The endless white plains were suddenly replaced with what you would expect to see. Rolling hills and trees slowly came back into view. Any chance of talking rationally with Kurogiri was gone. Even if I understood his past, bringing up the memory only seemed to make him stronger and more precise.

I vanished again to avoid being hit. Mineta panicked and started peeling balls from his head, sticking them to Kurogiri. The few extra seconds was enough for Shoji to hold him down. It looked like we were doing enough damage, but Kurogiri simply used his portals to send a blast of air that pushed everyone back.

Kurogiri finally looked behind him. He didn't anticipate the wave of students throwing everything they could. I recognized shards of ice, metal, and even a few boiled eggs. Kaminari took advantage of the distraction to deliver several well-timed blows to the metal covering around Kurogiri's neck.

The portals dissipated and Kurogiri massaged the part where he had been hit. Scowling, more portals started to appear from the ground.

"If you can't get rid of me, I'll get rid of you." Upon saying the last word, students screamed as they were flung in random locations.

The problem with attacking the city as a whole is lack of specific information. I knew the people who were being thrown were okay. They couldn't have been transported anywhere that Kurogiri (and I) couldn't see.

Spike reloaded his gun and shot at Kurogiri several times. The bullets made no effect. Kurogiri was fast enough to deflect those bullets into exit portals where they harmlessly flew away.

Eraser Head tried to restrain Kurogiri and was met with failure. He had to cut some of his scarf away so he wouldn't be pulled through. "Normally, this wouldn't be a problem. There's so much of us. He can knock out hundreds of people, and we're struggling to knock out one."

Todoroki sent a wall of ice, cutting off the places that Kurogiri could see. This would only delay his progress; surely, Kurogiri would have stayed here long enough to remember certain landmarks. I guess he didn't. My conversation with him made sure of that.

Only five to ten people could realistically attack Kurogiri at the same time, so most of us stood to the side, waiting for an opening to throw a projectile. I went to find the people hurled through the portals.

I sighed. There were no casualties, but several people had been injured badly, mostly because they fell on the sharp rocks on the hillside. Recovery Girl wasn't too far away. "I'll take care of this. Now make sure that you don't get hurt, okay?"

Midoriya was among the critically hurt. Being careful not to slip, I approached him. "Hey, what happened?"

"Tried to use One for All... Kurogiri was too fast for me." He tried to move and was hit with a wave of pain.

"Don't try to move. You'll get help."

"I've been able to charge up my punches a little quicker, but I was already halfway through the portal."

"What hurts more, your using One for All or the fall?"

"No. I don't get hurt from using One for All if I can keep my power at 5% or lower."

I crouched and saw the real cause of the problem. Midoriya's back had been stabbed with several arrowheads. I fought the urge to vomit. "Just wait here. I'll figure out something."

Kurogiri finally realized that his strategy wasn't working, and he flew into the air.

All Might yelled, "Stop him from going anywhere else!"

Students with wind-related Quirks created a strong barrier. No one gets in or out. Kurogiri created a sort of cyclone to defend itself, and once again, his fog obscured our vision. I don't know what this would look like to an outsider, and I had a sudden image of blueberries being crushed in a blender before we were about to be crushed ourselves.

Kurogiri laughed again. He seemed to have forgotten my conversation with him. "I'm not trapped in here with you." He created a giant fist and punched the ground, leaving a sizable crater where I used to stand. "You're trapped in here with me."

"If you have anything, strike at him now." Eraser Head distastefully looked ahead. He still couldn't use his restraining device, but for the rest of us, we didn't need to be told twice. We threw everything we had at Kurogiri. He couldn't possibly create enough fog, seeing as he still couldn't escape the wall of wind surrounding everyone.

First, I stayed back and watched everyone else. Todoroki was making the most material out of everyone so far, as well as Momo. Kurogiri was still fast. There was no denying that, but he seemed to be slowly overwhelmed by the sheer volume of stuff that we were sending this way.

After five minutes had passed, it became clear that we were the ones in control. Kurogiri tried to fling all the debris elsewhere, but he couldn't. After a single mistake, he was hit in the head, if you could even call it that, with a shard of ice. Kurogiri lost his concentration. The cyclone disappeared, and he fell to the ground.

Looking around, I saw that everyone had been fully healed. Everyone stood around Kurogiri in a circle with their Quirks fully charged. Before that, I found Midoriya and whispered, "Tell Uraraka to take these rocks and lift them into the air. We'll need them later."

