Chapter 93: Détente

Doko sat silently, his hands folded over his waist, as he watched Toru's family say goodbye to her.

Her mother had been crying, but she seemed to have run out of tears, and was now just pale and withdrawn. Her father had a stone-faced expression. They offered their incense to the urn in front of Toru's invisible body. Both of her parents are visible. Doko wished he'd gotten to know them.

As the priest chanted, the other guests offered their incense. Mina was dressed in a black kimono and was crying silently. Doko was in a suit that he'd borrowed from Aizawa, who was standing respectfully near the back with his hair up.

Doko also recognized some people from his middle school that had come as well. Toru had been a popular, chatty girl, even back then. She'd had more friends than me, for sure. He felt many of their eyes on the back of his head from time to time throughout the ceremony.

I wonder if they blame me.

At the end of it, each of the guests was given a small gift. "You gave them the money, right?" Mina asked Doko with a small mutter as they exited the wake.

Doko nodded. "I have done this before."

The funeral service itself was short. Toru was buried, in a kimono that was crossed right over left. Many of her family placed flowers on the casket. Aizawa did so as well. The six surviving members of the group chat were the only others. Doko and Mina, then Sero, then Tsuyu and Tokoyami, and finally Shoji.

It would not be their last funeral.

…

Mezo Shoji stood silently off to the side of the grave.

Mr. Hagakure was shaking hands with the last few lingering family members, talking to them in hushed voices. He was a normal looking man. That was all Mezo could say about him.

Eventually, though…he walked over to Mezo. Stood next to him. They both looked at the grave for a long time.

"Have you spoken to my wife?" the man finally asked.

Mezo nodded. "She was…very kind."

More silence.

Mr. Hagakure cleared his throat. "They tell me she died fighting alongside you."

"She did."

"You loved her." There was nothing accusatory in his tone.

"I did." Mezo had to fight to keep his voice from breaking.

Mr. Hagakure took a deep, long breath. "Who was it? Who…?"

"Now, sir, I don't really know if you really want to-"

"You're right." The man interrupted both Mezo and himself. "You're right." With a shaky hand, he pulled out a handkerchief. Sniffed into it.

"You know, it's funny…" the man chuckled a little, humorlessly. "We received an anonymous donation, before we'd even sent out info about the funeral…it was massive. More money than I've ever had my hands on in my life. My wife and I are teachers, we don't really-"

"I understand," Mezo said to him gently.

Mr. Hagakure nodded. "Anyway…I can't help but think this anonymous donor wasn't used to giving charity, because the information on the donation was easy to backtrack. It came from the Endeavor Hero Agency."

Mezo's eyes widened. Endeavor himself was not at the funeral, but Shoto was. He turned around and looked back at the departing guests.

Back there, with the rest of Class A, who were talking in low, solemn voices amongst themselves by the street…Shoto was standing there.

And looking right at Mezo.

An odd feeling came over him.

"Well, sir," he said to Mr. Hagakure. "I don't know why that would be."

She died fighting Dabi.

"In any case…I'm glad she had you with her, at that school."

"I'm glad too," Mezo responded softly. "I never thought…I mean. I didn't really think I was ever going to find. Someone. But she…she saw the beauty in everyone. In everything. That was what made her a good hero. She always knew what she was fighting for." And that Commission twisted her ideals and made her do something reprehensible.

Mr. Hagakure sniffed again. "It was nice to meet you, son. If you ever need anything…"

"Thank you, sir." Mezo didn't make him finish. He understood.

…

All was quiet at UA. The campus was dark and sullen.

The security walls were up. They would remain up until the last of the stragglers from Tartarus were captured and the streets grew a little less rough.

All the hero students had been sleeping in temporary facilities set up in the streets or at their families' homes for the past two weeks. They had all been helping to clean up the aftermath of the war, but now that time was over, punctuated by Toru's funeral.

They were all returning back to the dorms for the first time since the night before the battle.

Fumikage Tokoyami sank down into his bed with a sigh, a dark feeling coming over his heart. Dark Shadow had been muted and largely unresponsive since the battle. Fumikage somehow felt that their connection had been weakened, as if a crucial aspect of it had been cut.

