She awoke gradually, fading in and out of sleep. It felt so comfy in her bed that she didn't want to get up. But as the light slowly started to fill the room from her window she reluctantly began to rouse herself. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and yawned, doing a little stretch as she did so. She checked the time and saw it was eleven o'clock. She got out of bed and debated changing her night clothes. After a moment she shook her head and just went straight to the kitchen for breakfast. It wasn't like she was allowed to work, and she had no plans of going out. Even if someone came to call, she had no intention of changing. They'd have to deal with her as she was.

As she waited for the tea to boil, she checked her calendar and sighed. A week and a half and not a word from Izuku or even any indication he had been in the city. The bar was mostly destroyed so he couldn't stay there, and Bakugo had checked the other apartment since his mother still had a key to the place. Nothing, not even the dust had been disturbed and Ochako and Ahmya were starting to worry. She suspected Bakugo was concerned as well, but he'd never show it if he was. Bakugo seemed sure that Izuku was alive, and not dead somewhere on the mountain. She had to admit, she envied the faith he seemed to have in Izuku. She just couldn't help but worry about Izuku though.

She rubbed her face and took a deep breath, reinvigorating herself. When the tea was made, she poured herself a cup and sat down on her sofa, but almost immediately stood back and up and started wandering around her apartment aimlessly.

She hated not being able to do anything, everything from the wait felt weak and she couldn't move very fast. So had started pacing around her apartment, not sure what to do, or else she'd just sit on her balcony and just stare across the city, watching as things started moving again. The government had put all its power into trying to curb panic and boost spirits by advertising the capture of Zeus and declaring that any remaining threat from the League was now over. It had actually started to work too. Despite the damage to the city, people didn't seem as depressed as she would have thought. Support from all over the country had been pouring in, as well as outside assistance from their allies abroad, or as much as they could spare anyways.

She had to admit, things were actually looking up despite everything that had happened. She also felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. The League was over and done with, every lieutenant was dead, and what remained was practically non-existent.

She debated what she wanted to do, she couldn't even exercise since she was still recovering. As she sat thinking, her thoughts turned to Mina. She could empathize with the guilt she was feeling, and the worst part was that she knew that Mina knew that it wasn't all misplaced either. There would be hell to pay for this sort of failing, it was only a matter of time until it all came crashing down. Yet, something still bothered her about Mina outside of her breakdown. Mina and Kirishima had both looked thoroughly shell-shocked even before Toru had come up. Whatever had caused it, had probably been a contributing factor to Mina's breakdown. Even if this conflict was over, its aftermath would be felt for a while yet.

Her doorbell going off made her jump, and she looked at the door in surprise. Tsu usually knocked and let herself in since she had a copy of the key. She put her tea aside and slowly made her way to the door, unlocking it and opening it to reveal Bakugo.

"Bakugo? What are you doing here?" she asked utterly bewildered by this sudden turn of events.

"Everyone else is busy with shit, so I went for a walk, thought I'd stop by on my way back since you're likely to go stir crazy otherwise," he said, coming inside.

Once the surprise had worn off, a faint smile formed on her face. It was easy to forget just how much Bakugo had changed over the years. She easily saw through his excuse and felt her fondness for him grow somewhat.

"Thanks, Bakugo," she said, closing the door behind him.


His boots hit the pavement with a thud as he hopped off the back of the pickup. He went round to the front of the truck and passed the driver some money.

"I said you didn't need to pay me," The older man said with a huff but accepted the cash anyways.

"I appreciate you giving me a ride, I hope the wedding goes well," Izuku said, unable to muster up the energy to smile.

"Yeah so do I, last thing I need is for my granddaughter's wedding to turn sour after all the shit that's just happened." the man grumbled, looking through the opposite window to Mufustafu, the desolation clearly evident.

"Well, you be careful now and try to get some rest kid." the man said before driving off.

Izuku watched the truck drive off before turning and heading toward Mufustafu. He passed by a warning sign indicating that the buildings nearby were unstable and to not go near them. He hadn't ever spent much time in the ruined sector, too dangerous. Apart from building instability, gangs, feral animals, and other unpleasant things lived in this place. The police, already stretched thin before the recent crisis didn't go by the place often since the streets were in terrible shape and driving almost impossible. Heroes sometimes patrolled, but the locals stayed clear of them, even the more powerful gangs didn't mess with them.

So it wasn't surprising when a group of five, poorly dressed and tattooed gangsters seemingly came from nowhere to surround him. All wielding improvised weapons, but Izuku didn't stop walking forward. They called at him to stop and give them everything he had, not that he had much anyways. Just what he had on him and in the duffel bag he had stuffed most of his survival gear in. He reached under the bag and pulled out his pistol and shot the weapon out of the leader's hand, not even slowing as he holstered it once more and kept walking.

His casual disarmament of their leader made the others hesitate and the leader moved out of his way and he continued past. There were several other instances of conflict but as word got round that he wasn't worth the effort, he was no longer bothered.

