๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐๐๐๐๐ & ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐
ONESHOT โ โAnythingโฆโ
โ ๐๐๐จ๐ ๐ญ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ง
You smell iron before you see him.
It clings to the airโthick, unmistakable, wrong.
Your boots skid to a halt as the corridor opens into ruin. Stone walls torn apart. Scorch marks burned deep into the floor. At the center of it all lies the monsterโone of Innocent Zeroโs twisted creationsโsplit, crushed,ย dead.
โNoโฆ no, no, noโโ
Heโs on his back, limbs slack in a way youโve never seen before. His uniform is torn open at the chest, soaked dark with blood that continues to pool beneath him, spreading slowly like a cruel stain you canโt stop staring at. His face is calmโtooย calmโeyes half-lidded like always, mouth relaxed, as if heโs only resting.
You drop to your knees beside him so hard it knocks the air from your lungs.
โMash?โ Your hands shake as you grab his shoulders. โMashโheyโthis isnโt funny. Get up. Please.โ
No annoyed grunt. No confused blink. No stupidly blunt response.
You press your fingers to his neckโonce, twiceโpanic clawing up your throat.
Your hands move on instinct, pressing hard against the wound in his chest, magic flaring weakly as you try to stem the blood. Itโs useless. Thereโs too much. Far too much. The monsterโs attack wasnโt meant to woundโit was meant toย kill.
Your vision blurs as tears spill down, splashing onto his uniform.
โHe won,โ you choke. โYou beat it. Youย alwaysย winโฆ so donโt you dareโdonโt you dare die nowโโ
Your chest tightens painfully.
Mash Burnedeadโmagicless, stubborn, impossibly strong Mashโhad fought a 1v1 against a creature born to erase existence itself. And heโd done it. Heโd crushed it. Destroyed it.
At the cost of his own life.
โNo. I wonโt accept that.โ
You wipe your tears away roughly, mind racing. Blood loss. Extreme trauma. Cardiac arrest.
A plan formsโreckless, forbidden,ย lethal.
Not stabilized. Not shared.
Your breath trembles as you laugh weakly. โYouโd hate this,โ you whisper to him. โYouโre always telling me not to overdo it.โ
You press your forehead against his, fingers tangling into his hair.
โBut you do it all the time.โ
Your magic circle flares beneath youโlarge, intricate, glowing brighter than it ever has before. Symbols carve themselves into the stone floor as you slice your palm open without hesitation. Blood drips freely, feeding the spell.
โYou saved me,โ you murmur. โAgain and again. Every time I was scaredโฆ every time I thought I couldnโt stand up anymoreโฆ you were there.โ
Pain explodes through your veins as the magicย pullsโdragging your blood, your life force, your magic itselfโforcing it into Mashโs broken body. Your vision swims. Your hands tremble violently as you press them to his chest, blood flowing unnaturally, glowing faintly as it enters him.
โYou said youโd protect me,โ you gasp. โSo let me do thisโjust onceโโ
Your knees buckle, strength draining frighteningly fast. The world feels distant, sound muffled, heartbeat roaring in your ears.
Mashโs wound begins to close.
Your breath comes out in broken sobs as you cling to him, refusing to let go even as your own body screams at you to stop.
โAnything,โ you whisper hoarsely. โIโd give you anything.โ
The transfusion ends with a violent backlash of magic that throws you forward. You barely manage to keep yourself upright as you force the second spell into placeโelectric magic, sharp and volatile.
Your hands hover over his chest, shaking.
โPlease,โ you whisper.
The jolt surges through himโ
You canย feelย itโslipping through your fingers like sand, draining faster than your body can handle. Every breath is shallow now, each one thinner than the last, and the pounding in your ears is growing distantโฆ dullโฆ slow.
Thatโs all you care about.
Your vision blurs as you lie beside him, cheek pressed against the cold stone floor, fingers still weakly curled in the fabric of his uniform. The glow from the magic circle flickers, sputtersโฆ then stabilizesโfocused entirely onย him.
