Vacation, Part 5

Izuku woke up in the morning when he could hear the pitter-patter of rain on the window. He rose up from his sleeping bag and briefly rubs his eyes before he looks around the bedroom. But to his surprise, nobody else is around.

"Shouto? Bakugo? Denki? Eliot-san?" Izuku calls out as he looked around in bewilderment. Where is everybody?

He gets up from the floor and walks over to the door. Upon leaving the room, he calls out the names of his roommates again as he looked around the second floor. When he still didn't get any sort of response, Izuku rushes over to the other bedroom, hoping to find Ochaco and the other girls inside. But when he opens the door, he realizes that Momo's bedroom is also completely empty as well, much to his shock.

"Guys! Hello! Anyone?!" Izuku cried again as he turns around and began to panic. 'Don't tell me that they left the island without me?!'

He rushes over to the staircase and runs down to the first floor, hoping that the others are still downstairs-

"SURPRISE!"

As he arrived at the bottom of the staircase upon hearing his friends, Izuku turns to his left to find everyone standing between the living and dining areas. As she and the others smile at him, Ochaco stands in front of all of them as she holds up a chocolate cake with candles to Izuku.

"Happy birthday Izuku Midoriya!" Everyone cried in unison. Izuku almost went silent as he is completely taken off guard by their surprise.

"You guys knew today is my birthday?" Izuku asked stunned. "And you even made a cake for me?"

"I was the one who told everybody that July 15th is your birthday." Ochaco replied, smiling sheepishly at him.

"It's why I told you and the others to go home first while Ochaco, Momo, Jirou and I stay behind in town to buy the ingredients we need to bake your cake." Melissa added.

"When Ochaco and the others came back to the house, we made sure to keep you occupied in the room until we all went to sleep." Shouto said.

"And after you fell asleep, we stayed up almost all night to make it." Momo said as Jirou covers her mouth to suppress a yawn.

"It was totally worth it." Jirou said to Izuku with tired eyes and a goofy smile.

Izuku continued staring blankly at them for a few moments as he is unable to speak. But soon, he lets out a chuckle as he could feel his eyes brimmed with tears.

"You guys went through that much trouble to throw a birthday surprise for me at the last minute." Izuku said before he wipes away his tears. "Arigatou."

"No problem, Izuku. Treat it as our way of thanking you for helping us over the last seven months." Denki said to him with a grin.

Ochaco and Izuku smile and nod their heads at each other before everyone walks over to the dining area. Ochaco places the cake on the table and she moves aside to allow Izuku to walk over and stand in front of it. He stares at the cake for a moment before he lifts his head up and take a good look at everyone around him.

Izuku turns his head to the right side of the table where he sees Ochaco standing right beside him, along with Shouto, Eliot, Jirou and Momo. Afterwards, he looks to the left to see Denki, Tsuyu, Bakugo and Melissa all smiling back at him. To think that seven months ago, Izuku was still a hopeless social outcast who had his life greatly affected by a tragic incident two years ago. But now, thanks to the help of Ochaco, he is able to overcome his shyness, reconcile with Bakugo and made many new friends ever since.

"You guys…all of you…mean so much to me." Izuku said to everyone present in the dining area.

"You're welcome, Izuku." Eliot smiled at him with his hands placed at the sides of his hip. "Honestly, you're special to all of us too."

"We wouldn't trade you with anything else in the world." Tsuyu said as she smiles cheerfully at Izuku.

As Ochaco and the others nod their heads in agreement, Izuku flashes a wan smile at them as he couldn't help but have mixed feelings upon hearing it.

"Now then, let's all start singing and eat our cake!" Ochaco said to everyone enthusiastically.

"Oh wait!" Izuku suddenly cried in realization.

"What's wrong?" Ochaco asked as she and the others look back at him in confusion.

Izuku smiles sheepishly as he places his hand at the back of his head. "I haven't even brushed my teeth yet."


After they finished eating their cake, everybody heads up to the second floor to pack their bags. Momo reminded everyone that their ferry back to Tokyo will depart tonight at 6 pm, so they would have to do pack their stuff and leave the house about an hour before the departure time.

