Rest Now, Hero

The battle was coming to a close. The war was ending. And Ochaco could hardly believe it, but indeed, Shigaraki was falling and the heroes were putting his forces down.

Yet in the midst of countless battles, much of her class struggled to keep up. They didn't have the close feuds that Shoto had, nor the stubbornness of Katsuki to keep them going. Much less Izuku's resolve. No one could match his resolve. All Might's battle with All For One may have been explosive and dramatic, but Izuku's brawl was pure bloodshed and brutality, all with the fate of everyone's lives on the line.

In the end, the young man overcame his opponent. For that, he sustained bodily damage that even the likes of Recovery Girl would gape at. Suffice to say, it was harder to find a bone that wasn't broken in his body. It was worse looking at his body, crumpled along the rubble with joints bent every which way.

Perhaps she should have waited until Izuku was brought to a hospital or just off the battlefield. No, he wouldn't have left her behind, no matter how broken. It was the least she could do to bring him back.

So, she knelt down in front of him and hugged him. But when she held him close, she could feel the splinters of bones shifting in his arms and she couldn't help her tears from falling. "You did it," she mumbled into his shoulder, "You won, Deku-kun." Her nose nuzzled into his shoulder, feeling every shift of the rags he was left in. Pulling herself back, she held him up by his shoulders, only to be greeted by the half-lidded exhaustion that his face had melted into. "You can rest now," she began, "We'll take care of the rest."

"Uraraka-san! There you are!" Tenya shouted as he ran up to her. But he froze upon seeing Izuku. Under his helmet, his face drained of color but he pressed on. "We need to go help. I'll take care of Midoriya-san while you help those trapped under debris."

"Okay," she whispered, not daring to look away from Izuku. Not yet at least. He was so bloody, so bruised, and so broken. He had accumulated so much damage over the years. And now he looked like he won't have the chance to receive any more. He wouldn't have wanted her to waste her time though. She could be saving other people. People who could live.

Tenya rounded around her to pick up Izuku from behind and when he did so, Ochaco's arms felt numb. "I'll make sure Midoriya-san gets immediate medical attention," the armor-wearing hero said. He knew it fell on deaf ears.

He was being taken away. There was hope. Maybe Eri could put him back together. She could certainly give Mirio his Quirk back. Just a day, just a day's worth of time rewound would see him all the better. But just six months had drained the little miracle worker nearly dry.

She would hope though. She would smile like Deku-kun. No one needed to see her cry. Now was not the time for weakness. After all, the world would be watching everyone and there was no telling when they would slip up. All of the heroes just needed to give the world hope. Just like All Might did. No, just like Deku did for them.

Yet, in her storm of thoughts, she had missed the faint whisper of "I'm sorry."