Chapter Twenty-Six:

At the PRT base, in the lobby, Uraraka hugged me as tightly as Skitter did when she told me about her backstory. I can't imagine how she felt. The last time she saw me was with broken fingers and grit teeth. Then I ended up with The Undersiders, the people who tortured her and our friends a day ago.

…Wow, I just realized I forgave for hurting my friends when not even a full day ago I was fully prepared to kill her. But I was just angry. I wouldn't ever want to kill her under normal circumstances. I must've been really…

No…I shouldn't justify it like that. It was wrong, no matter what. I'll need to apologize to her when I get the chance.

What else was I thinking about? Oh yeah, I forgave Skitter. It's really amazing what healthy interaction can do for two people. All we had to do was talk about how we really felt. And we let go of our petty hate for each other. I'm not sure Skitter ever hated me though. Although it appeared as such during our first fight. And her bugs went wild at our first meet-

Oh god…I just realized…the reason her bugs were getting more frantic when the people were staying with her was because she felt so guilty tormenting them.

It's so bizarre. I hated her. But when I learned she had compassion, when I learned she was like me, when I learned what she been through, and all the fun we had, I can't hate her anymore. I…I…

Wait…was she still hugging me!? And now Iida was hugging me as well! They must've been really concerned for me.

I had to comfort them. "Panacea healed me. So I'm actually in really good shape. You don't have to worry about me anymore, guys."

"But are you all right?" Uraraka said. "Mentally, I mean?"

"Yes," I said. "I'm better than I was before."

"Really!?" Iida said. Waving his arms to his side. "How would getting captured by villains improve your mental health!?"

"ummm…I'm just in a clearer mind," I said. "Thank you all for saving me."

"It was nothing," Uraraka said. "You'd do the same for us, right?"

I suddenly got a flashback from when I saved Uraraka. Was she still grateful? It was nothing, really. Anyone would've…

And now I remember Skitter saying I had too many insecurities issues. And that I was actually great. Wasn't sure how true that was, though. But Uraraka is almost making me think that's true…

"What about The Wards?" I asked. "Why were they there?"

All of Class 1-A and The Wards were in the lobby. Everyone was looking at me. Except for Katsuki, who was just leaning on the wall.

I looked at Clockblocker. He was there when the heroes saved me. That means he cared enough for him to save me. I…didn't expect that.

"You're staring at Clockblocker," Glory Girl said. Was I? "I want you to know, it was Clockblocker that came up with the idea to save you. He led all of us."

My eyes widened. I looked back at Clockblocker. "Did you?"

He shrugged. "I didn't want you to die. It was nothing."

Nothing? After the way I treated him? He still liked me? Or cared about me enough to want to save me? It wasn't nothing. It was everything.

And just like that, I got reminded of Skitter's thoughts towards her achievements, or my own…

"It wasn't nothing. They would've used me as a bargaining chip if it wasn't for you. So thanks for that."

Clockblocker scratched the back of his head. "So…Does that mean we're cool?"

I have to admit; I didn't expect him to say that. "Ummm…That a conversation that should really be private."

"Why?"

"It would be weird to apologize in front of everyone."

Clockblocker paused. "What? But I-

Suddenly, Glory Girl cut us off by hugging us together. Yes. by hugging us together.

"It's about time you guys got along!" She said. "All you needed was to talk it out!"

"Yeah," I whispered. "I guess that all a lot of people need to do."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to say thank you for saving me. To all of you."

Glory Girl smiled. "Welcome."

"Don't sweat it," Vista said.

"Anything for you guys," Sero said.

"No problem," Flechette smiled.

Kid Win looked me in the eyes. "It was nothing. It's our jobs."

"Trust us," Tokoyami said. "It was no small feat, but we do it again, no hesitation."

"Would you now?"

We all turned to see Aizawa and Piggot walking towards us. Looking kinda pissed. Not good…

"Hold on, Aizawa," I got inbetween them and my friends. "I'd be in danger if it wasn't for them."

Piggot offered a humorless smile. "That's very nice, Midoriya. But they disobeyed orders. Our orders."

"There must be a punishment," Aizawa glared at us. "I can't let this go without doing anything about it."

"Then punish me."

We all looked at Clockblocker.

Piggot frowned.

"And why would we do that?" Aizawa asked.

"Because it was my idea to save him. I ordered them to risk their lives. If you want to punish someone, punish me."

"No, I don't believe that's accurate," Iida said. "I'm the leader of my class. I should've told them not to go. I shouldn't have even gone myself. I have more authority. I should take the punishment."

"You don't have more authority than a Ward," Weld argued. "If anyone should take responsibility, it's me. I'm leader of the Wards, I knew about it, and I didn't stop it because Iida was so determined to save his friends that…that I didn't want to stop him. I've neglected my duties, so I'll take the punishment."

Aizawa and Piggot stared for a second. Then Aizawa spoke. "Well, at least you're sticking your neck out for each other."

"Yes, at least we won't add 'bad teamwork' to your crimes," Piggot added.

