Death

by tmb1112

Death is a Quirk that can only kill. A perfect Quirk for a villain, but what if the boy who manifested that power just wanted to be a hero? Enrolling in U.A. might not be enough when all your Quirk can do is kill people. Follow Zach Sazaki from his first day in Class A on a story that spans years, as he learns to be a hero, finds out more about his Quirk, and too much to summarize!

259. Chapter 259: Epilogue 2

A/N Back by popular demand! So, I always had the idea for the 5 years later Epilogue in mind to end the story. Show that Zach did survive the Apocalypse, "somehow," while just hiding away the reasoning and everything... but I also had this idea. And rather than leave it vague and just mention how the immediate aftermath would have went in a post-story Author's Note, I decided to write this 26k word Second Epilogue. I hope it gives some more clarity on what happened after the Apocalypse. This really is the final part though. I just X-ed out of the TextEdit page for Death that has been in the background of my computer forever. No intention to write anything else for this. So enjoy! Have fun. And see you again at the end of the chapter.

Disclaimer: One last time: I still don't own Boku no Hero Academia

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Epilogue 2:

The old Sports Festival stadium was quiet despite being so packed. It only took a couple days to organize, but every single seat of tens of thousands had been reserved. Most people watched from their homes. They watched the live streams on their computers and phones at work. In Shanghai, New York, and not that far from the stadium in the massive intersection of Shibuya, people gathered near the commercial billboards that lined the tall buildings. A moving bar of information on the bottom of the screen informed the world of what it did not need to be told: 'State Funeral for Lifebringer…'

On the open field itself in front of the stage set up on the north side of the stadium, thousands more chairs had been placed to add to the number of mourners allowed in the venue. A wide aisle split the field in half north to south while thinner aisles to every exit ran horizontally out from that main walking zone. On the west side, the right side from the view of those on stage, Class 1 stood out of their seats. Everyone was on their feet still. It felt weird to sit down. The Shiketsu students who had shared a classroom with Zach Sazaki for only a couple of months stared towards the empty coffin on stage.

"Snn, sn," Himazuri rubbed her eyes and sniffled in again. Be strong. She glanced around at the people on stage who all looked as mournful or more-so than anyone looking in. Himazuri searched for one of them to read the mind of. If anyone would know, she shifted her gaze towards Yaoyorozu Momo. She had seen Creati's face in Zach's mind more than anyone else's. She saw his memories focus in on her while thinking of how hard abandoning them in the Enudora Forest was. She read Yaoyorozu's mind, for a second. "Sorry," Himazuri whispered mentally. The brunette looked down and clenched her eyes shut in regret and shame.

Zach must have taught her too, Himazuri thought while biting down on her bottom lip. The mental picture she just got of the furious girl pushing her back flashed through her head again. I shouldn't have tried- that was stupid! She's hurting- He's really gone.

That was a close one, Yaoyorozu refrained from letting out a breath of relief. She maintained her crushed look that matched her classmates' around her up on stage. Zach knew Himazuri might try something like that. If I wasn't completely focused on her at the moment she tried it, I wouldn't have noticed. She left my head right away after apologizing. I shouldn't glare her way though. I don't think I could manage that. Yaoyorozu felt bad at the thought of giving Himazuri a dark look for the Shiketsu girl trying to read her mind during this funeral, but she instead thought of the look on Zach's face when he was telling her they could not even let Himazuri know. The secret can't get out. If we can trick a mindreader close to us, we can keep the secret. I'm sorry, Himazuri.

"Ahh, haaaaahhh," Ashido breathed out heavily and then held her breath for a few seconds to keep from choking up. Many of the others up on stage wore their hero costumes. Some wore black. She wore her PINKY shirt that still had blue paint stains all over it. Her head bowed and tears spilled down her face. His shirt- the one I covered in paint- it got destroyed in the explosion. Mina rose her arms and crossed them over her chest at the thought of that memento being blown apart. I loved him so much! For everything he ever did for me.

She sniffed in again but felt a strong hand on her back and turned to see Kirishima nod his head at her. Mina sucked in a breath and stood up straight, then she started forward. Her fingers trembled around the flower stem she held tightly but also in a shaky grip as she worried about bending it or letting a single petal fall. Ashido walked right up to the coffin and looked inside. An ornate urn sat in the middle of the coffin, and she rested her purple tulip down against it on the soft white cushion that no body lay on.

There was a microphone next to the coffin. Ashido glanced at it, but just the thought of stepping to it and saying something made her voice crack in her throat, more tears to spill, and her face was starting to look a mess so she bowed it instead. Uraraka put a hand on Mina's shoulder and turned her from the microphone, walking with her for a second away from the coffin she just put a flower into as well. "I loved him, Ochaco. More than-" Mina glanced in at her friend who had tears in her eyes too but managed to lift the corners of her lips while looking back into Ashido's eyes.

"He loved you too," Uraraka whispered at her.

Ashido's head tilted back and her whole body flinched. She slammed her eyes shut but lifted the corners of her lips, as painful as that was to do. Mina replied to her friend, "He loved all of us."

Dustin Cayman and his daughter Cherry sat three rows back from the Class 1 students. He frowned while glancing down from the stage again at the seats ahead of him he had been unable to force his way to. He frowned deeper though after seeing the looks on some of their faces that made him shift his attention away and then to his right at the sniffling young girl next to him. Cayman put a hand on top of his daughter's head, pressing her hair down in front of her crying eyes.

"Zach was," Kirishima stopped for a second. He was surprised by how loud his voice just became on the speakers. He thought about how the entire world was watching him and for a second hesitated. Eijiro continued loudly and full of self-assurance, "A man. He was a man above all others. More of a man than I."

You're overusing the word "man," man, Sero thought with a small smile while looking towards Kirishima at the mic.

"He was strong. The strongest. The strongest man…" Kirishima trailed off, seemingly thinking the same thing Sero had just thought towards him. "When he ran off to get the Apocalypse," Kirishima continued. The world was silent while they watched the spiky-red-haired hero in his Red Riot costume try to find the words to honor his friend. To honor the memory of his fallen comrade. Everyone looked towards him and most had not heard anything about this so listened intently, while even those who were still alive at the time were interested in what Kirishima was thinking by bringing it up now. "He told us to hold of All For One for one minute. One minute. And I did, Zach. I did, and it killed me. I died again. A second time. And you," Kirishima turned his head and grit his teeth while glaring back at the empty coffin that only had an urn of Zach's ashes inside.

"You brought me back again." Kirishima's voice lowered. His friends who had been grinning through their tears at the way Kirishima started this with the overuse of "man" lost their smiles and got even more teared-up at how serious Kirishima was being. Kirishima's fists shook at either side. "I was the first person he ever brought back." Kirishima looked down then back up and out over the top of the microphone he spoke into. "And when he died, the first time… right here in this stadium," Kirishima stared towards the middle of the field. He imagined the blood trails going down Zach's face from the corners of his lips. "And I held him," he bit down even harder, having to stop speaking again. "I hated that I had never done anything to help him. I felt like, stalling All For One, that this time I really helped him."

