Chapter 45: PLUS ULTRA!

"Five, six, seven, eight!" Piano and base started in unison, the guitars joined in. It was harder to stay in time without the steady noise of the drums, but they were doing their best. After all, the festival was tomorrow, and their three remedial class students were taking their licence exam in this very moment. Talking about bad timing.

The last four weeks passed in the blink of an eye. December had come before they knew, and they were collectively ignoring the noise complaints they received every other evening from their two neighbour dorms. 1-A's performance had to be perfect, because Eri was coming to see it. Izuku was a bit sad that he would only be on stage very shortly – not that he liked being the centre of attention, but he wanted Eri to see him – before he joined the stage crew.

"Okay, time for a break! Thanks for your hard work, everyone!" Jirou's self-esteem had improved greatly over those weeks. She was still shy, but she didn't have a problem singing in front of them anymore. The even brought the class closer together, strengthening and even forming new bonds.

Just as Izuku sat down, the stage crew returned.

"Great news, guys," Sero reported, "the stage will be free at eight, which means we can practice there one last time!"

The girls cheered, with Hagakure loudly suggesting, "Let's put on our costumes! It's going to be our dress rehearsal!"

"Aren't we going to wait for Hikari, Todoroki-kun and Bakugou-san? I don't think it will be the same without them," Yaoyorozu reminded them, although she seemed very excited herself. Speaking of those three… Izuku got up, crossed the free space they created by stapling all the tables along the walls, and fetched his phone from the kitchen counter. They were probably still in the middle of the exam…

One new message from All Might came in that very second. There was no text, but a single picture attached. He clicked on it.

There was Bakugou, his face turned to the left. He seemed equally pissed and proud. In the middle was Todoroki, hiding the lower half of his face behind something. He averted his eyes as well, but Izuku clearly saw relief in them. On the right he found Hikari beaming at the camera. He zoomed in.

They were holding their licences. All of them. They all passed. Now, all of 1-A were officially provisionally licenced heroes.

"Midoriya-"

"THEY DID IT!" He didn't let Iida finish. Ignoring his friends perplexed expression, Izuku copied the picture to the class chat, knowing none of the three would send it themselves.

Hikari couldn't believe it. She had sworn to herself to do her best despite knowing the experts were probably not judging her rightfully, but with the thought of her brother's crimes in the backs of their minds. And yet... She passed. She didn't simply pass, she got an acceptable score as well. Aizawa-sensei had put her through extensive training the past weeks, helping her to get used to that new style she came up with while analysing her family's quirk. Even though that had boosted her performance exponentially, it wouldn't have changed anything about the experts' prejudice, if it hadn't been for All Might. She had no idea how to thank him. The teacher and still beloved but retired symbol of peace had gone to "have a chat" with the experts before the exam.

"Kumogane-chan?" A voice, somehow familiar, startled the girl. She turned around, coming face to face with none other than the number two hero, Hawks. Her jaw dropped.

"That's the hero name you submitted, isn't it? The golden spider: Kumogane."

It had been a last-minute decision. Just the day before yesterday, Hikari had approached her teacher with a request to change her hero name.

"Y-yes…? I mean, uhm, it's a pleasure to meet you, Hawks-san!" What was she supposed to do? Why was he even here? Had he been watching the exam? And how did he know about her hero name?

"Hawks is fine" the young pro said, "you did well today!"

"Thanks...?"

"No probs! But, you see, it's a very explicit hero name. You sure about that?" He came a few steps closer. There was nothing menacing about him, and yet it made her feel uneasy. She had been the only one left in the changing room, having waited until the other students were done. So, why was he still here? He couldn't have been waiting for her, could he? Why should he?

Shaking the irritation off, the girl replied, "Well, I'm… It's not that I have a choice or anything. I will fight with all my power, so there's no denying where I came from. I… I can't run away any longer, I have to face it."

"Hm," the pro scratched his chin, "that's not a bad answer."

