Amber light floated over the single occupied bed in Recovery Girl's temporary office, bathing the room in a comforting glow as the sun breathed its last warm rays for the day over Musutafu City's most prestigious school.

The rays' warmth washing over Akiko's cheek roused her, and her eyes slowly opened. She blinked a few times to try and shake off the sensation that her eyelids were made of lead and blearily looked around. It didn't take too long to discern that she was in Recovery Girl's office, though the details of when and how she had gotten there escaped her. Everything before the moment her eyes flitted open was a blur – one moment she'd been falling onto the concrete in the arena, the next she'd heard medical robots' wheels around her, followed by the sound of an elderly woman's voice, at which point everything went black up until now.

Looking more focusedly to her left, Akiko noticed that she wasn't the only person in Recovery Girl's office. Jomei was there with her. He had his head ducked down and his eyes closed where he sat in an uncomfortable-looking chair beside her bed. Her mind idly focused in on the look of discomfort and faded anguish on his face, even as he rested at her side. The realization that the look on his face was probably brought on by her fight… she wanted to reach out to him, but she didn't want to wake him.

Only with the consequences of her actions in front of her did she really understand the severity of the actions she'd taken to face Todoroki.

Akiko wondered how Denki and Kyoka were taking everything that happened. They were her closest friends besides Jomei, but she couldn't read their minds. She imagined that Kyoka would remain calm and cool yet still possess concern for her wellbeing, perhaps a great amount, but would eventually talk herself out of needless concern thanks to her typical level of self-control and analysis of a situation. Denki on the other hand would've probably been as wildly expressive with his hopes for her safety as Jomei seemed to be suffering over his.

With the sun preparing to depart for the night not too long from now, Akiko could only assume that she'd remained asleep for the remainder of the festival.

But now that she was awake, she finally took note of the state she found herself in. Her entire body felt like a bullet train had run her over. She wouldn't deny that the discomfort she felt had been self-inflicted, but it didn't make the sensation any less pleasant to endure.

Straining her aching neck to look down, the first thing she noticed was that her sports uniform jacket was laying open… and the undershirt she'd been wearing underneath was now missing. Fortunately, she was saved from embarrassment by the fact that her chest had been wrapped in bandages all around her torso. They stretched from her waist, ascended up past her breasts, and wrapped around her shoulders like a tank top of sorts. Most of the bandages were clean, though the majority of those that were near her crystal core had been stained an ugly crimson from the blood that had seeped through after it shattered.

On an impulse, she tried to sit up straighter to zip her jacket back up and put another layer of material between her bare chest and the outside world, but her arms felt too heavy to move. The only result that arose from her efforts was a pained groan as the soreness in her chest protested her attempts at exerting herself in the slightest.

Immediately, Jomei stirred. His eyes widened the second he saw that she was awake, and the sudden movement of his arms before they stopped short seemed to imply that he had to stop himself from outright glomping her. Instead, after a moment of silence and hesitation, he pulled his chair closer to her bedside and leaned in toward her. With a degree of gentleness and care that made it seem as though he thought she was made of glass after her injury, he wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close.

On account of his mouth being buried in the crook of her shoulder, Jomei's voice came out muffled, but the pain in his voice was clear. "Akiko, I… I'm so glad that you're okay. I was worried sick after what you did back there against Todoroki. I knew what you were doing, but when I saw what happened and you just dropped…"

Slowly, Akiko managed to wrap one of her arms around Jomei's back. "I'm sorry."

He pulled back slightly and held her gaze. "Listen, you're one of the strongest people I've ever known, and what you did might've helped Todoroki… but watching you fight him was probably the hardest thing I've done in my life. Honestly, it started to seem like you didn't care how much damage it did to you, in the end. I was afraid for you. I couldn't help but think the cost must have been getting too high to be worth it. You risked everything… and for what?"

The flash in his eyes made her wonder how much more he felt but didn't want to say. "Jomei. I… I don't regret the pain that I caused myself during that fight, but know that I do wish I hadn't hurt or scared you, there. Maybe it didn't look like it, but I know how much my body can handle with my Quirk. I understood how far I could push myself, and… I wouldn't throw my promise to us away so easily. I can guarantee you that."

Jomei exhaled before leaning forward and hugging her gently again.

"I know. I know, Akiko," Jomei whispered, his muscles noticeably relaxing whilst remaining in his partner's arms. "Really. Hearing that means a lot more than words can describe, right now. Do you need help sitting up?"

She nodded and Jomei adjusted himself to assist her. Once she was in a sitting position, propped up by more pillows that he found nearby, and assured that she was comfortable, Jomei finally sat back in his own seat again. Akiko could still tell that he wasn't entirely at ease, though.