As time goes on however, the clouds in the sky turn dark and obscure the sun. The rain also grew heavier and it poured throughout the entire island of Izu Oshima. When they finished packing their bags, they turn on the lights in the house and decide to stay inside throughout the rest of the day, doing their own things to spend the time away and hoping the rain will die down before 5 o'clock.

After grabbing the last canned drinks that were left over from their barbeque dinner from the refridgerator, Izuku, Ochaco, Tsuyu, Melissa and Eliot go over to the living area to watch whatever is on television. Jirou is also at the living area, currently taking a nap as she lies back on the recliner.

Momo is sitting at the dining table polishing her guitar while Denki sighs heavily as he stood behind the sliding doors and see that the sand on the beautiful beach they set foot on yesterday is now soaked and covered with large puddles of water.

"Man, who would have thought we're literally having a wet Marine Day this year." Denki commented.

"Hopefully the rain doesn't get any worse than this." Momo said.

"At least we'll all be safe and comfortable inside this house." Tsuyu said as she, Ochaco and Izuku sat together at the three-seat sofa.

"I hope Togata-senpai and his family are alright." Izuku said to Ochaco in concern.

As Ochaco nods her head to Izuku, Bakugo walks down the stairs and yelled to everybody at the first floor in annoyance, "Hey guys! Shouto wouldn't want to come out of the room at all!"

"What?" Izuku said incredulously as everyone turn their heads to him.

"I realized that I left my comb in Momo's parents' bedroom, so I went back to get it. But I couldn't open the door because Shouto had locked himself inside." Bakugo explained.

"Why would he do that?" Eliot asked as he and Melissa get up from the floor.

"I don't know. But if there's something wrong with him, we have to do something." Melissa said concernedly.

"Shield-sensei is right. Come on, everyone." Ochaco said. Momo places her guitar down on the dining table before she and Denki join the others in going up to the second floor. They go over to the door of Momo's parents' bedroom and Izuku knocks on it.

"Shouto!" Izuku calls out to his friend. "Shouto, are you in there?"

After a few seconds of silence, Izuku knocks on the door again and Bakugo grits his teeth as he grew more annoyed.

"Shouto, please! Answer me!" Izuku cried to him.

"Yeah man! Stop joking around and let me get my comb already!" Bakugo roared.

Izuku continues knocking on the door a few more times before Shouto finally responded from the other side, "Go away!"

"Shouto?" Izuku asked, stunned by his response. He had always known Shouto to be a calm and quiet boy in school. He never expected to hear this much anger within his voice.

"Shouto, are you alright? Is there something wrong?" Ochaco asked in concern.

"Just leave me alone!" Shouto replied angrily. Everyone stared at the door for a moment.

"I have the keys to my parents' bedroom. I'll get it open." Momo said before she turns around and walks over to the bookshelf behind them.

"You know, Shouto did look down during the fireworks display last night." Bakugo said to everyone.

"And before we went into the ferry that day, Izuku and I notice that he had very sad eyes." Ochaco said. Everyone looks back at the door and Izuku knocks on it once more.

"Shouto, if you have any problems, why don't you share it with us?" Izuku asked.

"I said leave me alone!" Shouto shouted back at him.

"Stand back." Momo said firmly to Izuku as she walks over to the door with a key in her hand. She inserts the key into the hole of the doorknob and gave it a twist. But as soon as she turns the knob, she suddenly felt a great force pushing the door back from the other side, preventing her from entering the room.

"Hey!" Momo cried as she pushed herself against the door. For a brief moment, as Momo continues pushing, the others could barely see Shouto through the narrow vertical gap of the doorway as he pushes the door back from the other side.

"Shouto! Let us in!" Ochaco chided as she, Izuku and Bakugo immediately help Momo push against the door. The four now find themselves wrestling with Shouto in trying to overpower him to get inside the room.

"Yeah man! Stop being stubborn!" Bakugo yelled furiously.

"Come on Shouto! We're your friends!" Denki cried as he, Tsuyu, Eliot and Melissa stood behind them and watch.