Hikari was nothing but confused. She watched him muse over something before he snapped his fingers. "You don't remember, do you?"

Remember what? She didn't even have to answer, Hawks already continued, "Anyway, how about you intern with me? I'm guessing not too many have offered yet."

Her jaw dropped even lower. She was too perplexed to react. Meanwhile, Hawks drew a business card from his pocket and placed it in her hands.

"Call the agency when you've made up your mind. Until then… See ya!" The hero left with a two-finger salute. She stared after him, her mind unable to process what just happened. No sane person would offer her an internship, not with her background in mind. So, why would the number two hero do so? Did he have an ulterior motive she didn't know about? And what did he mean by 'you don't remember'?

The U.A. student didn't move until Bakugou yelled at her out of nowhere, "Oi, Scarface! Why are you just standing there?! We need to fucking go!"

"Yeah,", He was the last person she would ever tell about the offer, "I'm coming..."

Back at the dorm, 1-A obviously threw them a small surprise party, completely forgetting about rehearsal.

Focus, Izuku, focus. Think about something exciting.

A picture from his dream last night flashed before his eyes. He could feel the dread, the burning in his forearms. No, he didn't want that to be the memory that initiated his quirk. He didn't want fear and bitterness to be the starting point.

"Young Midoriya, how about the festival? Aren't you excited to perform on stage?" All Might suggested, seeing how much trouble he was having today. Izuku shot his mentor a grateful glance before closing his eyes again. Activating his quirk through nervousness was still better that that.

He heard the by now familiar hissing first. Izuku opened his eyes, finding the green flames flickering along his arms. He turned to the candle in front, stretched his arm in its direction and took a deep breath. The tiny fire seemed to burst into an equally tiny green inferno. He willed it to ascend, stretched it up into the air. He moved his arm to his side, pulling the fire with him. He was slowly getting the hang of it. It truly was a merge of his parents' quirks; he could move fire around like his mother did with objects and even create it himself like his father. What he couldn't explain though, was why it looked different from the first time he accidentally activated it. The thought irritated him, causing the teen to momentarily lose control. The line of flames previously hanging in the air dropped to the floor, setting the dead leaves on fire. Within the blink of an eye, All Might was there to suffocate the flickering lights, always having a fire extinguisher right next to him.

Izuku believed he had gotten over his fear, but the more he trained, the more he realized that he didn't. Fire still terrified him. Whether it was his own, whether it could hurt him, or not. If his mentor hadn't acted without hesitation just now…

"Young Midoriya, what's troubling you?"

He sighed. His discomfort didn't go unnoticed. The young successor rubbed his forearms, not sure how to turn his feelings into words. "I'm not sure… There's just so much going on right now, and I thought it would be good because then I don't have time to think about certain things, but whenever I get a moment to breathe, I still do…"

"Have you been sleeping enough lately?"

Izuku stiffened. Of course, he didn't. Whenever someone was concerned about him looking tired, he'd brush it off, saying it was thanks to their rehearsals and his training. They usually let it go, all being stressed out themselves. He didn't want to bother them with his personal troubles.

"Well," All Might put the extinguisher back down, "it's a good thing the festival is today, then. Please take it easy afterwards, you need to rest. And you know, you can tell me anything-"

"Wait," the festival was today, "what time is it?!" Izuku had planned to use the early morning hours to work on his quirk for a bit before it started, but how long were they already at it?

"It's ten to nine-"

"I'M SORRY, I HAVE TO GO, SEE YOU LATER, ALL MIGHT!"

Dress rehearsal began in ten minutes. He wasn't going to make it.

"This is our last rehearsal," the class president announced, "I repeat, this is the dress rehearsal! Class 1-A…"

And they all chimed in, "PLUS ULTRA!"

It went well, despite the delay. If they didn't count that time Satou stumbled over Ojiro's tail, but he did a good job at pretending it was part of the performance. Everything was set. Present Mic helped them with the whole sound engineering until the band was happy, no less than twenty minutes before the performance. The students took a break, some anxiously making sure everything was in place, others just snaking until Iida reminded them that eating too much before physical activities was bad.

