"Sir..." Shigaraki huffed, falling to his knees with shame on his hidden face. "I failed..." He added.

"Oh dear Tomura, you have done nothing of the sort." A deep, yet soft voice spoke up, heavy steps coming forwards as stopping a few feet away from Shigaraki. A large hand landed firmly on his shoulder and he slowly looked up to the hulking figure before him.

"This was a mere test after all. Your failure was very helpful to me." He muttered, gently bringing Shigaraki to his feet.

"But we didn't find the boy, and we almost lost Muscular-." Shigaraki started, scratching at his cheek, annoyed at himself, before the large form stopped him.

"Now, now my boy. I'll make sure this doesn't go to waste." He smiled, patting Shigaraki's shoulder.

"Sir, it's not safe! Isn't that why you've been in hiding?" Shigaraki asked. The male stopped and chuckled.

"Hiding? Whoever said I was hiding? I was merely resting my body for the day I may have to face my old friend again." He chuckled, shaking his head and sighing. "Everyone may know my name, and my face, but whoever said they'd live long enough to speak of either?" He asked rhetorically.

Shigaraki went to speak but lowered his head as his mentor strolled over to a door looking shape at the end of the void room they were standing in. This was a room Kurogiri had created, especially for the purpose of keeping All For One, out of the public eye. It was quite an impressive place.

A door, the only other thing present, besides Shigaraki and All For One, led to a place akin to a house, although it never existed in the real world. Then, the space he and Shigaraki were currently standing in, was almost like Limbo. The space between reality, and All For One's hiding place.

"No doubt that he'll start catching on after this, but you should know I can take him. He is not what he used to be, and I've seen it getting worse from here. Nay... I've felt it." One For All explained, clenching his fists and continuing towards the door.

"Give it a few more days, and I'll have the strength I need to face him for the final time, that much I'm sure of, Shigaraki Tomura ." He chuckled, before disappearing through the space, leaving Shigaraki alone.

He'd always promised himself to keep his mentor safe from the public eye, and from the only one who was strong enough to defeat him, and thanks to his failure, the very thing he dreaded, had come to pass. Bringing his hand to his cheek, he began anxiously scratching at it.

"Shit..." He snarled, turning and walking back towards an opening of the warp gate Kurogiri had created him.

"So?" The Warp gate quirk user asked as Shigaraki emerged from the portal and back into his bar lair.

"He's planning exactly what we thought..." Shigaraki muttered, about to walk over to his usual barstool before he spotted Toga, spinning a glass so that it wobbled on its base. He let out a sigh, and walked the other way, towards a sofa and a duke box, where Mr Compress and Magne were sat.

"He really thinks that's a good idea?" Kurogiri asked curiously, although his tone was its usual calm.

"He knows better than all of us." Shigaraki responded sternly. Toga looked over her shoulder at Shigaraki, but didn't say anything, a mischievous look plastered on her face, just like always. She annoyed him to no end, he wasn't even sure what it was about her that he hated, but that feeling was present almost every time he saw her.

"Is there nothing we can do to change his mind?" Mr Compress asked, not quite following what Kurogiri and his boss were talking about.

"Not a chance. Shigaraki Tomura's boss is stubborn, he's mind is set and stone now." Kurogiri muttered, watching Shigaraki with anxious amber eyes. Things were getting much more extreme than either of them had anticipated, but it was now a waiting game. A waiting game, for who made the first move.

Izuku had been unconscious almost the entire time since defeating Muscular, and now a new evening was approaching, Mina was getting more and more anxious about his condition. Not only her it seemed, but the entirety of Class 1-A, and even Bakugo, had come to see just how he was doing. All Might had contacted Iida that it seemed Izuku was coming around, and the Engine quirk user didn't hesitate to announce that to the rest of the class. And so, here they were, waiting to hear if he was awake and able to be seen by them.

Mina wasn't only nervous for the fact that Izuku could be waking up, but she was also nervous for the fact that she knew his mother was already in the hospital room with him. These were no circumstances in which she wanted to meet her boyfriend's mother. Of course, she could just hide at the back of the class, but then she wouldn't be able to see her greenette because she was too short, so it was inevitable for the two women to cross paths.

