Eventually, everything ends...

It was with heavy footsteps that Momo finally made it back outside, finding the others. They were all crowded at the entrance, gathered around Yoichi. Scaly, green hands pulled the gas mask off his face, unveiling the crushed larynx hiding just beneath the hood of it.

To make matters worse, Recovery girl was showing no signs of waking.

Shuichi looked like he was either about to cry or scream. Perhaps both. "Yoichi..." His face had gone pale, his throat was bruised and red was trickling beneath his skin. The lizard boy forced himself to smile. "You're gonna be fine buddy, not a scratch on ya."

The blond seemed like he laughed, but without much sound coming out of him it could have been anything. His weak little smirk as his eyes struggled to stay open seemed to put the other boy at ease.

Momo knelt by his other side, trying to think of what to do. Emergency triage wasn't one of her specialties, not by almost any stretch.

Yoichi just shook his head. "Y-... you suck at... lying, Shu... but I still love ya..."

Eri tip toed over, looking between them all with fear in her eyes. "Is he... dying?"

Shuichi lowered his head, fighting to hold back tears and Momo didn't speak very loudly when she did. "Help will get here." A statement that did not assuage the child's worry. "It wont be long now, everything will be fine."

Yoichi gave a very unconvincing thumbs up. "Y-yeah... I'm all good..." It didn't help that he was partially gurgling as he spoke.

Eri looked out toward the rest of the city, down the road. No sign of any kind of help getting any closer, and all the sirens still sounded very far away. Then she looked back at her friend and saw him struggling to breathe, the clear worry on everyone's faces and made up her mind. She walked up to him, gulped back her fear and put a hand on his chest.

"It's not just to hurt people..." Closing her eyes, her horn started to glow. "My quirk isn't just for hurting... it isn't just for killing..." Shutting her eyes tight, she concentrated.

A white, almost angelic glow that spread to the rest of her body and then to Yoichi's. As he, Momo and Shuichi blinked in wonderment Eri stretched her other hand toward Recovery Girl and the light stretched out and enveloped her too. The three of them floated slightly into the air and the clock seemed to dial back on them all. A bleeding scalp was wound shut, the blood disappearing from her skin, and a throat simply rekindled like it had never been broken.

Momo blinked, jaw dropped in amazement as they lowered back to the ground. Eri's horn had shrunk down to almost nothing, and when her feet touched the ground, she fell forward with closed eyes. Shuichi leapt forward and caught her, lowering her gently as he exchanged looks with the others.

When next she spoke, Momo's tone was almost reverent. "That was amazing..."

Rubbing at his throat, Yoichi just nodded as Shuichi murmured. "Beautiful."

Looking up at Momo, Yoichi finally said something with his usual tone. "Did you know she could do that?"

Momo shook her head. "I don't think anyone knew."

Shuichi sat on the floor, Eri's head resting on his leg as he patted her sleeping head. "So... was that a healing quirk?"

Giving this some thought, Momo placed a hand over her mouth. "Well... healing quirks usually leave some sign of what they've healed. With her quirk, it's like the damage was never even there." She rubbed some of Eri's hair out of the way, looking closely at her horn. "Her horn shrunk too... kind of like she was just rewinding time, back to a point where both of them were okay."

Recovery Girl murmured in her sleep, no longer looking quite so uncomfortable. "Well, whatever it is?" Shuichi smiled, stealing a glance at Yoichi. "I'm glad she's on our side."

Momo couldn't help but smile too. "Yeah... we're lucky to have her around. Aren't we?"

Then, finally, they heard the sirens getting closer. Little did they know it, but the struggles of that night had come to an end and the cloudy skies above, finally, had begun to clear.

The storm was over.

Groggy mind, heavy eyes and aching everything in a rocky, too-fast-moving ambulance. Just about the perfect recipe for motion sickness, and Toga was not thrilled about any of it, being in the ambulance least of all. Somewhere, she couldn't tell where they were, someone was wiping the dust and residue from an entire building off her head. Every time the cloth made contact with her skin she would flinch, the pain radiating down her neck.

It wasn't every day someone dropped an entire sky scraper on her.

"Hey," said an emt, their voice distorted like she were underwater, "I think she's awake." Then the blurry, wavy specter of a medic was in front of her. "Can you here me?"

Toga flipped them off.

To their credit, they laughed bemusedly. "I'll take that as a yes." Putting a blanket over the wounded girl, they smiled warmly. "You did a brave thing. Saved a lot of lives today."

She knew.

The ambulance came to a rickety stop and Toga flinched again. Had her mouth not been covered with the oxygen mask, her cursing might have made her attending emt blush. The manner in which she was wheeled out of the ambulance wasn't much better, jostling and jerking side to side as it made its way out. Into the hallways they went, through the main lobby and passed a crowd of people gathered there.

As she was taken to her room, others were taken from the lobby to where they'd be staying for various stretches of time. A young man with spiky, ash blond hair had hands wrapped in bandages and more if the same on the left side of his face. The redheaded man of the same age by his side looked somewhere between mortified and relieved. Had he know the battle his boyfriend has survived, he might have looked worse.

A pair of youngsters with fresh stitches and no small amount of painkillers slept on the lobby couch. One had pink skin, hair of almost the same color and a single horn growing out of her head. Arms wrapped around each other, the lad with white and white hair and different colored eyes draped a blanket over them before sitting in a nearby chair and closing his eyes. Before he fell asleep, he reached over and shook his white haired friend awake.

When he saw who the heterochrome had woken him for, he smiled, revealing two slender, white fangs and leapt to his feet. A few steps forward, exclaiming in relief that she was okay, and he wrapped his arms around a slender girl with purple hair. When she hugged him back, both her arms and earlobes wrapped around him as she beamed with happiness. Toga wanted to wave at Kyoka-girl, but decided not to interrupt their little moment.

Then Kyoka saw them anyways, kissed her boyfriend as fiercely as she felt she could get away with, then ran after her friend. Further down the hall, asleep in her own room, a brunette fresh from surgery had a left shoulder wrapped like a mummy. She slept so peacefully that Toga almost nodded off looking at her. Another few rooms later and she saw a tall, lanky boy with lean muscle looking at an X-ray of his lungs. Clear as the day he was born, and she recognized Sten's voice, but couldn't make out the words. When the doctor left, a tall woman with glowing blue eyes practically tackled him as she wrapped her arms around him.

Closing her eyes, Toga heard Kyoka saying something but never made out the words. It was time for a nap, whether she could have kept her eyes open any longer or not. The world seemed to be in better order than usual, the perfect time to leave it be.

Kyoka watched as Toga was taken to the operating room, a clenched hand in front of her chest.

"So you really don't feel any different?" Vanessa said, somewhat skeptically.

She didn't see it, but she heard Stendhal shrug. "Not really."

Vanessa hummed thoughtfully. "Well... it usually takes time for the changes to take effect. Although, no one I've ever heard of has turned a dhampire before. This could very well be a first for the history books."

Footsteps approached the door and Sten grunted in agreement. "Doesn't matter to me, I'm just glad I can breathe again." Then he saw Kyoka. "Uh... hey."

She turned toward him, saw his face and her eyebrows jumped. "Jeez," she said, "you look like you haven't slept in a month, Sten."

He laughed a bit sheepishly. "Well... kinda got into a fight with a building. Turns out? That's not an easy fight to win."

"Don't I know it..." Kyoka muttered, rubbing the bandage on her head and staring after Himiko.

Looking after where she was, Sten quirked an eyebrow. "Something wrong?" Vanessa, somewhat worriedly, looked the same way and wondered who the girl being wheeled away was.

Kyoka shook her head. "Nothing that wont turn out okay." Then she turned toward the lobby. "I heard about Toya." Wincing, Sten clenched his fists."Is he- did Endeavor really-?

"He did." A tremor in his voice betrayed his grief, a strangled tone that she was very familiar with. "Had I not dragged him into it to begin with, just left the whole mess where it should have been, well... I've got to live with being the reason he's dead."

Nodding, Kyoka just reached out and squeezed his arm, and was almost surprised when he did the same as he followed after her. "for what it's worth?" Sten looked at her without looking up, partially bracing himself against crying. "If Toya and Mooney hadn't been there, everyone else might be dead instead. Toya saved his little brother and everyone else... if you had to choose a way out, would you choose differently?"