Izuku sat in the second row of the audience area with Todoroki and Tokoyami, arms folded on the backrest of the seat in front. They were watching the rest of the class in silence. Anxiousness was nagging at his nerves, he had already asked Todoroki to cool him down twice, afraid he might burn through his clothes in excitement. He still hadn't told anyone about the surprising development with his quirk, because they would ask him to show it, and he still lacked control.

What Izuku did know, was that their performance was going to be one hell of a ride. All the work they put into it, all their passion, all their joy… He wanted their feelings to reach Eri. And maybe, just maybe, they could make her smile.

"Mind if we join you?" Yaoyorozu and Hikari arrived, the later nibbling on a rice cracker. The boys didn't get to answer because Aoyama popped out of nowhere in his shiny armour.

"Mesdames et messieurs, are you ready for our sparkling performance?" He threw his cape up and bowed low. Yaoyorozu chuckled nervously. "Yes, thank you Aoyama-san."

"Let's all sparkle plus ultra!" Even he seemed in high spirits, winking at each one of them until his eyes locked onto something. "Ohon, did you do something to your hair? Your face is almost as sparkly as my cape!"

Still chewing on her cracker, Hikari blinked at him, genuinely surprised. A slight blush crept up her cheeks and she brushed a strand of hair behind her left ear. "Uhm, yeah, Momo cut my bangs yesterday. Thanks, for, well, I didn't think anyone would notice-"

"ARE Y'ALL EXCITED?" Kaminari slid into view, followed by Mineta and Sero, completely ignoring they had already been talking.

Hikari didn't mind being interrupted. Still softly smiling, the girl plopped down on the chair besides the one Izuku was leaning on. While finishing her cracker, she was completely focussed on the heated 'discussion' that ensued once Mineta started commenting on the girl's costumes and their very nice 'assets'. Finally, Iida came to shut them down.

Despite the questionable topic, listening was nice. They seemed carefree, their biggest fear being that they might trip on stage. A stranger walking by would never guess they were a bunch of aspiring heroic students, all having been in dire situations, narrowly escaping death before. All those students seemed to care about now, was impressing the audience.

"Hey, Midoriya?" a voice shook him out of his thoughts. He directed his attention towards the seat front right.

"Do you maybe have a minute tomorrow? There's something… A few things I'd like to talk to you about."

"I will actually be spending the rest of the weekend at my mom's apartment… But we can talk on Monday after classes, if that's okay with you?"

"Sure, don't sweat about it," she reassured him, ignoring Bakugou's yells coming from the stage, "and say hi to your mom from me."

"Will do." It was still strange that his friend knew his mother while he had never seen the two interact before, at least not when they were both conscious. But his mother kept asking him about her, so there was something. He wasn't given long to ponder about it.

"Nervous?" Hikari inquired, eyes directed at the stage, fingers fidgeting with the hem of her sleeves.

"Yeah," he confessed, "I've never been on stage before. Being in front of people is… Scary." Once he was a pro, he would be giving the worst interviews ever.

"It is. But it's going to be fine. After all, we can't disappoint Eri, can we?" The girl flashed him a slightly crooked grin.

"No, we can't."

Izuku was only able to throw a single glance at her, but since then, his eyes wouldn't stop watering. Eri had smiled. She sat on Togata's shoulder, hand up in the air, eyes sparkling. It took all out of him to resume his work behind the curtain. Izuku continued being overwhelmed by the feedback they got, two of the business course students even came to apologize for throwing shade at them in the morning.

Cleaning the stage was more work than he expected - who was he lying to, they had literally rained ice over the whole audience, there was tape, Mineta's balls were sticking everywhere - but Izuku hurried as fast as possible, knowing Eri and Togata-senpai were waiting outside, there was no time to lose.

