The next day, the world was in chaos. Talk shows and news buzzed with conversation about the end of All Might, the fight with the villain, and the destruction in Kamino.
We met up with Todoroki and Yaoyorozu and took Bakugou to the police. He was rather quiet but seemed unharmed, at least. Then we returned to the train station and parted ways.
I was shaking a little as I bid farewell to my classmates. "Well, I…"
Kirishima waved goodbye. "Thanks for everything!"
Yaoyorozu, her arms folded and a look of scolding disapproval on her face, said, "The three of you go straight home, right?" to Midoriya, Todoroki, and Kirishima.
Midoriya smiled and said "Thanks, you guys."
"See you guys back at school," said Todoroki.
The train ride seemed to take forever, but at last I was back at home in the heart of Tokyo. Mother greeted me at the door, with Tensei waiting behind her - she'd left him there to run out to me.
"Tenya! Where on earth have you been?!why haven't you been answering any calls? With everything going on I expected more responsibility ! We were -"
The lecture went on for quite some time, Tensei smiling at me while mother took me inside, stowed my shoes, and made me tea and lunch, all while continuing the reprimand.
I felt apologetic, yet at the same time, I knew that I had disobeyed one duty - parental - to follow another, that of class representative and monitor. I'd done it, I felt, well. We'd succeeded in our mission without breaking the law.
A few days later, we got the notice in the mail from UA.
"Notice of the impending all dormitory system."
"All dormitories! My goodness Tenya - your school - living at UA - the first to - what an honor!" mother finally stammered out.
"Wow, that sounds like a blast," said Tensei, reading it over. "They'll even send over people to help us move."
"Are you sure I'm ready for this, mother?" I asked.
"Of course, Tenya! You succeed in carrying yourself admirably through the recent trouble - living on your own with your classmates for a week following all that happened, you're more than ready to live in a school sponsored dormitory!"
"WE'll have to check in with them about their security measures," said father, "but otherwise…"
Mr. Aizawa and All Might sensei came to visit us to discuss the impending move. The great honor of having All Might himself visit my home was enough to send me into panic mode, mother as well, as we ran about the house struggling to get everything ready on time. Tensei just smiled and said, "It'll be fine, they won't notice a little dust -"
"It would be disrespectful to ask my teachers to inhale dust particles, Tensei!"
"From underneath the dresser, in the next room?"
"Yes!"
Tensei rolled his eyes a bit. But how could we put forth any less effort for All Might sensei than he had put in for us?
They arrived; Mr. Aizawa was much better dressed than usual, much as he had been during the teleconference. All Might sensei looked alarming up-close in his new form - so thin, so exhausted and haggard, his arms in splints as bad as Midoriya's after his fight with Todoroki; but when he gave a warm smile of greeting, I was reminded of the symbol of peace, and was able to make my bow without the least awkwardness.
"Welcome to our home, sirs," said Mother very formally, reaching out as if to take their coats, then remembering it was summer.
All Might is in our house! was all that I could think of as we led him and Mr. Aizawa to sit down.
"You don't need to go to too much trouble," said Mr. Aizawa, looking a little embarrassed at the tea set and spread we'd prepared.
"Of course we do! We owe you two a great deal of thanks for all you did to help our Tenya and his classmates during the recent chaos!" said Mother as they sat down and took the tea and cookies.
"We're here to discuss the impending dormitory situation at UA," said Mr. Aizawa - even when he was being polite, he didn't like to waste time.
"Of course! We received the notice in the mail yesterday at ten am," said Mother, and I nodded - the correct time, to the minute.
"Yes - well, would you be interested in allowing Tenya to move to UA?" asked All Might.
"Naturally!" Mother shot up at this and saluted my Sensei, and I copied her, while Tensei looked embarrassed.
He said politely, "We think it's a wonderful idea, sir. And we'd like to thank you for all your work in Hosu."
He and All Might sensei looked at each other. Tensei was in his wheelchair of course, arms and legs bandaged, and All Might sensei was wearing just as many. I hadn't thought of it before - but they were rather in a similar position.
All my childhood, there have been two heroes who were always stalwart and dependable. To the world at large, there was All Might, the symbol of peace, the world's greatest hero. And for me, as well as many others, there was Tensei - Ingenium, the unmatched commander who honored the hero code above all else. Now, neither one was in action any more. Both were gone - the two pillars I and the world had always relied upon.
I tried not to let this realization show, of course. Maintained a polite face as we negotiated my move to the dormitory system; as Mother explained how grateful we were for All Might's sacrifice again, and how we still had faith in UA regardless of the recent trouble. Mr. Aizawa looked relieved - I wondered if he'd had to face difficult parents before. And I backed mother up whenever she needed it.
But underneath it all I couldn't shake that feeling, that sad feeling that the world as I had known it was over.
Indeed, now it was. Everything in my life was about to change. The younger, more insecure part of me was dreading it all - the idea of facing the new, the unpredictable, the undependable world ahead…a world where I would live in a new dormitory with my classmates, instead of at home with my family…
A world with no morning commute, no careful train stop planning, and -
A world without Tensei just in the next room, to smile at me each morning before work and say, "Do your best, Tenya," or something like it. Usually, of course, it was something like , "Heya, hot day isn't it?". But I felt the encouragement in each of those phrases.
After my sensei had left - we gave them deep bows of thanks - I went to my room. I usually avoided barricading myself in there alone until the very end of the day, but I needed a moment to think, alone.
My thoughts, however, began to whirl into stress, and nerves and morbid thoughts before too long as I looked around the familiar space, and realized that I wouldn't be seeing it like this again for a long time - organized precisely as I liked it.
There was a knock on the door. "Heya, can I come in?"
"Certainly," I said, but it was rather mechanical. I opened the door for Tensei.
"How're you doing, Tenya?" he asked as he wheeled in and I closed the door behind him - it felt like the natural thing to do.
"Fine, of course, how -" I began, but he held up a hand.
"I can tell you're not. I mean, not to brag, but I have known you for fifteen years, almost sixteen. I can tell when something's bugging you. I mean, you never spend this long alone in your room. So what's up?"
Trust Tensei to know me so well. I sighed. "Everything in my life is about to change, Tensei. Forever, perhaps."
"That's true," he said. "It's been a busy year for you. Starting high school, then the USJ, then what happened - in Hosu -" he glossed over that, "and now this training camp attack…it's a lot, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"Feels like the end of an era," he said, reaching out and ruffling my hair. "All Might's done and all."
"Indeed," I said, and to my absolute horror I felt a little choked.
"I feel that. I mean, I'm not a big All Might fanboy or anything, but he was always around…it sure feels different now." Then after a moment, he said, "I'm kinda jealous of you, actually."
"What? Why?"
"Getting to move out to live at UA? Live with all your friends? I'll admit it, sometimes I wish I'd done that myself."
"Really?"
"Yeah - not that I don't appreciate mom and dad, but living with my friends on campus sure sounds easier than what I had to do. You're pretty lucky."
I'll admit, I hadn't thought of it like that. Tensei grinned and gave me a playful punch on the arm. "We've all gotta grow up some time. Eras end. But you know - there's always a new era after that, and a new one after that. And sometimes era #2 is even better. I think so, anyway."
Now I was almost about to cry. Fortunately he had finished, and he gave me a one-armed hug.
"You'll do fine, Tenya. I know you'll do fine."