Raise a Glass

by Newage416

With All for One and Shigaraki defeated, the heroes go out and reflect on recent events. While they live in their victory, they also stop and remember who they lost. Song from Hamilton.

The door to the musky tavern opened, and the former Symbol of Peace walked into the room.

The tavern was somewhat full of people. Civilians in dirty and torn clothes sat with drinks in hand and spilled food on the floor. The people were celebrating the end of the war against the villains. The raid against All for One's hidden base had been successful with few casualties, and the heroes successfully avenged the displaced people in the massive prison breaks.

They were also celebrating the rise of a new Symbol of Peace. Izuku Midoriya's true identity was revealed on television by accident, showing the world that All Might had chosen a successor to fill his spot. He proved himself by saving Tenko from the Symbol of Evil. While he didn't live to see the heroes prevail, he made Midoriya promise something on live TV.

"Don't let it happen again. Another Tomura Shigaraki...don't let another one happen again!"

All Might sighed when he remembered that crucial moment. His master was avenged...but the feeling of dread was still there.

Through the crowd, the former Symbol of Peace spotted his colleagues: Mr. Aizawa and Present Mic. The two of them were sitting at a single table near the back of the room. They were largely unnoticed by the patrons. Mic wore his hero costume, but his hair was down, and his glasses were off. Mr. Aizawa's hair had grown longer, and All Might could swear he could see some lines of gray.

All Might slipped through the crowd. Thankfully, the people were too busy with their conversations to notice him. The table had two empty seats, prompting the former hero to take the chair next to Mic.

Once he sat down, the Erasure hero nodded at him. "All Might..."

He nodded at his colleague. "You've been waiting long?" He asked.

Mic shook his head. "Just barely got here. We had to drop the kids off back at the dorms," he said. "20 kids in one shuttle is too much."

All Might smiled. "That sounds about right," he said. "How is Young Midoriya?"

Mr. Aizawa cracked a small smile. "Exhausted, thankfully. The battle took a lot out of him, and I'm thankful that he hasn't tried to do anything reckless," he said.

All Might sighed. "Thank goodness..."

The conversation died quickly. The three heroes sat in silence for a few minutes before a waitress came over. "Good evening, gentlemen. What can I get you?"

Mr. Aizawa held up a '4'. "Four tequilas, please," he said.

The waitress paused before mentally counting the occupants. "Um...sir?"

"Please," Mr. Aizawa repeated.

The waitress backed away from her response and nodded. "I'll be right back with your drinks. Do you want any sides, or will you need a few more minutes?"

"Not hungry yet," Present Mic said.

The waitress nodded once more, turned on her heel, and left to the bar. The three heroes returned to the silence that shrouded them before. It took a few minutes before Mic spoke up. "How's the leg?" He asked Aizawa.

The Erasure hero looked under the table. "Still can't get used to it. Mirko keeps hopping around me during physical therapy," he said.

"She's got a lot of energy for someone on temporary leave," All Might said.

Mic shrugged. "She was always like that," he said. "Heyyyy, I just realized something. You don't have your crutches. What gives?"

Mr. Aizawa groaned. "She took them and threw them away. I ordered some new ones, but it's been a while," he said.

All Might smiled. The smile soon faded as the silence returned. The room seemed to drift into the void as the combined voices of everyone there disappeared. "So..." Mic said.

Mr. Aizawa nodded. "Her funeral is next week. Well...her official one. I missed the actual burial while in the hospital," he said.

Mic clenched his fists under the table. "She was never a funeral person. She was so energetic," he said. "Nemuri knew how to brighten the room."

"She was annoying," Mr. Aizawa said. "That kind of energy, especially at 6 in the morning, is unnatural."

All Might cracked a small smile. "She was special that way," he said. "I've never met anyone like her. Truly, she was one of a kind. She knew how to get close to people."

"She was never shy around people. You saw her first costume, right?" Mic asked.

All Might nodded. "When she went pro, right?"

Mic shook his head. "You remember, Shota? The coat?"

Mr. Aizawa groaned. "I burned that image out of my head ages ago. Why'd you remind me of it?"

"Because you liked it too, don't lie!" Mic exclaimed. The Voice Hero turned to All Might. "She had this long coat, a belt, and these two bags over her chest."

All Might's eyes widened. "S-Seriously?" He asked.

"Yep! You thought her debut outfit was risque? Somehow, U.A. let her get away with that outfit," Mic said.