Could I have been connected to the void after all? Fumikage had no idea. He'd wished he'd been able to help more with the real battle, but he'd gotten blinded by rage…

I'd have been dead too, if it wasn't for you, Tokoyami, Shoji had told him.

Fumikage rolled over, and noticed an unmarked letter on the side of his bed.

He perked up slightly, and leaned over to pick it up. He had no idea what this was. He opened it.

As he read the first line, his eyes widened, and his beak parted as he gasped.

Dear Tokoyami,

You are the friend in the group I know the least well, as you came late. But I feel like I need to write this to you anyway.

This is Toru. Tomorrow we are going into battle, and I think I'm going to die.

It'll be silly if I end up surviving, and so do you, and you end up reading this letter with me somewhere a floor beneath you, right? Silly me. Silly Toru, haha.

I don't much know what I'm writing anymore. But I need to tell you all before I go: Mezo and I have been sent on a very dangerous mission. It's something we may not come back from. But it's super, super important. And so I'm going to go through with it. Despite my better judgement, I will.

I wish things didn't have to be this way. When I decided I wanted to become a hero, I just thought it would be a fun job. I didn't realize that this was the price. I was a stupid and naive girl. Because these prices are paid all the time. Hawks dying on television showed me that.

And so to you specifically I say, Tokoyami: it's okay to rage for Hawks. It's okay to want revenge for him. You and Mezo both spend so much time bottling up your emotions, thinking that they weaken you, that they cloud your decision-making. Well, I'm not great at decisions in general, so maybe I don't know. But I think your emotions make you strong.

Do what you feel is right. Whatever that is IS right. I believe that from the bottom of my heart.

Just don't spend forever reveling in the darkness, Tokoyami. Go on and reach for the light. Together, our class has achieved something beautiful that's hard to even put into words. Please continue that even after I'm gone.

Lots of love,

Toru Hagakure

Fumikage watched the teardrops spread over the paper. The ink was so dry that it didn't even react.

He picked up his phone and just saw a single message, from Sero.

Hanta: we all got one of these, didn't we?

Then just a moment later:

Tsuyu: yes.

…

Doko unfolded the letter slowly. Mina had just finished reading hers, and was now sinking into his shoulder, her chest heaving with sobs. It was all he could do just to hold her and comfort her, as he began to read his own message from his passed friend.

Dokkun,

You silly, silly boy. You'll pardon my informality, I hope.

I actually saved you for second-to-last. After this it's just Mezo left. I don't even know how to start that one. But you were pretty hard too.

Did you know I liked you at the start of the year? Romantically? You probably did. I remember saying something like, oh, Dokkun would definitely be able to tell when a girl liked him, and he would just keep stringing things along to torture her. I was being totally serious at the time.

But it faded away fast. I'm not sure what it was. I think it was just because I only noticed you a little bit during middle school. You were cute, but distant, and I didn't know what to make of your personality. It was so erratic back then.

And then we went to UA together, and I realized there was a lot more to you than met the eye. I felt safe around you at first because you were the person that I knew. Walking into Class A for the first time and striking poses is one of my favorite memories. I know it may seem silly, but I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to make any friends. So you were sort of my anchor in that way. Those feelings were really strong there for a bit. And then they faded. And I saw the connection you made with Mina. That made me really, really happy.

You and Mina go so well together. You cover each other's silly parts (I refuse to call them flaws!) just perfectly. When I think of you guys, I get all fluffy inside.

So, as someone who's going to do something so stupid tomorrow that it's almost guaranteed to be fatal: do not follow in my footsteps, Dokkun. I'm invisible and notice a lot more than you think I do. I know that your Quirk is rebelling against you. I don't know all the details, but you seem to think that it's very bad. And that means it probably is.

And I've also noticed when you talk to Midoriya and try to rein in his crazy self-sacrificial streak (what is the DEAL with that boy?). And I'm telling you that you're being kind of a hypocrite when you do that! You would sacrifice yourself for others in a heartbeat too, Dokkun. Maybe it wasn't like that at the beginning, but somewhere along the way you changed. You stopped talking crazy but started thinking crazy. That's the only way I know to put it!