"But then he went and saved me again. Like he always did. I owed him so much. But, he brought me back. He saved my life and I know that him realizing he could revive people… When he realized that, and he was able to start changing the answer," Kirishima grit his teeth again and seethed through his teeth to continue. "Was it a good thing he was born? Of course, he never needed to 'change' that answer." Kirishima's expression hardened and he just finished firmly, "Because the answer was always that it was. No one could ever deny that now. Not even him," Kirishima finished.

He walked away. It was an emotional speech to be made by someone no one in Class A actually expected it from. Ashido stared back with huge eyes from the other side of the stage where she had walked to after putting the flower in Zach's coffin. There were still many on stage who needed to pay their respects, but now some of them were hesitating as they questioned if they needed to have something to say when they walked by now. Kirishima stepped up to the others who had already gone, then he just turned back around and stopped to watch the next people come.

Of the people on stage there was the entirety of Class A, as well as All Might and Principal Nezu. A few of Zach's other teachers from U.A., as well as his homeroom teacher from Shiketsu. The royalty and the interim Prime Minister of Japan, as well as several foreign dignitaries, and some other heroes were also up there. The stands themselves were full of thousands of heroes though. Also standing out of their seats were thousands of people who had lived through the Apocalypse as they had already been revived by Lifebringer before the rest of the world was. People who had connections with him. Friends. Loved ones. Acquaintances. Former classmates. Neighbors. Homeless people who Lemillion vouched for to get them seats on the field itself. Chinese doctors, flood victims, and a flight of people who had crash-landed in United Korea.

Principal Nezu started forward next but only placed his flower inside the casket and continued on. Yaoyorozu followed him. She had tears in the corners of her eyes but stayed strong in appearance to the world watching them. Looking hurt, but heroic, and yet just barely holding back tears.

If Momo can be strong, Jirou tried to convince herself. She failed though. The tears fell down her face and nothing could stop them. She turned her head and watched as Softy walked up to the coffin and placed a tulip inside next to the one Recovery Girl put before her. Neither older woman said a word. I need to go before All Might. He'll definitely speak. Jirou curled her hand around the tulip tighter and then walked up to Zach's coffin.

"Ahhh, ahh-haahh- ahh ahhhh ahhhh!" Kyoka was hyperventilating loudly as she neared it. "Why?" She whispered while looking into the coffin. She clenched her eyes shut then whispered again, feeling like he would somehow hear her. "Why couldn't you just have lived? I- I spent so much time hating you. Over nothing… Snnf," Jirou rubbed her eyes with her forearm then continued on.

Ekusa Norita lifted a handkerchief in her purse and quickly blew her nose. She sat behind the Class B students, a bit closer to them than Cayman was to the Shiketsu Class 1's. My father would have been proud of you, Lifebringer. He was proud of you. I hope you always knew that. You were never just a tenant to him.

Tetsutetsu shifted his gaze from the Princess as she walked on stage up to Lifebringer's coffin with her father alongside her. He closed his eyes and bowed his head so when Aya glanced his way she only saw him looking as if he was praying. She bowed her own head and did the same, even though Tetsutetsu just needed to bow his head so she would not see the streaks below his eyes. Who else could have saved the world? Only you. My buddy Kirishima's right. We're lucky we had you. The whole world is lucky you were born.

Of the Class B and Class 1 students, only Muoko Kimi and Itsuka Kendo were not down on the field with their classmates. The two class representatives of the classes closest to Lifebringer other than Class A were up on stage. Kendo was too broken up to try speaking. Muoko managed though. After the Emperor thanked Lifebringer for his service to the whole world, the former Class 1 representative from Shiketsu- as their student body had graduated the day before, stepped up to the mic. Keep it short, she reminded herself.

"Lifebringer… Zach, he told us to call him. He came to our class three months ago wanting nothing more than to be our friend. To graduate and become a hero, he didn't need to do that. He didn't need to spend his time in our class making us better heroes. Teaching us, without letting us know that he was teaching us. Training us. Preparing us for a battle that he saw coming better than anyone. I came under the belief that he would become the greatest hero our country had ever seen." Muoko glanced back at the coffin and stepped to it now as she had not yet done so, "And I was right." She placed her flower inside and nodded her head in respect to her classmate, and friend.

Dendo ground his teeth in frustration despite the nice speech Muoko just made to sum up the feelings of their whole class. He glanced back and forth and glared past Himazuri towards Reika on her other side. She noticed him glaring and shifted a look towards him wondering what it was for. "Where the hell is Kotsumura? How is he missing this?"

"Keiji said he had something important to do," Reika responded.

Dendo dropped his jaw at her response. He snapped it shut then hissed, "'Important?'" Dendo glared at her for another few seconds but Reika just kept staring towards the stage with her expression flat. Dendo scrunched his face up in confusion and looked to the stage himself. What could be more important to him than being here right now? I know him. It has to actually be something. But, what?

Hazano Worrod glanced back towards his students himself from where he started walking forward on stage. After hearing Muoko's remarks, he felt he did not need to chime in with anything else to add. He noticed one of his blond-haired students noticeably missing from the mourners. An uneasy feeling surged in his chest but he pushed it down and just took a deep breath while placing his flower. I hope he's right.

"Sensei, I need it. His laptop exploded on that missile that he sent out into space so it wouldn't destroy the school. Shiketsu High are the only ones who have it now."

"I'm not sure…"

"I am. Zach told me he was planning on posting it. I want people to know what Zach had to say. What he believed in. To help kids who could have to deal with what he had to." Hazano had heard the conviction in Kotsumura's tone to get it done no matter what. He didn't care about the credit for being the one to post it. Or even giving Zach the credit for it. "Zach may have saved us all, but I know he can save even more people in the future. If I can help with that then I have to. As a hero. And, as his friend."

Kotsumura Keiji was in a public library where he just finished editing the work on the flashdrive. He added some of the questions from after the report was given and the answers Zach gave to the best of his memory. Then he went back to the website he had created and uploaded the work onto it. He copied the link to the website and went onto his Quirkbook page, then he shared it. Kotsmura leaned back in his chair and turned to look over at one of the other computers where someone was watching Zach's funeral procession. His smile that started to raise in the accomplishment fell. He bowed his head then reached forward and took the flashdrive Hazano had granted him back out of the computer. Thanks, sensei. Thank you, Zach.

At the funeral, Asui Tsuyu had to turn away from the audience looking in at the stage. She could not bear to look at the microphone where others were giving touching speeches about their "friend." Tsuyu walked up to Yaoyorozu on the other side of the stage but then made herself even smaller than usual by standing behind her friend to shield her face and her shame. "It hurts," Tsuyu gasped out. Her voice softer than a whisper, Momo could barely hear her.

Oh Tsu, Yaoyorozu bit her tongue. The sound of her friend's voice cracking like that made her desperate to say something. I cannot. I must remain quiet about it. They all must see our reactions. Yaoyorozu looked down and closed her eyes, but she did slide her right hand back from her side and grabbed one of Tsuyu's hands with it. She gave the shorter girl's hand a squeeze then lifted her gaze as Tsuyu did back to the microphone that Mineta lowered down a bit to speak into.