"I'm not looking forward to seeing this." Mineta commented quietly, bouncing his legs nervously.

"You think you've got it tough?" Mina retorted quickly.

"I don't think I can take seeing him like that again..." Uraraka muttered, her head resting on her knees as she sat at Iida's feet, who had been sitting quite sleepily in one of the waiting room chairs.

When Mr Aizawa, Toru and Shoji had just about managed to retrieve Kota and Izuku, many of his students felt sick to their stomachs. The greenette's right arm was in bloodied shambles, and his left was clearly broken. His legs looked weak and heavily bruised, and the cut on his head was substantial. But Mina was a positive person, and she liked to think that it looked worse because it had just happened. However, now she was sat waiting to see him again for the first time in almost a day, she was second-guessing that notion.

"You can come in now." Aizawa stated, appearing from the hallway at the other side of the waiting room. "But...!" He barked, stopping them dead in their tracks. "You must be slow, quiet and considerate. Recovery girl has finished healing him as best she can with her quirk, but he's still weak." He explained, softening his tone, and turning his back on the class, walking back down the hall.

"It felt overkill, letting all these people see Izuku at the same time. The entirety of Class 1-A, Ms Midoriya, Recovery girl and Mr Aizawa was in the room with the wounded teen, but there was a chance he was still unconscious, so Mina didn't think very much of it.

He stomach was knotted to no end, and her head was spinning. She wasn't sure if she was just really scared, or about to be sick, but no matter what she was feeling, it was not pleasant. By the looks on many of the classes faces, they were feeling a similar way to her.

She could see the open door to his hospital room now, a gentle white light shining from the doorway and the gentle, steady beep of a heart-beat monitor echoing through the corridors. She took a shaky breath and she, Tsuyu, Mineta, and the others brave enough to lead the group after Aizawa, finally arrived at the door, and took their first looks inside.

His arms were heavily case again, and although his legs were covered by a blanket, there was no doubting his legs were in a similar state. His head was bandaged where he had cut it, and the bruising on him was fading, but it still looked painful.

"Hey, guys." He smiled weakly. No-one said anything, but stared at him, shocked.

"It really annoys me, how calm you are..." Ojiro muttered.

"Don't run off like that again!" Uraraka barked, stepping forwards and startling everyone. Aizawa took a surprised step back. "You could've died!" She snapped.

"Uraraka, don't be so loud." He grumbled sternly. She quieted down but glared over at Izuku. It may have been careless, doing what he did, but he had a good reason for doing it, at least in his mind.

"I'm... I'm really sorry I worried everyone..." He muttered, bowing his head and looking into his lap. Mina couldn't say anything. All she could feel was her heartbreaking. Seeing him in this sort of position really hurt her, and she only wished he knew how painful it was to see.

"I don't think you should be apologising. You did something really brave." Todoroki muttered, calmly, looking over Mina and Sero's shoulders. To this, Mina snapped around to glare at him.

"You're saying this was a good idea?" She snarled.

"So, you would've left that young boy to die?" He asked, looking at her with narrow and stern eyes. She quickly felt her confidence falter. She kept forgetting Izuku's life wasn't the only one on the line back then. In her mind, what he did was a terrible decision, but then if he didn't go out, then someone else might've been too late. No, from what that kid had said, they definitely would've been too late.

"Right or not, it was stupid." Mina responded harshly. Todoroki didn't back down, turning his eyes to Izuku.

"How are you feeling, Midoriya?" Todoroki asked, focusing on matters that mattered more to him that a simple annoyed girl.

"I feel sore, but I'm glad to be awake now." He responded with a shrug. It was more annoying than anything that he seemed so carefree about everything he'd done, but she couldn't be, or stay angry at him, because he just did what he thought was right, even if he was in danger.

"What happened out there man?" Kirishima asked quietly, stepping towards the greenette, who kept his eyes fixed on his knees. He shrugged at first.