Akiko adjusted herself a little more when a sudden wave of fatigue caused her to yawn – likely the side-effect of whatever dosage of healing Recovery Girl had given her. "I really am sorry though, Jomei. I know from what went down there that it might've looked like I forgot the promise I made to you, and didn't care if I won or lost, but I promise you that I didn't. I got caught up in the fight, in trying to get Todoroki to use his flames that I did push myself more than I probably should have… but I never forgot that promise. Even though I know it must've hurt you to have to watch me towards the end, it was always there in my mind."

Jomei clasped her hand between both of his. "It did seem like you forgot what you were fighting for, but it's like I said. I'm just happy that you're okay. You didn't kill yourself down there, and you're going to be fine now. It might take a little while, but you'll be fine. That's what matters to me. Everything else comes second. You're always going to be my top priority, Akiko. Especially after all we've been through," he softly finished, as one of his thumbs rubbed small circles along the back of her hand.

Their eyes met, and Akiko's next words came out as a whisper. "Thank you."

"Not a problem," Jomei returned.

A pause.

"Hey, Jomei?"

He gave her a look that let her know to continue.

"What happened while I was out?"

Jomei blinked, as if slightly surprised by the question. "Oh, uh… yeah, I guess you would be curious about what went down after you… went down. Well, for starters, everyone in the crowd was either going insane or was dead silent after you lost and everything that had happened, but I'm guessing you don't want to hear all that much about that."

"Not… really," Akiko admitted.

"Right. So obviously the finals were between Bakugo and Todoroki," Jomei continued. "I don't know much about what Todoroki was thinking before their match or anything, but it was pretty obvious that he wasn't really… there, if that makes sense."

"What do you mean?"

He took a moment to compose his answer. "I mean that Todoroki wasn't fighting like you'd expect him to. He used his Quirk and came out of the gate against Bakugo really strong, even had him on the back foot for a while with some of his big moves, but it also looked like he was sorta… going through the motions. That his heart wasn't in it, or his head was somewhere else the entire time. I want to say that maybe he was still thinking about his fight with you, since the finals came so soon after that, but even I can't tell for sure what goes through Todoroki's head most of the time. I don't think anyone can, really."

Quickly, Akiko decided to leave any further speculation regarding Todoroki for later, when she had time to watch replays of the finals and find out for herself what Jomei meant by his description of how Todoroki fought. For what it was worth, she had enough faith in Jomei's ability to interpret people's behavior over her own that she'd probably end up coming to the same conclusion he did. There still remained one question in the back of her mind Akiko wanted to ask before she inquired about the rest of Class 1-A, though.

She remembered to finally zip up her jacket, and then said, "So who won?"

"Oh right! I didn't tell you how it all ended. Sorry." Jomei cleared his throat. "Yeah, so it looked like Bakugo was trying to bait Todoroki into using his fire, because he even looked a little excited when he activated his flames for a second before Bakugo hit him one last time. Either way, Todoroki didn't use them for long though, and it was like he sorta… gave up. He snuffed out his flames, Bakugo hit him with a huge explosion, and that was that. Bakugo won, but he looked mad. Livid, even. Midnight had to knock him out with her Quirk when he looked like he was gonna attack Todoroki again."

Akiko's hands fell from the zipper, her face scrunched up thoughtfully. "Do you think he was actually going to, though? And… Why would he even do something like that?"

He shrugged. "Don't know for sure. I have two ideas, though. One, which I think is unlikely, since he didn't seem like he had bloodlust to keep wailing on Yaoyorozu or me when he beat us – Bakugo snapped and decided he hadn't wailed on Todoroki enough yet. Or two – he wasn't satisfied with Todoroki not using his full power. I'm tempted to say two is probably right though. Bakugo doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who'd want to accept a win unless he thinks that he earned it, and after seeing Todoroki about to unleash his fire on you, only to decide against using it against him…"

"He probably saw it as an insult," Akiko thought aloud.

"And that's putting it lightly."

"So… what about everyone else? Denki, Kyoka, Class 1-A?" Akiko asked. "Do you know where everyone's at right now, at all?"

Another slight shrug. "Home, probably. The stadium was emptying after the medals were handed out, but almost everyone in class wanted to wait and see if you'd wake up. Recovery Girl told us that she wasn't sure when you would though, so people sorta filtered out bit by bit after that. That being said…" He turned to his right and reached over to grab a large heart-shaped card from a nearby table before handing it to Akiko. "They did leave this behind. It's sorta a little get-better-soon card. Took a little coaxing to get Yaoyorozu to create it on the spot, but the girls got her to do it in the end. All the guys pretty much followed their lead from there."

Opening the card, Akiko noticed a plentiful bounty of signatures and a myriad of kind messages. Most of them were as in-character as they could get in terms of their wording, but the short and sweet nature of each message and the time that everyone must have taken from their day to write one for her endeared her classmates to her even more. Some members of Class 1-A opted to only sign and not do much else, such as Shoji and Sato, though there was one signature that caught her eye in particular.

