I can't believe we're already at the last chapter! It's been fun uploading this story so you guys could finally read it, and I hope you've enjoyed reading. Thanks for getting this far!

Chapter Fifteen: Home

It had been about a week since the trial, and Class 1-A had finally settled down from all the "excitement" of the previous Friday night. It was a little odd to all of them that their classmate Izuku had been gone for so long, but Aizawa had told them that he would be returning shortly, much to their delight.

After classes had ended one day, Todoroki found himself headed out the door when suddenly someone touched his shoulder. He turned around and saw that it was Iida with Uraraka standing beside him. "Yes?" he asked.

"Todoroki." Iida smiled. "Well, you see, Uraraka and I have been talking, and we both agreed that-"

"-since Deku's been gone for so long," Uraraka cut in.

"-we could perhaps throw him a welcome back party," Iida finished. "I've talked to a few other classmates and they agreed, but we wanted to let you know as well."

Todoroki thought this over. Yes, Midoriya had been through much since he'd gotten involved with Nakatomi, and he'd been out of commission for so long because of his injury. It did make sense to welcome him back. And although he had never planned - or been to - an actual party, it seemed like a good idea.

"Alright," he agreed. "When is it?"

"We were thinking that it could be the night Midoriya comes back to the dorms."

"A surprise party?"

"I don't think Izuku could handle any more surprises at the moment," Aizawa suddenly said from behind them, and the three turned around to face their looming teacher. Aizawa drummed his fingers together. "Mineta and Kaminari mentioned this party to me-"

"Dang it..." Iida hissed. "I knew we shouldn't have told those two!"

"No matter, you can still have it once Midoriya returns. Just make sure to tell him about it first, and keep the excitement to a minimum. He's still recovering, I hope you remember."

"Of course, Mr. Aizawa!" Iida promised. "We will do just that!"

"Good. I hope you do." Giving one last paranoid look at the three teens, Aizawa stalked away.

"Alright, let's get to planning the party!" Uraraka squealed. "We should have cake! And balloons!"

"I don't think a punch table would be too much," Iida said thoughtfully. "What about you, Todoroki?"

Todoroki only shrugged. "I don't have a preference."

"Okay, well, Deku should be coming back in two days so we have plenty of time to plan! We'll tell him once he gets out of the hospital!" Uraraka decreed.

"Then let's get started," Iida said, and he began to direct the other two out of the classroom and into the hallway.

Izuku's time in the hospital had been far from pleasant, with his time being consumed with taking pills, changing IV's, watching movies with his mother (who brought in a laptop from home), and, of course, "taking it easy."

So, saying that he was happy to be released was an understatement.

He'd graduated from a wheelchair to crutches, but putting on clothes was still a struggle. It was all he could do to shove on sweatpants and a hoodie before he limped out of the bathroom and was met by his mother and All Might.

All Might offered a warm grin as he approached. "You ready to go, Midoriya?"

Izuku laughed lightly and nodded, leaning against his crutches in support. "Ready as I'll ever be."

"And you're sure you didn't leave anything here?" Inko queried. "I think I grabbed all of your blankets but I'm not sure if we missed anything-"

"Mom, it's fine, I've got everything," Izuku promised her. "I've already been checked out and I'm just ready to go home. I've got school tomorrow, remember?"

Inko furrowed her brow. "You know, Izuku, I still think that's a little too soon… you just got released, after all…"

"All I'll be doing is sitting there. Mr. Aizawa will make sure I don't do anything too strenuous. Now, come on, let's go." With that, Izuku began to hobble over to the door.

It only took a few minutes before they reached the downstairs lobby and were walking through the electronic doors, when suddenly Izuku saw a few familiar figures standing outside. "Iida?" he asked as he came to a stop under the overhead of the building. "Uraraka? Todoroki? What are you doing here?"

"We came to greet you, of course!" Iida replied. "This is a very big occasion, after all. I hope you're feeling well?"

Izuku shifted his bandaged shoulder and nodded when he felt only stiffness. "Better than ever."

"Midoriya. We have… well, we have…" Todoroki fumbled for the right word. "A-"

"Surprise party!" Uraraka finished. "For you!"

Izuku was baffled. "F-For me?"

"Indeed! Although it's not much of a 'surprise' because Mr. Aizawa didn't want us to scare you," Iida admitted. "Anyway, tonight night at the dorms, we'll all be welcoming you back!"

"We really missed you, Deku," Uraraka whispered. "Plus, it's been… weird staying at the dorms ever since... you know…"

"-Shigeru," Izuku said in a faltering tone. He looked back up at his friends and shook his head. "That's all in the past now."

"Midoriya…" Iida said. "It's all right to still be afraid."

"N-no, that's not it! It's just… Nakatomi and Shigeru, they're… they're going to be locked away for a long time and that's what's important. I know we all have bad memories of what happened, but I think it was somehow worth it in the end. Nakatomi could've gotten away with hurting more people if I hadn't seen him robbing that store. So… maybe something good did come out of it after all."

Iida looked thoroughly touched, clenching a fist at his chest. "That's a beautiful way to look at it, Midoriya! A simply beautiful way!"

"Well, if we're going to make it back in time for this 'party' of yours, we should probably get going," All Might hinted, gesturing towards the waiting taxi. "Is everyone ready?"

All of the teens nodded.

"Alright, let's get going then," Iida declared, and started to march towards the cab with Todoroki and Uraraka following beside him. All Might and Inko began to walk with them as well, but All Might stopped when Izuku didn't move from where he was standing.

"Midoriya?" he asked in concern. "Are you feeling alright?"

"What? Huh?" Snapped out of his thoughts, Izuku shook his head. "No, I'm alright. Just thinking."

"What about?"

Izuku looked down at the pavement, feeling his heart clench and eyes well with the beginning of tears. "I-I'm just… I'm so lucky, All Might." He looked back up, jaw trembling. "For my friends… Nakatomi and Shigeru getting their justice… just... all of this."

"And Midoriya, you deserve it all. You deserve your happy ending," All Might said softly. "Don't you ever forget that."

"Thanks," Izuku whispered.

And yes, in the end, it was still a little hard to believe that he had so many people that cared about him. He had classmates who had worried over him while he'd been in the hospital. He had a loving mother, a caring mentor, and he had his best friends, who hadn't let him down, not once, during this whole ordeal. His fists tightened around the middle of his crutches as his lips curved up into a watery smile.

And, well, when it came down to it…

That was the only happy ending he ever really needed.

The end!

Thanks for reading guys! I had a lot of fun writing this story back in 2018 and am glad I could finally share it with more people. I think this will probably be the last story I ever post on this site, but it was fun while it lasted. Either way, if you liked it, feel free to drop a review because I love hearing from you guys!

Take care (and have a good Halloween this upcoming week!),

~thepurplewriter333