"I don't remember a lot..." He muttered, only half truthfully. He only remembered bits and pieces from the battle just passed. He could remember fighting muscular for the most part, and he remembered getting back to the dorms, but everything from when he was crushed, to when he came back to reality in the woods with Kota, was a blur.

"I just remember getting crushed by Muscular, then coming to once Kota and I were making our way back to the dorms." He explained, looking up to Kirishima with honest eyes. The redhead swallowed nervously and looked over to Aizawa, who'd now stepped forwards.

"Exactly what damage was done?" He asked, looking at Recovery girl with a sullen expression.

"Well... Quite a lot. A cracked rib that luckily didn't hit anything major. Two broken arms, two broken legs, a large cut on his forehead, and a large amount of bruising. All of it was healable, but his right arm will need surgery..." She muttered, looking down at a clipboard that had a lot of neat, but very curly writing on it.

"Wait, surgery!" Mina exclaimed. Judging by the looks on her classmate's faces, they were just as shocked but didn't say anything.

"Yes, the damage to his right arm was very severe, and after surgery, he'll have to live with a specially made compression sleeve to help support his arm." Recovery girl exclaimed, holding up her arms, which barely reached Mina's chest, shooing the students away.

"Come on, go, go, He needs quiet." She ordered, waving them back and out into the hallway. There was a quiet hubbub of protests from the class, but she paid them no mind, closing the door once Mina and Uraraka had cleared the doorway.

Once it was closed, Mina could do nothing but stare at it. He would need surgery. Why did she have to go and tell them something like that, as if she wasn't worried enough already.

"Wha... What are we going to do?" Sero muttered.

"Just leave him. That damn nerd is dumb enough to bounce back from some shit like this." Bakugo snarled to himself, turning away and walking back down the hall. They stood silently for a moment before most of them followed after the blonde teenager. Mina, Uraraka, Iida and Tsuyu stood still for a moment, looking from the group, then towards Izuku's room door.

"I guess there isn't much else we can do for him now... Recovery girl knows what she's doing. We just have to leave him in her care." Tsuyu said quietly, before starting after the rest of the class. Uraraka and Iida shortly followed, but Mina simply couldn't bring herself to walk away. Then again, what choice did she have.

"For the first time, I think I agree with Bakugo. I know Izuku well enough to know he'll bounce back from this like it's nothing!" Uraraka beamed, looking over her shoulder at Mina reassuringly. Mina, however, didn't share in this happy feeling.

"Maybe, but... This is like nothin' he's ever been through before... Who knows what happened to him out there..." She responded quietly, resting up against the wall with a heavy sigh. Most of the group stopped, hesitating for a moment before heading into the elevator, where Bakugo was, unusually kindly, holding the door for them.

"Let's just go..." She muttered finally, leading Uraraka to join the other half of the class, waiting for the elevator to return. She hated having to leave, but she also hated the thought of staying. Right now, all she wanted to do, was go home and sleep. it was only just creeping into the evening, but she felt like it'd been days since she last slept.

Truthfully, after seeing the state Izuku was in when Aizawa and the others brought him back to the dorms, she hadn't been able to sleep. She could see the bloodied face and body of her boyfriend so clearly in her mind.

"This might suck, but we should all lighten up a little." Kirishima smiled, patting Mina's shoulder a little harder than normal. "You know Midoriya, this might be bad, but it won't stop him, no way." He smiled, folding his arms as the sound of the lift doors reopening brought them back to reality.

"M-Maybe you're right..." Mina muttered, entering the lift, followed by the other half of the class. It was crowded, but she could just about see the hallway they'd walked out of. The doors slowly closed, taking the closes thing to Izuku she could see, away from her.

She wished the rest of her class would feel the kind of pain she was feeling, but not because she wanted to see them hurt, but because she wanted them to understand how hard it was seeing the one she loved in that state. Mina mentally felt herself dragging along the floor; the lowest low. She had so many questions she'd wanted to ask, but she simply didn't have the time.