"However-" They said it at the same time.

They looked at each other.

"You first." Aizawa said.

Piggot nodded. "Someone has to be punished. If you three want to take it, then you three will."

"I guess because you were ordered by an authority, you thought I was ok," Aizawa said. "But next time, listen to the adults."

"Yes, sir!" we all said. Except for Kacchan.

He's so…Lazy? No, that's not it…Angsty?

No, that's not it either…

"I'll give a week's suspension to Iida," Aizawa said.

"And I'll be changing Clockblocker's and Weld's patrol times." Piggot said.

"I'll accept it with grace," Weld said.

Aizawa sighed. "I guess the rest of you got lucky, but be wary. If you try something like this again, I will not be happy."

We all nodded.

"Clockblocker, a word?" I said to him.

He nodded. "Sure."

We walked out of the building into the street. We wouldn't have to worry about cars for…obvious reasons.

"So…" I said.

.

"So…" He said.

We stood there for a bit.

"I'm sorry, wait what?" We said it at the same time.

"Why are you saying that?" Clockblocker said. "I'm the one that looked down at you."

"Looking down on me isn't a reason for me to be a prick," I argued. "Beside, that wasn't the main reason."

Clockblocker stood there silent for a second. "What?"

"I…I always hated you…" I thought about that for a second. "Ok, that's inaccurate. It's not that I always hated you, I just never liked you. You were always so egotistical without earning it, at least, that's what I thought. So when you ignored the notes I put a lot of work into, insulted Kacchan, and acted like a prick. Or at least, when I thought you acted like a prick, it set off alarms, when there shouldn't have been any."

Clockblocker looked down. "You weren't completely in the wrong. We Wards have talked to other students before. They were always…idolizing us, and worshipping the ground we stand on…I guess…no, I know I treated you as just a fan instead of a student. I dismissed you instead of helping you. I could've read your notes and given pointers and tips. But…to be honest…They're pretty airtight."

"What?"

He pulled out a notebook. My notebook. "The notes are really good. As good as Victoria's, if not better. I will say that some people don't know about the applications of their power because they don't use them, but in reality, when you're on the battlefield, you do a lot of things you regret. Because it wasn't the right call, and you look back at it in the shower, or while looking in the fridge, and you wish you played it differently. Maybe it would've been easier to beat the bad guy, maybe you would've saved more people. But when you're fighting and your adrenaline is through the roof, you make all kinds of calls quickly. And not all of them are going to be right."

Wow. Did-did he?..."Did you read the-"

"Part on me? Yes, I did."

My eyes widened. "And?..."

"It helped. A lot. The knowledge that my power can contain people without touching them is going to help a lot. It helped us against The Undersiders."

Really? It helped them against The Undersiders? But they beat Pros!

Were...Were my notes that good?

I teared up but wiped them away, sniffed, and stayed strong. "Th…thanks. I'm glad you liked them. And I meant it when I said I was sorry. I should've never disrespected you for completely arbitrary reasons."

"Thanks, so did I and neither should I. The looking down on you, the arguing with you. I change it all if I could."

"And dealing Kacchan?"

He scratched the back of his head. Or…wait, scratched the back of his…helmet? "Uhhh…no, I still don't like that dude."

I smiled. "It's ok, because-"

"DEKU!"

I turned around to see Kacchan walking toward us. "I want a word with you."

I sighed. "Yes, Kacchan?"

"I just wanted you to know I didn't fight those losers to save you. I fought them because I wanted some action, I wanted to flex my muscles, I wanted to kill those freakin' idiots! Even if you needed the help, which you clearly did, I wouldn't waste my time-"

"Shut up."

He stopped. "Wh-what?"

"Just shut up. You're not that great, you're not that clever, and you're not that awesome. You might have talent, skill, work ethic, and one hell of a quirk. But that's it. Your character is shit. Your personality is a dumpster fire, and if you don't change, you'll never become the top hero."

Kacchan made a noise, then he grit his teeth. "I ONLY SAID THAT SHIT BECAUSE I'M BETTER THAN YOU! I'M BETTER THAN EVERYONE! AND EVEN THEN, I WAS BEING NICE! NOT ANYMORE! NOW I'M GOING TO BEAT YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE!" He turned around and walked away. "YOU'LL SEE!"

I turned to Clockblocker. "What was I saying?"

"Ummm, you were saying it was ok, because?..." He trailed on

"Oh, right. It's ok because he's not as cool as I thought, anyway."

Clockblocker stared. Then he gave a thumbs up. "Nice one, Midoriya."

Wait…did he just…

I smiled.

I think he has it coming.

Author Notes: This is it! The home stretch! Only four chapters left! Thank you all for sticking it with me so far! Even after certain writing choices...But I promise it'll all pay off in the end!

This is Deku's last chapter. But it won't be the last time we're seeing him. We're going to be seeing him more in the next three chapters. (Or two, he won't appear in Shigaraki's.)

That's all I had to say. This is Super Ultimate Number One, sighing out. Peace!