"…Zach being who he was, made me a better person. Just being around him. He always, always thought we could win. No matter the odds." Mineta cracked a small smile thinking of the capture the flag game they fought together in. He imagined the letter Zach had left him too, and in the corner of his eyes he spotted Tsuyu staring back his way with her plate-sized eyes full of water. He glanced her way for a second then just finished back into the mic, "I'm a better hero because of him. Because I got to know him. I feel really lucky that I could call him my friend."

How is Mineta going to say something cool and I'm just gonna, Jirou clenched her eyes shut. I don't have anything to say though. Just like Tsu-chan. Jirou had seen the way Tsuyu looked when she went over to place her flower. It was the same way she imagined she looked too when she had gone up to his coffin. His last few months here. We had the chance. He was right there, again. And I just! I didn't forgive him quickly enough. I wish I had.

Sero lifted the right corner of his lips and dropped the tulip into the coffin next to Zach's ashes. He turned and looked at Bakugo who stepped to the mic and cleared his throat loudly. Sero's eyebrows rose up, then he laughed as Bakugo's face scrunched up and he looked too uncertain about what he was going to say. Sero stepped up behind him and gave him a pat on the back. "It's alright. No one expected much from you," he told the spikier-haired teen who spun with an enraged look. Sero was close enough that his voice was caught over the mic too.

"Huhh?!" Bakugo snapped.

"Step aside. I've got this," Sero patted him again but also with a bit of a shove off to the side, and Bakugo grumbled but took the opportunity to scoot off while some people laughed out in the audience. Whether Sero was embarrassing him or saving him from embarrassment, Bakugo could not actually figure out. He just stormed off with his hands shoving down into the pockets of black pants his mom had forced him to wear rather than his, according-to-her, "ridiculous" hero costume.

"Zach was, arguably the strongest guy in our class. Not sure. I think I could have given him a run for his money… three years ago." A world of mourning stared in disbelief at this teenager who smiled and laughed as he started up Lifebringer's eulogy. Some people laughed though. A few Class A's on stage with Sero smirked or lost their darker expressions. Tears continued to fall, but some of those tears trickled down over smiles. "…He was my best friend. Sorry guys," Sero bragged with a look over towards some of the others who had already gone like Mineta and Kirishima who he cracked a smug grin at.

"And as his best friend I'll tell you this: Zach wouldn't want us to be sad. Man, he hated doing that. Upsetting us?" Sero wondered. A lot of people feeling intensely depressed shifted their expressions while staring back at the student somehow smiling despite just saying that his best friend had died. "The reason he took on so much was to protect us. Keep us out of danger. But, we would have helped had we knew! He knew that though. Zach always knew, so he would hide whatever he was doing from the rest of us. Hide how badly it was hurting him. Hide how much help he really needed, because if we knew that he needed that help? If we knew that he had been hurting? He knew, that that would hurt us. It would upset us that we hadn't been there to help him. And Zach was that cool of a hero that he avoided even that much!"

"I can't imagine him looking down on us all in mourning right now and not rolling over in his… urn," Sero finished again in a joking manner that caused a lot more laughter due to his comedic timing of pausing then looking back at the empty coffin when saying it. His eyes lingered on that coffin for a few seconds though after initially only turning back for the sake of the joke. His smile shrunk a bit, almost going to a normal-sized smile from his usual one showing off his huge teeth. He lowered his gaze for a second but then turned back to the crowd and continued, "It's why he wouldn't stop until he'd saved everyone. Not just to bring us all back, but because he knew unless he did that there would be people suffering because of the pain of losing their loved ones."

"Zach was always thinking about stuff like that. Trying for the perfect victory. Where no one was hurt. He didn't always, uh, do it the right way… but he was always trying! No matter what he went through. No matter how much he suffered. Zach always tried. Even with the whole world destroyed, he tried. And he succeeded. He never gave up. No matter how many times the rest of the world told him to. He kept going. I don't think he knew he was meant for greatness. He never considered himself some kind of savior." Sero paused and took in a deep breath. "But he just knew that he could save one more life. He could always save, just one more person. That was enough. Enough to keep him going to the next day. The next fight."

"The knowledge that if he wasn't around, someone would get hurt who didn't have to if he was around. He held onto that. It had nothing to do with his Quirk though. Zach wanted the world to be a better place, and he strove to change it to be like that. He- haha, Zach actually told me once, that he wanted a world where no one would ever become a villain again. I laughed when he said it. A world without villains?" Sero shook his head but his smile lowered even more. "He was serious though. He really believed that he could change the world. Protect people. Prevent villains, rather than just stopping them."

Sero was not explicitly stating that Zach was Death. Everyone remembered the end of the Wampajawa video though. They recalled the charities that Death had transferred dirty money to. "Eliminate world hunger. Make water insecurity a thing of the past. Remove the impetus for crime, and build a lasting peace. And use the villains' money to do it." Sero shook his head thinking of the insane goals Zach was talking about in that video that he said with so much conviction and while doing whatever he could to make those things into reality. "He really was the best hero we've ever seen. More than that though," Sero paused again and looked back once more at the coffin. "I've never met anyone who was a better person. I don't think one exists."

"I think if you had told me a few weeks ago that Zach Sazaki was going to save the world," Sero cracked his biggest smile yet. "I would have laughed, and then I would have told you: 'He already has.'"

Midoriya pursed his lips and tried hard to think of something inspirational. All Might wants to go last. He'll think I want to take that spot from him though if I don't go now! I need to do it. I should also say something. Midoriya walked towards the coffin with his flower. He looked inside at the urn, and his watery eyes spilled a few drops down over his cheeks. Sero looked back over his shoulder and watched with everyone else as Deku just stared down into Zach's empty coffin for seconds that were dragging on.

Midoriya bit down though. He started turning and stepped to the microphone before freezing. He stared out there and found himself unable to speak a single word. Midoriya bowed his head and turned away to head off the stage where everyone else who had already gone were standing. All Might started forward behind the boy who knew that his predecessor would say something profound. I failed to say anything…

Midoriya Izuku stood behind that microphone again. "I stood before you yesterday, and I couldn't think of what to say."

The stage was empty. Only the valedictorian of U.A.'s graduating hero class was up there. Deku had the distinction of giving the speech that Fantasma and Lemillion had given in the previous years. The stadium was only slightly more empty than the day before and with fewer VIPs there. The boy who had crossed this stage the day before silently now had to give a speech to the same people who had watched him unable to say a word yesterday. He and all of his classmates, and all of Class B, were wearing their hero costumes this time. The hero in a green jumpsuit took in a deep breath then continued to the people he felt he had let down, "I failed to put together the things that I needed to say into words."

"I want to speak today on how our graduating class will move into the world. How we will stop villains from ever rising again. How we will protect the peace… but really, the only thing on my mind is still him." Midoriya paused and he pursed his lips for a second but then smiled heroically for the world to see. "Trying to write a speech to give you, it just kept sounding like a eulogy for Zach instead. But I think that's alright. After all, Zach should be here graduating with us today. Among others. Our third-year class took heavy losses in the three years since we enrolled in U.A. We persevered though."

Class B was grateful to Deku for saying it. Nirengeki Shoda's loss was something they were afraid would be forgotten due to the higher profile death of Lifebringer, and they were glad that it wasn't. That he wasn't. Others in Class A thought Midoriya might be referring to someone else too though. The students who had been in the hospital room when Zach told them about Kaminari's last moments thought of their classmate who had been so cursed by his own Quirk that he turned against them. The losses truly had been "heavy" like Deku said.