So don't you dare leave Mina behind, boy. You can imagine me poking you in the chest as I say it. Don't you dare.

Go on and live. If you have to contain your power, do it. You don't owe the world a thing. You've already saved quite a lot.

Or, if you want, live as a hero. You'll be one of the best of them.

Lots of love,

Toru.

It was the first time he'd actually cried since learning what had happened.

…

Tenya Iida's funeral was the week after.

Despite the Iida family's wealth compared to the Hagakure's, it was a much smaller affair. Only Midoriya, Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, and Todoroki were able to attend from Class A. He was buried in a private family cemetery.

Izuku was surprised at how nonstandard the funeral was. There was nothing really traditional or Japanese about it, even though he'd always thought Iida had given off those vibes.

The family members, most of them crying or holding back tears as they spoke, took turns speaking about their Tenya.

Tensei, the former holder of the Ingenium title, wheelchair-bound, went last.

"I'm not sure who will be Ingenium next, little bro," he muttered, looking down at the casket. Though tears were forming in his eyes, his voice retained its composure. "Maybe you'll be the last one. The Ingenium that saved the world."

He rolled his chair back a half-turn, and looked over at Izuku. "Midoriya? Would you like to say a few words?"

Izuku's eyes widened. "M-me?"

He looked around at the family. They were all looking at him expectantly. He looked back at his friends. Uraraka smiled encouragingly. "Go on," Yaoyorozu muttered. Todoroki just nodded.

"Well, alright…" He stepped toward the casket.

And looked down.

"Hey there…Iida. Tenya. Sorry, I never called you by that name before…"

He took a deep breath and gathered himself.

"You were my best friend. You and all the others in Class A. I would have considered you all my best friends in a heartbeat. But in many ways, you were our leader. You stepped up to the plate, tirelessly, again and again…making sure we were organized, staying on top of work. Making sure we were all doing okay mentally. Just a constant, steady rock in all of our insane, crazy lives…mine most of all…"

Uraraka and the other two hummed in agreement.

"So for all that, I thank you, from the bottom of my heart." I'll remember fighting alongside you for the rest of my life, he added inside his head. But he didn't want to even bring up anything related to Stain around the family.

He lifted his head then and addressed the sky. "Tenya Iida was a brother, a son, a class representative, a great friend…a hero. Ingenium. He lived to serve and lead and protect and save. He died doing all those things, too. He died protecting the entire world from annihilation. I'll remember him."

"I'll remember him," Uraraka muttered, echoing.

"I'll remember him," said Yaoyorozu.

"I'll remember him," said Todoroki.

…

Tensei Iida remained at the grave for a long, long time after everyone else left. He intended to spend all night out here, at his brother's side.

What he didn't intend was that he'd have a visitor.

"Please…" the voice strained, weakly. "Don't be alarmed."

It was the dead of night, but Tensei was not afraid. He rolled his wheelchair around. Somehow, he wasn't even surprised.

"Hello, Stain," he greeted, like they were old friends.

The hero killer lurked at the edge of the shadow, under the trees that marked the Iida family property line. To instill fear in me? Or perhaps because of his own fear?

"You knew it was me," Stain rasped.

"Not many people can sneak onto our home property undetected."

"Have you been out here all night? With no one to attend you?"

"That's right." Tensei just smiled. His heart rate had increased a little, but he wanted to know for sure why the hero killer was here before he alerted anyone. His finger hovered over the call button on the arm of his chair.

"You'll catch a chill," Stain said.

Tensei shrugged.

"Well." The hero killer seemed to pace back and forth. All Tensei could see of him was a silhouette and those glowing red eyes. "I'm glad you're here. It was you I needed to tell."

"Tell me what?"

"The boy…Iida. Ingenium. Your brother. He died to save my life."

Tensei swallowed. "...Midoriya didn't mention that."

"Midoriya is a good man. He'll make quite the number one hero one day. I'm sure he didn't want to keep it a secret from you, but did not trust himself to convey the news properly. Well, I'm here to do so."