"Did Bakugo actually sign this, too?" she quickly asked.

"Yeah, I was wondering that myself," Jomei admitted awkwardly. "I asked around while there were still a few people around, since Kirishima and Ashido already went out for ice cream, but no one could remember if Bakugo made that himself or if Kirishima forged his signature to keep him from being the only one that didn't sign. Either way, it's pretty cool, huh? I think that everyone in Class 1-A was a fan of yours when they saw what you could do with your Quirk down there."

"That is pretty cool, yeah…" Akiko trailed off.

Her eyes returned to the card, and a small smile appeared on her face as she gave a few messages a quick read that she hadn't before. Recovery Girl may have been on standby to take care of situations exactly like the ones Akiko and Midoriya had thrust themselves into, but that didn't change how meaningful Class 1-A's simple card felt to her.

Eventually, she tenderly closed the card and set it on her lap at the same time she looked up at Jomei again, and the first thing she noticed was that the residual hurt in his eyes had made an unwelcome comeback. He tried to hide it underneath a neutral mask when he met her eyes, but she didn't miss it.

It didn't take Akiko long to decide to try and remedy that pain. She hadn't been lying when she claimed she didn't regret her actions, and indeed, the distress Jomei was feeling had, at least to some degree, spawned from the slightly unreasonable degree of concern he'd been feeling, but Akiko wasn't one to let a friend work through such pain completely by themselves. Especially not when that friend was as dear to her heart as Jomei was, and not when his concerns came about as a direct result of her actions during the tournament.

After all, heroes always meddled in affairs that didn't necessarily need to, didn't they?

"Jomei." Her voice was firm, but carefully tempered by compassion to make sure that the power she wanted her words to carry remained clear. "What I did for Todoroki… that was something I couldn't help but feel the need to do. I couldn't stop myself from getting involved after I heard about… what Todoroki has had to deal with. But even though I did do what I had to do, and don't regret it… that doesn't mean I ever stopped trying to win that match for us. That thought was always the number one priority in my mind. After all you've done for me since we met, I hope you know that I want to do the same thing for you."

A bright glimmer of optimism blossomed in Jomei's eyes. That optimism flourished into relief, and for the first time since they had started talking, it seemed as though Jomei's mood was on the upswing. Akiko didn't expect him to be back to his normal self anytime today, but she let herself rest assured that her emphasizing her promise held enough power to keep Jomei from being bogged down with worry about her so brutally harming herself again in the future.

The ghost of a smile that then tugged on his lips only convinced her even more of the truth of her observation. "Akiko, I wanted to let you know-"

Just as he was about to finish his sentence, the door to the clinic was suddenly swung open by a familiar crooked hand. At the threshold of the room stood Midoriya and Todoroki, the former's face painted with respectful concern while the other's remained as inscrutable as it'd been before the Sports Festival started. With little hesitation, Midoriya was the first to step in the room after his eyes glanced from Jomei to Akiko.

"Takara, you're awake! I thought I heard your voice from down the hall…" Midoriya trailed off, interrupted by his noticing that Todoroki had stealthily slid into the room beside him. "Right! We were both waiting for you to wake up. Todoroki actually has something to say, and-"

"Midoriya," Jomei interrupted coldly, his expression hardening with unsuppressed venom as he suddenly pushed himself onto his feet. "Not another word until you tell me whatever it is you told Akiko before their match."

Midoriya's eyes widened to saucers.

Akiko could barely suppress a smile. Although the awkwardness that Midoriya exhibited around Todoroki convinced Akiko that the pair probably hadn't spoken all that much about recent events between her match and now, she decided to disregard the observation, for the time being. It was apparent that he had much more serious things to think about right now, with Jomei threatening to get in his face.

Before Midoriya could stutter out a response though, Todoroki raised a placating hand. "As shocked and angry as I might've been during our match, when I learned that Midoriya had told Takara about my family, I understand his reasoning, now." His attention turned toward Akiko completely. "Takara. Know that I'm not angry at you for mentioning my family while we were fighting. I realize you wanted to help me, there… and you did."

"You did mention them during your fight, right?" Midoriya asked.

Numbly, her head bobbed once in confirmation. "Yeah… I did."

"Where are you going with this, Todoroki?" Jomei practically growled.

But Todoroki had his own pace, and still looking at Akiko, he continued. "With all that you had to go through during our fight, I didn't want to make it seem as though I'm entirely incapable of understanding that other people have their own difficulties to deal with, too. To that end, I want to extend my sympathy to you Takara. For whatever it's worth, I can try to extend that olive branch of sorts to you after our fight caused you such an injury. You mentioned during the fight that you understood where I was coming from, and I might have been wrapped up in my own issues at the time, and for that, I apologize. You shouldn't have had to suffer to try and help me."

