My hands feel heavy, resting on the keyboard of my computer, as though they've been filled with lead. But nothing is heavier than the words I heard over the phone four hours before, a suffocating weight pressing on my mind.

Unashamedly, I cried right there in my office. I wasn't screaming, but it wasn't a composed kind of crying to fall to my knees, gripping the edge of my mahogany desk, breathing in shuddering gasps. Sidekicks must have seen me, but none asked what was the matter.

I swallow, returning my mind to the present. A cursor flashes in and out of existence on the blank document, waiting patiently for me to write. I look out the window, wondering what the future holds for us...heroes, civilians, society as a whole. The buildings of Hosu City seem grayer than before, a dismal fog hanging in the air to match the news. With a glance at the clock, I know the information will be made public within the next hour.

It's simultaneously a relief and a burden to know that I'm not the one everyone expects to take his place; no, that's for someone much stronger than me. Instead, I've decided to offer one of my best friends something else. Steeling myself, I began to type.

People of Japan,

I know you have just suffered a great loss. I need not explain, because we all feel it, together. However, now more than ever, we must show those who prowl in the darkness that we are not weakened, but that we are more united than ever before. In order to achieve this end, I have a proposal.

Write a letter telling our dear friend Deku everything you would want him to know, and leave them at his statue. There is no doubt in my mind that he will read them all.

I will start:

I bite my lip, the tears pushing at my eyes from behind, stinging. One escapes and rolls down my cheek.

Dear Deku,

I hope this letter finds you well. I'm writing to let you know what an inspiration you are to everyone. We all know that you are always far too humble, so you should hear this!

When I first met you, I wondered what such a jittery person was doing at the U.A. entrance exam, but I quickly realized there was something very special about you. You were a considerate classmate, a formidable rival, and a wise and loyal friend.

You told me once that the essence of a hero is to get involved when you don't have to. I know that we will all strive to live by your words in the coming storm, and forever after that.

I will not forget to allow my scars to lead me.

Sincerely,

Ingenium

The cursor blinks at me again, as though asking if I'm really finished. Surely there's more to say to Deku. I manage a tearful smile, imagining Uravity laughing, saying for the hundredth time that I'm much too cheesy. I can see Deku laughing, too, but I know it's because he appreciates even cheesy words when he knows how much I mean it.

I power down my computer, washing up for evening patrol. I put my helmet on, latching it into place.

Time to go.