Once a criminal, always a criminal as Ankoku often liked to remind me (to my abundant annoyance). But considering I was now perched atop my favorite spot, vigilante suit and mask in place, I guess he was right. Old habits die hard.
I was sure the police were aware of my existence, and since I ran away when I should have aided the follow up investigation, there was no doubt they were probably looking for me. Regardless, I wasn't going to stay in hiding completely - if anything, I had even more to make up for now. It was my fault their Symbol of Peace was no longer able to save them, so I would pick up the slack where I could and as best as I could. A poor substitute, but it was the only thing I thought I could do.
Jumping down from the ledge, I leapt to another building, starting my patrol route. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a hint of movement and a dark silhouette, and without hesitation I spun around, igniting my fists in preparation for whoever - or whatever - was watching me in the dark.
Only, my flames didn't ignite.
"What the..." I gasped, looking down at my empty palms frantically.
"I might not be your teacher anymore, but I still can't condone illegal quirk use," Aizawa said as he stepped out of the shadows. His hair dropped around his shoulders as the tell-tale sign of him releasing his quirk, but I didn't bother pulling on my own power once he gave it back.
"Hey, Eraser Head," I greeted him without enthusiasm as I pulled my mask off. "Here to arrest me?" I asked somberly. Running from him was out of the question since he'd just erase my quirk again, and with no magnetic fields to carry me through the air I'd only fall to my death.
Aizawa grunted. "Heroes can't arrest people. Maybe if you paid attention in class, you'd remember that."
I chuckled and shook my head. "I did pay attention actually. Those kids are insane, because even as an adult those classes were still hard," I said.
The dark-haired pro didn't look impressed or amused. "No, I'm not here to arrest you, even though as a hero I should be turning you over to the police. I'm here as a favor to Principal Nezu, actually," he said, getting straight to the point. "You've been very irresponsible through all this, Hara. Nezu and All Might both put their faith in you, and then you just ran away when it got too hard. If this is the way you treat your problems, then it's for the best that you aren't a true hero."
The nerve under my eye jumped, and I grit my teeth in annoyance at the flippant way he spoke. "Don't talk like you know me, Aizawa, because you don't," I growled, and even as the words left my mouth, I knew I should be trying to sound more respectful. Despite knowing this, the pain and anger I'd been holding inside was boiling over, and I simply just didn't give a crap.
He rolled his eyes. "You're not actually a teenager, so you can stop acting like one now. You have a responsibility to the people involved in the plan you executed, and if your intentions were actually genuine, then you'll do what you need to," he said, giving me a level stare with tired eyes.
"And what do I need to do then? Please do tell me, sensei," I drawled sarcastically.
"The attitude really isn't necessary," he replied, "and if you don't know by now, then All Might really was wrong about you."
At those last words I flinched, and from the way the hero narrowed his eyes, I knew he hadn't missed the reaction. "How do I know I'm not walking to my doom if I go back?" I asked, feeling the anger fade away as quickly as it came. It was a misdirected emotion, and Aizawa wasn't really who I was mad at.
The hero raised a brow. "You're being dramatic. You weren't licensed, but you operated under the permission of two pro heroes who are both highly respected. They'll take most of the flack, not you."
"All the more reason not to go back then," I said. "I've caused enough trouble as it is."
He stuck his hands in his pockets and cocked his head to the side, watching me. "Don't be foolish. They'll take the heat either way, but it looks way worse if you're not there to help consolidate the story."
"And what about this," I spread my arms wide, gesturing to the city around me. "I've been a vigilante for six years, Aizawa. I was a villain for three years before that. There's plenty more the police could have me on." Dropping my arms I sat down hard on the low wall at the roof's edge, bowing my head in my hands tiredly. "I don't deserve to be forgiven for any of it - I should be in jail," I muttered.
The erasure hero didn't move from where he stood. "Principal Nezu has asked you to come to the school and debrief on everything with him and the police. Obviously, we don't have the power to offer you immunity, but your chances with him are a lot better than they are on your own out here," he told me, and I knew he spoke the truth. But...