"Todoroki… you don't have to apologize," Akiko responded easily. "My family might also have issues where my path to becoming a pro is concerned, but it isn't all bad for me. Compared to what you've had to go through, what I have to face whenever I go home almost seems trivial."

A hint of surprise flickered for a split-second, but it became obvious Todoroki was willing to let the matter drop if Akiko didn't think it important enough to discuss. He slowly looked down at the palm of his left hand. "I suppose you'd also want to know about what I think of my flames now that you got me to use them, huh."

Akiko hummed softly. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little curious. I heard from Jomei that you didn't even use your fire against Bakugo, even when he was about to deliver the final blow."

"His recollection of events isn't inaccurate," Todoroki confirmed, though his eyes didn't move from his hand back to Akiko until a second later. "But I won't lie and say that I'm entirely ready to use my flames freely. Not yet. What I will say to you is that, at that moment, when I unleashed my flames to thaw myself out… what you were saying made me forget about Endeavor. Maybe at some point soon I'll be able to draw upon that feeling again, and I have you to thank for that. The lengths that you went to because you wanted to help me on Midoriya's behalf… It means a great deal to me."

"Listen, if Midoriya doesn't answer my question literally right now, he'll be the one needing some help, alright?" Jomei said.

Midoriya took a step forward, away from the door. "Right. Yeah. I think I should apologize, too. It was my fault for getting Akiko wrapped up in all this because of how I really wanted to help Todoroki." His gaze drifted between them. "But, um, it's not for me to explain, and- but-"

"It's alright, Midoriya," Todoroki said with an exhale. His attention shifted toward Jomei, utterly unphased by his righteous indignation. "After the cavalry battles finished, I decided to inform Midoriya about something regarding my family that I would've preferred remained a close-kept secret. However, since it isn't, you deserve an explanation."

Crossing his arms, Jomei said nothing, instead opting to let his furrowed brow and harsh glare indicate his mental state entirely. As Todoroki's explanation started, however, and the true horrors behind Endeavor's traumatizing, abusive, and self-centered misdeeds became clearer, his frustration faded into simple sympathy. His arms loosened by the moment, until his indignant expression had shifted into one entirely of stunned realization at the previously hidden details within his classmate's past. By the time Todoroki was detailing the emotional traumas that had spurred his mother into scarring him for life, Jomei's expression had never been soberer.

"To Endeavor," Todoroki finished, "I was created only as a simple tool to overcome All Might. I disavowed him and I always told myself I would never use my left side, that it wasn't my path to becoming a hero. I still don't know how to move forward, really. I don't want anything to hold me back, but I don't want to become the human weapon that Endeavor envisioned me as, either."

At that, Jomei's expression landed on hard resolve, repeating almost the same sentiment that his girlfriend had during her match. "You aren't Endeavor, Todoroki."

Todoroki's stoic expression wavered for the first time since beginning his story, and Akiko felt tempted to touch his arm, to extend her sympathies somehow, but she held herself back.

"I'm sorry for what I ended up putting you through," Midoriya said, after the short silence. And glancing between all three of them, he continued. "All of you."

"Again, you don't have to apologize," Akiko reassured with a dismissive, albeit somewhat sluggish wave of her hand. "What I did was my decision to make. I knew going into my match that there was a good chance I'd lose, and that I'd get hurt… but I don't hold any of it against either of you. I have no right to. Not in my eyes, anyway."

"If Akiko's okay with what happened when it comes to you, Midoriya, then I'm fine too," Jomei added. "No point in making a grudge out of something that isn't an issue, for her."

Todoroki's hands fell into his pockets, and his head tilted slightly as if to inspect the hints of fatigue on Akiko's face. "Well, if we're done here, I guess that I should get going."

"Yeah, I guess it is getting kind of late…" Midoriya said.

"Well, not only that, but Takara's stamina has clearly been drained after whatever intensive care Recovery Girl had to give her. Leaving her to rest is probably the best thing we can do for her right now." Todoroki turned and opened the door, only to pause and look behind himself. "Oh, and Midoriya."

"Hm?"

"Thank you for telling Takara about my family after you were knocked out of the tournament," Todoroki said plainly. "Not everyone would have the guts to fight in a tournament with a goal to help someone else the entire time, and you managed to extend that desire of yours onto her. That either takes a lot of luck or charisma, no matter how you put it."

Overall, due to his stoic mask having made its return to Todoroki's face, Akiko found it hard to tell what exactly he meant, but there was one thing that was abundantly clear to even Akiko. No matter the mystery behind what thoughts drifted in his mind, Todoroki's words carried weight with them. There was a subtle implication there that he had extended his thanks to both Takara and Midoriya equally.

Todoroki opened the door and started to leave. "I'll see you guys again in class. Stay out of trouble in the meantime. I guess."