For a moment, a long moment, Stendhal thought about that. "...No. No I wouldn't, but that doesn't really make it better."

"No, no it doesn't." She wanted to give him a hug, but realized she probably shouldn't, so she left him alone.

After a few more paces they reached the lobby and saw that almost everyone was asleep. Everyone save for Shoto, that is. "Stendhal." Gripping at his side, he stood up. "I heard you were leaving UA." There seemed to be concern in his eyes, as he looked the other boy up and down. "Are you... back?"

Understanding what he meant, referring to what had happened with Overhaul, Sten sighed. "Yeah. I think I got my clear, thanks to Guren. No need to worry."

The concern hadn't quite left as Shoto nodded. "Alright. It's good to have you back." He looked a little awkward, eyes shifting away for a moment. "They... want to burn my brother's body." Stendhal's shoulders sunk, expression screaming that he'd given up avoiding this subject. "When I... I know you two were close. When my family scatters his ashes... will you be there?"

He closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath and let it go. When he opened his eyes, he managed a smile. "You'd let me be there?"

Shoto nodded again. "He cared about you, that's enough for me."

Sniffling, the dhampire didn't know what to say. "Thank you... Shoto."

When the heterochrome bid him farewell, Sten collapsed into a chair, head in his hands and silently wept. Kneeling by his side, Vanessa just hugged him again. "Oh, little one..." she said, running a palm up and down his back.

Not knowing what else to do, Kyoka reached over to the sleeping Izuku and shook him awake. He only looked confused for a moment before he got up and sprang lightly forward and joined the other two. Then Kyoka walked around behind the chair Sten was sitting in and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around them all.

Between sobs and sniffles, Sten swore under his breath. "Damn it... god damn it..."

No one said anything, they just hugged a little tighter. They all knew, knew full well words were useless here. All they could do was make sure he wasn't alone.

In the end, it seemed to work when his arms moved and grabbed onto theirs. "Okay. I'm okay." He sniffed. "Just kinda need a tissue..."

"On it." Izuku stood up and went to go find one, only for Vanessa to grab and stop him.

With a smile she shook her head. "Izuku, if you don't sleep I'm afraid you'll collapse. Sit down, I've got it." When Izuku relented, she wandered off, leaving the trio of friends more or less alone.

Izuku sat back down where he had been, eyes already drooping, only managing to stay awake by shaking his head hard. "Hey," When step spoke, he looked up with bleary eyes. "Sleep. I'll be okay, not going anywhere or anything." Smiling at him, Izuku settled in and let sleep take hold. "Heh..." Sten quietly laughed. "Finally feels like he can rest."

Taking a seat on the arm of Den and Mina's couch, Kyoka sighed. "It has been one disaster to the next with us for a while... I'm pretty sure residual adrenaline is all that's keeping me awake right now."

Rubbing at his face, Sten sniffed again and tiredly shook his head. "Has anyone heard from Toga? I haven't seen her since she went after Endeavor."

Smiling a bit, Kyoka nodded. "Worried about her?"

Sten quirked an eyebrow, and suddenly she had his full attention. She'd spoken that more softly than she'd meant to, and the half human had noticed. "Why?"

She held up her hands, giving Vanessa a quick glance as she returned with a box of tissues. "she's going to be fine. She's a bit banged up, but the doctors say she should recover soon."

The amount of worry that appeared on his face was almost endearing. "Recov- What happened to her?" He almost didn't notice when Vanessa put the box of tissues on his knee.

Kyoka tried to think of how to phrase it best, but being direct was always more her forte. "A building collapsed while she was inside, trying to help folks. Like I said, she'll be okay. Paramedics didn't find anything immediately life threatening, they're just making sure she's okay now, patching up her hurt."

Unconsciously, Sten's hand went to his side, to a tear in his costume. "Okay..." he seemed to relax a little, but still looked worried.

"Don't be worried, Chizome." Vanessa shushed, "she's in good hands, and I'm sure they'll let you see her when she wakes up." At his wordless nod, she looked at Izuku and smiled. With a twist of her arms, her jacket came off and she draped it over him. Her boys were safe, Philanthropy more or less disbanded. A weight that had long been on her shoulders seemed lifted, even with that sadness in her eyes.

Silently, Kyoka let herself relax too. Leaning back against the wall, she closed her eyes.

Kirishima hadn't reacted well over the phone, and in person he seemed worse. Bakugo almost regretted letting Kyoka make those damned phone calls now. The last thing he wanted from any of this was seeing him so worried and scared. Icing on that terrible cake was having his hands bandaged up, unable to reach out and touch him, comfort him.

As the redhead sniffed, Bakugo couldn't quite bring himself to look at him again. "Dammit, I shoulda been there."

Sighing, the former warhead closed his eye. "Eiji... what would you really have done? Your quirk lets you tank impacts not fire."

"I coulda been another target!" Kirishima insisted, making sure to keep his voice down. "Maybe then you'd... you'd-"

"Still have a quirk?" Bakugo gave him a tired, patient smile. "Not be uglier than I was?"

Glaring, Kirishima frowned. "Dude... you were never ugly and you're not now."

Bakugo just shrugged. "We'll see when the bandages come off. In the meantime... god I love morphine..." He slumped his head back, smiling as he sank into the pillow. "Going through hell to get it is not at all worth it, but it's just great..."

Somewhat concerned, Kirishima scratched the back of his neck. "I... don't think that's morphine, handsome." Bakugo quirked an eyebrow, giving him a sidelong look. "I don't think they even use that anymore."

With a shrug, the former warhead settled further into his bed. "Well, whatever it is, I'm not in pain, so, it's amazing."

Kirishima gave a light laugh. "You're an idiot... a manly idiot, but an idiot nonetheless."

Bakugo just gave a thumbs up. "Damn right." Then his boyfriend actually laughed. "it's just as well about that damn quirk..." he said, quietly, "I'd have made a shitty hero."

"Oh?" Said a familiar voice at the door. "I think I might disagree."

The redhead turned, the blond opened his eye and they both saw a ghoulish man in a wheelchair. Blackened sclera, a shock of blond hair and about the most oddly disarming smile a man could have. "All Might." Bakugo immediately sat up. "Sir, what-?"

All Might motioned for him to lie back down. "Relax, my boy." Then he turned to Kirishima. "Mind if I borrow him for a moment?"

Shaking his head, Kirishima stood up. "I'll go grab us some dinner." He leaned over and kissed Bakugo.

It was meant to be a chaste, farewell kiss, but Bakugo cupped a hand behind his head and pulled him in closer. Kirishima squeaked, Bakugo chuckled and then let him go. "Later, sweet cheeks."

Kirishima rolled his eyes and left them be, closing the door behind him. "I heard about what you did..." All Might said softly, wheeling himself up beside his student's bed. "You went above and beyond the call of duty tonight, young Bakugo."

The former warhead shifted uncomfortably where he lay. "It's just the job, sir..."

He hoped that would be enough to make him drop it, but All Might had other ideas. "Most professionals I've known would have given up after recieving just one of those wounds, boy." Bakugo couldn't look at him, couldn't accept the praise.

Not from him. "Sir... please stop. You don't have to try and cheer me up."

All Might chuckled. "I'm not here for that."

Bakugo sighed, turning his eye toward him. "Well, you might wanna give the pep talk to someone who can still be a hero. I kinda kamakazied my quirk taking out Endeavor's."

Something in All Might's face took a turn for the morose, and he sighed too. "You really think your chances at being a hero are shot?"

"Aren't they?" Bakugo said with a frown. "Can't exactly compete or be much use saving people without them. Besides that, lord only knows if my eye still works after taking a torch to the face like I did." He leaned back against his pillow, staring up at the ceiling. "I'm calling it quits, before I outlive my usefulness."

Memories swam in his slurry mind, all the times he'd tormented Izuku for being quirkless, all the times he'd beaten him into the dirt for no reason. All those wasted moments hurting a friend, a kid who looked up to him.

What I wouldn't fucking give for a do-over...