Go back to Yūei? Could I really just walk back through the gates, just like that? I swallowed nervously at the thought. And then there was also the chance I'd run into him, and I wasn't sure I was ready to face that possibility yet either.
"I'll consider it," I said slowly, looking up from my hands.
Aizawa frowned. "Don't take too long. The more time that passes, the worse the outcome will be. Oh, and Hara?" He paused and I looked up at him with careful curiosity. "If you don't show, I won't look past my duties as a hero next time I see you. And I will be seeing you," he threatened easily.
"Yes sir," I replied, unable to stop the cheeky reply but I still didn't smile. He didn't either.
After my former teacher left, I sat there a while before picking myself up and dusting off my suit. My patrol was done.
When I came through the door, Ankoku looked up from his laptop in surprise. "You're home early," he observed.
"Yeah. Ran into Eraser Head tonight. Went about as well as I could have expected, I guess," I said with a shrug and plopped down on the couch beside my friend.
"Wait, and you escaped?!" he said, stunned.
"Not so much an escape as he just let me go," I said. "He told me I need to go back to the school and meet with the principal and the police."
"It's a set up," he said seriously. "Don't do it."
I rolled my eyes. "I don't know. Don't get me wrong - Aizawa lies all the time - but I think he was being honest with me. But still..." I paused, looking up at the familiar stained ceiling. "I don't know if I can go back there."
"What about All Might?" Ankoku asked, and I tried not to react outwardly.
Internally I wanted to scream, Why does everything always come back to All Might?!
"I mean, he's taken you-know-who down twice now. I'm sure he'll have questions for you too. Sounds like a lot of heroes, police, and just general bullshit," the brunette man continued. "I'd stay clear."
"I doubt that All Might will want to see me," I said, looking away.
Ankoku set his computer aside and pushed his glasses up his nose, studying me as he did in a way that made me nervous for whatever he was about to say next. "Okay, Mei, we've been avoiding the subject long enough. Every time the news even mentions All Might, you turn the tv off. If I say his name, you change the subject. I know he was your teacher at Yūei, but what is going on here?"
I wasn't ready for this. "None of your business," I said, standing up suddenly.
"Real mature!" he scoffed and grabbed my wrist before I could leave the room.
"Let go," I said lowly.
"No."
"Let. Go."
"Talk to me like an actual functioning human being and maybe I will," he shot back, ignoring the warning in my tone. A flare of fire shot up my wrist and Ankoku swore, dropping my arm instantly at the burning sting of my quirk on his palm.
"Fine, be a bitch then!" he yelled as I stormed out of the room and slammed the bathroom door behind me.
It took an hour for me to come back out, and my roommate made a great show of not looking up or acknowledging me. I sighed as I sat down beside him, and it was good he wasn't looking at me since it was obvious I'd been crying. For a few minutes, there was only silence.
"It was him," I said quietly, after taking a deep breath and using every bit of courage I possessed to force the words out.
"Oh, you're talking to me now?" he said snidely, not looking up from his phone screen childishly.
"If you're going to be a dick about it I won't," I snapped, and started to get up again.
"Mei, wait," he sighed. "I'm sorry. What do you mean, 'it was him?'"
The pause before I replied was longer than it should have been, and I looked down at my hands as they fidgeted in my lap anxiously. "The hero who was helping me out with the mission. The one I was living with. The one I... caught feelings for. It was All Might."
There it was out in the open - no taking it back now.
When I glanced up at him through the curtain of hair I was hiding behind, Ankoku's eyes were wide in disbelief. "Holy shit, you slept with All Might?!"
"Not exactly. I mean, sorta?" I mumbled, feeling the blush heat my face.
"What the hell are you doing here then? What happened?!" he shouted and smacked his palm to his forehead.
Already I was regretting confiding in my friend, and I rubbed my temple with my middle finger as the headache started. "I left, obviously."
Ankoku scoffed. "That's low, even for you dude. Just 'cause he's all skinny now?"
The increasingly familiar burn of anger flared back up at his accusation and I glared daggers at him. "No. He's been like that the entire time I've known him, actually. But think about it, idiot. It's my fault his secret got exposed and he had to retire! I destroyed the man's life!"