As soon as she spotted him, Eri let go of Togata's hand. "Deku-san!"

He knelt down, meeting her on eye level. "Hello, Eri-chan! How was it?"

The little girl was blushing madly, "It was so loud! It scared me at first, but then I saw you dancing, hip hop!" She jumped from one foot to the other. "Everything was like whoosh, and whew… Then the lady sang ahhh and I wanted to sing, too!" She waved her arms around, the widest grin Izuku had even seen spread across her face. He quickly wiped the happy tears away before she spotted them.

"I'm so glad you liked it, Eri-chan!"

"Eri-chan!" Uraraka and Asui appeared at his side. "I don't know if you remember us… But I'm Ochako! Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Tsuyu, kero. Call me Tsu-chan!"

"Wah, is that little Eri?" Before he knew, half of the class surrounded them. All students introduced themselves and despite seeming overwhelmed, Eri listened to all their names. Her eyes darted left and right after the last introduction, as if looking for something.

"We're going to enjoy ourselves for the rest of the festival, do you want to come with us?" Uraraka finally offered. "There's a lot of activities and food! We could watch senpai taking part in the beauty contest, or go to the haunted house, I think there's also a race and the support class' tech exhibition…"

Hikari stared. It couldn't be. She had had a bad feeling when Aizawa-sensei pulled her aside after the performance, but this…

"What's up, nerd."

Tears were streaming down her face, but she didn't care. "Neko…"

"That was quite the performance back there. I never imagined someone would ever get you to dance."

"Just shut up." Hikari threw her arms around her best friend who more than willingly returned the hug. Aizawa-sensei was mindful enough to wait until they separated before he began, "I thought you were going to ruin everything if you knew, so I made it a surprise."

"How thoughtful of you, sensei," Hikari retorted. But she wasn't mad, he had a point.

"I have to get back to work. Shikogane, whatever you do, don't let Amatsuki out of sight. That's the one condition the principal had for letting her come."

"Yes, sir." She would agree to anything if it meant she got to spend the rest of the day with Neko. They hadn't seen each other in months, not since Hikari had been kidnapped.

Aizawa took his leave, not before throwing one last silent warning at her. Silence engulfed the two girls. They eyed each other, both overjoyed, yet at the same time… Estranged. So much had happened. They still called each other whenever life allowed it, but over the past months, those calls had become rarer. They still talked for hours, but it just wasn't the same anymore.

"So, what were you planning to do?" Neko broke the silence, ignoring the knot that surely build in both their stomachs.

"I was going to enjoy the festival with my class, but-"

"Alright, then let's do that."

It didn't sound like Neko at all. She hated U.A. She hated heroes and heroism. Introducing her to 1-A would be like sending her into the lion's den.

"N-Neko! I don't think this is a good idea, we could just hang out together-"

"I promise I'll behave. It's just one day, what could go wrong?"

Hikari decided it was better not to answer to that.

They found some of the other's in front of a food truck. Ochako was handing Eri a cotton candy. The little one had apparently never seen one before, judging by how wide her eyes went. She bit into the fluffy candy and yelped as it melted on her tongue. She excitedly said something to Tsuyu when her eyes found the two approaching girls.

"Hikari-san!" she exclaimed and waddled towards them. Hikari got down onto her knees and welcomed Eri with open arms. Aizawa had taken her to visit the rescued child more and more, and since telling the little girl about their shared past, Eri stopped being so scared. It was a strange bond they developed, but one Hikari cherished.

"Hi-chan, there you are! Where were you? You just disappeared after cleaning up!"

"Sorry, Ochako" Hikari apologized, still holding Eri in her arms, "something came up."

"You already know Eri-chan, kero?" Tsuyu inquired.

"Ah, sensei took me to see her a few times because… You know…" She didn't want to say it, but Ochako and Tsuyu exchanged a knowing glance. Meanwhile, Neko came down at Hikari's side. "Hello Eri-chan, do you remember me?"