Bakugo closed his eye, trying to keep the tears stuffed inside.

Like that's even a thing.

"Well then..." All Might, shrugged, hands splayed to his sides. "What if there was a way for you to get another quirk?"

Bakugo actually laughed. "Yeah, sure... will pigs fly that day too?"

Then All Might laughed. "Well, there's this one circus- no, not the point." He smiled, leaning forward in his wheelchair. "Young Bakugo... you can still be a hero." Eyebrow arched, the former warhead gave him a sidelong look. "Would you accept my quirk, if I gave it to you?"

Silence hung over them both, for a long time. That hopeful patient, smile remained on All Might's face and reality settled into Bakugo's head. He was being serious, and the former warhead sat up. "What the hell are you talking about?" All Might laughed again. "Sir, I- No. Even if that were possible, I couldn't. It's yours." Bakugo's fist clenched, and he couldn't look at All Might any longer. "Power like that belongs to someone like you, like Izuku. Not with the poster child for 'fucked up in the head'."

All Might chuckled. "Oh, I considered Young Midoriya a long time ago now. Maybe now he'd be a good choice, he has grown into quite the hero... but I want you to have it."

Bakugo almost jumped out of bed. "But sir-!"

"Look at me," All Might gestured to his broken body, "when I was defeated by All For One... my body was irreparably damaged. I'm not going to be able to walk again for as long as I live." Bakugo felt something about his world shatter, leaving his chest cold. "My time as a hero? It's done. I knew it would be going into that battle, and I don't regret it." His smile was almost enough to make the young man feel better. "It's time for someone worthy, someone like you to inherit my power and carry forward to the next generation."

For a few moments, Bakugo considered what he'd heard. Thinking it all over, considering what he still wanted from life, he arrived at a selfish conclusion. "You really think it should be me?"

All Might's smile grew wider. "I do."

Drawing in a deep breath, he slowly let it back out. "What do I have to do?"

Reaching toward his mane of blond hair, All Might plucked a single hair from his own head and offered it to Bakugo. "Eat this... and keep being that hero you've already proven yourself to be."

Taking the hair in his palm, Bakugo stared at it for a long time. After sighing, smiling and shaking his head at himself, he said, "Well... what the hell." and gulped it down.

Always did wanna be like you...

Monday, August 20th, 2255

Redemption is defined one of two ways. The first is 'being saved from error, evil or sin.' The second being 'the action of gaining or regaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing of a debt.' However, some would like to think there is a third definition, even if it doesn't stray too far from the originals: the act of saving one's self by correcting their mistakes, either in their eyes or others.

Although a beautiful thing, not every journey ends with it. Some merely end as they should, reaching a conclusion that -maybe- they'd been headed toward since the beginning.

Ochako was wandering up the road, bags in her hands full of groceries, when an older woman from a neighboring building called out to her. "Hey! Uraraka!"

She giggled, spinning on her heels to face her. "Yes, Miss Kobayashi?"

"You gonna be joining us for supper tonight again?" She grinned and somewhere behind her, a little girl beamed with a hopeful smile. "I made plenty~!"

Ochako thought about it. "Hmm... Okay, just gimme a few minutes to put this stuff away." She held up her groceries. "Okay?"

The older woman nodded. "We'll be waiting." and behind her, the little one cheered.

All smiles, Ochako trotted up her stairs. She almost ran headlong into a pair of men moving furniture, when she rounded the bend. "Easy there, young'in." Said the older of the two. "Don't wanna kill the old man, do ya?" He tilted his head toward his son.

A son who rolled his eyes. "You're the old man, old man..."

She giggled. "Sorry. Here," She set her groceries aside, walking forward and using her quirk to make the couch weightless. "Just shout when you've got it inside, okay?"

Both boys were sudden all grins, "much obliged, Uraraka! Thanks for helpin us out again."

She shrugged, grabbing her groceries and waving goodbye. "It's nothing, really. Just don't hurt your back again, okay?" The older man gave a thumbs up, and they parted ways.

All the way up the stairs, round the next corner and Ochako fished her keys from her pocket and unlocked her apartment. In she went, off with her shoes, then she trotted to her kitchen and set to putting away her food. By her fridge was a calandar, several days on it were marked. 'Plans with the Mina and Momo' or 'helping the Amaris with their gardening' or 'apartment building pot luck!' to name a few. It was a full schedule outside of her class and hero work, and looking at it made her smile.

Everything was put away, the fridge just closing when her phone started ringing. Wondering who it could be, she fished her phone from her pocket and checked the caller ID. It would be her mom. Smiling, she answered it. "Hey, mom."

"Sweetie," she said, "sorry to call you again, for the thousandth time in three days."

"It's fine, mom." Ochako laughed, wandering back toward her front door. "You were just worrying, and after that disaster, why wouldn't you?"

Her mom seemed to relax, so her breath seemed to say. "Alright... I was just calling to ask what your plans were after graduation." Ochako stopped, midway through putting her shoes back on. "Your father and I were thinking about heading toward Kyoto around then..." Slowly, sitting down on her floor, Ochako realized where this was headed. "We were wondering if you wanted to come with us, travel around for a while after graduation. Like we used to."

That tone of voice, sounding so hopeful, Ochako almost felt her heart skip as she considered her answer. In truth, she'd known what it was for a while. "I... don't think I want to."

For a little while, the line was silent. Then her mom, if her voice was to be believed, smiled. "I think I understand." Ochako smiled, trying not to cry. "My little girl found her way home, didn't she?"

Sniffling, wiping at her eyes, Ochako replied. "Yeah. I think I did, mom."

Her mother made a sound, a single, happy little laugh. "Well, I think that's the best news I've heard in a long time." Ochako sniffled again and laughed too, smiling bright. "I'm proud of you... think you'll survive seeing your parents at graduation?"

"Are you kidding?" Said the gravity girl, standing up. "I'd love to see you guys. It's been so long and I really miss you, plus I've gotta show you around. Introduce you to my friends."

"Wouldn't miss it," her mother said, "I love you, my baby girl."

"I love you too, mom." They said farewell, then that was that.

Phone stuffed back into her pocket, Ochako dried up her face and left, locking the door behind her. It was a short jaunt back down the stairs, then just a little ways around the building and she arrived at her destination. She knocked and a friendly voice called out, welcoming her inside. With a smile, Ochako opened the door and walked in.

Graveyards have a way of unnerving even the most stout of heart, rattling those with strong nerves with an eerie feeling. Like phantoms lingering above the tombstones themselves long to come alive again. Even so, should one wander in without much mirth to begin with, it might feel altogether different. Almost like those same phantoms were welcoming you home, their cold and shapeless arms around you.

That wasn't quite what Izuku felt, hands in his pockets as he stood before one grave in particular, but it was close. The grave of Inko Midoriya. "Hey... mom." His foot fussed at the ground for a moment, hands wriggling in his pockets. "It's uh... it's been a while."

With his spotty memories of the last two years, he wasn't even sure if he'd even been here. He likely had, but that he couldn't be sure soured his conscience.

"I... you haven't missed much. Most of it was... excessive. A bit gratuitous in terms of violence, really... you- you woulda hated it. Probably would've yanked me right of the hero course, right when I started getting shot at, if I had to guess."

He sighed, scratching at the back of his neck, sniffing a little as he just... tried to breathe.

"You know, I had this thought, delusion, dream something like that, after dad left us. Guess I got so sad I stopped thinking clearly, and over the years, just watching time go by, I never really questioned it."

He felt the tear drops running down his face long before he realized he'd started to cry, hadn't been able to stop it. Hell, at this point he wasn't really sure he should stop it. Stopping himself from crying, maybe that was another reason he felt so tired all the time now.

"I uh... I'd convinced myself that after him? That was it." He shruged, sniffling as his tears started staining the front of his shirt. "I honestly thought I was done losing people." Right then, right there, after all this time, all over again he began sob like had back then. Like he had the day she'd died. "I miss you... I wish you could be here, meet the people I have in my life now. Tell you that you were right that night..." wiping at his face, he shook his head at himself. "Anyways, I- I think you'd like most of them. Kyo, Sten, Mina, Den... Ochako, Yaoyorozu, Shoto."