Stain took one step forward, halfway into the light. Tensei met his gaze.

"In order to defeat the king of the void, we had to paralyze it. I had to drink its blood. The blood was at my lips…and the king attacked me. Would have killed me, but Ingenium pushed me out of the way."

Tensei was silent for a long, long time.

At the end of it, he only said, "I see."

"I am sorry for crippling you. You didn't deserve it. And your brother deserved to live a long, happy life."

"Well…" Tensei's voice cracked a little. "Now you get to do that, instead…"

"No." Stain shook his head. "He saved me to complete the mission. And the mission is completed."

Tensei's eyes widened. "Wait. Don't-"

"All this time I have wished for a truly just world. Well, it's all those kids that are setting that world up now. And all I can do is…my own part."

Stain drew his sword, and retreated into the shadows.

He must have gone far before doing what he intended to do, because Tensei never heard it, and they never found the body in the morning. But he knew what had happened, and told no one outside his family.

…

Mashirao Ojiro sat on the ledge of the dorm roof, his tail curled up onto his lap. The sun was setting in the distance. Orange streaks stretched over Musutafu.

He swung his legs slightly. A breeze kicked up through the trees on the UA hill and swirled its way up to him. His hair flew over his eyes. He hadn't cut it since the battle; it was getting long. Aoyama had told him that he looked like a lion now.

It all seemed so…quiet. Class A had been reduced to a mere 18 people. The holes that Hagakure and Iida had left, after being so key to the class for a whole year…

Not everyone thought Hagakure was key, maybe. But I did. I was always noticing her.

It was strange. Mashirao felt…free. Somehow, he knew that this was what Hagakure would have wanted. Even if he never even confessed to her. I can let you go now, Toru. You can be at peace and so can I.

Someone sat down next to him.

"Hey there," said Ochaco Uraraka, leaning against his shoulder and wrapping her hands around his arm.

Mashirao stiffened. She was openly snuggling into him, as the breeze picked up a little. Looking out toward the sunset.

"Hello," he said, quietly. "How's Toga?"

"She and Kaminari are doing fine. Nezu sent them some card games to entertain each other with. They make strange cellmates." She giggled a little.

"Hopefully, soon…they don't have to be in a cell."

"Yeah," Uraraka agreed. She snuggled up closer to him, and they sat in silence for a while.

"Thank you," she muttered.

Mashirao raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

"You saved my life."

"Ha…I mean, I didn't do much…I got myself captured and then you saved me."

"She was going to kill me, Ojiro-kun. She told me herself that she meant to. We would have killed each other in that house. You…you stopped all that. You were the only one who kept a rational head on your shoulders…honestly, you may be one of the only ones in the class to do that for the whole year."

Mashirao shifted. "I wouldn't say that. I've had some irrational moments just like the rest of you."

"Still…I think I…I think I'm ready to say that…" Uraraka blushed deeply and looked toward the trees to the left. "I'm ready to say that I want to be more than friends, Ojiro-kun…"

And then she hurriedly kissed him on the cheek. Just a peck, but it left a searing heat on his skin that he immediately felt with his hand, astonished, eyes wide.

Still blushing, Ochaco grinned at him. "May I call you Mashirao?"

"Ah! Yeah…if you let me call you Ochaco."

A shiver went up her body. She closed her eyes, and nodded.

Mashirao raised an eyebrow. "Ochaco?"

"Ah!" her blush deepened.

A grin crept onto his face. "Do you like it when I say your name, Ochaco?"

Her grip on him tightened. "...Yeah...I like it a lot…I never thought I'd get to feel this…"

"The fight is over," he said. They both looked out at the sunset again, cuddling.

"It's over at last…" she muttered.

…

The last funeral they all had to attend was for the members of the Pussycats that had died, Tiger and Pixie-Bob.

Mandalay, Ragdoll, and Kota stood in as the family members, since neither of them had any surviving relatives.

Ragdoll was crying, but Mandalay maintained her composure, with a black hat veiling part of her face. She was holding Kota's hand. The boy had a pensive, confused expression.