Eri eyed her. Her grip on Hikari grew stronger. Then it clicked, "You're the lady from the lab!"

"Exactly," Neko winked, "see? I held my promise. I'm not sure if you remember, but I'm Neko. Nice to meet you again."

"Wait," Ochako piped up, "the Neko?! Hikari's friend?"

Neko got back up on her feet. "The one and only. And I guess you're Hikari's classmates?"

"Uraraka Ochako!"

"Asui Tsuyu. You can call me Tsu-chan, kero."

"Tsu-chan?" Neko folded her arms. "Isn't that a bit intimate? I'm all for using first names, but this is very intimate, even for me. You heroes are weird."

"You're Hikari's friend, and Hikari's friend is my friend, kero" Tsuyu stated as a matter of fact. Neko raised her brows, clearly amused by the other's behaviour.

"Well, then, Tsu-chan… How did you get my friend to wear that thing?" She pointed at Hikari's stage costume.

"That was me!" Mina and some others joined them. "We only added a few details though, we didn't have time to make them ourselves!"

Neko looked completely dumbfounded. She turned to Hikari who shrugged and picked Eri up. "Are they also from your class?"

At last, Mina noticed that she didn't even know the girl she just spoke to. "Who are you, by the way? I haven't seen you around!"

"I'm the one and only-"

"Ne-ne-neko-san?!" At last, the class was complete. While Midoriya only stared at the Seishin student with his mouth hanging wide open, Momo, the only other classmate to recognize Neko, cupped her cheeks.

"Seems like I'm already popular around here," Neko winked, not directed at anyone in particular. "You can introduce yourselves, but I won't remember your names anyw-"

"Don't listen to her, and don't tell her anything personal, she remembers everything," Hikari cut her friend of, warning her class. A few irritated glances were exchanged. Meanwhile, Neko went on, not caring about Hikari's warning, "Oh, and before you ask, I'm quirkless."

While most of them were occupied introducing themselves to Neko, both Midoriya and Togata approached Hikari, or respectively Eri in her arms.

"You were gone," Eri remarked, almost reproachful. Togata scratched the back of his neck.

"We're really sorry for being gone for so long, Eri-chan! But we got something special for you!"

"Something… Special?" The girl repeated and tilted her horned head.

"Here," Midoriya pulled something from behind his back, "that's for you, Eri-chan."

It was a candy apple.

"I looked at the program, but they weren't selling any, so Togata-senpai went out to get the ingredients this morning," the green haired boy explained, "since we promised to get you one, we made it ourselves. I hope you like it."

Eri's eyes went wide. She reached out for the apple with one hand, still holding the cotton candy in the other. Hikari barely managed to pull the little girl's scarf down before the sugary substance came into contact with it. Eri hesitantly nibbled. Her eyes began to sparkle.

"It's… So sweet!"

"So, you like it?"

Eri giggled. A sound so unfamiliar, yet so sweet and so right, Hikari had to withstand the temptation of crushing the cute girl between her arms. It had worked. Their feelings had reached Eri. She was finally able to smile.

The sun set early, drenching everything in orange light. Exhausted from all the excitement Eri doze off in Togata's arms, showing them that it was time for her to leave. They said their goodbyes, glad to know the girl would be resting only a few buildings away. With Midoriya's promise to make her another candy apple, Togata went to get Aizawa before bringing the girl to her room.

Darkness fell over the city as soon as they waved goodbye. Fairy lights sparkled everywhere, setting a whole new atmosphere to the soon closing festival. While the group still couldn't decide what to do next, the two ex Seishin students excused themselves, Neko urging her friend to a more private spot. In the end, Hikari had to lead her friend to the edge of the forest, since the other had no idea where she was going.

It took a while for their eyes to adjust to the dark. The noise of the festival turned into a low buzz, light shone behind the treetops. It was time.

"Hikari-"

"You're flying to Singapore tomorrow, aren't you?"