He stared at me over the top of his glasses with the corner of his mouth turned down in a disapproving frown. "Wow. You're even dumber than you look then," he drawled, shaking his head slowly.
"Thanks for that," I replied flatly, narrowing my eyes at the insult.
"Mei, I might not be the biggest fan of heroes, but even I know that it's literally his job to do what he did. It's not your fault. And even if it was, did you ask him if that's how he felt about it?" When I stayed quiet he nodded. "Thought so. You just left without saying anything, didn't you?"
I clenched my fists as the rage built again, fighting to keep my quirk from triggering. "It was clear enough that he was upset, trust me," I said through gritted teeth.
"But was he upset with you?" he asked pointedly, and dammit did I hate the way he seemed to see right through me as he pushed his glasses up again.
"How could he not be!?" I exclaimed, throwing my arms wide in agitation. This was going nowhere, and I'd stupidly told him the one secret that had the power to break my heart the most. Ankoku would never intentionally hurt me, but his biting remarks and cutting jokes could go too far on occasion - this wasn't something he'd just let go, I knew. Mei, you fool, I thought cold-heartedly.
"You're a dumbass," he said, leaning back and folding his arms behind his head. "Did he treat you badly or something? Or is he a jerk in his private life?"
"What? No! God, if anything he treated me far better than I deserved," I quickly defended him, and then winced at the way remembering made my heart ache.
"Dumbass," he repeated. "Talk to him," he said bluntly and unapologetically.
"Oh, so now you're on board with me going back?" I challenged.
"No. But you should still talk to him. You seemed so content for a while there, which was quite refreshing to see. As annoying as you are, you're my best friend and I can't just watch you throw away something that made you that happy," he said seriously, and I squirmed under the intense stare he gave me. Again, I felt like my friend could see straight through to my soul - he'd learned that trick from Ren.
I couldn't look him in the eye anymore. "It doesn't matter now. He probably hates me after everything that happened, so it's a moot point."
"You're making assumptions yet again without talking to him," he growled in frustration, smacking his hand on the arm of the sofa to punctuate his irritation.
"We'll see," I said quietly, and left it at that. Try as he might (and goddamn did he try), I wouldn't talk about it with him again.
Two days later found me standing outside the suddenly daunting gates of Yūei High. Classes would be resuming soon, but even with normal term on break, the campus was still lively. In the past 48 hours I'd made up my mind, changed it, changed it again, and then in the end left it up to a coin flip like a child.
I'd been standing here for ten minutes so far, trying to steal my nerve. My student ID was in my pocket and I assumed it would still let me through the gates, but once I was in, I wasn't sure where to go next. I vaguely knew where Nezu's office was, but it was the possibility of who else I might run into along the way that scared me the most. Would he even be on campus right now? I wasn't sure, and I also hadn't decided if I was hoping he would be or not. After taking a deep breath, I finally made my feet move and walked through the gates.
It was surreal somehow to be back, as if it had really been much longer than a month since the last time I set foot on these grounds. Entering the building, I couldn't help feeling like an outsider - like I wasn't supposed to be here. Ironic how when I was lying about who I was, I felt much more secure. The halls were empty, and while I knew there were summer courses going on, this section of the school seemed like it was unused during break. Only one classroom I passed had any activity within, and I tried to creep past the door without drawing any notice.
I almost made it, too.
The door opened after I'd made it only a few steps past and a student I didn't recognize exited (probably headed for a restroom break or something). However, when his eyes landed on me the boy stumbled to a halt.
The silence echoed loudly through the hall as we looked at each other, and it was clear he knew exactly who I was.
"Oh my god, you're that vigilante woman!" he gasped, confirming my fear.
Shit, shit, shit!
"Sorry, no autographs," I said chuckling nervously as I took a hasty step back, trying to keep calm as an already bad situation grew worse.
"You're not supposed to be here, are you?" he said accusingly, stepping forward and pointing.
"You don't know that," I replied, taking another step back and trying to appear more collected as I shrugged. "I'm just here to see Principal Nezu; go back to class."
"I don't believe you," he said, eyes narrowing.