"Shouto Todoroki, open the door right now!" Melissa scolded her student. Their cries fell into deaf ears however as Shouto continued pushing against the door relentlessly from the other side.

But eventually, with all their might, Izuku, Ochaco, Bakugo and Momo slowly manage to push the door back, sending Shouto's feet dragging through the floor backwards. When Shouto notices the gap between the doorway slowly widening, he lets out a yell as he uses all his remaining strength to push the door back.

Izuku suddenly inserts his hand through the gap and Shouto ends up slamming the door onto his palm, causing him to squeal in pain. Shouto widens his eyes as he quickly backs away, allowing Ochaco, Bakugo and Momo to finally push the door open and step into the room.

"Izuku! Are you alright?" Ochaco asked worriedly as she gently grabs Izuku's hand. Shouto could only stand there as he stares at his friend in horror.

"Izuku, what did you do that for?" Tsuyu asked as she and the others gathered around him.

"It is the only way I think of to stop Shouto from acting stubborn." Izuku replied, wincing as Ochaco began gently rubbing on the area of his hand where Shouto had slammed on.

"Don't do something like that again, man!" Eliot said concernedly.

"It's okay, really." Izuku chuckled. "I've been through worse."

As everyone now turn their attention to Shouto, Bakugo glares at him.

"The hell is wrong with you?!" Bakugo roared at Shouto.

"I…I just…I…" Unable to speak up, Shouto simply walks over to the bed and sits down in silence. He hangs his head and stares at the floor, feeling ashamed at what he has done. Izuku, Ochaco and the others walk over and stand in front of him.

"It's okay, Todoroki." Melissa said calmly as she places her hand on his shoulder. "Just tell us what is going through your head."

Shouto stayed silent for a few seconds before he looks back up at everyone with a sullen frown.

"I just wish I can turn back time." Shouto said morosely. "I can't believe it will only be a few hours from now before we all have to return back to Tokyo. But I don't want to go home. I want to stay here, with all of you."

"Shouto." Ochaco uttered.

"Hey, it's alright Shouto. We'll always see each other at school, right?" Izuku said.

"Yeah. And you and the others can always drop by at my store anytime." Eliot added.

"No." Shouto replied hoarsely. "It's not that. I…I don't want to see my father again!"

Everybody quietly stares at Shouto until Melissa said to him, "I get it. Your father is a member of the Diet, right? And his job and reputation are pressuring you and affecting your personal life, isn't it?"

"Yes!" Shouto yelled in frustration before looking down at the floor again. "The only things I ever hear from him every day is politics, lecturing me not to spend too much time with my friends, and reminding me to exceed his expectations. And I'm sick and tired of it! It's because of him, I can't live a normal life like the rest of you!"

"Shouto." Izuku said concernedly. But as soon as he took a step forward, Shouto looks back up at him with rage.

"You don't understand, Izuku!" Shouto cried at him and slams his fists on the bed before looking at everybody else in front of him. "None of you do! There are so many times when I envy all of you! You all get to live your lives normally because you have parents who understand how you feel and what you want. But me? I can't! And I wish I never had someone like Enji Todoroki as my father! I can't stand him anymore!"

Everybody just stared back at Shouto wordlessly until they hear a sudden crack of thunder outside. The lights in the house began flickering and everyone looked around.

"What's going on?" Denki asked worriedly. The lights soon went off and the entire house turned black.

"The power's out?" Momo said incredulously. "That's unexpected."

"Don't panic, guys. Give me a sec." Eliot said as he inserts his hand into his pocket for a moment. He gets out his smartphone and turns on the light. "Is everybody alright?"

"We're good." Izuku responded as he, Shouto, Ochaco and the others nod their heads to him. Eliot smiles back at them…for only a brief moment when he finally noticed that one particular person isn't with them the entire time.

"Where's Jirou?" Eliot asked. The others look around the room and realized that she isn't with them.

"She's probably still sleeping on the recliner downstairs." Momo said.

"Who knew she is such a heavy sleeper?" Bakugo remarked as he stuffs his hands into his pockets.