The door drifted shut behind him.

"I want to thank you again too, Takara. I won't forget what you went through to help me and Todoroki out today, for sure!" Midoriya reassured. "Oh! And Takara?"

"Yeah?" Akiko responded.

"I may not have been able to say this before, but…" Midoriya paused. "I think that you're an amazing person. I just wanted to let you know that, alright?"

Jomei shared a look with her.

"Thank you," Akiko said, feeling awkward and embarrassed at the attention.

After providing one last nod and a glance at both of them, Midoriya promptly turned around and hurriedly left. In the aftermath, a brief silence settled between Akiko and Jomei where they both elected to let the events of the day continue to settle within their hearts, their attention mutually focused on different sections of the thin blanket that covered Akiko's lower half.

It wasn't too long before Jomei said, "You know, Akiko… even though you just about gave me a heart attack in the process…" he stopped, drawing his partner's eyes up toward him again, where she saw the earnestness and admiration contained within his. "I do think you were awesome for going out of your way to help Todoroki. It's a perfect example of the whole above-and-beyond attitude that U.A.'s always talking about."

Instead of thanking him with words, Akiko's smile conveyed her message just the same. "Do your parents know that you're here now?" she asked. "What's going on, I mean?"

"Well, Dad's probably too busy or wiped out by now to have been able to have watched or caught up on everything, but Mom saw what went down all the way through to the finals. She knows that you got hurt," Jomei explained, his voice clearly much more at ease than before. "I plan on telling her more about what's going on, obviously, but she knows that I'll be home late tonight. I told her I wanted to hang out here for a bit."

"Right. Well, it's good to know your mom isn't going to be too worried, then," Akiko said. "I hope I didn't scare her, at the end of my fight."

Jomei exhaled. "Akiko, my mom was a part of active police patrols and raid teams since before I was even born. She's seen some crazy stuff. Once I told her Recovery Girl got to you right away, she wasn't all that worried about if you'd be fine. She did want me to tell you that she hopes you feel better soon, though."

"That's…" Akiko let her shoulders relax. "Surprisingly sweet of her."

"What can I say? She's an awesome person. An awesome mom." Jomei's expression shifted from the appreciation he felt for Ayane into one of faint concern. Akiko didn't need much time to figure out what had brought about that change even before he continued. "But what about your parents, though? Even if Recovery Girl is a legendary doctor, she isn't some miracle worker. We have a four-day weekend ahead of us, sure, but you'll have to explain to them at some point why you'll still be wrapped up in bandages, right?"

Akiko sighed. "I probably won't have to tell them anything."

"How do you figure that?"

"Because the only other person in my family who even has a passing care about the Sports Festival is Takai, and he wouldn't tell my parents what my fight did to me since he knows what'd happen if he did that." Akiko's thoughts drifted to when Takai had calmly assured her he was taking the day off to watch the festival. The memory made the corners of her mouth tug up in a melancholic smile. "Besides, my parents are out on a business trip right now. By the time they get home, I'll probably have healed enough to downplay how much I got hurt – and that's if I'm still injured at that point in the first place."

Jomei gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "So you're gonna have to lie to them."

"It's not that I want to," Akiko reasoned. "There's nothing more I want than for Mom and Dad to be proud of me for wanting to be a hero, but… I don't know if they'll ever change their minds about heroes. Not now. Not so soon after the USJ incident. I can't afford to risk being open with them, or else-"

"You don't have to finish that sentence," Jomei intruded, his sympathy clear on his face. "I understand. You do what you have to do to stay at U.A. I'll always be here for you in the meantime. I mean it."

Akiko only had time to thank Jomei with a smile of her own before the door opened again, though this time the pair had to angle their gazes downward to recognize the new arrival as she stepped into the room. Her familiarly distinct cane smacked against the floor as the door closed behind her.

"So you've finally decided to return to the land of the living, I see," Recovery Girl observed, sparing a glance down at her watch. "And right on time, too! It's good to know my talents when it comes to predicting when my patients will wake up isn't running out yet. Of course, it's better to see that neither of you seem to have gotten into any trouble while I was away, too. How are you feeling, Takara?"

As Jomei withdrew his hands from hers, Akiko suppressed the urge to reach out and pull them back immediately. "Sore. Tired. Like I could fall asleep the moment I get home and sleep for a day straight."

Recovery Girl stopped. "Well, while I'm sure what you're feeling is thoroughly unpleasant, it isn't quite unexpected nor necessarily a bad thing for me to hear. That means that your body's still healing, and could probably use some more help to speed things along. Nishimura."

His eyes widened slightly. "Yes, ma'am?"

"I'm going to administer another small dose of healing to Takara and change her bandages one last time before I let her go, so if you'd please leave the room…" she trailed off, pointing with one hand in the direction of the door.