"Won't Kurogiri see it?"

"Not if I make them disappear."

All Might moved to the front of the circle. "Kurogiri, this ends now."

"And what did you do? You hid behind the work of your students."

Actually, that wasn't true. There was so much stuff that was going on that I never really saw All Might. I still believed that he did his work in protecting us from some of the more dangerous portals.

I revealed myself. "I wish I could understand you. You keep repeating the same things, just like Shigaraki. If I knew how you would've felt, there might've been a chance that you wouldn't turn out like this."

"Okay, so let's say I did try to be good. Let's say I decided to be a hero, starting right now." Kurogiri paused and thought about what he was going to say next. "No one would believe me. Look at what I did. I've confused this entire country."

After checking the news, I confirmed this. All other stories that would normally hold some importance was overshadowed by Kurogiri himself. His impression didn't help either.

"I don't even know how to act like a hero. I've despised them ever since my childhood. Look, I understand if you want to 'save me,' but it's already too late for that." Kurogiri raised both arms, and fog started to concentrate around his feet. Uraraka and I made eye contact, and I winked. She put her fingers together, a movement so small that it could barely be noticed.

Before Kurogiri's entrance could fully finish, the rocks became visible again, and Kurogiri was buried under several tons of Mother Nature's fury. I scanned the pile and noticed that Kurogiri's metal bracing was snapped in half by a particularly sharp arrowhead. His heartbeat slowly decreased: 50, 42, 33, until two minutes later, when he flatlined.

"That's it, then." I nodded. The wind barrier disappeared.

"You're not coming back, are you?" Eraser Head said.

"No." I shrugged. "You guys need to get back first."

"Is that even possible? We didn't see a portal when we first got here."

"Remember, I still have Kurogiri's plans. The accelerator needs to be built first."

Instead of taking a week like I thought it would, we actually set up things very quickly. Momo received a copy of the blueprints. Knowing how meticulous she is in her studies, she recreated the entire thing perfectly. After using the portal gun, the familiar loud stream of musical notes began to play, and a white circle about two meters in diameter appeared.

I yelled, "We're going back in reverse order." The support classes filed in, one by one. I told them that they would all appear in the cramped lab and advised them to get out of the way before more people arrived. I saw Hatsume and gave her the thumbs-up before she was swallowed by the portal.

I tried to take a picture with every student. I didn't time everything perfectly, so some of them looked blurry. There wasn't anything I could do about that. I wouldn't get a second chance.

After ten minutes, it was Class 1-A's turn to leave. That left twenty students, Eraser Head, and All Might.

Kaminari said, "It's a shame. Your grades managed to top Momo's. I really could've used the extra help." He smiled before walking through.

Some classmates didn't say anything at all. I understood. It's kind of hard to think of what to say when someone you know has to leave. At least Koda signed some really nice words to me.

Midoriya was the last student to go. "Well, this is it."

I sighed. "Midoriya, I truly believe that you can be a hero. You're stronger than I'll ever be, and probably smarter too. If I were you, I would have given up on my dreams long ago."

"Thanks for that." He extended his arm to shake my hand. "Plus Ultra."

"Plus Ultra." Midoriya looked at me for one last time before he was gone.

That left Eraser Head and All Might.

"It's been a good run. With your abilities, you could've been a great hero too. Thirteen would appreciate your help in future rescues given your access to so much information."

"For now, I kind of just want to be a regular high school student."

Eraser Head cracked a rare smile. "I understand. By the way, did you cheat on the last test?"

"I always cheat." Eraser Head shook my hand before he went through the portal.

Between me and All Might, there was an awkward silence. All Might cleared his throat. "Young Shiraseru, you've done well. I don't have a lot of time and I don't know what to say to you, but I hope that you can visit us again sometime."

"I know. It's possible, but I'm not sure if I want to. No one would believe me if I told them that there was another world full of superheroes."

All Might slapped my back. If he wasn't holding back, every bone would've been broken. "Remember the lessons you've taken. Even without directly using your power, you're resourceful. You know what to do in tight situations. Even if you never use your Quirk again, just remember to apply your skills in real life. They'll be useful."

"Goodbye, All Might." I shook his hand and had mine crushed in return.

"Goodbye, Shiraseru." He disappeared in a second.

I powered off the machine, knowing full well that it would probably be moved or destroyed within the next day. I looked at the city, where repairs were already going underway.

It was nice to be back.