"She did stay up almost all night to bake Izuku's cake after all." Ochaco said to him.

"We should get the power back on. The power cabinets are located in the basement." Momo said.

"Then let's go get Jirou and head to the basement." Melissa said.

As the others make their way out of the room, Izuku and Shouto glance at each other. Shouto lowers his head and closes his eyelids as he felt an overwhelming sense of guilt and regret.

"Izuku…" Shouto said sadly. "I am so-"

"Don't apologise yet." Izuku replied flatly. Shouto looked back at him in pained confusion. "We'll continue our discussion after we fix the power."

Izuku extends his hand to Shouto, who reluctantly grabs it. He pulls his friend up from the bed and the two of them walk out of the room together. Only a second later, Bakugo rushes back into the room with his own smartphone in his hand. He shines his phone around and quickly finds his comb lying on the floor beside the bed. Bakugo grabs his comb, stuffs it into his pocket and whistles as he casually walks out of the room.

But when he goes over to the top of the staircase, he heard a concerned cry from Momo.

"Jirou? Where are you?"

Bakugo rushes down to the bottom of the stairs and sees that the others are frantically looking around the first floor.

"Yo, what's going on?" Bakugo asked.

"Jirou isn't at the recliner." Izuku replied to him as he points his finger at the reclining chair.

"She's nowhere to be found!" Denki cried from the kitchen. "Where on Earth could she have disappeared to?!"

"Calm down, Denki. I'm sure we'll find her." Ochaco said to him.

"She's right. This house isn't as big as a mansion, so how hard can it be to-" While Momo is walking over to Denki, she stops and cuts herself off when she felt her foot stepping onto what seems to be liquid. She looks down and takes a step back to discover that there is some water on the floor.

"Why is the floor wet?" Momo said. Izuku, Ochaco and the others look down at the floor as well to see a trail of water on the floor. They slowly turn their heads as they follow the trail, realizing that it starts from the sliding doors and goes all the way to the bathroom door.

Suddenly, there is a knock on the bathroom door, and everyone gasped.

"Hello?" A voice calls out from the other side of the door.

"J-Jirou?" Ochaco said, although she doubts it as the voice seems awfully different to how Jirou would usually sound. She walks over to the bathroom door and opens it. To the shock of everyone present in the first floor, there is a shadowy figure standing inside the bathroom, and despite not being able to see its face, they can tell it certainly doesn't resemble Jirou at all as the silhouette is slightly taller than Ochaco by a few inches and has short and fluffy hair.

When lightning strikes again to briefly lighten up the first floor, everyone is able to see how the person truly looked like for only a second before Ochaco and the others screamed in horror. As the first floor of the house turns dark again, the silhouette screams back at Ochaco with her eyes wide before she slams the bathroom door in front of her, runs over to Izuku and clings onto his arm.

"WHAT WAS THAT, MAN?!" Eliot screamed in terror as he and Melissa pull themselves into a tight embrace.

"I don't know! But it's definitely not Jirou!" Izuku cried as he and Ochaco cower in fear.

"W-W-What kind of person has pink skin and yellow horns?!" Ochaco cried.

"And pitch-black eyes that look like she had no eyeballs in her sockets?" Shouto added as he trembled, causing Tsuyu to gasp in realization.

"C-C-C-C-Could it b-b-be a m-m-monster?!" Denki stammered, shaking uncontrollably as he slowly places his hands on his head before pulling his hair. "A-A-And could it have taken Jirou too?!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Bakugo screamed at him with his eyes wide.

"He's right! Let's just calm ourselves down and analyse the situation, shall we?" Momo replied uneasily before standing up straight and blowing out a huge sigh. "Okay. We were all trying to relax until we had sort of a fight with Shouto. Then suddenly the power went out, possibly due to the thunderstorm. S-S-So we went down to try to fix the power…B-B-But we couldn't find Jirou…a-a-and there's someone inside the bathroom…a-a-and-"

"It is exactly like my story!" Tsuyu cried in horror. The others gasped as they look at her. "Like Tsuneo, we were trying to relax until something went wrong with the lights! A-a-and it's raining outside! And t-t-there is someone at the windows, or in the case, the sliding doors because she is trying to get in. B-B-But in this case, she's already in!"