"Okay, well you can believe whatever you want," I swallowed and glanced around - he was the only person in sight. "So, I'll just be getting on with it then, yeah? See ya later kid!" I replied and with my anxiety and nerves clouding my judgment far more than they should, the futile ruse of confidence was abandoned as I turned and ran.
"Hey! Stop!" the boy yelled, and I could hear his footsteps behind me as he gave chase.
I sprinted through the halls, mentally mapping which way I should go to lose him. Sure, I did actually have permission to be here, but the less people I had to explain myself to, the better. The idea of getting drug off to one of the teachers and having to defend myself didn't appeal to me very much. Plus there was no way of knowing which pro hero it might be, and there were definitely some I'd rather avoid right now. The kid's footsteps were falling further behind, and I figured I could duck down this next hallway and lose him. I turned to look over my shoulder as I rounded the corner to see if he was in sight and ran smack into something - hard.
"Oof!" a man's deep voice huffed in surprise at the collision, and I bounced off of whoever I'd hit, landing on my backside on the floor. The sound of someone stumbling and catching himself on the wall told me that at least I hadn't completely knocked the other person on their ass too.
"Shit, sorry, I-" started, but was then paralyzed when I looked up to see who I'd hit.
Wide cyan eyes looked down at me in shock, and the blonde hero was frozen in place. "...Mei?" Toshinori asked hoarsely as if he didn't believe it.
I swallowed, heart stuttering in my chest and I had to remind myself to breathe. Fuck.
"Hey Toshi," I said softly.
"What are you-?" he stopped, looking behind me as the persistent boy came running around the corner, huffing and puffing. Whoever he was, he obviously wasn't a hero course student as he didn't seem like he was used to running this much.
"All Might!" the boy called, sounding gratefully. "I'm glad you caught her! It's the woman who pretended to be a student here," he wheezed, and I was almost worried the poor kid was going to pass out.
"I see that," Toshinori said, composing himself. "Thank you, young Fujino, I'll take it from here," he told him, voice perfectly confident and sure just like any teacher should be - his hero mask was in place, even without the muscles. He held out a hand to help me off the floor and it took me a second to reach out and grasp it. The sling was gone from his right arm, but the bandages still peaked out from under the cuff of his dress shirt, and he pulled me up with his left arm instead. That one I couldn't see any bandages on still at least. "Go back to class," All Might told the boy, and he nodded.
"Right!" he said, and turned back the way he came, much slower this time.
Toshinori dropped my hand the instant I was on my feet, and his expression was dark. "Well, I assume there's a reason you're here?" he asked as soon as the student was out of sight, and I felt a pang at the coldness in his voice.
I cleared my throat awkwardly, wishing desperately that the floor would just swallow me up. "Well, I uh, I kinda need to debrief with Nezu and the police still, don't I?" I explained as I twisted a lock of hair around my finger and glanced to the side.
His expression didn't change, but he nodded in understanding. For a second I thought I might have seen something flash behind his eyes - maybe hurt or disappointment - but it was gone too fast for me to really tell. "I'll walk you up to Nezu's office and make sure no one else bothers you," and he turned from me, bangs falling in his face.
It broke my heart.
"Toshinori, wait," I blurted and he stopped, but didn't face me again. If I was being honest with myself, I knew that deep down I'd hoped to see him. As much as it hurt to look at him, it also felt like a drink of fresh water on a hot summer's day. I'd missed him so much, and the hole that should have been my heart had yearned only to be where he was no matter how much I tried not to think about him. In that moment, I again warred with myself on whether I'd made the right decision in leaving. The longer I stood here, the less confident I felt that I had.
"Yes?" he said, voice neutral in a way that still somehow cut like a knife.
"I'm sorry," I said, and I knew it wasn't enough - those two words didn't convey near enough.
His shoulders sagged slightly. "There's no need to apologize," he said, back still to me.
I took a deep breath, knowing I had to keep going - I owed it to him. "I have a lot to apologize for, and I know words can't really fix anything, but..." I trailed off and the tall man stayed silent. "I can't expect you to ever forgive me, but I still needed to say it." When he still didn't reply, the lump in my throat only grew until it was threatening to choke me. "Please say something," I almost begged.