Mr. Aizawa nodded. "Quirks that require exposed skin are dangerous," he said. "Still...she was confident with herself. She commanded the situation whenever possible."

"Yeah..." Mic trailed off, remembering his old friend. "She loved Sushi. She even kept a few of Sushi's kittens."

"Sushi?" All Might wondered.

Mic nodded. "This stray cat that Oboro found. He couldn't keep him, and neither could we. Nemuri said that she would find a forever home for him, and she ended up keeping him. She kept sharing pics with Shota throughout high school."

Mr. Aizawa smiled. "She was devastated when Sushi passed, but those kittens were excellent support. I know that I'll be taking them home with me. You'll probably scare them by accidentally using your Quirk," he said to Present Mic.

"You wound me, Shota," Mic said.

All Might smiled. "I didn't know she had cats. I don't know much about her, to be honest," he admitted.

"To be fair, you just barely started teaching at the school. Maybe another year or two would've brought you into her cocktail nights," Mic said. "You remember her cocktails?"

"I saw you pass out after drinking one," the former Symbol of Peace said. "Amusing, but concerning."

Mic waved it off with a smile. "She had a stomach of steel to resist those...er, magic potions of hers. We joked around, saying that if heroism didn't work out, then bartending would be next."

"I probably would've given up on drinking if she served me drinks like that regularly," Mr. Aizawa said.

"Yeah, but she was a sister to you. You probably would've drank them anyway," Mic said.

All Might smiled. "So you were close?"

Mic smiled. "Well..."

Mr. Aizawa raised a finger at Mic. "Don't."

"Aww, c'mon, man! Nemuri and I got along great, but she loved roping you into whatever adventure she had," Mic said. "You have a job at U.A. because of her!"

"Yes...against my wishes..." He paused for a moment. "But..."

Mic and All Might exchanged looks. The Voice Hero leaned a little closer to his old friend. "But?"

A smile formed across Aizawa's lips. "I wouldn't be where I am without her. I owe her everything," he said.

Mic breathed out his nose as a smile formed. "C'mon, Shota. Don't you make me cry already..."

Whatever Mr. Aizawa was about to say was cut off when the waitress returned with four shot glasses of tequila. She passed them around, leaving two for the Erasure Hero. "Hollar at me if you want more, okay?"

All Might waved at her. "Thank you."

The waitress eyed the former Symbol of Peace. Her mouth stayed open in anticipation for words to follow, but she couldn't find the voice. She backed up and shuffled toward the bartender.

All Might chuckled before his gaze fell on the shot glass. Mr. Aizawa moved the extra glass to the empty spot on the table. He grabbed his drink and drew his thumb across the rim. Present Mic adjusted himself before hovering over the glass.

The three heroes drew the glasses closer to them. Mr. Aizawa sighed. "When we met Nemuri, she was so energetic. She had this...passion in her. I didn't think much about it back then, but I thought she would be like you, All Might," he said.

"M-Me?"

The Erasure Hero nodded. "When she got down to it, everybody smiled while around her. She was kind, smart, and strong. Her behavior needed some work, though. As a teacher, I was surprised she was even allowed to teach because of her...character. But she earned her place and went above and beyond the call of duty."

Mic nodded. "When we would hang out after work, she would tell me all sorts of things. We all thought she had this sort of nightlife on her nights off, and she would be going out and having fun, but she was a "stay home and watch movies until 3 in the morning" kinda gal," he said. "She always said that 'Relaxing at home in my jammies was a lot better than going out for movies or drinks.'"

"She hosted a game night after my first year there," Aizawa said. "It was the three of us and Thirteen. Nemuri was a monster at Uno, but she folded to Thirteen in Monopoly. I didn't care at first, but they were...fun. Of course, we were all off-duty at the time."

All Might smiled. "Yeah, she had this thing about youthfulness. Sometimes we had to reign her in," Mic said.

"Sometimes?"

Mic chuckled. "Well...okay, there were a lot of times, but she had enough self-control not to do anything. Honestly, it got kinda funny," he admitted.

"Being called 'old' was something else," All Might said.

Mic's chuckling got louder. "You kinda are, my man!"

"Yeah, I know that, but hearing it from someone else kinda hurts," the former Symbol of Peace said.

Mic's smile started to fade. "Yeah...I'm going to miss her. I miss her jokes," he said.