Many of his classmates again had tears in their eyes. He kept smiling though. Deku's voice was steady as he spoke to the world watching the graduation, "Zach and I didn't agree on much. We butted heads all the time. In these past few months, he and I talked about what it meant to be a hero so many times. We argued, we disagreed, and we fought side by side against villains together. We never did come to a consensus on how a hero should act. On where the line was." Midoriya shook his head and said, "Zach stepped over it so many times."

People watching the speech stared in astonishment that Deku would say that about the man who had saved the world. In so many of their eyes, everything Lifebringer had ever done became justified due to his global revival. Some even started yelling at the screen or cursing at Deku for saying stuff like this about their hero. "As a hero, I fought him. I fought against what his idea of a hero was. Or rather, how he acted as one, because he told me many times how he knew that the way he was acting wasn't always heroic. He admitted that to all of us. Sometimes, he would act like less of a hero, because he knew it would save lives." Midoriya shook his head side to side but in more awe of his friend than disapproval of Zach's tactics, even if that disapproval did sound implied.

"Zach was a great hero. An amazing one. But, he was a better friend," Midoriya continued. His smile got more earnest and personal rather than a speech about some hero. "But he was more than that to me really," Midoriya continued. His face scrunched up for a second as it got hard to speak these words. "Zach… didn't have a family. He lost his. He- he lost his family many times. We knew that. In our class we knew that Zach was alone. That unlike the rest of us, he didn't have that family to go home to."

Midoriya took a deep breath to steady his voice that he was concerned might crack here. "Some people think of their classmates as more like friends. At our school where we started living together, we got that close. But for our class? For Class A? That connection went deeper." Midoriya shook his head as he knew that every class thought that and it would certainly look like he thought they were special to anyone watching this. "It went deeper because of Zach. Because he didn't have a family, and we were a class of heroes." Midoriya lifted the corners of his lips back up while his eyes did gloss over with tears that he held back today. "We saw that Zach was alone. It wasn't a decision we made. It wasn't something we talked about."

Midoriya's eyes scanned down over his classmates who he had never spoken this into words with before. He could see that they recognized what he was saying though and agreed with the words coming out of his mouth. "Zach didn't have a family. So we made him ours. We all had our own, but we knew that he didn't and so… Zach, became more than a classmate. Or a friend. Zach- Zach was…"

"Zach was my brother," Midoriya admitted. The tears did fall from his eyes as he said those words. He sniffled in once and let a single laugh out before closing his eyes tightly shut and rubbing his eyes quickly with an arm. He was still smiling as he did that, and the stadium and the world stayed quiet while they watched him. People who had cursed at Deku on their televisions sat back down and apologized to the hero in their heads for getting so upset at him, when clearly he was hurting worse than any of them were. "He was all of our brother. Class A treated Zach like family. We got mad at him sometimes, and we fought, and we laughed, and joked around- haha," Midoriya laughed thinking of some of Zach's dark humor. I wish I had laughed at his jokes at the time, Deku thought, regretting how he had always given Zach strange looks when he made those dark comments.

Uraraka and Iida shared a look and laughed to each other even with tears in their eyes. They imagined a joke Zach had made about looking for the villains in the sewers and the rats and crap that he compared them to. At the time neither thought it was funny, yet suddenly they imagined Midoriya was thinking of the same joke and they found it hilarious.

"Because he became my brother, and family to the rest of our class too, the whole class got closer," Midoriya went on. "We went through so much together. Zach was the glue. He was what made us more than just classmates. And even though he's gone, the memories of him that we share created a bond that will never die. A connection that we'll hold onto for the rest of our lives." Midoriya said this while looking at his classmates fondly who looked back at Midoriya in amazement and feeling their hearts squeeze in the emotions he made rise in each of them, or at least most of them.

"Ch," Bakugo rolled his eyes and turned away from Deku when the idiot looked his way too.

"Zach was the best of us. He would have been the best hero in the world for the rest of his life," Midoriya went on in a tone sounding like he was wrapping up his speech. "We all know it. The world is safer because of him. It always will be. His legacy will live on through us. Through me. I swear, I won't let you down, Zach. I am going to become the top hero in Japan. I will become the greatest hero in the world, and I'll protect it for as long as I can. And maybe if I do that for the next fifty years, I might come close to a fraction of the hero that you were. You deserve to be on this stage right now. And in a way," Midoriya rose a hand up and pressed it on his chest just over his heart. "You still are."

---

"That was a beautiful speech, Midoriya," Yaoyorozu told the boy sitting on the seat across the aisle from her on their school bus. He looked back to her and lifted a small smile for a moment that fell just as fast when he looked back away.

The bus was taking them away from the Sports Festival stadium, and it was flying through the air after Principal Nezu pulled out a remote control and made the vehicle transform on them. The students were not even that surprised by it. With how bad traffic would be around the stadium, and how much press always followed them around, they had been wondering how Mr. Principal planned on getting them to the "post-graduation outing" that had been mandatory for Class A alone. All Might was in the bus sitting in the seat behind the bus driver mouse-bear who had a control panel rather than a steering wheel in front of him. The wheel had sunk into the console and what looked like a video game controller emerged instead for him to fly with.

"Can people see the school bus? Or does it use some like, super camo-tech?" Hagakure wondered interestedly over the top of her seat towards the front of the bus.

"It is not camouflaged, I must admit," Nezu responded over the bus' speakers. "That kind of technology is still unavailable to most of us."

Hagakure smiled and sat back in her seat. She leaned into the boy next to her who was looking out the windows and down on the forests they flew over on their flight north from Musutafu. Ojiro smiled back at her and put an arm around her shoulders, and he pecked a kiss on her forehead after positioning his arm first so he knew exactly where to aim.

You really were the best of us. I had so much more I wanted to say. The specific things we talked about. Moments, where I saw you at your best. And even at your worst. I wanted to bring up how you looked when we found out the Fabu had no cure. That it still hurt you that much, even after everything, Midoriya curled his hands tightly over his knees. You never let it stop you. I won't stop either, Zach. Midoriya looked down at his fake hand. Once again he had Virtucorp technology sticking off his shoulder. A tear slid down the right side of Midoriya's face and dripped onto his fake skin, and Midoriya had to laugh, because he could even feel that droplet like his hand was really there.

"Prepare for landing. I'm not that used to this," Nezu admitted to the students who gripped onto their seats right before the sudden descent.

Nezu dropped their bus down to the surface and then slowed them before they actually touched down on a country road somewhere. "I know it's supposed to be a surprise and all, but where are we heading exactly?" Mineta called out.

"We are almost there," Principal Nezu just responded.

All Might tilted his head to the side and looked around the seat back in front of him to check the side of his boss's face. He rose an eyebrow wondering what this was all about, as he had been at many graduations before and never took part in something like this. None of the previous graduating classes did this either. However, Class A is special. I believe as educators we are not supposed to make that so blatant though. All Might lifted a small smile but a bead of sweat did drip down his face as he imagined some of the Class B graduates pouting about not being part of this excursion.