When he turned around I expected anger, hatred, or maybe hurt. What I didn't expect was the blank, stone-faced expression - the walls I thought had been brought down were back, and if anything, they looked stronger than ever. "What do you want me to say?" he asked quietly, and I wanted to cry.
I bit my lip and looked away towards the corner of the hall, fighting the emotions that threatened to spill over. "I don't know," I answered honestly. "You should be angry with me - you should hate me. I- I ruined your life, didn't I?" I half whispered, voice cracking.
The stoic expression wilted a fraction and his eyes widened in surprise. "Ruined my life?" he repeated in confusion.
"Duh," I replied shakily. "If not for me, you wouldn't have had to retire yet - no one would know your secret. I made you promise to come save me, and I drug you into my plan even though it was criminal and insane. And if I'd just left you alone, I..." I stuttered, angrily wiping away the tears I hadn't meant to shed in front of him right now but could no longer hold back. "I told you before how the world just takes from you, and I did the same thing. I took everything away from you, and I'm so, so sorry Toshi - I swear I didn't mean to! A-and knowing this is all my fault... how am I supposed to live with that? How do I live with myself knowing I took away the world's Symbol of Peace? That I took what you love to do away from you?"
Toshinori was like a statue as I spoke. The blood had drained from his face, and his lips were parted in an expression of bewilderment. "Is that why you left?" he asked quietly, "Because you think this is your fault?"
The tears were falling harder now, and I probably looked so pitiful standing before him wallowing in self-hatred and crying like this. "I left because you deserve so much better than me," I said softly, bowing my head to stare at my feet again. At times like these I never had the courage to make eye contact like I should - as always, I was too weak to do any better. "You're fantastic, Toshinori. I would give you the world if I could, but I'm no good for you. I'm broken, and I'm selfish, and I've done so many horrible things in my past. It doesn't matter how I feel about you, because I gave up my right to happiness long ago. Even so, I still can't help the fact that I want to be with you. That I-" my voice cracked, halting the words that were now tumbling from me like a bursting dam and I took a deep breath before forcing myself to say the next words that couldn't be ignored anymore, "- I love you," I forced out, eyes firmly locked on the ground and vision blurred with tears.
For a few, agonizing seconds there was a shocked silence.
"You... love me?" he repeated, voice strained.
I nodded, still unable to look at him and terrified of the rejection I might see if I did. When he stepped forward and his fingers gently gripped my chin so that my gaze finally met his, it wasn't rejection I saw though - it was fire.
"Say it again," he asked in a low voice, and I was afraid to let the hope bloom in my chest at the way he was looking at me now. The walls weren't all the way gone - not yet - but he'd opened the door, and I could see his emotion within.
This time, I did keep eye contact - if only because he was still holding my face. "I love you," I breathed.
Only a single tense and heated second passed before his lips crushed against mine, and in the kiss I could feel all the hurt and pain I'd caused him. There was a hunger that gnawed at those raw emotions turning them into something more pure, more sanguine. "How could you think you're no good for me?" he gasped, pulling back for a moment before kissing me again. "You don't need to give me the world, Mei. You are my world," he asserted, kissing his way down my neck and then back to my mouth again passionately. I hardly even realized we were moving until Toshinori had maneuvered us through the empty classroom door and closed it behind us. He pressed me into the wall to the side of the door as the hand that had been holding my face tangled in my hair and the other found my waist. "None of what happened is your fault, please believe that," he continued, and I wasn't sure how he had enough concentration left to speak as he ground his hips into mine. "And no matter your past, I still only see you as you are now." He pulled back, eyes shining as he searched my face. "And I love you as you are."
He loves me? I repeated in wonder, shocked and elated at the same time. All pretenses gone now, I reached out to pull his face back to me and returned his kisses in earnest. My hips pressed back against him in an effort to quell the fire that was burning inside me, and while one hand was tangled in the hair at the back of his head, my other hand tugged his shirt free of where it was tucked into his suit pants. As my hand slipped beneath the shirt and ran over the cool skin of his stomach, Toshinori pushed the fabric of my t-shirt up so that his hand rested on the bare skin of my rib cage instead of my waist. His fingers gripped me harder, and I felt electricity pulse everywhere our bare skin touched.