She would have, probably would've thrown a party for all the friends he had now. All the people her baby boy could rely on, folks who loved him with all they had.

"Bakugo too." He smiled. "It's not quite like it was, way back when, if anything he's actually trying now. Trying to be good, kind to folks around him, even if he is still the same loud Kacchan we've always known."

His fingers clenched into his palms, remembering how it had been Bakugo who'd managed to haul him out of his grief stricken stupor. just waiting to die on the front step, not eating or sleeping for days on end. Sometimes, when he was feeling especially helpless and done with the world, he wondered if that had been the right call.

Looking at his mother's grave, he decided that was about the worst thing he could ever think. "I love you, mom." he got on his knees, and wrapped his arms around the tombstone and felt what ice remained around his heart shatter. "I'm gonna be the best hero I can be... please don't worry, just be happy for me, from where you are now." He stood up, wiping his face clean of tears again and turned around.

One step forward, then another and another. Every single one felt heavier than the last, and his heart clenched like a cold fist. It was almost like he felt that he he shouldn't leave her. That he should stay right there, with her. Teeth gritted, tears started flowing again and it wasn't long before he was running and sobbing.

No. No you idiot, you didn't go through everything just to wind up here again. You can still do this.

His legs kicked off the ground, sending him sailing into the air and he landed on a nearby roof. Then he started leaping from roof to roof, ignoring the pain in that damned leg.

You've got no business feeling like this. Everything turned out fine, we won! Philanthropy is crumbling, Sten's still alive and with us. Snap out of it already!

Soles of his shoes shifted, throwing him off balance as his heels skidded across the roof. Still, that wasn't enough to stop him, brain well and far away from what he was doing, just throwing himself forward. If he'd payed just a little more attention, he might've caught his footing before he made one misstep too many. Overshooting his target, Izuku missed. Soles of his shoes barely scraped against the edge of the roof, sending him into a spin. His head hit the railing of a fire escape, arm snagged on a clothes line and then he slammed, face first, into the puddled street of the alley.

Groaning, dragging himself up, he felt like an absolute idiot, then he heard a familiar laugh. "Now why does this feel familiar?" He saw a woman with purple hair, smiling at him.

Dizzy as he was, Izuku recognized that face and voice. "Hey... Kyo." When he finally stopped seeing stars, he saw she was offering him a hand up.

His fingers clasped around hers, she pulled him upright, then they both stumbled when he took a bad step. With a thump, they fell against one of the alleyway walls and felt a little silly. There she was, trapped between his arms, looking up at him and blushing.

With a laugh, she tilted her head to one side. "Thinking of biting me again?"

His turn to blush, backing away and wondering if this was the exact same alley as three years ago. "Wasn't exactly the plan..."

She shrugged, stepping closer to him again. "It rarely ever was." sticking out her tongue, she almost got him to laugh.

This girl, this rather singular woman had a way of cheering him up, of reaching him when almost nothing else could. It might not have been her directly, some of the time, but at his worst of moods Kyoka's presence just brought warmth. "No, I guess it wasn't."

Straightening up his clothes a little, fussing over him like a mother hen, she checked him over. "You okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah... just, had something on my mind, wasn't paying enough attention to where I was going."

Fingers flicked at his nose. "Dummy. What if you'd actually gotten hurt?"

Adopting a smug smile, he shrugged. "I'd have let my healing factor fix me up?"

Kyoka shook her head, rolling her eyes even as she smiled. "Were you always this snarky, Midoriya?"

"Nope."

She laughed. "Yeah, I didn't think so." When she leaned up to kiss him, they both noted how she had to get on her tip toes to reach him. "...that's not really new, is it?"

Izuku shrugged. "Hadn't really noticed. We've had a lot going on, these last few years."

"We really have." She took his hand, leading him from the alley. "Where are you headed?"

A question he hadn't actually considered answering until just now. "I- well, I hadn't decided yet."

She laughed again, giving a playful look from over her shoulder. "Well then, I think you should head home and get into some dry clothes. Take a bath, warm up or something."

His turn to roll his eyes, all the same he made sure to whisper what he said next. "You just want me naked, don't you?"

Coyly, she shrugged. "No idea what you're talking about." That little dance her shoulders and hips did said anything else. "I'm... not headed there myself for a while yet, truthfully." She scratched at her cheekbone, just in front of her ear, looking a little somber. "Kinda got something to go and take care of."

Understanding immediately what she meant, he nodded. "Okay. I'll head back and wait for you to come home." At the 'coming home' comment, Kyoka went beet red and looked very much away from him. "Call me if you need me for anything?"

She squeezed his hand. "Promise." They bumped shoulders, softly, then went their separate ways.

You know... I don't know if it's anything to worry about after all.

Smiling he looked up at that sunny sky, realizing he wasn't wearing his sunglasses and felt... happy. When was the last time he hadn't had to wear them when it was a clear day?

I'm never not going to miss you, mom. I know that.

Hand in his pockets again, he found his footsteps weren't so heavily weighted as he continued on his way home. Home for now, at least.

Try not to feel like I've forgotten you, when I'm happy with her and the others. Okay?

In true Tartarus fashion, Endeavor's cell was a near featureless, grey room. The transparent metal that separated him from his visitors was stained with his breath, as he stared his rebelius son in the eye. By Shoto's side, hands in his pockets was one Chizome Akaguro, looking angrier than he'd ever been. At his other arm, looking rather displeased though not angry, was Momo Yaoyorozu.

"So..." Endeavor sighed, shoulders sinking. "You're planning to dismantle the company."

Shoto nodded. "It's too much power, wealth and influence in one place. It needs to be distributed among the different agencies it's absorbed over the years."

Endeavor scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You're naive if you assume all will be so altruistic as you. Some of them will try to recreate what our family spent centuries building. Mark my words, boy. Philanthropy was merely one head on the hydra, and now that it's severed? Many more may rise to take its place."

Momo crossed her arms, speaking barely above a whisper, as though the conversation were not really so important. "Then we'll do what we did here, one by one, until the hydra dies."

Smirking, Shoto gave her a look, before turning back to his father. "Like it or not, it's not your world any more."

With a quirk of his brow, Endeavor almost laughed. "And should I return to reclaim it? What would you do then? Kill me? You've already proven that you can't. Elsewise I wouldn't be standing here."

Then it was Stendhal's turn to step forward, and do so he did. He waitied for a moment, seeing if Shoto would stop him or make him step back. When he didn't, the dhampire growled. "He won't have to."

Reading the young man's face, Endeavor looked afraid for just one moment, before he nodded respectfully. "A shame you were not one of my children. You'd made a better heir than all the rest."

Stendhal tasted bile in his throat, deciding that was all he had to contribute to this conversation. Shoto turned and started walking away, and Sten was more than happy to follow. "Goodbye, Endeavor." Said the dual quirk used, not bothering to look the man in the eyes.

Endeavor's smile vanished, and he watched the boy leaved. "Goodbye... Todoroki."

Shoto scoffed, eyes narrowing. "Eighteen years, and the least nauseating goodbye is the one he gives from jail."

Momo reached out and squeezed his arm, "at least you'll never have to hear another one. Right?"

More than a little red in the cheeks, Shoto just nodded. "Ah, uh huh..." She released him, he cleared his throat. "Thanks, both of you, for coming with me."

Stendhal shrugged. "I honestly thought you were going to ask me to 'accidentally' let him out. Almost disappointed you didn't."

Chuckling nervously, Momo eyed him warily. "You haven't changed much, over the years, have you?"

Another shrug and the half-human smiled, giving her a sidelong look. "I'd like to think I have. After all... I did say I was 'almost' disappointed."

Releasing a bit of breath, she smiled at him. "I'm glad."

Not sure what they were talking about, Shoto decided to stay out of it until they were outside. There, waiting for them, was a limo full of his remaining family. "I don't know if I'm ready to do this..."

The people waiting for them, they were there to spread Toya's ashes. Sten reached out, putting a hand on Shoto's shoulder. "You wont be alone."

Then Momo did the same. "You have your family with you and us too. If you need to cry, or scream out loud, everyone understand."

Sniffling, smiling, Shoto nodded. "I owe you guys." and he climbed inside the limo.

