poison clawing at my insides felt insurmountable. The shadows of despair danced around us, taunting us with the future we'd never have.

Was this how it ended? Would our dreams slip through our fingers like sand? In that moment, I closed my eyes, summoning every ounce of strength to cling to those fleeting memories. The smiles, the laughter—Mom's hug after I had made her proud.

And as the light dimmed, a faint pulse of determination flickered in my heart. We might not escape today, but the will to fight would never fade. Even if we were to fall, I'd still stand for my friends, for my dreams, for my mother.

I reached for Bakugo's hand; we would face this together. Maybe, just maybe, if we believed hard enough, we could turn despair into something unbreakable. The world needed us to keep fighting, even if it was the hardest goodbye of all.