"Come to think of it, you never finished telling your story last night. What happened to Tsuneo after the girl steps in?!" Izuku asked.

"He…h-h-he…h-h-he…" Tsuyu couldn't bring herself to answer his question when she knew how she was going to end her story that night.

"Spit it out already!" Bakugo shouted as he stomps his foot in frustration.

"He gets captured by the girl and forced to stay in her house with her until the day he dies?" Tsuyu cringed. Everyone stares at her in silence until another strike of lightning flashes and a crack of thunder booms in the distance.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"What do we do?!" Melissa panicked.

"Block the bathroom door now!" Bakugo yelled as he points a shaking finger at it. Izuku, Shouto and Eliot quickly obliged. They rush over to the recliner and carries it over to the bathroom door.

"Now we should call the police!" Denki shouted as he slams his hands on the kitchen counter. After Izuku, Shouto and Eliot place the chair down in front of the door, everyone quickly took out their phones from their pockets but soon realize that they have no connection to the outside world.

"No! The power is down, so no wi-fi or any sort of mobile network!" Ochaco cried.

"Then let's just go down to the basement and fix the power already!" Shouto yelled to everyone. Izuku, Ochaco and the others nod their heads to him before they rush over to the stairway leading to the bottom of the house.

When they reach the bottom of the stairway however, everyone is surprised to see that the door is slightly opened.

"That's strange. I thought I made sure the basement door was shut." Momo said worriedly. Izuku gulps and closes his eyes as he places his hand on the door, preparing for the worst.

As soon as he pushes the door open and steps into the room, all the lights in the summer house are suddenly turned back on, much to everyone's surprise and relief. But what astonishes them the most is seeing who is standing in front of the power supply cabinets at the other end of the basement and closing them after bringing the electricity back on.

"Jirou?" Izuku uttered as the girl turns around to face everyone.

"Oh, hey guys. I thought I heard shouting from above. What's going on?" Jirou asked nonchalantly.

"JIROU!" Everyone cried in relief as they rush over to her, much to her confusion.

"H-hey! What's with the warm reception?" Jirou asked before Momo pulls her into a tight embrace.

"Oh Jirou! I'm so glad that you're alive and well!" Momo bawled.

"How do you know to fix the power?" Tsuyu asked.

"My dad teaches me how to perform electrical repairs in case my boomboxes and sound systems ever die on me." Jirou said as Momo backs away from her.

"That's why she's our technician in the music club." Denki said to Tsuyu.

"Jirou, we thought the monster got you!" Ochaco said.

"Um, monster?" Jirou said flatly, arching an eyebrow.

"That's right! Remember Tsuyu's horror story that night?! It came true!" Denki cried frantically.

"The girl has entered the house by going through the doors and now she is going to take us all away to wherever she comes from!" Izuku added.

"Huh?" Jirou said, staring back at her friends dumbfounded.

"It's all my fault! I cursed us all!" Tsuyu cried woefully as she clutches the sides of her head.

"But don't worry! We already trapped her inside the first-floor bathroom!" Eliot shouted.

"What?!" Jirou cried incredulously.

"So come on!" Melissa cried. "Let's get out of here and-"

"No! Wait! Stop! I was the one who let her into the house!" Jirou cried exasperatedly. Instantly, the sense of dread and horror everyone felt inside them is replaced with confusion as they all stare back at her blankly.

"What? Why?" Bakugo asked.

"Because she's not a monster." Jirou said reassuringly. "And her name is Ashido Mina."

Everyone stares at her silently as Ochaco slightly tilts her head to the side. "Ashido?"


After Izuku, Shouto and Eliot move the recliner out of the way, Ochaco opens the door and everyone takes a good look at the girl inside the bathroom again. Upon close inspection, the girl sure enough has light pink skin, pale yellow horns and black eyes with bright yellow irises. She also has short and fluffy dark pink hair and currently dressed in a purple singlet, pale blue shorts and light red shoes.