"No you don't." They said in unison.

Before Momo climbed in, Sten tapped her shoulder. "By the way... how did you convince your parents to let you come with us instead of studying?"

Momo's eyes narrowed, giving him a conspiratorial smile. "Sten... I defeated the hero killer fresh out of a several-day coma. Who says I even asked them?" He just blinked, not sure what to say as she climbed inside. "I think I'm done trying to gain their approval."

Smiling approvingly, Sten climbed in after her. It was the last happy moment they'd have until after his oldest and best friend's ashes were spread... At least he wouldn't be the only one crying when it came down to it.

Fingertips fussing at the stump where her other horn used to be, Mina frowned at her reflection. "Darn it..." she pouted. "I was almost hopin it wouldn't grow back."

Behind her, Kaminari -her Kaminari- draped his arms around her middle, kissing her cheek. "Eh, I love em."

Mina giggled. "Yeah well, today, so far, you've said that about every inch of me." Turning around, still in his arms, her skin brushing his with deliberate slowness, she looked him right in the eyes. "You afraid you'll lose me to some other suitor, Denki?"

"Always," he smiled, "but that's not why I ah, well, wanted to spend today like this with you." She gave him a knowing, teasing look and he sighed, giving her one right back. "No, the reason isn't 'hormones' either." Mina's head titled back when she laughed, and Kaminari grinned. "Thought I was gonna die a few days ago. Hell, we damn near did."

She leaned against him, nuzzling his neck and holding on tight. "You mean you were planning to..." Blinking, Kaminari's smile vanished, replaced rather plainly with fear as he looked at her face, seeing her smiling sadly. "First time you ever said you loved me..." she said, looking down at their toes. "right after Todoroki said something about 'getting evidence of Endeavor being evil on film'? I tend to notice these things..."

She ran her fingers over his shoulders, down his chest and put her palm flat against him, feeling his heartbeat. "Mina..."

"Don't." She buried her face against him, holding as tight as she dared, considering their healing injuries. "Just don't ever think about doing that again, okay? Not to my Kami..."

Arms around her, he pulled her as flush against him as she could go and kissed the top of her head. "Okay."

"Promise?"

He ran hands up her back, fingers tangling in her hair. "I Promise."

Grabbing the scruff of his neck, she pulled him down to her and kissed him. "Thank you, Den... and I don't just mean for the promise." She smiled, blinking a few times as she looked into his eyes. "Thanks for believing in me, for being patient in me while I couldn't do that for myself." A little morose, she looked to one side. "I just wish it hadn't taken me so long to get my quirk back..."

"You never lost it." He swayed with her in his arms, stroking at her spine. "Just took you a while to accept again, like I knew you would."

She chuckled, mirthlessly. "Poor Mooney... he didn't deserve anything that happened to him, did he?"

Kaminari sighed, giving that some thought. "Well... if he was telling the truth, he did sell Eri out to the Yakuza..."

Mina shuddered. "Aaaaaaaaand guilt is gone. ...not sure how I feel about that."

"He was a screwed up guy in a screwed up place." Kamnari murmured, and she started swaying with him. "Nothing about anything he went through was okay, I'm less sure how I feel about the things he did after he escaped Tartarus."

"Me too." She pressed her cheek to his chest, running hands up his back, scratching at his shoulders. "We made quite a team though, right?"

He laughed. "Yup, like some kinda dynamic duo."

Grinning wide, she stepped back, spreading her hands in front of them "Acid Shock!"

Leaning forward, catching her by surprise, he kissed her again. Closing her eyes, she hummed happily, wrapping her arms around him yet again. When they broke, he practically gasped. "Tired?"

Shaking her head, she spoke quickly. "Nope." Then pulled him in to kiss her again.

That's when they both tripped and fell.

Crashing to floor, a pair of yelps between them, the metaphorical dust took its time settling and they both laughed. "Then again, we might not have nearly enough co-ordination for that again..."

Giggling, Mina shrugged. "That's just quitter talk, Kami."

His eyes narrowed. "Is that a challenge?"

Smiling, coyly, she averted her eyes. "I dunno. Are ya gonna meet that challenge if it is?"

Kaminari just smiled at her. "Yup."

Leaning down to kiss her again, neither of them found much more use for words after that.

That day, the hospital seemed almost empty as Kyoka wandered through it. Back to the same room as she'd been wandering to, for the last three days now. Knocking on the door, she got no answer. Waiting another second or two, she opened it and stepped inside.

Where she saw very bruised, very bandaged Toga climbing into her shirt. "Aw, c'mon!" She whined as Kyoka blushed. "Can't a woman anscray without the guards burstin before she makes her getawa-" Then she saw it was Kyoka and stopped moving. Her smile vanished, staring at her in stunned silence.

It was a while before either of them said anything, and Kyoka spoke first. "So you're leaving again?" Toga looked a little guilty, avoiding eye contact. "Before I can say goodbye?"

"Hey!" Himiko spun on her heels, cheeks huffed up and shoulders stiff. "I coulda been on my way to come see ya! you don't know!" Cheeks huffed up, arms crossed she tossed her head to one side, pigtails swishing.

Sighing, smiling, Kyoka stepped inside completely and closed the door behind her. "Were you?"

Then, grinning, Toga turned back. "I totally was!" Without further ado, she leapt forward and threw her arms around Kyoka, laughing as she went. "I can't believe ya did it! Standnin up and spillin the beans like that on national tv!" Stepping back and snickering, she ruffled Kyoka's hair. "Yer all grown up, and mamma's so proud of you."

"Heh... oh my mother was beside herself alright... I'm lucky she let me leave my room at all after I survived that building collapsing."

Toga shrugged. "A mamma's gotta protect her kids, especially when they've been needin it all their lives, Kyoka-girl." She gave her a somber smile, looking into her eyes. "I'm glad ya haven't needed me round, since back then."

Sighing, any trace of a smile vanished off of Kyoka's face. "Doesn't mean I didn't miss you, Himiko..."

"I can stick around more now," Toga offered, "finally got myself outta that hornet's nest, by burning it down, but still. Got myself out of it."

Giving her old friend a weary look, Kyoka heard something in that statement. "How'd you get into it in the first place?"

Eyeing the door for a moment, Toga sighed. "Well... I'll have to tell ya another time." She smiled, stepping toward the window and opening it. "Got a couple loose ends to take care of before I can really call this dog'n pony show done with. Then? I'll talk yer ears off about it all. Okay?"

With another sigh, Kyoka smiled. "Tell me or not, just don't run away again, okay? I want you in my life again, and all the weirdness that comes with you."

Toga gave a thumbs up. "Promise ya." then she leapt out the window, and off into the distance.

Hands in her pockets, Kyoka started wandering back to UA. It felt like both the shortest and longest trip anywhere in her life, and once back, she ran back to her room where Izuku was waiting, looking over her Zune and making sure it still worked properly. She opened the door, closing it behind her, and he stood up to greet her only for her to haul him up against the wall and press her lips against his.

He squeaked almost comically, eyes fluttering in surprise before he simply yielded as she started shoving his clothes off him. When he made a sort of nervous squawk, she stopped and pulled back, but left her earlobes around his neck. "Are you safewording?"

Timidly, smiling with a scarlet face, he pointed to the window. "The uh, curtains... they're ah..."

She glanced at them, and at all the nothing and no one outside them, then shrugged. "Fuck it." Then leaned back in and claimed his lips with hers, relishing how he squirmed between her and the wall. Only after she'd stripped him clear of clothing did she let him start the process with her.

Once her pants were off, she yanked him onto her bed, swinging her legs over him. "Say it for me?" And she settled over him, rubbing her cheek against his affectionately.

Eyes aflutter, his lust addled brain groped about for what she meant. "um... I'm yours."

She giggled, shaking her head, dragging a fingertip down the middle of his lips. "Good boy, but not that one." Her cheeks went a little red. "The other one..."

Finally understanding, he smiled. "I love you, Kyoka..."

She hummed her approval, leaning her lips closer to his. "I love you too, Izuku." When she kissed him, and he shoved her shirt off of her, the rest of the afternoon slipped away as they quickly found other things to do with their time.

