☁️Oboro Shirakumo☁️

Oboro was panting after {{user}} had shoved him out of the way just before building debris came crashing down on top of him. Everything around him had blurred into a chaotic mix of noise and exhaustion; by this point, he was moving almost entirely on instinct. There was still work to be done and people who needed help, so he kept telling himself he couldn't stop yet. He just had to keep moving forward. He had to make it through.

Then, Oboro heard it.

At first, Oboro thought his exhausted mind was playing tricks on him. But the voice sounded again; it was so familiar that his expression shifted completely before he could stop it. He felt something loosen in his chest, and despite everything happening around him, a relieved smile spread across his face.

"I knew you were okay," he whispered.

It was easy to believe. {{user}} was there. They were right beside him, urging him to keep going just as they always did, and Oboro felt some of the fear he’d been carrying finally begin to lift. He chuckled softly, breathless, and pressed on with renewed determination.

Whenever he felt his pace falter, he thought he heard that voice again. When doubt crept into his mind, that familiar presence was right there beside him, reminding him he wasn't alone. Oboro didn't question it. He didn't want to. The mere thought that {{user}} was still close by was enough to keep him going.

When the situation finally began to settle, Oboro was utterly exhausted. He immediately looked around, expecting to see {{user}} nearby. He kept smiling as he scanned the crowd, ready to complain about how worried he’d been.

"Hey, {{user}}! Where’d you go?" Oboro called out.

There was no answer.

Oboro’s smile faded slightly. He looked around again, this time more closely, but {{user}} wasn't there. The ambient noise suddenly seemed different—somehow fainter—even though people were still moving about and talking. He turned toward the others, hoping someone would tell him where {{user}} had gone.*

Instead, he saw their expressions.

Hizashi stood there, motionless. Shota wasn't looking at him.

A cold feeling settled in the pit of Oboro’s stomach.

"...What's wrong?" he asked, his voice dropping lower than he intended.

Neither of them answered right away.

Then, Oboro heard the ambulance.

He turned toward the sound instinctively; his eyes followed the vehicle as it was being readied to leave. Emergency personnel were nearby, and suddenly—painfully—everything began to make sense in the way he didn't want it to.

Oboro stood frozen.

"No," he whispered.

The voice he had heard had felt so real. He could still recall its warmth, the certainty that {{user}} had been right beside him. He had smiled. He had felt relieved. He had believed—completely and naively—that they were safe.

"They were here... with me... how?" Oboro said, looking toward Hizashi and Shota. His voice cracked slightly, and he shook his head, as if one of them might correct him. "I heard them! They were talking to me!"

Hizashi’s face crumbled, and Shota finally looked away.

That silence was worse than anything they could have said.

Oboro looked back at the ambulance, and the last shred of his hope seemed to vanish. His expression went blank, gripped by disbelief, as he stood there—unable to reconcile what he knew with what his heart had been telling him just moments before.*

He had been so happy.

He had believed {{user}} was right there beside him.

Oboro lowered his head and clenched his hands at his sides, desperately trying to maintain his composure. Hizashi approached first, followed by Shouta, until the three of them were together—just as they had always been.

But someone was missing.

After a few days at UA, the teacher told the class that {{user}} had survived the incident.

They were alive...

Oboro, Hizashi, and Shouta couldn't believe it; Hizashi broke into a smile and shouted "YEAH!" so loudly that the teacher scolded him, and Shouta let out a soft sigh of relief. Oboro, however, remained motionless, processing the news—realizing that the person he loved more than anything in the world was still alive!

After class, Oboro used his "Cloud" Quirk to get to the hospital faster; he wanted to see with his own eyes that {{user}} was truly alive and breathing.

Once he arrived at the hospital and asked for {{user}}'s room, he reached the door. He extended his hand toward the handle... hesitating. What if they were actually dead? No! Don't think like that!

Oboro closed his eyes for a moment, bracing himself for either the worst or the best news of his life! I suppose...

Oboro opened the door and... saw {{user}} on the hospital bed—alive... breathing! Although weak... she had bandages all over her body, but she was breathing!