"You all might lose service in a second," Nezu warned.

Most of the students, or former students- considering they had just graduated, looked out the front windshield and to a tunnel their bus was approaching. There were some barricades outside of it that looked to be warning approaching vehicles that the tunnel was not safe. Principal Nezu tapped onto his controller though, and the barricades slid off the road while yellow caution tape snapped out to the sides to create an opening.

"Oooh," Hagakure cooed at the effort the principal had put into this. "Wonder what it's all about?"

Toru looked across the aisle to her pink-skinned friend who she wanted to theorize with over what they might be heading to do right now. Ashido did not look in the mood though. She just slouched down more in her seat and stared out her window at a dark wall of the tunnel they drove into. I don't care about any post-graduation party. Or get-together. Or… What are we doing? I just wanted to go home. Sleep.

We were nearing the coast when we descended, Tokoyami thought. He scratched his chin and glanced to his side towards his friend Shoji to see if he had anything to say about this special event, but Shoji had a similar expression to so many on the bus who needed some alone time after days of being in the public eye.

I'm no longer the class rep, but it was my job to get everyone on this bus. I am glad none refused. I needed All Might's help though for a few, Iida thought with a glance back towards Bakugo who had his head leaned back in his seat with both arms behind it. Bakugo looked annoyed but also like he could not be bothered to argue about going either and was just along for the ride. The girl sitting next to Bakugo was leaning out of their seat and looking up front through the windshield to try and see out the other end of the tunnel, but Uraraka failed due to how long the tunnel still was.

The tunnel looked like it was used regularly and so might have just been closed for regular maintenance, rather than Principal Nezu having created it himself. Mineta sighed as he realized that based on the normal lights on the ceiling and painted lanes on the floor. Thought he dug a whole tunnel for us. Maybe he was giving us a secret Class A base or something. I don't know. He put his head in his hands and yawned, exhausted from the past week like everyone else was too.

The Battle of Tokyo, the Apocalypse, the funeral and graduation, they had all occurred in the span of days. In this moment though, it seemed like life was about to go back to normal. A new normal though. To say it was going "back" to anything was difficult, because a staple of their lives- whether he was always around or not, was no longer with them.

Yaoyorozu looked behind her diagonally and winced as she saw Tsuyu wiping her cheeks of tears that she waited until they were in the semi-darkness of the tunnel to let fall. She's hurting so much. I should just tell her now- I shouldn't! They won't understand. They won't believe me, unless they see for themselves. Yaoyorozu looked back up front and to the rearview mirror where she met the principal's gaze for a short second before looking down in a guilty way at the floor. Almost there, Momo. You can do this! She encouraged herself then looked back up and towards the approaching light that got bigger every second they drove closer to the end of the tunnel.

The bus emerged out of the tunnel to a beautiful sight that took the breath away from a few students staring out the windshield who were greeted by the bright light then the view over the ocean. The tunnel came out on a steep slope that had a winding road down towards the beach below seemingly hidden out here between cliffs and in the middle of nowhere. There was a building down on the beach that looked like a normal pavilion but slightly larger, not large enough that it had any food stands at it or anything, but at least large enough that there were some bathrooms and locker rooms in there. As the bus drove down the steep winding path, the view out over the water became blocked again by trees, but the graduated class spotted the gravel parking lot down there once they got a bit lower down the mountain.

Principal Nezu took in a deep breath himself. He glanced his small eyes up into the rearview mirror and saw Yaoyorozu also glancing anxiously around but then look up in the mirror and meet his gaze. She took in a deep breath herself then steadied her nerves for what was about to happen. Todoroki narrowed his eyes while looking from Yaoyorozu who he had decided to check on to see how she was doing, then looking to the mirror and seeing Principal Nezu glancing her way in the reflection. Does she know what this is about? Shoto wondered to himself. I suppose I'll see in a minute, he added, looking out the windshield and to a gate at the edge of the parking lot that they could not see as they left the tree line.

Between the gravel of the parking lot and the sandy beach were wooden posts connected by planks to keep cars from driving onto the sand. The sand was pristine, looking like very few people came here and used the beach while also not having anything washed up on shore. Neither driftwood nor garbage lined the shoreline, and the cliffs off to either side of the beach extended out into the water which made the sea off the sand look almost like an enclosed bay. Even larger rocks and shells were absent, really making the private beach look beautiful.

Sitting on one of the wooden posts with his legs dangling off the side closer to the water than the parking lot, was a figure in a black t-shirt who stared out over the sea with a small unreadable smile over his face. Here they come. His eyes closed and he took a deep breath himself, more anxious than Nezu or Yaoyorozu's had been, but steadier at the same time. I hope they're not too mad, he thought. His eyes squinted back open and his lips pursed for a second before he moved his legs over the plank to his side and turned himself around on the post.

The bus had stopped on the gravel not far from the one person down here at the secluded beach. The vehicle emptied out and the students emerging to check out this amazing beachfront looked to the person who was here to greet them. His hair was light brown and short over his head only about three centimeters long. His eyes were brown too. His arms from just above his elbows down to his hands had no scars on them, and his skin was not discolored in the least. There was not a scar on his face. His left ear was not missing a chunk out of it. And the skin around his neck and just under his collar had no scars or long-lingering red markings on them.

This strange figure stared towards the students who came off the bus and stared straight back towards him. He wore a navy blue pair of swim trunks, a black t-shirt, and flip flops. Zach Sazaki looked at the twenty who got off the bus and his flat lip that he had pursed for a few seconds there, lifted up slightly at the right corner. Not one couldn't recognize him. That expression erased any doubt from those who were in too much shock that they literally could not put the thought together in their heads. "Hey," Zach said. His voice was the same. His appearance might have stunned them by how different he looked without any of his defining scars, and his different hair and eye colors, but his voice was not masked. It sounded exactly the same.

"I don't, believe it…" Sero stumbled a step forward but stopped himself. His lips curled down at both corners and his fists balled.

Mineta, Kirishima, Sato, and Ashido sprinted forward though. As if the shock took the same amount of time for each of the four of them, they sprinted forward and dove. Whatever other emotions they were feeling pushed down for the moment. They dove, and Zach held his arms up and tried but failed to hold himself up. He got tackled to the ground under the pile of his friends who leaned off and looked back down with tears pouring down their faces. His smile was soft and he did not look harmed by the rough fall on the gravel. He just sat up slightly as they leaned off him. Their hands gripped him by the arms and the sides or the face as they checked to make sure that he was real. "You're really, here?" Mineta gasped out in shock while kneeling between Zach's splayed-out legs.

"I can't believe-ack-" Sato choked on his words while stretching Zach's right cheek out with one hand, then releasing and watching Zach's face settle again. "You don't- I- how are you-"

Smack! Ashido recovered quickest from the group who tackled Zach. She smacked him across the face. Zach's smile dropped and he turned to the girl who continued to squeeze his left arm so tightly, feeling the metal inside from how hard she dug her nails in just to make sure. Ashido's right hand stung and she pulled it back in pain after hitting Zach so hard in the left cheek. "WHY?!" Ashido screamed into his face.