Crying had always felt like such a waste of energy, all it ever left him with was less water and strength in his system. When it was with them, surrounded by the Todoroki family, it felt... cleansing, rejuvenating, almost. Still, no denying how tired it all left him as he trod his way along, duffel bag over his shoulder, toward his new home. Up the steps, avoiding some seedy looking individuals and shivering when they gave him leary looks he arrived at Vanessa's doorstep.

Before he could even knock, she opened the door and smiled. "Welcome home."

Nervous, he smiled. "Yeah... I'm home." Then he stepped inside, taking a look around the place. Squalid, but nicer than anywhere else he'd ever lived, that was for damn sure. "I like it."

She sighed, clearly relieved and walked off to the living room. "Now, I haven't actually had solid food since... god how long has it been?"

Stendhal chuckled. "Over twenty years?"

"Something like that," she shrugged, "so, I wasn't sure what to get in regards to that. So, tonight, take-out's on me and we can take care of that tomorrow after school." When she motioned for him to follow, he took off his shoes and followed slowly after her. Then they arrived at his new room. "Used to be a storage room, with... nothing in it." She admitted, somewhat bashfully. "But, I think you should be able settle in nicely."

Looking around the room, seeing the rather spartan interior, Sten just smiled. "Me too."

One bed, a desk and chair, two lamps and some curtains. All needed. He walked into his new room, and dumped the contents of his bag onto the bed. There wasn't much in it. Just his clothes, some shoes and a few bits of memorobilia and an old guitar he walked to his desk, placing Twist's mask at the head of it, next to a pair of Sparky's glasses and Seether's mask, along with a necklace Dabi used to wear. Shoto had given that to him at the beach, saying it was only fair since the family had everything else to remember him by. Sten never took photos, so this was all he had to remember any of them by.

Vanessa tip toed forward, gingerly picking up the guitar. "You can play?"

He spun around, almost having started crying while he arranged his friends's -surrogate family, really- things on his new desk. "What? Oh, I dabble but..." he sniffled. "That belonged to Curtis."

She tilted her head to one side, tuning the guitar as she looked at him. "Curtis?"

Looking a little awkward again, Sten rubbed the back of his neck. "Have you ever heard the song 'The Ballad of Curtis Loew'?" Vanessa shook her head, he sighed. "It's a song about a kid who used to collect bottles, recycle them then use the money to pay this man to play him music. An old homeless man named Curtis Loew, 'the finest picker who ever played the blues'..." Sten reminisced, wearing a sad smile. "Well... that was me and the guy who owned that guitar, that ballad was the first and best thing he ever played for me."

Vanessa sensed the ending, but had to ask. "How'd you get his guitar?"

Sten reached out and ran his hand along the length of the old thing. "One year, a real nasty winter went through the city. Never saw him again, but I found this where he used to sleep." Vanessa handed him the guitar, and he held it lovingly. "I waited and waited, checking back every week for a year, but he never came back."

Looking to the things on his desk, she felt her heart tearing for him. "It's the same story with everyone you care about, isn't it?"

His eyes went to her, he smiled again, then set the guitar on his bed. "Not everyone."

She reached out and hugged him, ruffling his hair and kissing his cheek. "If you need to talk about any of it, I've got all the time you'll need."

"Thanks, Aunt V..." Sensing that he wanted to be alone, she left him in his room and he set to putting everything away. Wiping at his eyes, nose and shaking his head at himself Sten heard his stomach growling. "Oh, shut up..." Standing up, scowling at his own abdomen he started for the living room, then grabbed the phone.

Vanessa tossed him her wallet, he placed an order and she walked passed him to his room with a frame in hand. Shrugging, he was about to take a seat on the couch when someone knocked on the door.

"...Okay." He walked over, opened it up and was immediately punched in the face.

Who else would it be but Knuckleduster. "I asked for one thing! One thing!"

Snarling, Stendhal threw a punch right back, not saying anything as they just started wailing on each other. Seconds after their 'fight' had started, Vanessa was between them pulling them apart. "STOP IT!" Immediately, both men froze where they stood, eyes wide. Growling, Vanessa pointed a finger right at Knuckleduster's nose. "Explain. Now!"

Pressing two of his fingers together, he awkwardly fished about for his words. "Ah... well..."

"The lunk's with me." Vanessa and Sten turned and saw none other than Himiko toga, lolipop in her mouth, waving at them. Sten looked so happy to see her, then she started talking. "It's yer girl, Toga."

Averting his eyes, Sten- wait, why did he feel- tugging at his collar, he growled. "Please don't say confusing things in front of my aunt..."

"Kay." Toga shrugged, stepped forward and offered to shake Vanessa's hand. "Hi, I'm yer nephew's girl, Himiko Toga. Nice ta meet'cha."

Accepting the handshake with a smile, Vanessa laughed. "Charmed."

Meanwhile, Sten fumed. "That's the exact opposite of-!" Stopping himself, he took a deep breath. "No. No I'm not succumbing to this." He crossed his arms, turning away from all of them. "Do your worst. Say the most uncomfortably awkward things you can, I'm not falling for it."

Blowing a raspberry, Toga laughed. "Ah, shoulda known you'd wise up quick."

That left Vanessa to turn back to Knuckleduster, glaring as she did. "And you?" Her voice alone might have been enough to kill him.

All the same, he merely gulped. "I'm uh... your son's-"

"Nephew." Stendhal corrected.

Knuckleduster nodded. "Ah, nephew's former mentor." Pulling something off his shoulder, he offered to the nephew in question. "I came to bring him this."

Setting it aside, Stendhal walked right up to him. After a moment of glaring at each other, the pair of men started furiously punching each other again. "Out with it, you violent old bastard!" Vanessa face palmed, Toga just started howling with laughter.

"I told you not to drag them into it!" Caught off guard, Stendhal forgot to throw his next punch then it quickly became a very one sided affair. "Why!? Why didn't you listen, after all that talk about not abandoning the people you love to the wolves! Now Twist and Spary are-!"

Sten's hands caught Knuckledusters, and the old man stopped throwing punches. For a moment, he just looked confused at his former protege, shaking with his head lowered. Sten looked up, tried to say something, then just burst out in tears. Messy, ugly, loud tears he tried to stifle by shoving his palms against his face. Vanessa, Toga and Knuckleduster all just stared, stunned with gaping jaws.

"I know..." he whimpered in between sobs. Then he pulled back his hand and threw another punch. "I KNOW!" Knuckleduster didn't throw another one, he just... took it, letting the kid hit him. Sten's fists hit with ever decreasing strength, until he was just tapping them against Knuckleduster's large, muscled chest. "Hit me..." Sten begged, his voice so small it was barely there. "Hit me, god damnit!"

Knuckleduster just wrapped his arms around him, holding him tight. "No." Then Stendhal started bawling, and Vanessa and Toga hugged him too.

"Damn it..." Stendhal sniffed, after a while. "I'm so sick of crying..."

Vanessa pet at his head. "It's okay to cry, Chizome."

Toga burrowed her face against his neck, eyes tickled by his hair. "Ya clearly need to anyways." He peered at her, she peered back. "How long ya been holdin this stuff? Tryin'a replace it with rage?" Leave it to her, out of everyone he'd ever, met to see right through him like that.

After thinking that one through, Sten realized an all too pathetic, obvious answer. "...My whole life."

Knuckleduster hugged him harder. "Oh, kid..." he gripped his shoulders, stepping back to hold him at arm's length. "What was the point of giving you an outlet then, if this was all it was going to do?"

Sten sniffed, looking down at the floor. "Leading me down the worst possible road, I guess..."

Vanessa closed the distance, hugging him as much as she could. "Then I think it's time to let the real feelings out..."

He sniffed again, wiping at his face. "Even if I have to scream?"

Toga nodded, stepping back and smiling at him. "Loud as ya like."

Looking at them, all, Sten reared back his head and did just that. After a little while, the others joined in too. Then they all started laughing, shortly before Stendhal started crying all over again. It was about the most awkward thing in the world when the delivery guy showed up. After ordering yet more food, gathering around Vanessa's table, the group sat down and had dinner.