Izuku was watching him the whole time. Do you understand now, Kota? Do you know why they did what they did?

Tiger and Pixie-Bob had perished in the decay wave, before the void monsters had even arrived. But they had died saving lives. Would Kota get it? Or would he return to his former mentality, before Izuku and Katayama and Koda had fought Muscular to protect him?

Izuku couldn't blame him either way. He's only a kid. Time will tell.

…

After the funeral was a small dinner in the Pussycat agency building.

Koji Koda stood in the corner of the room, as other people milled about in front of him, socializing in low tones. The mood was somber.

"Here, Young Koda," said a voice.

Koji's eyes widened. All Might was standing next to him, handing him a drink.

"Thank you," he mumbled and took the cup. It was just water. He sipped it gratefully. Toshinori Yagi remained standing next to him.

"It's going to be okay," he said after a while.

"I saw them die," Koji muttered. "I saw it and did nothing. I was powerless. I was pretty much powerless the whole time."

All Might exhaled. "I know how that feels. I have become quite intimate with that mentality in the past few months."

Koji's eyes widened. He understood. Of course Toshinori Yagi, the former Symbol of Peace, would have felt useless at having done nothing, while the world ended…

"I believed before the war began that we should not be sending you kids. And I still believe that it was morally reprehensible to do so. Only…you kids were the ones that saved everything. Not me. Not Endeavor. Not anyone else." All Might swirled his cup around, staring down at it. "Everyone knows what you did, Young Koda. I'm not sure if you've received any credit for it to your face, so I shall be the one. All around the world, the void monsters responsible for the most casualties were the mid-sized ones. Except in Japan. Because you made most of the creatures of that size kill each other, with your commands. You and Young Shinso alone may have saved millions of people with your trap."

"But it didn't finish the-"

"That doesn't matter. Everyone knows, and everyone will remember. They'll remember." All Might nodded toward Mandalay and Ragdoll, who were watching Kota with love in their eyes. "Everyone with a surviving child knows why their child survived. Because of the hard work and bravery of you and the others. Hero trust is still low on the streets, but it's entirely localized to us old timers. They're all rooting for your generation. They can't wait to have you protecting them."

Koji sniffled, holding back tears. "And I can't wait…to do the protecting."

All Might nodded, smiled, and walked away.

…

Izuku descended the stairs into the common room, yawning and stretching. It was quite early in the morning. He didn't expect anyone to be down yet, but Yaoyorozu was there, sipping tea at the circular table.

"Good morning, Midoriya," she greeted pleasantly.

"Good morning…" he mumbled. He sat down across from her, and was surprised when she slid a mug of tea across the way to him. Steam billowed softly from it.

Izuku pointed at himself. "For me?"

"For whoever came down here first. Kyoka doesn't like this kind of tea, so…"

"Ah." He put it to his lips and sipped. "S'good."

"Thank you." She studied him. "You look disheveled. Your hair is even wilder than usual."

"Wow. Thanks, Yaoyorozu. We can't all look immaculate at six AM."

She giggled. "That is something Kyoka would say. Where did you learn sass? Not a stutter, either."

"I guess…my bravery finally caught up to itself," Izuku muttered. He thought of dark writhing things, of a man dusting himself away, of lightning erupting into the sky. He thought of Gran Torino saying good luck, kid on the hospital bed before the machine flatlined.

"I know all the…ahem…funerals, have been draining for everyone." Momo took another sip. "With Iida gone, all the class responsibilities have fallen to me…I feel like I can't lift spirits the way Ashido can, or even Iida could in his own way."

"You shouldn't stress yourself about it," Izuku told her, leaning forward. "Everyone will be back to normal in their own time. These things can't be forced."

She sighed. "You're correct, of course. It's just…goodness. We're heading into a new year soon."

"Don't I know it," Izuku muttered.

"Oh, that's right! Hado-senpai graduated along with the other third years. She's been out on the streets as a real pro now. I saw her on the news."

"Yep," he nodded, proudly. "She's making big waves, if you know what I mean."