"Oh… okay!" Jomei exclaimed, and he practically jumped out of his seat to make his way over to the door. He paused when his hand wrapped around the handle to look back over his shoulder once last time. "Akiko, I think I'll stick around and wait outside for you guys to be done. That alright with you?"

Akiko cast her eyes shyly down. "Of course. Hopefully, it won't take too much time."

"It's okay. I'll be right outside," Jomei said, and he opened the door. "I'll see you soon."

Upon Jomei's departure, Akiko entered another desperate struggle to keep from blushing when she noticed the all-too-amused look that'd appeared across Recovery Girl's face. The time it took for the medical professional to complete her work became a labor Akiko would never willingly subject herself to again.

Outside Recovery Girl's office, Jomei found himself left with remarkably little to do to occupy himself. There wasn't anyone around, and because his phone was relatively low on charge, listening to music to pass the time was out of the question. So instead, Jomei decided to simply sit down just beyond the clinic's closed door. After shooting Ayane a text to keep her in the loop, he slid his phone back into his pocket and let his head fall back against the wall. His eyes flitted shut, and his mind wandered.

On account of all the strife he'd been put through over the past few hours, he started to realize just how much he had in common with his father. Not only was Jomei the spitting image of Haruto when he was younger, but he also possessed the same capacity for compassion and worry for those his heart belonged to. Maybe it was that thought that made Jomei all the more grateful for the balancing level-headedness that he had received from his mother. Certainly, that wasn't always enough, but perhaps it had been enough this time to keep him from flat-out collapsing when he witnessed what Akiko had done to herself.

Now that he was able to look back upon it without worry for her health, Jomei reflected on how impressive Akiko's semifinal showing truly was. The aftermath of her fight might have brought some memories back into Jomei's head that he would've preferred to stay buried concerning the day Ayane lost her ability to walk, but there was no denying the power and skill Akiko had put on display.

Eventually, he even found himself agreeing with Yaoyorozu concerning Akiko's acceptance and standing in Class 1-A. Had her parents been even slightly more supportive, even with a Quirk such as the one she had, it wasn't at all impossible Akiko could have stood among the privileged few students that U.A. had allowed into their hero course based on recommendations alone.

But both of these lines of thought felt trivial compared to the third, when it rolled along.

No other thoughts could remain in his mind for long when he considered what he had been about to say to Akiko moments before Midoriya and Todoroki had come inside. Those words that had stilled themselves from feeling his lips when they appeared were nothing short of cold, hard, and undeniable truth about his feelings for his partner that made Jomei's heart stutter.

He loved her. He loved Takara Akiko. And he needed to tell her.

The idea that he had been about to say it right there and then surprised him, but it still felt like the right thing. He felt bursting with it, to the point where he almost wanted to blurt it out the moment she emerged from her treatment. But no, he had a second chance now, and he wanted to make it meaningful. He couldn't just tell her immediately when Recovery Girl released her. No, but he'd have to make another attempt as soon as possible. Procrastination was a killer, and his sweaty palms and racing heart reminded him equally that there wasn't any time to waste before his confession would burst past his lips, whether he was prepared or not.

'Don't think about it too hard, man… just do it when it feels like the right moment.'

His eyes snapped open at the noises of Recovery Girl opening the door to the clinic and her cane tapping against the tile flooring as she slowly made her way out of the room. She made it a whole two steps before she noticed Jomei on the floor to her right and stopped to face him, her neutral expression fading quickly into an odd combination of exasperation and knowing amusement.

Recovery Girl sighed. "You know, when you said you'd be waiting outside, Nishimura, I can't say I expected to find you sitting so uncomfortably on the floor. I understand your passion for whatever relationship you and Takara so obviously share, but please refrain from spending inordinate amounts of time in one spot on hard tile in the future. It isn't good for you!"

"Oh! Sorry…" Jomei jumped to his feet. "Is Akiko okay?"

"She most certainly is," Recovery Girl kindly reassured. "I already gave her enough healing to make sure she'd recover on her own – this second dose I just gave her was simply to speed the process of her healing along a little more. Now if you're still worried and are so eager to make sure Takara stays in good health, though, I have a job for you."

Immediately he nodded. "Of course!"

"Make sure that Takara gets home safely," she instructed. "Without doing anything else to jeopardize her health along the way. I've had quite enough injuries that came about because of some students' recklessness, and I still have two more days' worth of injuries to worry about without her coming back because she strained herself too much on her way out from here. Think you can do that for me, sonny?"

Another nod. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good. I'll leave you to it, then." Recovery Girl started to walk again, and she tilted her head slightly to cast an order over her shoulder. "Be sure to get plenty of rest, yourself! I might've dealt with most of your bruises and broken bones, but I highly recommend you give your body more time to build back up its strength!"

