I don't think I'll ever forget Midoriya's scream in that moment.

He collapsed, a defeated, paralyzed, broken man. We tried to help him, but he ws beyond us - unconscious at last, thank god for him.

A blur of disaster relief arriving, of our teachers attending us, of first aid passed. 13 of our classmates were fine. Jirou, Hagakure, and most of Class B were unconscious from poison gas. Uraraka, Shoji and Asui were injured. Yaoyorozu had suffered a bad head injury and was also unconscious and in surgery. And Midoriya…it was really a miracle he was still alive.

And Bakugou was gone. He had been in my hands, but I hadn't been fast enough. That damned burn faced villain…

UA was the pariah of the media now. I stayed with Iida in a hotel room that night, and every news report was worse. The public had condemned us. The teachers were the scapegoats.

In a blur my sister took me home, the old man appeared to yell about what had happened, but I heard none of it. I could only think of the three people whose lives hung, every moment, in the balance.

Yaoyorozu, my fellow recommendation student, my teammate, my newfound friend…

Midoriya, who had opened my eyes to my possible future, to how my quirk was not a curse…

And Bakugou…my loudmouthed, difficult, determined, prideful, belligerent and irascible….friend.

I admitted it to myself right then and there. Bakugou is also my friend.

"What?! Todoroki, why are you here?"

It was Kirishima, in the hospital lobby, staring at me as I stood there, a bouquet in hand.

"I could say the same for you," I replied.

"I, um…how do I put it. I just couldn't sit around at home anymore."

"I see. Same here."

I had taken the first train to the hospital where our classmates were. We had decided to visit Midoriya first, but as we passed Yaoyorozu's room - where we had sat waiting, just as often, yesterday, as by Midoriya's door - we heard her voice.

She's awake, thank god.

All Might and a police officer were with her. And she was handing them something.

"Awase from Class B and Iteamed up. We were able to plant a transmitter on one of the villains. Here is a device that tracks the signal from the transmitter. Please use it for your investigation."

"Before this," said All might. "Aizawl and judged that you struggled with making quick decisions. You've grown spectacularly! Thank you, young Yaoyorozu!"

"When my classmates were in danger, this was all I could do. It's frustrating."

"Those feelings you have are proof that you are worthy of being a hero. You can leave the rest to me!" said our Sensei.

That's our Yaoyorozu. Always making the best decisions with her judgement. And a new idea came to me - and I could see from Kirishima's eyes that the same idea had come to him.