"So," Vanessa said, changing the subject for the umpteenth time, "is this going to be a thing?" She gave her guests a bemused look, watching them squirm under her gaze. "Because I could get used to this place being so lively."

Knuckleduster saluted. "I'll try to keep things more civil in the future, ma'am."

Grinning, Toga chimed in. "I wont!"

"Surprising no one..." Stendhal muttered while Vanessa laughed.

"It's just as well," Vanessa smiled, "Working as a hero, I'm not sure how often I'll be home at night to keep this one company." She reached over and ruffled her nephew's hair, Toga snickered at the way he blushed and squirmed under the affection. "I'd feel better, knowing he had people he cares about coming around sometimes."

She and Stendhal exchanged a smile, and Toga shrugged. "Yeah, well, beats the hell outta my place anyways." Looking Sten right in the eyes, much like a cat at a mouse, she added one thing more. "Love to."

As Sten growled, fussing at his collar and trying to cool off Vanessa laughed. "Perfect!"

"IS NOT!" Stendhal fumed and both women shrieked with laughter.

Shaking his head, Knuckleduster stood up and pulled a cigarette from his pocket. "Oi," Vanessa pointed right at his nose, even as she procured her own pack of cigarettes from a nearby vase, "not inside, muscles. Out." She shooed him toward the door and he went scampering away with her following after, pointing right at her Nephew's nose. "No... 'ffffffffffffffffffunny business' while I'm gone." Before following after Knuckleduster, leaving Sten a blushing mess and Toga howling with laughter.

Wiping tears from her eyes, Toga sighed. "Yer aunt is awesome."

Sighing, Sten shrugged. "Who knew she could be such a troll..."

Toga quirked an eyebrow over her drink. "Ain't that yer job to know?"

Awkwardly, he looked away. "This is the most I've seen her in fourteen years."

Grinning, Toga crossed her arms. "You love it."

Sighing, he looked right into her eyes. "I think I might." She danced in her seat, victory clearly in hand, and he finally relaxed. "So... what really brought you here? I doubt it was saying hi and all that."

Pouting, Toga tried to look offended. "Well I never." Then she grinned. "It was partially that though." She stood up walked to the door and grabbed a folder she'd brought with her, walking back over and handing it to him. "Here. I need ya to check and see if I missed anything."

Not quite sure what this was all about, he took the folder and started going through it. "This is-!" Evidence, a solid case that proved Endeavor was abusing his children for years.

Doctor's visits for serious injuries, paid for under the table to keep it hush-hush. Bank statements that proved bribes were exchanged to keep Endeavor's name clean, a thumb drive he could only assume had video evidence. "Just wanted to be sure of it all." In disbelief, he looked up seeing her looking a little squirrely. "If ya can add anything, maybe some kinda witness testimony of somethin, it'd probably help out a lot." Looking a little awkward herself, she scratched behind one of her ears. "I'm not gonna go through with this before I run it by the family. Don't worry, I know they've got enough to deal with as is."

Sten just blinked, staring at her, dumbfounded. "Why are you even putting this case together?"

She shrugged, looking more than a little sad. "Cuz Frankie deserved better than what he got, and I don't just mean when he died." She sighed, arms crossed, fingers fussing at her elbows. "You know how bad he had it, how he got kicked from one shitty spot to the next... he never had a chance at anything better, and he deserved one. More than one."

Slowly, he stood up and put the folder down. She waited, watching closely as he moved closer, moving to hug her.

At least, that was his plan when he'd started moving...

There he was, fingers curled under one side of her jaw and looking down at her, his chest almost painfully warm when he realized what he was doing. Blinking, gulping, he looked her over, seeing her staring back expectantly as he just froze. His other hand had stopped shy of her waist, he could hear his heartbeat thudding in his ears.

Smirking playfully, she put her hands on chest, and he shivered feeling her fingers through the fabric of his shirt. "Sadness wasn't the only thing yer anger buried, was it?" Sten gulped again, shaking his head slowly, very aware of how close they still were. "Waitin for somethin?"

"For you to say 'no'." The words were out of his mouth before he knew he was talking, then he blushed.

She shook her head. "Puddin... I ain't sayin it."

"If you say so... Harley." Before she could ask what that meant, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. His hopes that it would douse the flame soaring in his chest were not met, in fact, it only made it worse as he pulled her up against him.

When they parted, they were both panting messes, looking at each other with glassy eyes. "Golly..." Toga chuckled, breathlessly. "Never thought I'd've gotten something like that outta ya."

He laughed, almost humorlessly. "You showed up, out of nowhere, saving a helpless kid from Overhaul..." she blinked, listening closely as he whispered. "Offered to help me take down the bastard who was hurting Eri, treated my injuries yourself, gave me a place to sleep while I was making the dumbest decisions of my life..." She couldn't help the blush that followed, and he wasn't done yet. "Then you handed me all I needed to put Philanthropy and Endeavor in the dirt on a silver platter. You helped me give my family justice." He took her hand, trembling, afraid she might run away if he let go. "What the hell did you think I'd feel?"

Eyes fluttering, smiling in a way he'd never seen, she shrugged. "Like it'd be a waste to kill me?"

He gave another, near humorless laugh. "You have a talent for understatement, miss Quinn."

"That's not my- mmph!" She wrapped her arms around him, smiling into the kiss as he held her for just a little while longer.

Then they heard about the shrillest whistle of their lives from outside. "Oi!" Vanessa shouted from somewhere out there. "What'd I say about funny business?"

Reluctantly, they parted, Sten growling and hiding his face as he blushed beet red and Toga just laughed. They exchanged the meekest, happiest smiles of their lives and she leaned back in and stole another kiss. "So... that your way of asking me out?"

Sheepishly, he nodded. "If you'll have- wait," she already laughing and he just hid behind his hands. "God damnit, yes. Yes it is." Peeking from his flimsy hiding place, he cleared his throat. "What do you say?"

Nodding, she kept right on smiling. "Happily." Then she picked up her phone and started dialing.

"Uh..." he blinked, "what're you-"

"Callin Kyoka, gurl." She said off handedly. "Promised I'd meet up with her after I took care of a few things, figured you might want yet friends over anyways. Specially since one of em's yer little brother and all."

He laughed, taking a long drink of water while he was at it. "Very astute. Almost like you planned all of this from the beginning."

She winked. "Didn't plan on the kissin."

Shaking his head, he started for his room. "Meet you on the roof?" And she was already on her way there.

Grabbing the package that Knuckleduster had delivered, he entered his room and tore it open. To his surprise, he recognized it as the 'Sword of Heaven' the second blade he'd stolen from Shogun. There was a handwritten note from Knuckleduster on it that said, 'a kid with a quirk like yours need a good blade. this one's made outta space metal, so good luck breaking it. -Knuckles.'

Smiling, Sten put it on his desk and saw something else there. Jaw dropping slightly, he reached out and ran his fingers down a photograph he hadn't put there. It was a picture of Ingenium, smiling warmly. He'd thought he'd seen Vanessa, carrying a picture frame earlier... sniffling back tears, he picked it up and smiled at it. After a few more moments, he put it down, grabbed curtis's guitar and walked out of his room.

Then Vanessa's home phone rang and Stendhal almost jumped out of his skin. Growling as he answered it, he didn't have time to speak. "I'm officially taking the blame for Overhaul." Aizawa's voice, making Stendhal's heart stop. "You don't have to worry about your nephew. It's all taken care-"

"Are you fucking stupid!?"

Clearly taken off guard, Aizawa stammered. "Akaguro. Ah, I-"

"What the hell are you thinking!?" Demanded the half human. "If you go to jail, Izuku loses another part of his family, you utter moron!" Aizawa squawked something unintelligible,and Sten growled. "Well!?"

Clearing his throat, the former hunter spoke again. "I won't be going to jail." Sten rolled his eyes. "As a professional, protecting a student of mine with a serious medical condition at the time, it will be seen as necessary. Unlike the murders I committed while hunting vampires, assuming there ever is any legal repercussion for that..."

Sten rubbed at his eyes. "Aizawa..."

"You, on the other hand," his teacher spoke sternly, "had you committed such a murder, not only would you be barred from hero work for the rest of your life, you'd be the one in jail right now. Am I clear?"

