Chapter 10: The Service

All Might

Yagi Toshinori had been through much in his life, but this day was proving to be the hardest yet. Ever since the announcement, Toshinori had had nightmares about both the death of Young Midoriya.

He had felt a deep foreboding when Nezu had collected the entirety of U.A.'s staff together for an urgent announcement. Aizawa had been notably absent, and Toshinori had reasoned that he was already with Young Midoriya in the hospital. He worried how bad the boy's injuries were to warrant an announcement of this degree, but he could never have pictured this.

Nezu had delivered the news in as professional and regretful a tone was expected, but in all honesty, Toshinori barely remembered the actual words that were said - he only remembered a violent rejection, because no, there was no way young Midoriya was…

But more and more details came, and Toshinori felt a deep numbness sweep through him. It was a defense mechanism learned through all of his time as a hero - when someone doesn't make it, or you fail to save someone, you have to learn to shut out your emotions, or your effectiveness is compromised.

This day was testing Toshinori's abilities to do such things. He would soon have to accept the fact that Young Midoriya - no, Izuku, was gone. The boy truly had become the light of his life. Not only had Toshinori entrusted the young man with the fate of the world, but he was the only family that the retired hero had. A part of him still rejected the mere idea - a life so kind and bright couldn't be snuffed out so easily. Yet here he stood, waiting for the car carrying Mrs. Midoriya.

When the small woman arrived, Toshinori took it upon himself to escort her, lending her what semblance of strength he had left. She was paler than when he'd seen her last, and she looked frail, so very frail. But it was her resemblance to her son that hurt Toshinori the most.

Every footstep felt heavy as he led her to the room where the memorial service would take place. Silence stretched across their party, and it continued as more and more people filtered into the room. Tears threatened to spill as Toshinori watched Mrs. Midoriya carefully set young Midoriya's ashes in front of a large picture of the boy.

Young Midoriya would have been thrilled to see all of these heroes in one place, though embarrassed that they were here for him. More and more frequently Toshinori found himself doing that, pondering how Young Midoriya would have reacted to something, and it only ever served to cause him more pain.

The principal opened the proceedings with much the same attitude he had had when he announced Midoriya's death to the staff. Toshinori's heart stilled as Nezu announced that he would be the next speaker. Against his will he rose, slowly stepping towards the microphone. When he'd been the number one hero, he'd often felt that he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. Somehow this felt heavier.

He swallowed. "I've had the privilege of working closely with Young Midoriya during his time here at U.A., and I can tell you I've never met anyone who more perfectly embodies the ideals of a hero. He consistently used all of his strength in the pursuit of his goals, be it physical, mental, or emotional. Often that meant a few too many tears on his part, but young Midoriya never held back anything when it came to protecting others.

"He will be missed, there is no question of that. I already miss young Midoriya more than I could have ever fathomed. But he is not gone, not completely." Toshinori had to pause, swallowing the tears that threatened to overwhelm him. "Young Midoriya lives on in each of us here. Every time that someone acts in the name of justice, wholeheartedly and without hesitation, we honor his memory. My time as a hero is done, and his was just beginning. So we must honor his sacrifice, and give it the meaning it deserves."

Oh no, Mrs. Midoriya was crying. Well, it would probably be more accurate to say that now she was crying harder. But seeing the overwhelmed mother made Toshinori's throat feel tight. He needed to finish quickly.

"We can each become a bit more like young Midoriya. Each day we can work to become a bit more selfless, a bit more caring. Then, we can carry on his legacy, and leave the world a better place than it was before."

Toshinori was glad to sit down, but as he did, a sense of finality settled over him. Young Midoriya truly was gone. A part of him had refused to believe it before, but now it was impossible to do so. It was time to say goodbye.

Iida

Iida breathed in deeply. As he looked out to the crowd, he knew he had to do his job as the class president, but he could only think that it was his fault that they were here, that it should have been him that was felled that fateful day.

It almost was him. The group of pros that day had allowed the students to select which hero they wanted to patrol with, and Tenya had naturally gravitates towards Kamui Woods. He had always admired the hero, not as much as he admired Tensei, naturally, but he appreciated Kamui Woods' dedication to safety.

Midoriya had come late— Tenya would have felt it his duty to reprimand his friend if it hadn't been for the family emergency Midoriya had dealt with earlier in the day. In this instance Tenya supposed it was an acceptable excuse. To his credit, Midoriya was not the latest one there. He immediately made a beeline for Tenya, asking if he would consider switching patrols.

"After all," Midoriya had said, "You're going to be working with Kamui Woods next month. This would give you the opportunity to be exposed to different varieties of heroism."

Tenya adjusted his glasses. "You are correct, Midoriya. Very well, I will go on patrol with Death Arms instead." He turned away before pausing and slowly turning back. "Is everything… okay, Midoriya? You were gone for quite some time for your family business."

The boy had smiled, but Tenya could clearly see that everything was not okay. Tenya offered his ear and whatever help he could afford and then left the boy to his business. If he needed to he could press the matter once they got back from patrol.