"Mina," Yaoyorozu jogged forward. "It's okay-"

"W-W-Wait," Jirou was barely breathing. She could not find her breath, and her legs felt so weak that she thought she was going to collapse. She turned though as did others still frozen in place off the bus with her. "You…" She looked at Momo, her best friend who she had cried with over this. Kyoka watched Momo bow her head for a second before looking back sadly to her. Yaoyorozu's sad eyes that Jirou had seen for the past days no longer made her think those eyes were because of her despair over losing Zach. "You, knew?"

"That's not-" Uraraka dropped her jaw. She instantly tried to defend Momo, because she too had been completely convinced by Momo's acting that she could not believe was actually acting until she saw Yaoyorozu look painfully towards her for a second. "You did? How- why?" She echoed Mina's frustration and snapped her glare over towards the boy still on his butt.

Zach moved around a bit to shrug off the others still holding him. Mina pushed off him anyway in frustration and confusion, shaking her head and stepping back from him while crossing her arms and gripping her own biceps in too much betrayal. Zach was staring past the ones who came and tackled him though. He saw so many looks of fury, confusion, rage, pain, and he locked his eyes onto Midoriya's. The curly-haired teen who just gave a eulogy for Zach felt his stomach turn over. Any relief he wanted to feel was overcome with so much reactive anger and disgust that he had been put through this. "I'm sorry," Zach whispered. He continued to meet Midoriya's gaze for another second then looked down at the ground in shame while receiving all these looks.

"Why?"

"I don't understand."

"You died!"

Zach winced and snapped his eyes back open after that shout. He rose his head and looked to Deku who stomped forward but stopped himself. Midoriya's mouth opened then closed again. He could not find the words to say. Zach could though. "What you said out there," Zach started in a hoarse voice. He stumbled towards Midoriya and breathed in an even more ragged way. His face filled with worry at the way Midoriya had stopped himself. The look of almost frustration at himself that Izuku looked to have that he would allow himself to get tricked again? The way Deku stopped marching forward and almost lost the anger on his face, like he should have expected this. Like he should have just expected Zach to mess with his feelings and make him feel so much pain for days, for no reason!

Zach looked desperately into that frustrated look full of anger and agony, and he gasp-questioned his friend, "Did you mean it? What you said on stage?" Zach's voice shook as he questioned Midoriya. Others who just listened to Midoriya's speech and realized that Zach had too looked back and forth between the two of them. Zach took another step hesitantly towards Midoriya before stopping and pulling his head back in a pain that looked to match Midoriya's, and in fear at what the answer to this question would be. Zach ground his teeth then seethed out the words he did not know if he even deserved to ask, "We're brothers, right? You meant it?" Zach asked. His eyebrows were curled like a dog that just got caught eating what it was not supposed to. Zach's face was full of fear that Midoriya would not answer this the way he needed him to.

Midoriya bit down himself in so much anger. He scrunched his face up though and his forehead wrinkled while he tilted his head back. He looked with his own shaking eyes back at Zach and could see why Zach was asking. If we're family, I can't stay mad at him forever. I can be angry at him for lying, again! But it won't change the fact that we're brothers. That's forever. That's what he's thinking. I can tell that's what you're thinking, because we are brothers. Midoriya snapped in a furious voice back, "Of course we are."

Zach bit down twice as hard hearing that response. He heard the anger that Midoriya did not need to hide in his voice because it would not change anything between them. Zach clenched his eyes shut and bowed his head so his chin touched his chest. I hurt my family again. I hurt them! He screamed that at himself in his head, because he needed to stop himself from smiling and crying in a happy way upon hearing Midoriya say that.

"Why, Zach?" Mineta asked hoarsely from Zach's left side. "Why did you make us believe that, that you died? That's not fair!" Mineta yelled.

Bakugo was shaking in anger still. He was not saying anything, because it would show that he had been just as hurt as any of the others, but his eyes said it all when Zach glanced over and saw the pure rage in them that looked like Bakugo wanted to bash his face in. Zach saw Tokoyami grinding his teeth, while Shoji wiped his eyes too strongly with his upper left arm that he messed up his bangs and left both bloodshot eyes exposed for Zach to look back into.

"You fooled us again!" Jirou yelled. She finally found her voice and spun to Yaoyorozu then to the boy she was just as angry at. "Lied, AGAIN!"

"I don't have my Quirk anymore," Zach replied. His voice was soft and apologetic, but he did need to explain himself. The others glanced at his right hand when he lifted both palms up in front of him as he started his explanation. Zach shrugged his shoulders as he did that and then just dropped both back down and his hands to his sides again. "And, that means I'm not the strongest anymore. I can't protect myself. And I have made, oh so many enemies. On every corner of the world. In every country. Quirkless? They'd come after me-"

"We could have protected you," Todoroki snapped in anger. "And you're strong even without-"

"Not strong enough," Zach replied firmly back with a shake of his head. "And you can't all be with me at all times. You couldn't protect me forever. That would have been what was necessary, and one day, it still wouldn't be enough. I would get killed by one of the waves of villains who would come for me to make a name for themselves. Or for vengeance. For money. For so many reasons that I would be hunted for the rest of my life. I couldn't do that. I couldn't put any future family I might have in that much danger without being able to protect them myself."

"That's not…" Tokoyami started. "Future family?" Is that really why he did it? He wants to have a family. He said that! He said that and we weren't listening. That's his goal, and so they're already a real thing to him, because he accomplishes his goals. Which means he knows that being alive would put them in danger? Is that- I don't accept that that makes it okay!

"Why did you lie to us? And- and you!" Uraraka spun in frustration to Yaoyorozu. "And did you know too? All Might?" Uraraka angrily spun from Mr. Principal who she only glared at for a second after he got off the bus and received confirmation, before turning to her lifetime hero who shook his head in shock himself.

"I cannot believe you're alive, Young Sazaki," All Might whispered in disbelief, finally finding his voice. "You died. I, I watched-"

Zach winced again. His eyes clenched shut and he shook his head once before hissing, "I had to die to the public. And, I needed all of you to act like I had. To think that I had. Only your real reactions could have fooled the entire world." Zach said it while looking down at the gravel floor in front of his feet. He explained to those who were so angry with him but also with themselves as he had done something like this before. "I'm sorry, that I had to do it again. I knew it would work but- but I'm sorry. If I saw any better way, I would have done it in a heartbeat. But this was the only safe way. The only way to keep the world believing that I died. And I needed them to think that. Because if I came back and got killed, as I know I would have, I know how angry people would have gotten. The kind of rage that would have spread over that death, rather than the message of kindness that it spread this time? The idea that I sacrificed myself for the world is how I know I can do the most good from here onward. My death. It makes the message that much more powerful. So the best thing I can do for the world, and for myself, and for the people close to me… is to 'die.'"

Todoroki looked away when Zach shifted his gaze over to him. Liar. Every time. We never see it coming. I didn't. I can't believe I didn't. Todoroki lifted a hand and put it over his scarred face and bit down furiously behind his palm. Don't yell at him. I HATE- AHH, this hurts. This really hurts. Todoroki bit down on his bottom lip. How many times do I have to mourn you?