How long would it be for him to get discharged? Would he be able to continue school? What would this mean for him? It was too much to process all in once go. Maybe her parents could help her with something like this, but with her classmates, she simply felt like they wouldn't, and couldn't understand this sort of thing.

The rest of the time she spent walking to the exit of the hospital with her classmates, was silent. She didn't have anything else to say to any of them after that. She trailed a little behind the group as they funnelled out of the main doors and into the large drop of area. She felt relieved once she was outside. The fresh air and sight of her father's car were much more reassuring than she'd thought it would be.

The large man that was Arata Ashido stood out like a sore thumb, his normal, but abnormally muscly human appearance made ever more abstract thanks to the spines in his back. He smiled warmly once he noticed Mina's eyes looking in his direction, and she started over to him without a word to her classmates, who were all congregating on the benches outside.

"Hey honey, I'm so glad to see you're okay." He smiled, bringing Mina into a tight hug. "We were so worried when we heard what happened." He added, letting her go and standing back with a joyful twinkle in his eyes. She didn't really know how to respond to him, so she simply stayed quiet.

"Come on then..." He started, letting out a sigh and opening the passenger side door for her. She climbed inside, smiling at him, and belted herself in, closing the door after her. She stared at the floor, the sound of her father's heavy boots making their way around the car being the only thing she could really focus on.

"So... What happened to' im? I didn't really understand anythin' you were babblin' about over the phone." Arata asked, opening the driver's door and climbing inside, closing it after him and starting the engine quite quickly.

"I don't even wanna remember..." She grumbled, almost inaudibly. "He broke his arms, his legs, a rib, and he's got a lot of severe bruises." She listed, resting her elbow on the outcrop of the door and resting her head in her hand, sighing and fogging up the glass a little in turn.

"Shit... I've heard about that muscular guy before... I can't believe he beat 'im." Arata replied, pulling away and out of the drop off zone, starting down the main road to their home.

"Neither can I. Aizawa said if they hadn't gone out, and he kept bleeding, he would've bled out." She said. Arata nervously gritted his teeth and fidgeted on the steering wheel. He didn't say anything else, and Mina didn't blame him. When they were first told about the full extent of Izuku's injuries, they were just as lost for words.

It always hurt her, seeing her friends injured, but for some reason, she had so strongly underestimated the pain seeing Izuku injured would bring her. Maybe it was because she knew the truth about him - about One For All. She knew the damage it'd done to him already because he wasn't able to control its immense power, and even after that, he put himself through all this pain again.

The cause was justifiable, but she just wished there were other ways. Then again, there always seems to be another way, and sometimes there isn't. In her opinion, not enough people had that kind of mindset. Sometimes, there are other ways to go about doing things, so having that optimistic mindset is a really good thing, but when it comes to these things, sometimes the worst choice, is the only choice.

Izuku knew that because he had to have that mindset. With a quirk like his, she was sure he'd gone through every kind of possible outcome in his mind, and found the positives and negatives of those actions, yet that was what he had to settle on because it was the only way. He probably knew he was one of the strongest in the class, especially if he went all out, so the only way to save Kota and stop others from getting hurt, was to save him himself.

He really was the very culmination of a hero. No matter the consequences, he wasn't afraid to do everything he could to save a life. He always had so much courage and drive to do what he wanted, and what he thought was right, and he always seemed to smile.

Knowing his quirk was One For All, and knowing who had passed it to him, she could truly see the potential of the greenette she so dearly loved. When she looked at him, she could see All Might. The pro hero who'd been deemed the 'Symbol of Peace'. The only hero who, no matter how terrible the villain, or how dire the situation, always seemed to be smiling. Izuku was just like that.

The morning was merely hours away, yet still, Mina couldn't get any sleep. At most, she'd managed an hour, or maybe two, but for some reason, she just didn't feel tired in any way. She was worried about Izuku, but he was almost always worrying about her. It wasn't even him that was worrying him, it was what it was he faced off against. If that was what villains were capable of in the 'big leagues', then Mina suddenly wasn't so sure of her abilities.