The wound in his chest closes completely, skin knitting back together as if it had never been torn open at all. The blood stops. His chest rises, fallsโslow, steady, real.
A small, tired smile curves your lips.
โโฆthere,โ you whisper, though the word barely leaves your throat.
Your arms feel too heavy to move. Your eyelids flutter, struggling to stay open as the world darkens at the edges. The cold seeps deeper into your bones, replacing the pain with a strange, peaceful numbness.
โโฆhey,โ he murmurs hoarsely, eyes still half-lidded. โYou didnโt have toโฆ go that farโฆโ
You want to tell him youโd do it again. That you never hesitatedโnot for a second. That loving him was never meant to be safe.
But your voice wonโt cooperate anymore.
Instead, you turn your head just enough to look at himโreally look at him. The stubborn set of his jaw. The way his hair falls into his eyes. The same expression he always wears when heโs worried but doesnโt know how to say it.
Your chest tightens painfully.
โโฆMash,โ you breathe, barely audible.
His eyes open a little more, finally focusing on you.
โHeyโ?โ His voice sharpens. โWhy arenโt you moving?โ
He tries to push himself up, but his body is still weak, movements sluggish. His hand reaches for you, clumsy and uncoordinated, fingers brushing your arm.
โNoโwaitโโ His breathing stutters. โYouโreโฆ youโre joking, right?โ
You manage to lift your gaze to him one last time.
The fear on his face is something youโve never seen before.
It hurts more than dying.
Your lips part into a faint, peaceful smile.
Thatโs what you want to say.
And your body goes still beside him.
Mash shakes you gently at first. Then harder.
His hands tremble as he presses his forehead to yours, searching desperately for warmth that isnโt there anymore.
โโฆyou said youโd stay,โ he whispers.
The words come out broken, childlikeโwrong coming from someone so strong.
โI won,โ he says weakly. โI killed itโฆ so you can wake up now.โ
Something ugly twists in his chest, tighter than any wound heโs ever taken.
โNo,โ he breathes. โNoโnoโnoโโ
His arms pull you against him, crushing you to his chest as if sheer strength alone could force life back into you.
โโฆyou werenโt supposed to do that,โ he whispers, voice shaking violently. โThat was my job.โ
His grip tightens, knuckles white.
โI protect people,โ he chokes. โThatโs what I do.โ
Your head rests limply against his shoulder.
Mash bows over you, shoulders trembling as the reality finally sinks inโheavy, suffocating, irreversible.
And he couldnโt save you.
โโฆI didnโt say you could leave,โ he whispers hoarsely, tears slipping free despite him not understanding when they started. โYou didnโtโฆ give me permissionโฆโ
The corridor is silent now.
And Mash Burnedeadโinvincible, undefeatedโ
Is left kneeling on a bloodstained floor, holding the one person he couldnโt protect.
Defeating Innocent Zero didnโt feel like victory.
It felt like a vow carved into bone.
Mash Burnedead destroyed him the same way Innocent Zero had destroyed countless livesโwithout mercy, without hesitation. Every punch carried the weight of names that would never be spoken again. Every blow was a promise:ย You donโt get to exist anymore.
When it was over, there was no cheer. No relief.
That night, the wind was cold against Mashโs skin as he stood on the rooftopโthe same rooftop where laughter once echoed, where arguments broke out over nothing, where time felt endless becauseย youย were there to fill it.
Moonlight spilled over the stone tiles, pale and soft, illuminating the empty space beside him.
That space never filled anymore.
They still came hereโFinn, Lance, Dot, Lemon. They tried to pretend things were the same. They sat in the same places. Talked about the same stupid things.
But there was always one missing presence.
One laugh that never joined in.
One voice that never teased him for standing too close to the edge.
All because you saved him.
Because youย diedย saving him.
Mashโs fingers curled slowly at his side.
โโฆshouldโve been me,โ he muttered.
The words slipped out before he could stop them.