As Izuku, Ochaco and the others stare at her in a mixture of awe and confusion, the pink-haired girl smiles nervously at them and waves her hand as she greets them, "Hi?"

Everyone stare at her for a few more moments before Ochaco regains her composure and said, "If she really is a monster, she would have attack us by now." Izuku and the others sigh heavily in response.

"Everything is fine now, Ashido. Come on out." Jirou said tenderly to the pink-haired girl as she walks over to her and grabs her hand. She escorts her over to the three-seat sofa and sets Mina down on the centre. The others walk over and gather around Mina.

"We're sorry that we freaked out upon seeing you." Ochaco said apologetically as she, Jirou and Tsuyu stand in front of Mina. Everyone proceeds to bow their heads down to her.

"It's okay. It's only natural that you guys would react that way." Mina replied as Izuku and Shouto now sat beside her.

"So Jirou, what exactly happened and why did you let her in?" Shouto asked.

"Well, I was taking a nap on the recliner until I was woken up by a knock on the door. I looked around the first floor and realize you guys aren't around." Jirou said.

"We were at the second floor with Shouto at the time." Momo said to her as she, Denki, Bakugo, Eliot and Melissa stand behind the sofa.

"She didn't wake up to our yelling, but responded to a knock on the door?" Bakugo said. "She really is a heavy sleeper."

"Uh-huh." Jirou slowly nods her head. "Anyways, realizing that the knocking came from the sliding doors, I walk over to them and see Ashido standing outside. Admittedly, I was a little shocked upon seeing her for the first time too. But when I see her looking sad and getting soaked in the rain, I felt that I can't just leave her outside. So, I open the doors and let her in. I took her to the first-floor bathroom to dry her up with a towel. But suddenly, the power went out. I remember the power supply cabinets are in the basement when we were cleaning the house that day, so I told Ashido to stay inside the bathroom while I go fix the electricity."

"I was feeling a little impatient waiting inside the bathroom until I heard all of your voices. So I politely knocked on the door before I wanted to step out of the room. However, one of your friends open the door before I could do so and that's when…you all know what happens next." Mina finished with a shrug.

"Don't mind if I asked a few questions?" Izuku asked. Mina nods her head to him. "Who exactly are you? And where do you come from?"

"Are you an alien?" Denki asked. Bakugo immediately jabs his right arm with his elbow and Denki winced in pain. "Ow!"

"No, I'm not an alien." Mina said, pouting at Denki as he rubs the area on his arm where Bakugo had hit. She turns her head back to the front and smiled. "I'm a human, just like all of you. Or at least I used to look like one. And like most of you, I was born and raised in Japan. Chiba Prefecture to be precise. Many years ago, and by many, I meant two, I used to be a very playful, carefree and even stubborn girl who only thinks about having fun and not caring about her studies." Denki gave a nervous chuckle as he rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.

"I never took life seriously, and the only thing I ever care about is dancing and daydreaming of performing in front of millions of people one day." Mina said as her smile slowly began to fade. "Because I was so absorbed in having fun, I was very poor in my studies. My relationship with my parents suffered to the point that they think I am completely hopeless. That's why one day, I decided to run away from everything." Shouto frowns and lowers his head.

"How did you end up looking like what you are now?" Ochaco asked.

"Well, after running away from home, because I was arrogant and stupid at the time, I got myself a job as a dancer in a nightclub. Don't worry guys, it's not THAT kind of nightclub." Mina quickly reassured with a chuckle. "And while I was working there, a man approached me, claiming that he is a talent-seeking manager who thinks I'm a very amazing dancer, and he offers me to work for him in an entertainment agency. I was a complete idiot and still wanting to follow my dreams, so I made a deal with him in a heartbeat. I followed him to the back of the nightclub where he parked his van. When the man opens the back of the van, another man suddenly grabs me and places a cloth onto my mouth until I passed out. And um…this is where things get really creepy, so strap in."