But Midoriya never came back, he never would. Tenya could not express the horror he felt at Mr. Aizawa's announcement — Midoriya being gone was unthinkable. He felt much the same grief as everyone else, though hanging heavily over his head was the knowledge that if Tenya had not traded patrol routes, Midoriya would be alive.

He knew his words could never begin to convey the greatness of his friend, but it was Tenya's duty to try.

"Hello, my name is Iida Tenya. I am the class president of 2-A, but more importantly, I was one who called Midoriya Izuku a friend."

Tenya resisted the urge to clear his throat and instead adjusted his glasses. "When I first met Midoriya, I must shamefully admit that I severely underestimated him. I saw a timid boy with a habit of muttering that would never pass the U.A. entrance exam. However, that day, as always, Midoriya proved to be the wisest and most heroic of us all. He jumped in to save someone even when it jeopardized his chances of gaining entrance to U.A., and that was only the beginning of Midoriya's bravery. I think that each of us in Class 2-A would have a different story to tell to demonstrate his heroic spirit.

"And beyond all of those stories are countless more. Midoriya truly lived the life of a hero, and I cannot be prouder to have called him one of my closest friends. As hero students, it is our duty to learn from his example and become the best versions of ourselves."

He could feel the eyes of his class on him, and Tenya knew that they all felt the same urge to honor Midoriya that he did. Their class felt more unified than ever before, but the price was too high.

Uraraka

Ochako was determined not to cry. She had done enough of that since… that day, and anymore it felt like weakness to cry. She knew Deku wouldn't think so, but Deku also wouldn't want her to cry over him.

Emotionally she was a mess, but so was everyone. Out of the entire class, Deku was probably the student whose death would have hit the hardest. The teachers weren't the same either. U.A. in general seemed quieter, more somber.

This was true after the memorial service. The students shuffled back to the dorms, quieter than their teachers would have ever thought possible of the group of teenagers. Once they were back at the dorms they sat down in the main area, and the only real noise was a quiet debate about whether or not they should turn on the press conference. It was Yaoyorozu that finally settled the matter, stating, "It will be available online, which means that anyone who wants to view it can do so on their own terms. We all need to grieve in our own ways."

With that, the class uneasily sat in silence, miserable, miserable silence.

Ochako turned to Iida. "That was really a great speech, Iida. Deku would have cried."

"Yeah, it was super manly," Kirishima said with a shadow of his normal enthusiasm.

"Thank you, I hoped to convey even a fraction of Midoriya's heroism."

They lapsed into silence again for what felt like forever until the door opened, revealing Deku's mom accompanied by Mr. Aizawa and Present Mic. The students couldn't help but stare as they disappeared, walking towards the dorm rooms, probably Deku's room.

Ochako wasn't ready to have Deku's stuff taken away. She didn't spend very much time in his room, but the thought of it sitting empty… That hurt. She fretted about all of the changes that were bound to come. Who would move in to Deku's room? What would happen to all of his prized possessions?

Mrs. Midoriya came back downstairs with an armful of extremely familiar notebooks. Everyone snapped to attention, fully aware of the significance of said notebooks.

Surprisingly enough, it was Bakugou that broke the silence. He moved towards the woman purposefully, red eyes brimming with emotions. In a choked voice, he said, "I couldn't keep him safe, Auntie. I should have… I knew that Hisashi was bad news, I just -"

The smaller woman cut Bakugou off, pulling him into a one-armed hug. The two stood like that for a few moments, her tears staining his dress shirt. The entire class sort of froze at Bakugou willingly showing emotion. "It's not your fault," she said, pulling away. "The only person at fault is Izuku's murderer. I wanted to come here to make sure you know that, as well as thank each of you."

"Thank us?" Ashido asked, voice thick with tears.

"You may not know this, but Izuku was a late bloomer, actually one of the latest cases in history," she explained. "He was misdiagnosed as quirkless for years, and he was bullied because of it. But he never stopped standing up for others or wanting to be a hero. Everyone told him that it was impossible, but then he made it into U.A. For the first time he had friends, and even more he began to see all of you as family. I wanted… I wanted each of you to see yourselves how Izuku saw you. I know he admired every one of you. That includes teachers."

Ochako felt her resolve not to cry slowly crumbling away. She had always known that Deku kept a page about her in his notebook, but she'd never seen it herself. He'd always been a little too embarrassed to let her see it. Now here his mother was, who had lost so much, giving them one last piece of her son.

Once the small woman set the notebooks down, Ochako couldn't help herself. Her arms were wrapped around Mrs. Midoriya before she even realized what was happening, and the two cried with one another. Then Mrs. Midoriya rubbed Ochako's back, just like Ochako's mother did for her when she was small. "Thank you in particular. Thank you for caring about my son."

Ochako pulled away, wiping at her eyes. "Thank you for your son."

A/N: Sorry for the long wait! Finals are next week so I've been really busy, and these scenes were a little harder to write than I originally expected. I hope to have the next chapter of Arson up within a few days or so, but by now you all know how inconsistent I am with updates. Good luck to everyone else that has finals coming up, I just hope I survive!