Momo snorted in a rather unladylike fashion, recomposed herself, and said, "She and Amajiki-senpai both have been received very well by the public. Everyone knows her as the one who helped you to defeat the king monster. They'll be spearheading the reignition of public trust in heroes, you can mark my words."

"Yeah…" Izuku couldn't help but think, Mirio should be with them.

"Anyway…" Yaoyorozu sighed. "With the new year starting, everything's going to be different…I mean, Nezu said he was going to completely overhaul the UA curriculum, and besides that, we won't have Aizawa as a teacher anymore."

"Well, he'll still be around. To give us the hard advice when we need it."

"Yes, it's just…" Momo reached forward and put her hand over Izuku's. "At the beginning of this year, you were voted into a class rep position. You then conceded it to Iida after he controlled the stampede."

Izuku nodded. "That's all true."

"I'm sure he would have liked it if…" Yaoyorozu cleared her throat. "I mean, I really feel like I can't do this alone, Midoriya. I would like you to join me as the other class rep once again. For our second year."

A smile spread across his face. A time ago, the prospect would have terrified him. But now...what was there to be afraid of? There was only the future. And the future seemed bright in the distance.

"Sure, Yaoyorozu," he said.

…

Hanta found her in the garden.

Ibara was watering flowers. With spring fully arriving now, all the vegetation seemed to be in promising shape, and Ibara's joyful smile reflected that.

"Good afternoon," he said.

She looked up, set down the watering can, walked over, and gave him a long, deep hug.

They swayed there for a moment.

"What's gotten into you lately?" Hanta laughed a little. "Ever since the battle, and the uhh…night before…you've been a lot more touchy and cuddly."

"Are you complaining?" she asked mischievously.

"No!" he blurted.

Ibara giggled. "It's just…I think this is how we're meant to be." She backed off a step and fingered the small silver cross she had hanging from her neck. "We're meant to appreciate one another. We were given this feeling called love for a reason. Gentle and La Brava taught me that."

"Yeah…" Hanta looked back up at the school. "I've been to visit them a few times. She's technically free to go, but she doesn't leave his cell. That's dedication."

"I would do the same for you," Ibara said plainly.

Hanta blushed at that. "Well, let's hope I'm never arrested for any reason before we start getting into hypotheticals like that."

They both laughed, and then Ibara sighed, still looking down at her cross and turning it over in her hands.

"So, umm…" Hanta coughed. "You still, uh…?"

"Believe in this?" she guessed, raising an eyebrow.

Hanta's blush deepened. "I didn't want to actually ask it," he mumbled.

Ibara still smiled, but there was an edge of sadness to it. After a long moment, she said, "It's true. My sect of Christianity, the one I was raised on…taught that God gave us Quirks. All scientific explanations for them were dismissed."

"To be fair, the scientific explanations weren't true, either," Hanta put in.

Ibara shook her head at him. "Actually one of them was, to a degree. The Quirk disease was started by rats. It was just put here by extraversal deities. From there, everything about its spread was entirely scientific. And, to be honest…everything about the void is scientific, too."

"You've been talking to Nezu."

"HA! No. No, I've just been thinking…" She picked up her watering can. "I've been thinking that it all doesn't matter."

"It doesn't matter?" Hanta was in disbelief. "How can you say that it's all science and not magic?"

"What's the difference?" Ibara grinned. "I'm sure there is a scientific explanation for even God. We can't comprehend it now…but I'm sure I will when I meet him."

"So you do still believe."

Ibara nodded. "The void monsters may have created Quirks. But they did not create us. We destroyed them all and we're still here. And we can exist without Quirks, too…Quirks are just another trial, sent by something higher…something that meant for us to emerge victorious. How else could we have defeated the enemy, except with love and hope and positivity? Midoriya sharing that power with so many people…it is truly all too inexplicable to be handwaved away as a genetic mistake made by the creatures."

"Well." Hanta coughed. "I'm having a bit of trouble wrapping my head around it all, to be honest."

Ibara laughed. "It's okay. Really. I think the important bit comes in…with wanting. Wanting to love. Wanting to believe. We want to do the right thing and so we do it. Isn't that the essence of heroism? The future of the world is bright, and so too is the future of our souls. That's how I see it. I choose to look onto what we have done and what we will do with optimism."