Of course, she and Izuku weren't the same in terms of ability. It wasn't that she was weaker than him, because everyone's quirks excelled in different areas, and she was sure her quirk would fare better in some scenarios than his would. Still, that didn't exclude the fact that Izuku was much stronger than some of them and was one of the most powerful in their class. Yet, he was so badly injured, after pushing himself so hard.

How strong would everyone have to be to hold their own against modern villains? Exactly how far had they left to go in only two and a bit years. Looking at it realistically, that was an awful lot of power they had left to develop in a small amount of time. If Izuku barely managed, even going all out, then it really put into perspective just how weak they all were.

Damn it Mina, stop thinkin' about that crap! Sittin' here complaining to yourself isn't going to get me anywhere!" She snapped at herself, violently rolling over and slapping her second pillow down over her face. This was more frustrating than anything. Normally it was up to her boyfriend to do all the worrying and overthinking, so why was she the one throwing a tiz now?

Maybe, it was because she knew that if she kept this attitude, just having fun and not really caring, then she'd never make it as a hero. Izuku put everything on the line just to save that child, even though he knew exactly what he could lose. He was charging headlong towards his goal without hesitation.

She wanted more than anything to have that mindset. Of course, ever since she'd really met that greenette, he'd changed her outlook on this. She was always serious about being a hero, at least in her own mind, but looking at Izuku, and ever taking a better look at everyone else, she knew she had a lot of work to do. She promised herself that, over the training camp, she would go all out with her training, and now she'd done that, after this weekend, she was ready to put just as much work in as Izuku.

Although only recently picking the thought out from the depths of her mind, if she didn't put in as much work as everyone else, her chance at getting into a hero team with Izuku would be but a dream. Whenever she wanted anything as a child, she did everything she could to get it, and there was no reason this should've been any different. In fact, now she should have even more incentive for that attitude.

Right now, she just wanted to sleep. She'd been up for hours thinking about pointless things, and by tomorrow she'd not wake up if she carried on. So, for the moment, getting sleep was her most important priority. There was plenty of time for this tomorrow.

Mina sat bolt upright, the pillow she'd left on her head the night before firing across the room and almost knocking a few ornaments she had in her windowsill opposite, onto the floor.

"Oh, I was wondering how many times I had to say your name before you woke up." Fumika smiled softly, leaning into Mina's room.

"Mmhh... What?" Mina grumbled, falling back in her bed, and letting out a heavy sigh.

"Are you getting up? It's one in the afternoon, and we've got a letter from the school that arrived earlier. We haven't opened it yet because we feel it's best to have you there." She explained, Making her way inside with a pristine white envelope in her hands, the back printed with a black 'U.A' logo.

"A letter... From school?" Mina asked slowly, her stomach falling a little as she picked herself up from her bed, rubbing her eye and adjusting her twisted shirt.

"Mmhmm... It's probably about what happened yesterday." Fumika said, a little more seriously, before turning and walking out of her room.

Mina watched her walk out and stared at the door for a moment. Why would they send them a letter? She slowly got herself out of bed and stretched her arms above her head, yawning loudly, before making her way towards the door, and out into the hallway, tugging her skimpy shorts from the uncomfortable place they'd ridden to.

"Huh, there ya are." Arata spoke up, a small smile on his chilled face as his daughter pushed through the hanging bead curtain in the kitchen door.

"Mornin' dad... What's going on?" She asked, rubbing her eyes, and pulling out the chair on the opposite side of the table to her mother and father. The sound of Yuuta playing some sort of shooting game in the living room felt like it was shaking her half-sleeping brain, and she just wanted to go back to bed.

"Nothin' much. A letter came from your school, so we thought you might wanna be here when we read it." He replied, as Fumika turned the envelope in her hands, and held her hand out to her husband. The giant of a man fired a spike from his back, and caught it in his large hand, giving it to his wife, who then proceeded to use it as a letter opener.

Mina's stomach felt like it was shrivelling up like a slug with salt on it. Were they writing to tell her she'd not been working hard enough in class? Maybe it was something she'd done beforehand that they'd just found out about.