Neko sighed. "Yes."

"So, this is goodbye?" Hikari knew. Somehow, she had known from the second Aizawa-sensei brought them together. Neko was moving out of country, for good.

"Yes and no," Neko seemed unusually serious, "this is farewell."

She misheard. There was no other explanation. "What?"

"This is the last time we'll be seeing each other."

Her mouth felt incredibly dry. "What do you mean we won't see each other again?"

The happiness that had filled her for most of the day disappeared in an instant. The only thing left was the cold wind blowing, causing Hikari to shiver. "I know we probably won't be able to see each other face to face for months if not years, but we can still call and text-"

"I've been thinking about this for a long time, especially lately," Neko admitted, "you see… There was only ever one choice for me. And after today, this has become easier. Seeing you with all those heroes, all those people I can tell you care about, and they seem to look out for you, too… I can see that you're happy here."

"I… I am," Hikari recognized. She did like being here, with them. "But-"

"Good. That's good. I'm glad. Now that I know that, I can talk to you freely. There are some things you must know, some things I should have told you sooner, but I guess I was scared." Scared? Neko of all people? Hikari could only stare at her best friend in disbelief.

"You remember that time we first met, up on the roof?"

How could she forget.

"You were standing there, so hopeless, so broken, ready to do it… And I happened to stumble upon you. But I didn't see you. I just saw a new asset I could use, a tool for my own amusement."

"That's- That's not true." The words came barely over her lips. Hikari gulped.

"But it is. What I saw was someone who had lost faith in life, someone weak minded, ready to believe anything I would tell. All I had to do was promising you the one thing you so desperately longed for; a purpose."

Please stop.

"And that's what I did. You were so easy to manipulate, so easy to use. You did everything I asked you to. But soon I realized that there was… More. You were intelligent, sharp. Terrible with emotions and conversations but observant and skilful. And after some time, you began speaking up. I knew I should have discarded you back then, like I did with everyone else, but… I couldn't. Too late I realized that you had grown on me. You were so different. I could see that deep down, we were opposites, and yet you helped me, and that made me so excited… You kept me in check when I was going overboard. You reminded me that these individuals I was toying with were actual people, that this was more than just a game. Somewhere along the line I realized that you had become my friend, my only friend, the only person I could rely on, the only one I truly cared about, the only living being I would give my own life to protect… But that doesn't change how this came to be. It doesn't change who I am and what I want to be. What I'm going to be, because we both know exactly what my talents are and that I will not back down using them, no matter the cost."

No, no, no. Hikari clenched her fists, barely able to catch a breath. Her vision became blurry, her shoulders shook. "That's- N. You saved my life. You-"

"No, Hikari. The only reason I talked you out of it was so I could use you." Neko didn't even flinch. She stared at Hikari with her remorseful eyes, lips pressed into a thin line.

Hikari shook her head. "You're only saying this to make it easier. You think it will be easier if I hate you, because then I wouldn't miss you. But how could I? There were enough weak-minded people at Seishin, enough lost souls you could have used. But you chose to save me instead. You could have walked away, but you didn't. You're not as evil as you make yourself out to be."

Neko's lips were quivering. She barely held herself together. Their eyes locked, fighting a silent battle, neither ready to back down. They had done this so many times before, and always it ended the same way.

Only this time, it didn't.

"Hah… That's so typically you," Neko's voice cracked as her eyes fell, "always seeing the best in people. It's a miracle it took U.A. so long to find you."

The previous Seishin attendee came down the path. Izuku pressed himself closer to the tree trunk, if that was even possible. He didn't mean to eavesdrop, it was just that Jirou had been looking for Hikari and Izuku had seen her disappear with a while ago, so he followed, not aware he would be stumbling onto a scene like that. Well hidden by the darkness of the forest, but not well enough, he watched as Neko halted at his level on the cobbled path leading back to the school.

"That's not very becoming of a hero," she stated, her voice devoid of any emotion.