The sun broke through the overhead branches.

"I love you," Hanta blurted.

She smiled back at him. "I love you, too."

…

Mirio Togata sat across a campfire from the devil.

The opponent's face shifted in the dancing firelight. Sometimes he was a handsome young man. Other times, he had the wrinkled roach-like face of All For One. Sometimes his eyes turned orange, and his mouth became infinity.

Mirio sat cross-legged, staring him down. All around them was darkness that the firelight could not reach.

"Why don't you get up and leave?" the devil suggested. "I am not trapping you here."

"I won't do anything that you want me to do," Mirio shot back.

"A pity." The devil pulled out a deck of cards and began to shuffle them. "You will die if you stay. There is no food or water here, only a fading light and an encroaching darkness."

"You're surviving."

"I don't need any food or water. I live off of memory. Memory and idea and thought."

Memory, Mirio considered. He could remember…he could remember fighting alongside others. In a great battle. He could remember that someone he looked up to greatly had lost their powers. Maybe even two people, though one much earlier than the other. But the second one might have been his fault. He wasn't sure.

"It was," the devil told him helpfully. "It was your fault."

"The bullet phased through me. I didn't know Sir was behind me."

"You should have taken it. You should have taken it in the tunnels. But the warping boy…" the devil muttered. "He is a wild card. A rebelling factor."

Mirio's eyebrow rose up. "What do you mean by that?"

"I see all the realities, boy. There is another where Doko Katayama does not exist at all. And everything in your world of My Hero Academia changes drastically."

The devil's face short-circuited, like a static television. Strange sounds crackled in the shadows. Mirio felt his grip on this reality slipping. And this is not even reality. Where will I go next, if I go mad here? Another level deeper? How far can I slide downward?

"I should just be allowed to die," he muttered.

"No. That was never your fate." The devil tossed the cards into the air.

Mirio looked up at them. Reflected in them, he saw a thousand Earths. From the tiniest grain of sand to massive continental plates slamming into each other…he saw what the devil meant.

"How?" he wondered. "How could there be so…so many?"

"Because there are people who care about all of you. Who love you deeply, despite having never met any of you. But they can pretend to. You'd be surprised how much people love to pretend, in a normal world, in one without Quirks. And every time they pretend…another branch is formed. Another card added to my deck."

"Who are you?" Mirio whispered.

The devil shrugged. "Just a man. A man at the center."

Mirio opened his mouth to ask another question, and then it all began to fade.

"Wait! WAIT!"

"Goodbye, kid. Keep playing your role…as long as you can. Who knows how long it will be before they all forget you." The devil vanished into the shadows, and the campfire sputtered out.

Darkness.

Darkness gave way to soft white light.

Mirio opened his eyes. He was in a hospital room.

Standing at his bedside was a hopeful-looking Eri. Her horn-glow was fading even as he watched. And it shrunk again.

Behind her stood Aizawa, Tamaki, Nejire, Midoriya, Katayama, Nighteye…his family. Others. All waiting to see what would happen.

"Hey guys," Mirio said.

They all cheered and collapsed inward, hugging him, crying, saying how much they'd missed him.

"I'm alright, I'm alright." He chuckled weakly, returning their affection as best he could. "I don't know how long I was out, but…" he looked down at Eri. "It seems you've saved me again, kiddo."

Eri beamed. "Happy to help!" she declared.

Katayama had a solemn expression. "I'm sorry, Togata. This was my fault."

Mirio shook his head. "Nonsense. I could have chosen not to listen to your instructions. You had no authority over me at the time. I did it because it was a good idea, and because I wanted to. So don't you worry about that one bit. It's all fine now, right?"

Katayama laughed a little. "Yes…it's all fine now."

Sir was watching him carefully. "What did you see, Mirio? While you were…"

Mirio frowned. The last thing he saw was the edge of the monster king's flesh, right? Right before going into it? "I don't remember," he told them, honestly.

And they all seemed satisfied with that.

…

Next chapter will be the last. Thank you all once again for sticking with me for so long.