It took him hours to travel through the ruined sector, and then through the tangle of mangled buildings that resulted from the earthquake villains' attack. While the epicenter was just a giant crater, most of the buildings had been thrown or pushed outward causing a giant ring around the crater to turn into a jungle of concrete, steel, and wire. When he finally got through the worst of it, it was afternoon. Things were still bad outside the ring though, the building pieces that had been thrown high into the sky had fallen down like meteors and caused massive damage everywhere. Entire buildings had been crushed and several taller buildings had toppled completely, cutting off roads and crushing smaller buildings.

The roads were starting to become familiar and eventually he stopped in front of a familiar building. The sign for the invisible glass was still standing, but the entire upper part had been crushed by a falling piece of rubble. Izuku just stared at it, and he wasn't sure how long he stood there. The emptiness inside of him grew and he walked the stairs toward the bar. He pushed the door open and saw that half of the room had collapsed, but the bar area still stood. Then he noticed the small figure sitting on one of the stools, the only light coming from a large candle.

He walked to the small figure that looked over at him and gestured for him to take a seat. He hesitated but eventually sat on one of the stools, facing the small mousey figure.

"I figured this would be the first place you would come," Nezu said, taking a sip from a cracked glass.

It was then that Izuku noticed a small bottle on the bar, opened and another glass beside it.

Nezu reached forward and poured Izuku a glass, handing it to him.

Izuku took it and just stared at the brown liquid. Nezu said nothing, just letting the silence hang as he nursed his drink.

"Is..." Izuku said before falling silent.

"Yes," Nezu said.

Izuku felt the tears stream down his face, drops fell into the glass.

"He died as he lived, a good man, a good hero, and a good friend," Nezu said taking another sip.

"I... didn't even say goodbye. I just left him a note..." Izuku said hollowly.

"He was sad you left without a word, and was constantly worried about you. He made me promise to keep an eye on you, and I intend to do that. More than that though, he would want you to have this." Nezu said, reaching down beside his stool and retrieving Sasakura's family katana snugly held within its sheet.

He passed it to Izuku who took it wordlessly. When Izuku withdrew the blade he stared at the black cracks crisscrossing the blade.

"He sacrificed quite a lot to save his students, I don't know what he did to the blade but whatever he did to it is likely permanent," Nezu said, also eyeing the black cracks.

Izuku slid it back into its sheath and just stared at it, running a hand slowly down the length of the sheath, feeling every small groove and pattern inlaid into its surface.

"In addition, whatever remains, is yours," Nezu said, withdrawing a small envelope and setting it on the bar top.

Nezu hopped off the stool and strode toward the door but paused as he reached it.

"Sasakura was a very private man after his wife died, but he saw you and everything you could be and took you in. Don't waste what he saw in you, you are worth more to people than you realize." He said before walking out the door, leaving Izuku.


The door creaked open, the light from the outside shining through the doorway and illuminating the entryway. Izuku hesitated. He hadn't been inside the room for a while. Even when he had come by, he'd stayed in the place as little as possible. He took a deep breath and stepped over the doorway.

"I'm home..." he said, his voice echoing through the empty home.

A series of emotions washed through him until melancholy settled within him. He took off his shoes and put them where he had for years and years, right next to Mother's. His eyes lingered on the old shoes for a moment as memories flashed through his mind. He took another breath and turned away. He walked into the living room and like a movie he saw his mother and himself celebrating his birthday. He went to the kitchen and he saw himself helping his mother make dinner, clumsy with the tools but his mother all smiles nonetheless. He went to his mother's room and he recalled hearing her cry more than once, she never really got past his father leaving them. Then he was in his room, he recalled his mother embracing him after being told he was quirkless, looking back he could almost feel her own heart breaking on his behalf. He closed his eyes and he felt a single tear slide down his cheek.

He sat down on his bed, the dust puffing up. He sat there for a moment, reminiscing until his eyes slid to the burned notebook resting on his bedside table. He reached over and picked it up, and started flipping through it. He smiled as he read more and more of his notes, he could still feel that childlike love and adoration of heroes. When he felt that nostalgic feeling he compared himself now to who he was then. It was almost night and day how different the two were. Gone was that childlike love and adoration, replaced by disappointment and bitterness. Yet, he could still find hope within himself. He could pinpoint the moment where that hope was fully realized. Meeting Bakugo, seeing how he had changed, how he had become a better man, while he himself had only regressed. Not to mention Ochako, she was something special. Nothing like he would have expected an Angel to be like, but she was still an angel, in more ways than one.

He closed the notebook and stood up. He pulled out his phone and prepared a text message, then he turned and left the house, but not for the last time. Even outside of having nowhere else to go, he had resolved himself to come back once and for all.


Ochako and Bakugo had eventually run out of things to talk about so they turned to TV to solve their problems. She liked watching sports, a secret passion of hers. She loved watching baseball, and just like Bakugo, she could get pretty into it. The game had gone on break when she heard her phone go off. She reached over and glanced at the screen and blinked, then she furiously unlocked it and double-checked the message. It had no words, just coordinates and an address below those, and it was from Izuku.