"Say it again," I begged, and the most delicious chill ran through my body as he chuckled against my neck. It was the most beautiful sound in the world.
"I love you, Hara Mei."
I abandoned his hair in favor of using both hands as I worked at the buttons of his shirt - I needed him. It wasn't a matter of want anymore.
He chuckled again as he realized the intentions of my task and grabbed my hands, stilling them before I could get the last couple of buttons. "While I adore your enthusiasm and would definitely enjoy fucking you against this wall right now," he purred in a voice so smooth it ought to have been illegal, and his bold words sent another shiver through my core, "It wouldn't be a very good look on me as a teacher to be found in such a compromising situation."
I groaned and he kissed me again, softer this time. "This isn't done though," he said after he pulled back, and my eyes lingered on the way his lips were flushed and swollen from kissing before I met his ardent shadowed gaze. "I'm not letting you go again. So long as you still want me, I will fight for you," he vowed. "There's still a lot we need to talk about, and if this is going to work we've got to work on communicating more. Both of us."
Nodding, I closed my eyes and leaned my head into his chest as I tried to calm down. Toshinori wrapped both arms around me and rested his chin on the top of my head. The top buttons I'd managed to undo left his chest bare, and I softly kissed over where I could feel his heart hammering away beneath his ribs. "I do still want you," I promised.
A small shudder went through his body, and he held me tighter. "When you disappeared that night... I thought it was because you didn't want what was left of me. Honestly, I still can't believe you want me at all, let alone that you actually love me," he said softly, and he gently stroked my hair. "I'm much too old for you, you know. And you think you're the broken one? There's hardly even enough of me left to mend at this point."
I shook my head, nuzzling my nose against his chest and trying to comfort him with my touch. There was so much I had to make up to him for. "How old are you, Toshi?" I dared to ask, and his Adam's apple bobbed nervously.
"Forty-seven. I'm old enough to be your father," he admitted after a moment, and the uncertainty in his voice was clear. It was no one's fault but my own that he doubted my affections, but as I'd tried to tell him before, his age genuinely didn't bother me.
"So what?" I hummed, pressing my lips to the dip of his collarbone.
Laughter rumbled in his chest, but it was bitter. "It's hardly fair to you. Plus, the media will have a field day if they find out All Might is dating a younger woman. "
Several thoughts rushed through my mind at that statement. First was surprise, since I'd assumed any relationship we'd have would indefinitely be kept secret. Second was the way he'd so casually thrown out the word 'dating', and the fact that he was even entertaining the idea gave me little butterflies of happiness. I giggled, "The media can shove it. But how is it not fair to me? You're not old. How many times do I have to tell you that?"
Toshinori sighed and let his arms drop, and when he stepped back the expression on his face instantly told me something was wrong. "There's something you need to know. I should have told you this before, but I was... I was afraid of how you might react to it," he said slowly, and the shadows on his face were deepened by the dark look that had settled over his features. "Are you familiar with the pro hero, Sir Nighteye?"
"Your old sidekick?" I asked, confused as to where this was going.
The blonde nodded. Sitting on the edge of one of the desks, he leaned forward so that his arms rested on his knees. He looked so tired, suddenly. "Yes. His quirk is called Foresight, and it allows him to see into the future. When I was in the hospital after my first battle with All for One, Sir Nighteye tried to convince me to retire. When I refused, he used his quirk on me against my wishes, and saw that I would die if I continued down the path I was on." I was frozen in place, paralyzed by the hero's words. He said them so calmly and with such resignation that I couldn't even begin to process how I was supposed to react.
"Toshi, wha-?" I started, but he held up a hand asking for silence.
"Let me finish," he said somberly. "He said I would die gruesomely in a fight against a powerful villain in six or seven years' time - his quirk doesn't provide him with precise dates - but that was six years ago."
Horror filled my chest and my limbs felt numb. Only moments ago I'd felt on top of the world, but now? "Why are you telling me this now?" I choked out, tears stinging at the corners of my eyes again.
"Because," he sighed, "You deserve to know the truth. I might not have that much time left."