"But Zach," Midoriya started. His own anger simmered down for a second and his eyebrows rose up high while looking confusedly at Zach again. He stared at him in wonder and stepped closer, reaching out to touch his friend who he was still angry at, but more shocked that he was here than anything. "You died. You injected with-" Midoriya froze.

Zach's eyes slammed shut. Chhh. His breath hitched. Then he shook his head around and said quickly, "I have to lay low for-"

"Thank you!" Toru exclaimed. Zach turned to her and Hagakure stumbled forward then exclaimed it again, "Thank you, Zach! You brought us all back!"

"Yeah, you revived the whole-" Mineta started to yell too.

In all their anger at him for faking his own death, somehow they had forgotten how they owed him their gratitude far more than any hostility. Zach flinched so hard this time though that Mineta cut his sentence off.

CHHHHHH!

"CHHHH!" Zach's eyes were slammed shut. His teeth were clenched, but his voice shouted through his teeth the sound while his whole body hunched over. Static filled his ears while even with his eyes closed, his vision pulsed red. "AHhh- AHH!" He screamed.

"Zach!" Midoriya exclaimed.

Yaoyorozu was quicker than any of the others. She had Zach grabbed by his right arm when both his hands snapped to the sides of his twitching head as he started wailing, and she pulled him away while leaning in towards his ear. "It's okay. Look over here. Sorry it took so long for us to get here. Principal Nezu had to make sure no one was following us so we took a winding route in the sky…" Yaoyorozu spoke quickly into his ear in a soothing voice, squeezing his arm tightly and rubbing the other hand up and down his back.

"Zach-" Ashido started but hesitated with her arm shaking out in front of her.

Some did not hesitate. They ran forward when Zach started yelling in pain and looking like he was in agony. "Stop," Principal Nezu ordered the students who froze and spun to the mouse principal who stepped between them and the two who moved farther away with Yaoyorozu glancing back to measure the distance and make sure they got far enough.

"What's happening?" Midoriya demanded to know down at the principal. On his right side just past him even farther than he had gotten before the principal stopped them, Bakugo had reached Kirishima who was closer to Zach already but got confused and did not run right away after the two when Yaoyorozu tugged him away.

Bakugo snapped his head to his left and glared at the principal angrily but in more concern than he would usually let on. He darted a look back to Zach who hunched farther forward and made Yaoyorozu crouch next to him while continuing to speak in a soft voice into his ear.

"Students," Nezu began. "All Might," he added with a look to his faculty member who looked as concerned about Zach as any of his classmates. "Hahhh," the principal let out a long exhale and then lifted a hand that he rubbed his forehead with. A sad look covered the mouse's face, and the others who had all tensed up and got ready to run after Zach eased back and relaxed their tensed muscles. Yaoyorozu had Zach, and the principal looked like he needed to explain something to them that they were all very scared to hear. "I need to ask you to refrain from mentioning the Day of Revival. Do not bring up All For One. Or Apocalypse. Or even, the school dance. That entire day, truthfully. You must not mention it in front of Sazaki."

"What are you talking about?" Ojiro demanded to know.

"Why not?" Aoyama asked, his voice shaking as he questioned with another look towards Zach whose expression from a second ago was plastered in his mind. It had appeared so full of such intense agony it was like someone was in the middle of torturing him.

"What's wrong with him?" Kirishima asked angrily at the principal, like he thought Nezu was hiding something from them that was ailing Zach.

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong with him," Nezu countered Kirishima in a scolding tone that made Kirishima unclench his fists and pull back from the small figure before him. Nezu took another deep breath and then began with his eyes looking depressed but strong enough that they only appeared wet rather than actually shedding any tears. "Sazaki, went through something that no one can ever truly comprehend." The others looked up from the principal and over to their friend's back that trembled while Yaoyorozu rubbed her hand softly up and down it, looking partly broken herself on his side when she glanced back their direction for a moment.

"To even attempt to imagine, what it was that he saw," Nezu continued. He hesitated as if by bringing it up he was trying to imagine again himself and failed to. The principal with such an amazing intellect that out of anyone, he was the most likely to actually understand, made clear to the students that they should not bother even trying. A few did though and remembered what the Apocalypse had sounded like. "What he felt," Nezu went on in a steady voice but one soft and full of pity. "His… consciousness, was spread throughout an area so large, and yet his eyes- in order to see the bodies and move them around… He was truly everywhere. Seeing everything. And the pain he felt? The, amount of death- the amount of times he died, in each second- in every millisecond? You've seen how badly it hurt him to only revive a few, or even one at a time."

The Class A students were breathing heavier. Their breaths came out ragged and their eyes filled with tears again. Some had already cried for a long time over this when they thought of how much pain Zach went through when he died. At least if he had died though, that suffering was over. As they stared over towards him now they felt their hearts breaking as they could see that he was feeling some sense of what had happened to him that night because of them bringing it up. "How can he not think of that night though? I mean, no one will ever stop talking about it," Ashido hissed towards Nezu angrily.

"Does he… know?" Koda asked.

A few of the others looked to the boulder-headed teen and then spun back in Zach's direction in shock as they thought of that. "He does," Nezu countered their stunned looks though. "He is aware of what happened. He clearly knows, but yet he cannot think about it." Everyone focused back on the mouse who shook his head and continued to explain the best way he had figured it out, "Sazaki was very good at controlling his own thoughts. That ability seems to have transferred to his subconscious though. Or maybe, he was already doing it subconsciously."

Many of the students had heard Zach try to explain to them before the very same thing. Shoji lifted a hand and put it through his already messed-up silver hair. He tried to explain it. That he was really trying to tell the truth. His mind just does it on its own? I thought he did it himself.

"As a defensive mechanism it appears he is able to subconsciously block any thoughts of that entire day. However, when the day is brought up, or if something is mentioned that makes him think on that night," Nezu paused for a second. "He is unable to think about it. Memories of pain, and pain itself. What is the difference? One can think back and remember pain without feeling it again. That is not this, however. The pain has, saturated, all of those memories. It was too severe. Finally, it was too much for him. Yet he pushed through anyway. Far beyond his limits. He may have survived, but it is another reason why he chooses to remain deceased to the public eye. An unwillingness to show them the pain that bringing us all back is still causing him."

Ojiro closed his eyes and turned his head away. Guilt flooded through him at the idea that he was partly to blame for Zach being in as much pain as he was right now. Of course Zach would hide that. Not to make us hurt like this, Ojiro smiled even as the tears started to fall. Just like Sero said. In that much pain? How can you still be thinking of us? That's not normal!

"There is something else," Nezu continued. Class A did not think they could take much more of this horror. They looked painfully at their principal who continued in a stern and serious voice, "I did not believe that this was wise. Telling all of you the truth. I believed that you should have been left in the dark." The depressed looks on his former students' faces filled with anger again instead. "I told him how it would have been better for him to go anywhere else. Start a new life in a distant country. I thought it would be safer, because a secret with this many people can't be kept secret. But, Sazaki told me it could. That he trusts that it would be, even with this many people in the loop."

