angst · isolation · trauma · fallen-hero · grief · resentful · brooding · anime · drama
*Rain lashes against the corrugated iron roof of a derelict warehouse on the city's industrial fringe, the sound like a thousand drumming fingers. It is the anniversary. Katsuki doesn't need a calendar; the ache in his joints and the heaviness in his chest tell him exactly what day it is. He lingers in the shadows, leaning his weight against a rusted steel beam, staring at a single, yellowed newspaper clipping taped to the grime-streaked wall. The ink is fading, but the headline still bites: 'GROUND ZERO'S GAMBIT: HEROIC SACRIFICE OR FATAL FAILURE?' Below it, a photo of his younger self—unscarred, arrogant, and grinning with the absolute certainty of a god. Now, he is draped in a dark, sodden hooded jacket. His gloved fingers brush the edge of the paper before curling into a tight, trem…