"Hmm..." Her mother hummed, holding the letter up and quickly scanning over it.

"Dear parent/guardian, as I'm sure you're aware there was a villain attack on out Class 1-A and 1-B students at the recent Forest Training Camp, and we at U.A are prepared to take immediate action. Fortunately, we are pleased to announce no students were seriously injured in this attack..." Her mother read, slowly and calmly.

Damn liars. Mina snarled to herself, images of Izuku's bloodied form flashing in her mind. It made sense not to announce a single student's injuries, but she still felt a little hurt. It almost felt, to her, like they were ignoring it, even though she knew they weren't.

"However, this will absolutely not go ignored. So, we humbly ask your permission that you allow your child to further attend U.A High, once it's conversion to a b-boarding school... over this weekend, is completed..." Fumika muttered, her voice falling as she read the last part.

Mina's father's eyes shot open and he turned to look at his wife nervously. They stared at each other for a moment, before he looked down at the letter, and began reading himself.

"This will be a costly step forward, but here at U.A, our student's safety comes above all else, and this occurrence is completely unacceptable. You have our deepest apologies, and we hope you contact us with ya decision soon... Sincerely, Principal Nezu." Arata finished, sitting up with a quiet sigh and slowly looking across the table at Mina.

They were turning U.A into a boarding school? How, and in such a short time! Never had Mina once thought about moving out for education. She didn't even know if she'd be able to handle living away from them, even though she tried hard to be independent at times.

"What do you think dear?" Fumika asked suddenly, not to Arata, but to Mina.

"W-What?" She breathed. She felt wide awake after hearing all this, and the cogs in her brain were grinding like crazy as she tried to process everything she'd just been told.

"We know how badly ya wanna become a hero... And... Even though this is big stuff, there was always a chance it would happen. Personally, I don' feel safe lettin' ya go back after somethin' like this. But, I'm not gonna stop ya chasin' your dream." Arata explained, hesitating a few times as he spoke.

Mina stared at him, before looking over to her mother, who slowly nodded in response.

"I-I..." She stuttered, moving her hands under her thighs, and looking down at her feet. This was such a sudden thing to be told, and with the construction on what she assumed to be dorm buildings to be completed by Monday, there was so little time for her to really think about it.

"You don't have to tell us now... I think I'd like a little more time to think about it too." Fumika said calmly, smiling softly over at her pink-skinned daughter. Mina looked up at her and let out a sigh.

"I wanna know what the others think. I don't wanna make this decision without hearin' from them too. If Izuku's goin' I have to go too... I don't wanna be here if he goes and hear that something really bad might've happened to him. He had a quirk breakdown a few days before he battled that villain... I don't know what else could happen to him..." Mina explained, gritting her teeth and holding back tears.

Ever since seeing him then, and even before then, the thoughts of something seriously going wrong with him, or his power, was really hurting her. Of course, she knew he was aware of this, especially after that call from All Might just before the villain attack, and he promised her he'd be more careful, but that paranoia just didn't seem to be fading.

"I understand." Arata spoke up first, smiling warmly at his daughter as he got up from his seat, and walked around to her side of the table, opening his large, strong arms to hug her. She instantly accepted, throwing herself into her father, her face just below his chest thanks to his large height.

"Jus' know. No matter whacha decide on, we'll support ya every step of the way hun." He said softly, putting his arms around her and gently stroking her hair, comforting her. Even though he didn't seem it, her father was the best at reading how a person was feeling, and she knew he knew exactly what she was thinking.

"We love you dear." Fumika added, joining in on the cuddle with a warm smile.

"I love you guys." Mina croaked, still forcing herself not to cry.

A/N: At last, chapter 31 is completed. I really hope you guys enjoyed this. I really apologise for the delays, I was moving into my university dorm and I got a bit caught up with being, or at least trying to be independent. But I finally feel my mojo for writing coming back to me. I really hope this chapter was worth the wait, and I'd really appreciate a review letting me know your thoughts.

That's all from me, until next time, take care!

-ElliottChap.