He sighed. "Crystal."

"Good." Aizawa sighed too. "Pass that along to your aunt, please... I don't have the nerve to say it again."

Sten rolled his eyes. "Fine. But Aizawa?" When his teacher hummed inquisitively, Sten held the phone very close to his mouth. "If you manage to make someone kill you before Izuku can tell you that you're like a father to him? I'll drag you out of hell, kick your ass and tape your mouth shut so he can cry on you." Then he slammed the phone down, not bothering to wait for a reply. "Idiot..."

Making his way outside, he started clambering onto the roof when he heard a familiar voice. "Crow!"

Smiling, he turned and waved. "Hey, Jack." Then he blinked when he saw the sheer number of people with her. "...and everyone else we know. Okay..." It was true. Izuku, Momo, Shoto, Uraraka, Eri, Kirishima, Mina, Den, a lizard kid and his boyfriend -at a very easy guess- and even Bakugo. Sighing, the dhampire shook his head. "What the hell are you guys all doing here?"

Den put his hands to his mouth. "We came to see you, dum-dum!"

Mina threw her arms into the air, jumping straight up. "House warming party!"

Uraraka held up a bag, smiling brightly. "We brought snacks and everything!"

Shoto sighed. "Uraraka, that was entirely your doing..."

Momo immediately looked like she regretted not chipping in. "Oh... there's still time, we could go and purchase more, should people be peckish enough."

Kirishima laughed. "Yaomomo, you're too sweet and innocent for this world."

One by one they all climbed onto the roof, taking seats around an old oil barrel someone had turned into a makeshift fireplace. Bakugo and Sten didn't say a word to each other. They just silently acknowledged each other's presences, respectfully. Sten had been the one with the guts to do what they hadn't, and Bakugo had been one of the major players in actually beating Endeavor. They didn't like each other, but they respected each other, it was enough to be civil if they had to be.

Of course, Sten wasn't allowed to glower for long before Izuku ran up and hugged him. "Hey, brother."

Wrapping his arms around him in turn, Sten smiled. "Good to see you, little brother."

Izuku laughed. "I'm still older than you, Chizome."

"Yeah, and nothing about that will ever sound right." The dhamprie quipped, shortly before they both stuck their tongues out at each other and laughed.

Smiling, siting down next to Toga, Kyoka shook her head. "Loons."

"Ain't they just?" Said the other girl and they snuggled up together while Shoto got a fire going.

It wasn't long before they'd all gathered around, telling jokes and sharing stories from happier times.

"What'd you get up to today, nerd?" Bakugo pointed at Izuku.

Thinking quickly, Izuku tried to think of anything that didn't involve talking about his mom or... the time he'd spent with Kyoka. "Ah... had a talk with Nighteye," he fidgeted a little, trying to wrap this up quick. "He just explained that he told us 'exactly what we needed to hear' then left it at that."

Kyoka smirked. "Hon, you're leaving out the best part."

Kirishima quirked an eyebrow. "What's that?"

Blushing, Izuku hid his face while Kyoka just smiled proudly. "He called Nighteye a dick, and Nighteye said that he wasn't 'the first symbol of peace to tell him that'."

Sten, Shoto, Bakugo, Den, Ashido and Kirishima all spoke together at once. "He is a dick." The youngsters among them giggled, Eri especially.

"Sounds hilarious," Toga sighed, "to have been a fly on the wall for that one, right?"

"Right!?" Mina blurted out. "Ah, it woulda been hilarious. I bet Midroiya was all fed up, putting the most 'I am so done with this' face anyone's ever seen."

While Izuku hid behind his legs, Momo cleared her throat. "Although, I think Eri has something that she wants to tell everyone too."

Sten just watched with a smile, listening to his friends talk and now he listened to Eri, who nervously said. "I... I wanna be a hero like recovery girl!"

Raising his hand, Yoichi grinned. "Saved my bacon just a few days ago too. This thug broke my voice box and she just... undid that like it was nothing!"

Shuichi sighed. "Despite his happy tone, it was terrifying, but yes. Eri was amazing."

Izuku beamed at her. "That's awesome! You can totally do it Eri!"

"Hell yeah she can." Kyoka added.

Then Ochako, Mina and Toga threw their arms into the air. "Hear, hear!" While Momo laughed and Shoto smiled.

Unusued to so much positive attention, Eri hid behind Shuichi and Yoichi, and the Lizard boy turned to Sten. "Um... you're the guy who saved me, right?"

Thinking about it, Sten nodded. "What about it?"

Nervously, Shuichi cleared his throat. "I uh... can um..." Wincing his eyes shut, he just blurted it out. "Will you teach me how to be a hero!?" Everyone stared at him, shocked, the girls and Izuku looked like that was the cutest they'd ever seen. "I just... you were so cool, and I've always wanted to learn how to use a sword, so... um..."

Sten smiled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well... I can teach you some things but... I'm not really a teacher, so, tell you what: we'll do that, you'll get into a hero school and we'll see about having you intern with me at some point." Shuichi's smile was absurdly happy, and mildly contagious. "Deal?"

Then the lizard boy saluted. "Yes, sir!"

Giggling, Ochako pointed at the guitar in Stendhal's lap. "Were you going to play something?"

Nervously, Stendhal laughed and patted the old thing. "I uh... it's been a while."

"Ah come on," Kyoka quipped, "why even drag it up here then?"

Sten hesitated. "I'm just-"

Scooching over to his side, Toga leaned closer to him, batting her eyelashes a few times. "What if we said... 'please', Puddin?"

That earned a catcall from Mina, making Stendhal blush very profusely, some laughter and a few of the others chanting "So~ng! So~ng!"

Relenting, Sten sighed. "Okay, okay... but I'm picking it."

"Yes!" Everyone cheered, especially Eri.

Shaking his head, Stendhal sighed, flexing his wrists a few times. "Okay... this is an old one, not something I came up with, okay? Okay."

Then he started playing fingers strumming at the strings and his voice started carrying the melody as he sang. As the song rolled along, his gathered friends just stayed quiet, huddling together. Mina and Den snuggled together, Kyoka and Izuku doing much the same as Ochako munched on the snacks she'd brought. All the while, arms around each other's shoulders, Bakugo and Kirishima just swayed to the music. Some time into the song, Shoto and Momo exchanged a look, then slowly reached for each other's hands. It would have been subtle, had their cheeks not gone red the moment their fingers entwined.

Eri, Shuichi and Yoichi all fell asleep not long into the song, snuggled together in a pile. There was an unspoken agreement, that Sten would pass the guitar to Kyoka at some point, but that first one? It was perfect for them, that night and everything they'd been through. The song in question was one by 'Mumford and Sons', a song called 'Ghosts that We knew'.

You saw my pain, washed out in the rain
And broken glass saw the blood run from my veins
But you saw no fault, no cracks in my heart
And you knelt beside my hope torn apart
But the ghosts that we knew will flicker from view
And we'll live a long life

So give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light
Cause oh they gave me such a fright
But I will hold as long as you like
Just promise me we'll be all right

So lead me back
Turn south from that place
And close my eyes to my recent disgrace
Cause you know my call
And we'll share my all
And our children come and they will hear me roar

So give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light
Cause oh they gave me such a fright
But I will hold as long as you like
Just promise me we'll be all right

But hold me still
Bury my heart on the coals
And hold me still
Bury my heart next to yours

So give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light
Cause oh they gave me such a fright
But I will hold on with All of my Might
Just promise me we'll be all right

Ghosts that we knew made us black and all blue
But we'll live a long life
And the ghosts that we knew will flicker from view
And we'll live a long life

The End

Special thanks to the crazy folks who've been reading since day one, cheering me on all the while.

To DeathofSnipers for the constant encouragement, letting me ramble about my ideas, and generally just being the best Boyfriend. I love you, baby.

To one Anonymous reviewer who recomened the hero name "Green Fang" for Izuku, as it later became 'Guren Fang'.

To IllMadeKnight for tolerating, laughing at and even encouraging my blatant plagiarism and for the help with choosing that last song. You're awesome ^^,

To my family for being amazing.

and you, for reading this far into the story.

See you in the next one.

(Please repeat the message, it's the music that we choose)