"Something happen?" Bakugo immediately asked, noticing her sudden shift in demeanor.

"It's Izuku, he's sent me coordinates and an address!" she said excitedly.

Bakugo immediately shifted over to look at the message and she showed him. To her surprise, she saw him frown and then something seemed to dawn on him.

"This is near where All Might saved me when I was a kid..." he said quietly, more to himself than to Ochako.

"We should go, he obviously wants us to meet him," she said, jumping up and grabbing a windbreaker, albeit slowly.

Bakugo got up as well and waited for her as she grabbed her things and left her apartment. Bakugo made for the stairs but Ochako put a hand on his shoulder.

"It would take too long for me to walk, we'll fly there." She said and erased Bakugo's gravity.

Bakugo took a second to find his balance as the feeling of floating took over him. Once he got himself settled Ochako started floating and still keeping hold of him started to fly toward the coordinates. When it became clear however that flying and navigating was going to be a problem she handed her phone to Bakugo.

Bakugo, now along for the ride took over as navigator while Ochako flew steadily over the city. Some people pointed at them from far below, but Ochako ignored them and the call that inevitably came in from Naomasa. Instead, she had Bakugo send a text to him to ensure he didn't call them in as possible intruders.

It took a little of bit flying but eventually, they came up to the building in question.

"Put me down at the entrance, he called for you, not me," Bakugo shouted.

Ochako debated ignoring him but realized it was probably for the best. So she flew down and they walked the rest of the way, which took them a few minutes thanks to Ochako being slow.

When they got to the entrance they looked up, the building had once been an office building or something like it, but it was since closed. Bordering the ruined sector, most businesses had relocated to avoid any problems. It was forlorn now, the closed sign faded and the glass dirty. The door didn't look like it was forced open recently and it was still locked.

"The roof," Bakugo said, taking up a spot next to the door.

"Go," he said, jerking his head up.

Ochako looked back up and then launched herself straight up. She got to the roof easily and alighted atop it, the setting sun to her left. And standing near the edge, hands in his pockets and just looking out over the city. Izuku stood, the wind lazily blowing his hair all about.

She approached him, and when she was only a few steps away she was about to talk when he beat her to it.

"Seven years ago, well, almost eight now I guess. I was attacked and almost killed by a sludge villain. He wanted to steal my body and use it to disguise himself from All Might. Just before I drowned, All Might saved me. It was both the most terrifying and greatest moment of my life at the time. I worshipped All Might, he was everything I wanted to be and more. I grabbed onto him as he jumped away and we landed on this roof. He lost his muscle form and I was entrusted to keep his secret." Izuku said.

There was silence and the sun set just a tad more before he spoke again.

"I was quirkless, but I wanted to be a hero, I desperately wanted to be a hero, it was the one thing that kept me going through all the abuse I'd endured until that moment. I asked All Might, if, despite not having a quirk, I could be a hero." He said pausing again, but for only a moment.

"He was honest with me, "No, I should think not". Those words have stuck with me ever since. It was hard, to hear those words from my idol and the pinnacle of all heroism. I know why he told me that, he even put me on the path of joining the police. I appreciate the sentiment behind those words now, but... at the time, It broke my world. Everything I had endured, was pointless, I could not be a hero. In the years since that day, I've seen a lot, done a lot, and met a lot of people. I know now, that just because you are a hero, doesn't mean you are A HERO." Izuku said, then he turned to face her, and with the sun now directly behind Izuku she couldn't see his face properly.

"Can...

Can I be, a hero?" he asked softly.

The sun shone behind Izuku casting a golden, orange glow around them. She thought about all she had seen of Izuku, all she had learned, and then she cast her thoughts to others. It wasn't a hard question to answer.

She took a step forward and to Izuku's utter shock, she put her arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a kiss. It was light, and she broke it quickly and then rested her forehead against his and smiled.

"Idiot. You already are," she said looking into his eyes.

His expression of blank shock didn't change but she saw the tears form and roll down his face. Still smiling she pulled his face into her shoulder and let him cry.

He made no noise, but after a few moments, he wrapped his arms around her and embraced her as he cried. She pet his hair and rested her head atop his, letting the moment linger as long as he needed it to. When he finally moved to break the embrace she kissed him again and this time the embrace was looser from him, but it felt better.

They kissed for what felt like ages but eventually, they broke it, and now she saw Izuku was smiling.

"Better?" she asked softly.

"Yes," he said, just as softly.

She slowly broke the embrace and still holding his hand, she tried to guide him but he resisted and she looked back at him curiously.

"Thank you, but... There's still one last thing I need to do." He said looking apologetic.

Izuku turned away from her and cast his gaze back over the city.

"There's still one last fight left for me." He said, and she heard the determination in his voice.

"It's Stain, isn't it?" She asked.

Izuku nodded and turned back to her.

"I promised him, that when it was over between us, I would hunt him. I mean to keep that promise, it's my responsibility as his apprentice to both thank him, and bring him in. One last hunt for The Hunter." he said, his facing changing into one of steely determination.

"Be safe," she said.

"I will." He replied.