Mina paused for a moment to look down at her hands. "When I regain consciousness, I was incredulous to find myself inside a tank with a breathing mask on my mouth. I see the scientists in front of me were gazing at me for a really long time. I look down at my hands and sure enough…something was unusual about me. My skin, my face, my eyes…everything about me is different now." After curling her fingers into fists, Mina looks back up at everyone. "Most of the other kidnapped teenagers still look normal, but I am not one of them. The scientists kept all of us inside that strange building for months. Until one day, we were suddenly woken up from our sleep by a group of people who broke into the building. They told us that they're here to free us, and all of us quickly escape before things get worse for us. Many of us including myself managed to get out of the building, and we all went our separate ways. I chose to return back here to Japan when I remembered about my parents and previous life. So, I travel all the way to a port, snuck into a cargo ship heading for Japan via the Arctic Ocean, and that's how I got here."

Everyone remained speechless for a few moments as they try to comprehend Mina's explanation.

"Did you get to see your parents again?" Tsuyu asked.

"No." Mina said sadly. "During my journey back to Japan, I do have conflicting thoughts inside my head. I wondered how my parents would react when they see me. Will they cry and say that they miss me? Or will they tell me to go away because they don't recognize me or have since disowned me as their child. Sadly, I'll never know because when I return to my apartment in Chiba, I was greeted by a woman I never met before and we both scream as soon as we see each other before I ran off. I don't have my phone with me so I couldn't remember my parents' phone numbers. And because I felt no human would ever look at me the same way before I was kidnapped again, I exiled myself here on this island, hiding myself from society. Every day I would lament over what happened between me and my parents. Sometimes I wish I have the power to turn back time, stop myself from making the wrong decisions and took my life seriously. Instead, I wasted every opportunity I had." Mina pursed her lips as she tries to fight back the urge to cry. "And I have no one to blame but myself."

"I understand now." Shouto said to Mina grimly. "You chose to run away from your parents because you want to run away from your problems. Instead, you never found peace and happiness in doing so. And to think a while ago, I was considering of doing the exact same thing as you."

Mina wipes away her tears and responded to him, "I don't know what problems you had with your family. But if I were you, I would rather continue staying with the ones you know rather than entering a world full of strangers all by yourself. If you have a problem with your family, you gotta have the courage to stand up to them, make them realize what is going through your head rather than keeping things to yourself. And even if you don't get along with your family, I'm sure there will always be people out there who cares about you, like your friends. Something that I completely forgot when I made that stupid decision."

"You're right." Shouto nodded. "Dealing with your problems can be hard. But running away from them is harder."

"Shouto." Izuku said, smiling at his friend.

Mina gets up from the sofa and extends her hand out to Shouto. They smile at each other as Shouto grabs her hand and Mina pulls him up into a warm embrace. Shouto hugs her back and they rest on each other's shoulders. They pull away from each other a few moments later and everybody gather around Mina to cheer her up.

Everyone converses and laughs with Mina for the next few hours and before they knew it, the rain had stopped and the clouds disperse, allowing the sun to shine brightly down on Izu Oshima again.

Sometime later, everyone grabs their bags and leave the summer house. Momo takes one last good look at the interior of her summer house before she steps out and locks the main door for the final time. After putting the key into her pocket, Momo turns around to face her friends.

"Let's go." Momo said solemnly to them.

"Everyone, I'm really sorry for the way I behaved earlier." Shouto said apologetically to everyone around him.

"It's okay. We know you didn't mean to." Izuku said as he places his hand on his shoulder.

"When I get back home, I'll try…no. I will stand up to my father." Shouto said solemnly. "I'll tell him that I don't need him to create my path in life for me. I'll do that, by myself."

"That's the spirit!" Ochaco said to him enthusiastically.

"You can do it, Shouto." Izuku said.

"Yeah! Act like a real man!" Bakugo yelled with a wide grin.

Shouto smiled at everyone and bows his head. "Arigatou minna."

"Kaminari? Something wrong?" Melissa asked, noticing the frown on Denki's face.

"Shield-sensei…" Denki said as he turns his head to her. "I've been thinking about what Mina said and…I promise when we get back to Tokyo, I'll fully dedicate myself to my studies and work a lot harder in the next term."