"I… Didn't mean to." It was the truth. Izuku's fingernails subconsciously dug into his palms.

"I guess you understand what I was trying to say?"

"I… I do." He somehow wished he didn't.

"Then there's only one thing for me to do." The girl approached, but he couldn't back down any further. Izuku looked up at the head of the disbanded Seishin trio, standing almost a head taller than him, finally finding the emotion her voice had been lacking. Her eyes were watering, her lips quivering.

"I was going to ask Momo for this, but it appears you're a better choice, freckles."

He gulped.

"Hikari is my best friend, and I love her. But I can't let her hold me back. I needed to know that she's safe here, that she's happy, so I can walk my own path. And I think she can be all that. But I need you to promise me something."

He was at loss for words. Neko, the sly, self-opinionated, quirkless mastermind bared her feelings in front of him. Then again, there was no one else around.

"You're her friend," Neko began, "and from what I saw today, she cares damn much about you. And I just hope, for your own sake, that you feel the same." There was an almost accusing undertone.

"If you do, then promise me you'll keep her safe, Midoriya. Promise me you'll protect her. Promise me you won't ever let her end up like that again, promise me no villain will ever dare to touch her." Her voice was barely above a whisper, but she still managed to convey the urgency. Her eyes were piercing him, nailing him to the tree. Izuku gulped again, he had to clear his throat before he was able to find his voice, "I promise."

The words came easier than expected. "But I don't think you need to worry all that much. Hikari is strong. She's one of the strongest people I know, no matter what happens, she will always pick herself up again. She doesn't need anyone to protect her. But I promise I will do my best to protect her with everything I've got, I won't let anyone hurt her."

"Good." Neko backed up. She blinked until her distress was replaced by a soft, sombre expression. "Gotta admire that confidence you have in her. Maybe not all of you heroes are bad."

"Maybe," he agreed. Finally, a tiny smile found its way on the face of the girl across. "Farewell then, freckles. And don't ever forget about that promise, or I'll now. And I'll come back to haunt you. And that won't be pretty."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Despite hearing the steps, Hikari only slowly stilled her sobs. Hiding her tears was futile. Instead, she lifted her chin up to the sky, closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. The cold December air robbing her of the last bit of warmth from their very last hug.

The approaching came to a halt to her right. Hikari wiped her face clean and turned to Midoriya, "I hope she didn't say anything too bad."

"Nah," he shrugged, not even denying he had run into Neko, "I guess she had her very own way of telling me too look out for you."

"I see," Hikari rubbed the last tear stains from her cheeks, "still, I'm sorry if she went out of line."

"Will you look for her?"

She should. She shouldn't abandon her friend, and Neko was - had been - her best friend. And yet… "No. I think she made her point fairly clear."

"But are you okay with this?" he pressed on, visibly concerned.

"I… I will be," not that she had a choice, "I have to."

Midoriya didn't answer. His gaze was directed at the floor, something sombre lay in his features. With another sigh, Hikari turned towards the sky again. Stars twinkled above and the light coming from behind the trees told her that the festival was still well underway.

Something warm touched the back of her hand, as if asking for permission. She unclenched the fist she didn't remember forming and let his fingers slip between hers. Her heart took an inexplicable leap.

"I'm still here for you. We all are."

Tears were stinging in her eyes again, but she couldn't help it. "I know. Thank you."

Something exploded in the distance and Midoriya flinched, his fingers crushing her hand, before he instinctively turned towards the source. Somewhere further down, someone was setting off fireworks.

Yellow lights flared up above. Midoriya's grip loosened and he seemed to relax. There were lore lights, red, green, orange, blue, transforming the sky into a stunning, ever changing canvas.

"I thought you read the program?" Hikari teased him.

"I did. Must have overread that."

"Means the festival will be over in a few minutes. We should head back, I'm sure the others are already worrying."

"Yeah," he agreed. Neither of them moved, though.

"After the fireworks?"

"After the fireworks."