"Will do," Jomei quietly murmured, and he turned to face the door to the clinic, only to find that it had drifted shut. He reached out to the doorknob to open it, only to stop himself short and cautiously knock instead. "Akiko? Can I come back in?"

Akiko's response came out muffled, but still coherent. "Yeah! You're fine!"

When Jomei entered, he swiftly saw Akiko sitting upright, and with her legs swung off from one side of the medical bed, she almost looked like her normal self again.

Jomei came closer to extend a hand. "Anything happen while you guys were here?"

"A little bit," Akiko answered, raising her exhausted eyes up to his. She took his hand as she slid back onto her feet. "Recovery Girl gave me a few warnings about doing things like this to myself in the future. Self-inflicted injuries aren't something she's too happy about healing too often. Not when they're as bad as the ones Midoriya and I ended up with, anyway."

"Well, the worst part's over, and that's what matters. You can only come out of this festival a whole lot stronger than you were when you went in," Jomei said. "Even if we don't talk about how awesome you were with your Quirk, how far you got, and what you did with Todoroki? Some pros out there are gonna notice that and see something in you, for sure."

Her hand felt heavy in his. "That'd be nice. I still hope some pros take note of you too, though."

"A few probably will," he agreed. "For better or worse, Bakugo won first place, and I was one of the only people that managed to give him a hard time. Besides, I think you're forgetting that you and Denki and Kyoka were the ones who gave me some hope for getting scouted in the first place. So thanks, for that."

"Right," Akiko tiredly responded, and her shoulders slouched even further.

It didn't take much for Jomei to realize how utterly drained she must have been to be acting as sluggishly as she was, and he angled his head toward the door. "We should probably get going, though. If you're as tired as you look, I'll help you out, if you want."

"That'd be… nice."

Akiko then wrapped her arm gracefully around Jomei's, keeping her fingers intertwined with his own. Not too long after that, with nothing more than a silent look shared between them, the pair set off to leave the stadium that had been both the site of their highest highs and lowest lows so far in their time at U.A.

And for some reason, each step they took only put Jomei more and more at ease.

'I've got you, Akiko. Always.'

After her second and final healing session with Recovery Girl for the foreseeable future, although Akiko felt ready to pass out and sleep in until noon the next day, she somehow remained cognizant of her surroundings. She saw cold tile and dim lighting give way to the ambiance of night and distant city lights when she and Jomei exited the arena, but none of it really stood out to her. On any other day, the silence and peace Musutafu City put on display for her to bask in at night would be something she'd appreciate, and find beauty in, but tonight all of it felt dull in comparison to the jumble of her feelings and the object of her thoughts.

Jomei. The things she only now seemed to be noticing about him now that she found herself leaning so deeply into him for support. His whole body radiated warmth. With spring in full swing, one might have imagined that being pressed so closely against his heat would've been stifling, but Akiko only wanted to come closer against him.

And leaning against the hard muscle of his body, his arm around hers, she realized for the first time how strong he truly was. And yet how gentle his touch was at the same time. That same sweet, energetic, once-in-a-while recklessly wild boy that had the strength and passion to power through Bakugo's blasts and keep fighting also managed such carefully-measured tenderness whenever it was needed.

It all reminded her even more why she fell in love with Jomei.

Love. It was a new notion, but one she knew to be true and utterly innocent in its intent.

Eventually, after a brief stop to pick up their things, they arrived at the school side of U.A.'s new and improved security gate. The taxi they'd called to take her home hadn't reached them yet, and Akiko found herself unbelievably grateful for the extra time.

She wasn't ready to leave Jomei's side. Not yet.

Jomei's thumb started to absently stroke her hand, and Akiko's eyes flicked up toward Jomei's own. Hints of that same emotion she'd seen before now were plain in his face, although she still couldn't quite discern its meaning.

"I'm sorry about what you have to deal with, Akiko," Jomei started. "At home, with your family."

"It's not all bad. I have my friends… and you," Akiko said, and soreness be damned, she leaned even closer and pulled him into a hug. His warmth whisked away at a chill within her chest that she hadn't even known was there, until now.

"I still think that what you're headed back to is pretty bad, though," Jomei contested, his arms holding her tightly against his firm chest.

Akiko smiled slightly and pulled back, looking up at him again. "Not compared with what happened today. I did what I had to do to be a hero today. And even if it was only for a little while, I got to live out my dream. That's what really matters to me."

"No arguments there." Jomei paused, but the peaceful look in his eyes abruptly vanished as he slipped his hands out from around her waist to instead dig into his pockets.

"What is it?" Akiko questioned.

"I almost forgot… here we go." Jomei fished a shiny circular object out, his hand barely big enough to secure it in his grip. The item had a blue and red ribbon attached that flowed limply in the wind, and had the letters 'U.A.' engraved into it. With Todoroki and Bakugo's places in the Sports Festival already revealed to her, thinking about who the third and final winner of the festival was had escaped her.