"It's still not too late to do that, Kaminari. I look forward to seeing your next report card." Melissa said encouragingly as she places her hand on Denki's shoulder. Denki grins sheepishly at her.

Jirou fails to suppress her laughter and said to Denki, "Seriously? You focusing on your studies? Good luck with that."

"Just watch me, Jirou!" Denki yelled at his friend before looking at everybody else. "In fact, I'll show all of you! So keep laughing while you can!"

Everyone smiled at Denki for a moment before they walk away from the summer house and walk over to the pathway through the trees.

"Goodbye everyone!" Mina calls out as she stands in front of the garage door and waves her hand at them. Everyone stopped and turned to her.

"Goodbye Mina!" Ochaco replied as they all wave back at her.

"Take good care of yourself!" Jirou added with a warm smile.

"And don't give up! Keep moving forward and I'm sure you'll find happiness again in the future!" Izuku said encouragingly. Mina stares blankly at them for a moment before her teeth breaks out into a cheerful grin. Everybody smiled back at Mina for a moment before they all turn and continue walking down the pathway.

Izuku, Ochaco and their friends have made lots of wonderful memories together over the weekend. But now, they are finally going back home to Tokyo.


One Month Later…

As summer vacation in Japan came to an end, the students return to school the following day. In the hallways and classrooms of Nerima Academia, the students reunite with their friends and discuss what they have done during the summer break with each other.

Izuku, Shouto and Jirou walk into their classroom together and they are all surprised to see Denki already sitting at his desk, reading his science textbook early in the morning.

"Do my eyes deceive me?" Jirou asked Izuku and Shouto.

"Nope, not at all." Izuku replied, smiling at Denki before he, Shouto and Jirou walk over to their desks. When the school bell rings, the students hurriedly go over to their desks and sit down. Aizawa enters the classroom a few minutes later and everybody stand up from their seats.

"Good morning, Aizawa-sensei." Everyone greeted in unison as they bow down to him.

"Good morning, everyone. Please be seated." Aizawa responded and the students obliged. "Before we start today's lesson, Midoriya Izuku has a very important announcement to make."

"Izuku?" Shouto said as he and the other students stare at him in confusion. Izuku remains silent as he gets up and walks over to the front of the classroom. After placing himself beside Aizawa, Izuku turns around and face the class with a solemn frown.

As they make their way home from Takeshiba Ferry Terminal that night, Izuku admits to Ochaco that after contemplating over what Mina had told them, he wished to tell everyone in school about his departure from Tokyo by the end of the year. Ochaco had admittedly forgotten about their current situation after living with Izuku and Inko for the last seven months, and she agreed that it is best for him to tell everyone the truth before he unintentionally hurt more people in the process.

Izuku takes a deep breath. There is no turning back now.

"Everyone…" Izuku proclaimed. "By the first week of December, my mother and I will be moving out of Tokyo."


Sovereign: I would like to thank Shonaku, Crow's Apprentice, KahunaLagoona, Axlexington, LayLay lives, AshPli, AquaBluey, Eramis8, Ultimarum456, Alulain P, difrancescotony518, FanFicFan2017 and NeoGamer93 for reviewing, favoriting and following my story. Thank you everyone!

With that, I am now putting this story on hiatus. Why? Because my other story, Dawn of Arcadia, is about to enter its final story arcs, and I wish to put my full attention into it.

Now, I don't want to sound like I am stopping work on this story. No. Of course not. I still love writing this story and everything My Hero Academia in general, and I hate leaving my stories unfinished. It's just that I've been working on two stories at the same time for so long that it is starting to take a toll on me. And since Dawn of Arcadia is nearing its conclusion, I feel it's best that I put one of my stories on hold for now so that I can focus on finishing the other. Of course, as soon as I'm done with Dawn of Arcadia, I will quickly get back to writing this story. I hope all of you can understand and thank you so much for your continued support. Finally, take good care of yourselves and stay safe and healthy from the Coronavirus.

Until next time, read and review!