Mr. Aizawa nodded. "Me too. Oboro's death broke her. I couldn't imagine telling her about Kurogiri, so I didn't," he admitted.

"Same here. He was a little brother to her. If she heard about him...I think that would've been it. What breaks the camel's back hits the hardest," Mic said.

All Might nodded. Mr. Aizawa sighed. "Because of her...I am actually looking forward to seeing the kids graduate. I'm sure she'd be gushing about how strong they all were in defeating All for One."

"Midoriya would've needed us to pry Nemuri off of him when they got back," Mic joked.

All Might chuckled. "I'll be honest: I probably would've been recording it before trying to help. The young man is strong, but it would've been funny," he admitted.

Mic smiled. He looked over to see Mr. Aizawa holding a hand over his mouth. Some tears were starting to fall from his one good eye. The Voice Hero reached over and grasped him by the shoulder. "Shota?"

Mr. Aizawa's grip on himself tightened. He shut his eye. "S-she's really gone...Truly gone..."

Mic's grip on his shoulder tightened. The Voice Hero lowered his head, his long hair draping over his face and covering the forming tears. "Y-Yeah, brother. She is..."

Mr. Aizawa took a deep, shaky breath. "I-I didn't get a chance to say goodbye. I turned my back again, and she's..."

All Might watched as Mic pulled himself out of his chair and hugged the Erasure Hero. Aizawa wrapped his arms around his old friend and buried his face into his shoulder. Aizawa gripped the back of Mic's jacket.

The former Symbol of Peace didn't say a word. When Nana died, he had found an abandoned building near the school and tore it down by hand. Gran Torino didn't stop him, nor did he say anything to calm him down. He watched with a hand over his heart. He could remember the screams he let out. He could remember shaking so violently with each punch. When he was done, he sat in his room for a few days with little contact with the outside world. He was excused from school, but when he came back, he and his old master trained harder than ever before.

Seeing Aizawa's breakdown broke the former Symbol's heart because he knew how much it hurt. The Erasure Hero broke down only a few times in his life. Oboro's death and learning about his fate as Kurogiri were two of those times. He had gone through Hell and back, but he wasn't ready for losing Midnight.

Nemuri. Nemuri Kayama.

The former Symbol sighed heavily. He grabbed his glass, prompting the other heroes to separate from their hug. Mic sat in his seat while Aizawa wiped away the tears that had fallen.

Grabbing his glass, Aizawa sighed.

I may not live to see our glory...

All Might and Mic glanced at each other. In an unspoken agreement, they repeated his verse.

(All Might and Mic) I may not live to see our glory

(Aizawa) But I will gladly join the fight;

(All Might and Mic) But I will gladly join the fight;

(Aizawa) For when our children tell our story,

(All Might and Mic) For when our children tell our story;

Mr. Aizawa sighed. He and the other heroes finished the same verse together.

They'll tell the story of...tonight

(All Might) Raise a Glass to freedom...

(All) Something they could never take away

(All Might) No matter what they tell you...

(Aizawa) Raise a glass to the four of us;

(All) Tomorrow there will be more of us,

(All Might) Telling the story of tonight

Mr. Aizawa choked back a sob. His grip on his glass tightened. "To Nemuri Kayama...the strongest of us all," he said.

"She faced death with no fear..." Mic said.

"She fought to protect others..." All Might continued.

"She burned bright against the darkness," Mr. Aizawa said.

"And may she find peace in the next life," All Might concluded.

Mr. Aizawa and Mic nodded. "To Nemuri!"

"To Nemuri!"

"To Nemuri!"

"TO NEMURI!"

Their toast was interrupted. All Might looked around, and everyone in the bar had their glasses raised at the three heroes. The waitresses and the bartenders had silently given out drinks to everyone present when they started singing. Some of the civilians had tears in their eyes, while others stood straight up.

Mic's eyes widened as he scanned the room. Mr. Aizawa's hand covered his mouth again as realization set in, and he nearly collapsed. Thankfully, All Might managed to catch him and helped him sit. This time, he didn't try to hide the tears. He let them fall as looked up to the room. "Rest in Peace, Nemuri Kayama."

---

Hey guys, so this was inspired by the Season 3 CD drama called "All Might and Aizawa's Outing." Its set after the teachers convince the parents to allow their kids to enroll in the dorm system. The two go out for a celebratory drink and run into Present Mic and Midnight. It's on YouTube so go check it out. Have a good day!

-Newage