In Jomei's hand was the bronze medal for the entire Sports Festival.

Akiko felt herself blink in surprise. "That's… how'd you get that? Ashido was the only other person besides me who fought in the semifinals. She should've gotten it, right?"

"Yeah, about that…" Jomei trailed off. "She actually did get it, at first."

"What? Then that means…"

"She gave it up, yeah," Jomei looked at his distorted reflection in the shiny bronze medal. "You should've seen it. When the time came for everyone to get their medals, All Might showed up and handed them out himself. Ashido was supposed to get hers first, since she ended up in third place, but she looked… off. All Might was about to give her the bronze medal when she stopped him and refused to accept it. She gave a speech about how she couldn't accept it. Not when you deserved it more. She said that she felt like she was only getting it by default, and that where she failed to put up much of a fight against Bakugo, you gave Todoroki a run for his money and really embodied plus ultra. All Might, Midnight, the entire stadium was shocked with what she had to say, but… they agreed to bend the rules."

He handed her the medal, and Akiko stared at it in disbelief. She was far from an inherently competitive type of person, but to see the fruits of her labors recognized not only by the bronze medal that she now held in her hands, but by the sacrifice of one of her classmates to give her that recognition… it meant a lot to her.

Maybe her dream could really become a reality, one day.

Akiko donned the symbol of her victory and quickly dove into Jomei for yet another embrace. "Thank you, Jomei."

His arms tightened around her again. "Hey, I'm just the messenger. This is all because of your hard work, Akiko. Never forget that."

With no reason to pull away or depart, nor exchange any unneeded words after that, Akiko let herself linger in Jomei's arms. There, time lost its meaning, and it felt as though each second simultaneously stretched on for an eternity and flew by in less than a single heartbeat. In the absence of any noise save for the ambiance of night and the soothing sound of Jomei's pulse, Akiko was finally able to realize what it was that made her love the feeling his hugs gave her. They weren't just welcoming, or calming.

They instilled in her the unmistakable sensation of safety. Ensconced in nothing more than his warm arms, Akiko felt more secure and protected from the harm any element of the outside world could impose upon her. After all the mental and physical strain she'd sustained over the course of only a single day, she felt as though she could let go and ignore it all.

"Jomei," she whispered.

"Yeah?" he murmured.

Akiko paused. "You're really good at giving hugs."

His arms tightened a little more around her. "Thanks."

Without thinking, Akiko rested her head in the crook of his neck and breathed him in. His head came to rest atop hers with the utmost care, and she embraced the feeling of his rapid heartbeat against her own.

"Akiko," Jomei paused. "I love you."

Her heart suddenly beating fast, she smiled against his skin and tightened her hold. She wished she could live in this moment forever. The words that followed fell from her lips so softly that not another solitary soul could overhear them.

"I love you, too."

Three words.

Real life might not be a storybook, but times like these, times when she could hear those three simple words, made Akiko think that sometimes… sometimes it could be.

Authors Note: Hoohah! At long last, the arc that has taken up about as many chapters to write as the entirety of Season 1 of WFAF is over! I don't regret how long it turned out to be, though. It challenged me time and again, and although I felt as though I had it all planned out, I found myself improvising some of my favorite moments yet for this fic in terms of the combat and character dynamics in this timeline I've been making. It's been one hell of a journey, but at long last, it's gonna be put in the past. Now, on with one last (possibly) long author's note for the arc!

I'll gloss over the majority of the big monolith of a scene that started out this chapter, since I think most of it speaks for itself – Todoroki's state of being, family dynamics, and all – but I'll mention some small stuff real quick instead. Ashido is such a minor character even in WFAF that it pains me I didn't (and don't) plan to include her in some enormous capacity in this fic, but I was super happy that I could figure out a way to give her some much-needed characterization via a bit of selflessness on her part. In less (or more?) wholesome news, I dunno why I stumbled into writing Jomei as a mess of a human when it comes to even the barest hint of thinking about Akiko's body, but I ended up loving it. Maybe one day he'll get over his preconceived notion that thinking about his attraction toward Akiko on a primal level is inherently a bad thing for him to do.

In some capacity though, he already has a bit of backbone going for him romance-wise. The OC couple that makes up the S.S. Glowstone having their 'I love you' moment around now has to be one of the first things I planned for this fic, but I feel like it worked rather well. Their relationship has made progress at a reasonable pace, and one has to wonder what this next arc will mean for them given the newfound depth they're both now aware that their relationship possesses?

Next time may not answer this question immediately, but it most assuredly will begin the process of introducing a certain someone that's only been mentioned a few times in the background of this fic. Who may they turn out to be? Until next time, I leave that to your guys' imagination.