He took a step forward, stopping exactly where it had happened. The spot where the blade pierced his chest. The place where your blood had soaked into stone as you held him and chose him over yourself.
Mash stared down at his hands.
Hands that could shatter walls. Crush monsters. Kill gods.
Hands that couldnโt hold onto you.
His breathing grows heavier as he presses his palm against his chestโright over the healed scar that never stops aching. His fingers dig in, hard, like heโs trying to reach through muscle and bone.
โWhy are you still beating,โ he whispers hoarsely to his heart. โYou werenโt supposed to.โ
Pain blooms sharp and immediate, but itโs not enough.
Mash grits his teeth andย forcesย his fingers deeper, nails biting into skin, reopening what the magic healed too well. Blood wells up beneath his palm, warm and slick.
โIf I hadnโt lived,โ he breathes, voice shaking, โtheyโd still be alive.โ
His knees buckle suddenly, and he drops forward onto one knee, hand still pressed to his chest as blood seeps through his uniform. His breathing turns raggedโuneven, wrong.
Images flood his mind uninvited.
Your smile when things were quiet.
Your voice calling his name.
The way your hand felt in hisโwarm, steady, trusting.
Your body going limp beside him.
A strangled sound tears out of his throat.
โI didnโt protect you,โ he chokes. โI let you die.โ
His shoulders begin to tremble violently.
โI always protect people,โ he whispers desperately, like if he says it enough it might come true. โThatโs what Iโm good at. Thatโs all Iโm good atโso whyโwhy were you the oneโโ
His breath collapses into sobs he doesnโt understand how to control. Tears drip down, splashing onto the stone floor, mixing with blood.
Mash Burnedeadโwho faced death without blinking, who broke monsters with his bare handsโ
A panicked voice cuts through the night.
Footsteps pound across the rooftop.
Finn is the first to reach him.
โMashโwhat are you doing?!โ Finn drops to his knees beside him, hands hovering uselessly as he sees the blood. โYouโre bleedingโ!โ
Lance freezes a few steps back, eyes widening.
Dot skids to a stop, horror spreading across his face. โW-What the hellโwhy are you hurting yourself?!โ
Lemonโs hands fly to her mouth, eyes filling instantly as she takes in the sight.
Theyโve never seen this.
Mash doesnโt look at them.
His grip tightens against his chest as his breathing turns broken, uneven, almost desperate.
โI lived,โ he gasps. โI lived and they didnโt.โ
โI wasnโt supposed to,โ Mash continues, voice cracking wide open now. โThey traded everything. Everything. And I justโkept breathing.โ
His head bows forward, shoulders shaking violently as the tears finally spill freely.
โI didnโt ask for it,โ he sobs. โI didnโt deserve it.โ
Dotโs throat tightens painfully.
โDudeโฆโ his voice trembles. โStopโdonโt say thatโโ
โI shouldโve been the one on the floor,โ Mash cries, words tearing themselves out of him. โI shouldโve died. I shouldโveโโ
Finn wraps his arms around Mash without thinking, holding him as tightly as he can.
โThatโs not true!โ Finn cries. โTheyย choseย you! Because they loved you!โ
Mash lets out a broken, animal soundโhalf sob, half screamโas he finally collapses fully, body folding in on itself.
โThen why does it hurt this much,โ he whispers.
Lance clenches his fists, jaw tight as he turns away, teeth gritted to keep himself from crying.
Dot wipes angrily at his eyes. โYou idiot,โ he mutters shakily. โYou think theyโd want you doing this?โ
Lemon kneels beside them, trembling hands gently pulling Mashโs bleeding hand away from his chest, pressing her scarf against the wound.
โThey saved you,โ she whispers through tears. โSo you could live.โ
Mashโs sobs slowly quiet, but the pain doesnโt leave.
He leans into Finnโs hold, exhausted, hollow, utterly broken.
Above them, the moon shines just as it always has.
The rooftop remains the same.
Some victories donโt feel like winning.
And some lives saved come at a cost that never stops hurting.
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