I shook my head, feeling anger rise up through the disbelief and distress - not anger at him, but at the entire situation. "Are his predictions always correct? Are you sure there's no way the futures he sees can change?" I demanded, squeezing my eyes shut tight in preparation for his reply.
"I don't know," he said honestly, and while it wasn't the answer I wanted, it was at least one I could accept. It meant there was hope. "I thought this fight with All for One was it - I went to battle fully expecting to never make it off the field, but..."
"But you did," I finished his sentence for him. I stepped forward and held his face between my hands, palms resting on his cheeks. The retired hero closed his eyes and leaned into the touch, and I kissed his forehead gently. "Screw his prophecy or whatever you want to call it. I told you I'd give you a reason to do more than just fight, remember? You have to stay alive, Toshi," I pleaded softly.
"I promise to you now, Hara Mei," he said, opening his eyes and meeting mine intently, "That I will do everything in my power to stay alive for you. I am here, for as long as you want me," he pledged.
"Forever then," I said, smiling softly, and the grin that stretched across his face melted my heart. When our lips met this time it was comforting and leisurely, like we had all the time in the world. At this point I was still in denial, I knew - I'd need time to process the heavy news he'd just given me - but despite what he'd said, I was going to live my life as if we did have forever. I was not going to let him go so easily this time. After making the mistake of leaving once, I knew it wasn't a path I could follow again.
When we parted some minutes later, a small frown pulled at the corner of my mouth. "I still need to tell you the full story about my own past."
"How much time do you have now?" he asked, sitting back. "I don't have any classes to teach until the new term starts. I'm only on campus to help out 'cause I had nothing better to do."
"I still need to go see Nezu. Aizawa was very clear that if I didn't make an appearance soon, he'd drag me in, kicking and screaming," I said with a sigh, fiddling with a piece of my hair.
Toshinori raised a brow in surprise. "When did you talk to Aizawa?"
"A couple days ago. He hunted me down while I was patrolling."
He frowned at that. "You've started patrolling again?"
I rolled my eyes. "No need to lecture me, Mr. Pillar of Justice. As of today, this marks the end of my life of crime, I promise."
"Wow. If you're willing to give it all up, you must really love me," he said coyly, lips twitching at the ghost of a smile, and I chuckled.
"There are other ways to help people," I said with a shrug, nudging his shoulder lightly. "Assuming I don't get arrested today, that is," I continued, amusement vanishing as quick as it came. I watched his expression, not asking but hoping he'd give me the honest answer on how good he thought my odds were.
The blonde cocked his head to the side, looking thoughtful. "I don't see that happening. However, I can't guarantee there won't be some sort of consequences."
"That doesn't exactly make me feel more confident," I complained.
He clasped my hands between his own and held them with that intense look in his eye again. "No matter what happens, we'll figure it out. Everything will be okay," he said soothingly as he pressed my hands to his lips.
"Because you are here?" I finished, and he nodded.
"Because I am here," he agreed. He stood then and released my hands. "Come on, let's go see the principal. Do you mind if I go in with you?"
"I prefer that you did, actually," I said, nerves hitting me harder now and I could feel my heartbeat pick up. "Has he talked to you about what might happen to me?"
He shook his head as he started to refasten the buttons of his shirt. "Ah, no. You were a rather sensitive subject," the hero replied, rubbing the back of his neck and looking sheepish after he finished tucking the dress shirt back into his pants.
It would take a while for me to get over the guilt I felt, now knowing how badly I'd hurt him with my actions, but with any luck I'd have plenty of time to make it up to him hopefully. "Aizawa said you and Nezu would take most of the backlash for my mission... is that true? You're not in trouble because of me, are you?"
Toshinori laughed, and I hadn't realized just how badly I'd missed the sound. "I may be retired, but I'm still All Might. There's been plenty of criticism directed towards me lately, but nothing I can't handle, I assure you. Same goes for Principal Nezu. We'll be fine. And so will you."
After taking a moment to center myself, I told the man before me - this crazy man I loved who somehow loved me back - that I was ready; I'd stalled long enough. It was time to own up to my actions, but I didn't have to face this alone.
Toshinori was here.