In a flash, the day when the third-years graduated arrived quicker than Izuku could have imagined, but it was to be expected. Everyone was invited after school to watch them walk the stage that was borrowed from the Sports Festival stage, but this time they had transformed it to match the atmosphere of celebration.

A wooden podium was in the center of the stage Cementoss had created while colorful flowers and red poinsettias decorated the borders of the platform. The path to the center where they would receive their diploma was laid out with a white strip of cloth, spanning across the entire stage while green shrubberies stood pridefully, knowing the important job they served on an important day.

Rows and rows of chairs were lined up, surrounding the stage while the stands were filled with family members and anyone willing to join the celebration of the third-years. Class 1-A was in the front row, holding up a sign spelling congratulations with the combined effort of all twenty students. How they got Bakugo to agree was beyond Izuku, but it was nice to see he respected them.

At least to some extent. His face of anger told anyone near him he didn't want to be stuck here for the next two hours, watching some unknown side characters graduate.

And it was as Bakugo predicted. The long and monotonous process of their names being called to acquire their diploma and add it into their possession of substantial evidence they were ready for hero work or just the regular world proved to be a drag. But it seemed like many people didn't care as each name called was met with a roar of cheers and thunderous clapping.

When Nejire's name was called, Izuku was almost falling asleep, but a nudge from Sero sitting next to him did the trick as he straightened his posture and looked around himself in bewilderment.

Izuku automatically held up his own specially made sign high in the air to support her without a second thought. As Nejire crossed the stage, she looked toward Izuku and pointed both her fingers at him and then made a shape of a heart with her hands to proclaim her love for him.

It seemed like some males sitting around his vicinity got the wrong message as their eyes turned into the shape of hearts from her cute action. They didn't understand it was directed at Izuku and only him.

Izuku blushed as he lowered the sign down a little to cover his face, but Sero put a hand underneath his elbow to coax him into raising it higher, which he complied with.

When the slow ordeal of calling names and nonstop speech after speech was over, the third-years surrounded their teachers and thanked them for their hard work. But after that was when chaos overtook the stadium as the audience and the third-years met each other for the first time that day.

Izuku was pushed and dragged along with the crowd as the flood of people quickly thinned out into small groups, each brimming with joy and congratulations for their accomplishment.

Izuku looked around himself and discovered no one next to him, causing him to sigh. This was a silly thing to do when it was supposed to be Nejire and Yuyu's special moment. Maybe in an alternate universe or something, he would treat her to a nice restaurant after her graduation rather than holding a sign and waiting for them to meet up with him. But that was just his anxiety speaking to him.

Or maybe it was because he just wanted them to stay longer with him. It was just wishful thinking on his part, but how great would it be if they all graduated together, so he could join them immediately in the next chapter of their lives?

Izuku lowered the sign next to his side and looked up at the sky, only to see Nejire gunning straight for him. He panicked and held his hands up in fright to defend himself, but she still crashed through the sign and into him. "Oomph!"

Izuku barely had time to process what happened as he fell on his back with Nejire on top of him. He swore he could see stars circling his head tauntingly while the sign he had in his hand for defense had snapped in two. He dropped the pieces on the ground and let out a small laugh.

Nejire lifted herself, bursting out laughing once she heard his mirth reach her ears. "Perfect landing by yours truly!"

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you."

Nejire puffed her cheeks up and began poking him in the chest. "What's that supposed to mean? I'd like to know, Izuku."

"Nothing! I'm just glad you're here!"

"You better be! But that's beside the case because I finally did it! I finally graduated from this boot camp of a school and transformed into a wonderful, beautiful grown woman who can inspire millions to become heroes!"

Izuku watched the cheerful expression on her face permeate the entire stadium. There was just something about her smile that shone brighter than all the people celebrating their achievements. Nejire was the most important person to him, so he could chalk it up to that reason, but she was always like this as far as he remembered.

"Here."

Izuku's thought popped and faded into the sky as Nejire took the pink flower pinned onto her kimono to place it in his hair, behind his ear. "Ah."

Nejire giggled as she patted him on the head. "No need to be so surprised. Soon you'll be walking across that stage and joining me. And I'll be there no matter what happens, so rest assured, I'm still your dependable older sister!"

Izuku adjusted the flower to his liking, making it more comfortable to sit on his ear. "And I'll be waiting."

Nejire beamed at him, but she held up a finger up to express a statement in her defense. "But if I don't show up, don't blame me! You know how busy hero work will be since I'm going to be part of a top-ten hero agency, right?"

"All I hear are excuses."

Nejire slapped him on the shoulder, but the smile on her face told a different story. "You've grown quite cheeky over the months, but I'm all here for your development! Now, how about a kiss for your extremely cute girlfriend?"

Izuku's mind transported him back to the sleepover when he had her first kiss with her and stiffened. It was after Yuyu yelled at them to sleep, but the warmth of her lips and the blissful feeling he experienced still lived on in his memory. It was a special moment between them, but he didn't know if he could handle another one.

Thankfully, Yuyu arrived at that moment to save him from the impending kiss that Nejire was about to actualize as she leaned forward to plant one on his lips.

"N-Nejire, don't go flying off like that...!" Yuyu paused as she looked at the two of them for a few seconds with a stunned expression. The look on her face told them everything she needed to know about what was going to happen next. "Were you guys about to kiss?"

"Of course!" Nejire replied simultaneously as Izuku did.

"Of course not!" Izuku exclaimed as he glanced over at Nejire in slight shock.

"I feel like I'm getting conflicting answers here," Yuyu said.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter! I already kissed him before~!" Nejire sang as she pulled Izuku closer to her body and beckoned for Yuyu to stand next to them. "We should take a picture of us all together, so we can have something to look back on when we're older and have a good laugh! I want to remember these exact moments years from now!"

"Luckily for you, I came prepared." Yuyu pulled out a collapsible selfie stick and stretched it out to its max with Nejire's phone attached to the end of it. With the photo snapped and embedded in the database of a phone, their memory of Nejire and Yuyu's graduation would be stored safely forever. "All that graduation stuff got me hungry, so who's ready for some ramen or sushi?"

"I am!" Nejire exclaimed, holding her hand high in the air.

Izuku timidly raised his hand to add an order to her request. "One for me too!"

"I'll treat you both to a spot where they serve both. But Nejire, I expect some payment back because I know how much money you make from your status."

"Aw, come on!"

Izuku put a hand up to his mouth to hide a chuckle as Nejire pulled him into the joke. Even if it felt like the end of an era for them, it was only the beginning for them with the number of years they had in store for them down the road. This was just a step down the right path and to many more memories they could cherish.

Author's Note: Blood, sweat, and tears, my friends. I dedicated a lot of my time to finishing this story and here I am at the finish line! It feels so good to finish up this story and bathe in the sense of accomplishment after working so hard on this for seven months! Extending this story seven more chapters than it was supposed to be was a great choice on my part!

I hope you guys enjoyed this story because I sure had tons of fun writing every single chapter!

Thank you to everyone who read it!

With cheerful love from your favorite writer, Out4Lunch!