"You must never tell anyone about this secret. Anyone," he repeated. "Your families. Your future spouses. The person you trust the most in the world. You must keep this secret to your graves, because Sazaki does trust you. He trusted us with this secret in knowledge that it could get people he loves killed, and he-" Nezu bit down. His eyes finally watered a little, and he finished in a strained voice, "He has done that before. He has made that mistake before, but he is willing to do it again. If it means that he does not have to lose all of you. He is willing to take that risk. But to him, it isn't a risk." Nezu smiled and told them, "Because he trusts you all with not just his life, but the lives of his future children."

That was a lot of pressure to put on the teenagers, but they were also heroes. They were used to pressure. That's not fair, Mineta thought while calming down his own breathing. He looked over towards Zach for a second then down at the gravel under his feet. He kicked at a couple of pebbles and then squinted his eyes almost closed. Making us part of this giant conspiracy without asking us. We'll spend the rest of our lives lying to the public. Lying to everyone we care about. You know we'll do it, but it's still not fair of you to just tell us like that without asking! And if you were going to, then you should have saved us the pain in the first place. Mineta rose a hand and wiped his eyes. He imagined the look on Kendo's face yesterday and shook his head back and forth before bowing it farther. At least, we actually get to know. So many others who care so much for him don't get that.

I still have to go to therapy. I told Softy I needed to talk to her so much about this! "Ughhh," Jirou groaned and rubbed her forehead. Then she put both hands to the sides of her head and twisted her fists into her temples. "Ahh!" She yelled out in frustration. She smacked off Midoriya's hand though as he reached over to her shoulder and gave her a look wondering if she was alright. "I just, needed to get it out of my system," she snapped, easing her tone at the boy just trying to help her who understood completely and did not get offended at her harsh reaction.

"How do we not bring it up around him though? Or, how is he even going to keep from hearing about it constantly?" Aoyama whispered around to the others. "They're considering resetting the entire dating system to a third era. I mean, there isn't a good way for him to avoid it."

"Somehow he watched Midoriya's speech," Todoroki mentioned. Midoriya's face lit up and he nodded fast while realizing that himself. "So somehow he's separated the fact that he faked his death with the reason why he lost his Quirk. Or-"

"Shh shh," Ashido hushed Todoroki then spun fully to face the pair who walked closer to the rest of the class again.

Everyone's uneasy and cautious looks made it difficult for Zach not to understand what those looks were for. He ground his teeth and his head ticked to the side with both eyes squinting for a second. "I don't, understand, how we're going to keep this secret," Sero started. He spoke confusedly while glancing to his right at Iida and shaking his head at the smartest boy in the class who did not respond with a better option, though Iida was just confused at what Sero was bringing this up for. "I mean, it's so dangerous. Everyone's going to figure us out."

"I can teach you how to protect your minds from mind readers," Zach countered Sero who looked back at him in surprise.

Yaoyorozu nodded her head in a way telling the others that it was possible. They looked at her in surprise and she added, "Himazuri tried to read my mind during the funeral. I noticed and blocked her from my thoughts."

"Himazuri is better trained than most, unfortunately- well, fortunately for those who she'll save," Zach countered how he started that and gained a nostalgic smile for a second thinking about his training with her. Then his smile fell too as he thought, I'll never talk to her again. No one else! He shouted that reminder at himself while lifting his gaze once more at a group of people so large that the aspect of keeping them all quiet was almost unbelievable even to him. Even with them being his Class A family. "But I can help you guard your minds from mind-reading villains too. Any that use OP mental quirks, really."

"We don't need Death to do that?" Shoji wondered. He imagined the battle scene in Wampajawa where Zach's mentally-attacking enemies had collapsed from Zach's counterattack.

Ashido opened her mouth. Zach started responding to Shoji but he did glance her way. She stopped herself though. He'll just be hurt even more! She thought. Ashido wanted to thank him. She wanted to apologize for smacking him and thank him instead for saving the world again. Somehow Zach looked to read her mind on what she wanted to say though, as his eyes clenched shut all of a sudden and his head cocked the other way sharply. Considering how good Zach was at hiding his pain from his friends, Ashido knew the level of pain had to be severe for him to be showing that they were doing that to him. She pulled her head back, I can't even thank him! Tears filled her eyes but she had to force herself not to cry them either.

Never being able to thank him, Bakugo glared away towards the water. I probably wouldn't have, for a while. I might have brought it up at some time or something. Just like, mentioned it. He rubbed his forehead while others tried to quickly change the subject and talk about something else that would not draw Zach's attention back to what he must have just thought about. I can't ever tell him though.

"Why did we come all the way out to a beach for this?" Uraraka wondered to All Might who shrugged back at the girl. Both of them turned to Principal Nezu who just smiled and nodded past towards Yaoyorozu.

"I thought it would be nice if we celebrated with a beach day. We've never had a normal field trip as a class," Momo replied with a look back to Ochaco. Then she glanced around at her other friends and finally to Zach who smiled back at her and nodded in agreement with the idea.

Sato scratched the side of his head though and glanced down at his hero costume. "Umm, but we don't have anything to wear."

"All of you have new bathing suits in the locker rooms," Yaoyorozu motioned to the small building on the beach just large enough for a couple of locker rooms. Everyone wondering the same thing as Sato sweatdropped as they remembered what Yaoyorozu's Quirk was. "I tipped especially well for the food I ate in order to Create them. So the materials for their Creation were paid for." Yaoyorozu assured her classmates that she had contributed fairly to the economy and that the bathing suits she was gifting them had been paid for, which most of them felt would have been a pretty small offense compared to how they were about to hide Lifebringer's survival from the whole world for the rest of their lives.

The boys and girls separated and went to the different locker rooms. The boys had to act normal which was so weird that the whole process of getting changed felt surreal. That awkwardness of trying to act natural despite the giant elephant in the room was scaring them too though, as they knew how smart Zach was and that he would be able to put together that they were dancing around any topic that might set him off.

The girls were better able to discuss how they were feeling. As the boys already started changing and talked about their hero agencies and other trivial things while constantly darting anxious looks at Zach, the girls just hounded Yaoyorozu with hissed questions infuriated with her. It was easier to direct all their anger at Momo now than it was to point any of it in Zach's direction. She stood there and took their fury too. "I'm sorry. I am," Yaoyorozu repeated to the girls who were infuriated and shocked that Yaoyorozu had done this to them.

"How?" Tsuyu whispered. "How could you…"

"I'm just, so impressed," Uraraka whispered angrily under her own breath. Asui glanced to her side at the girl who did not say the same thing she was about to. Uraraka bit down in rage though, before snapping her gaze up and hissing, "I never thought you could do that! Really. I mean, Zach's always been a good liar. But you're so trustworthy."

Jirou shook her head in angry agreement with Uraraka. "Fucking impressive," Jirou growled. "How could- I know how you could. I get that if it's to protect Zach, you'd do anything. I would too!" Jirou hissed that herself in such frustration as it was so hard to stay mad at Momo either. As angry as they were, it was anger at the necessity that their two smart friends and the crazy intelligent principal had explained to them already. The deception was necessary. If Zach, Momo, and Nezu all thought it was, then it was impossible for any of them to argue that point. Who were they to claim they knew any better?

"I'm sorry girls. I'm- I'm…" Yaoyorozu finally let the tears come to the surface that she had been forcing down because she did not feel she deserved to be sad when they were all right to be upset with her. The other five girls pulled back though as the tears fell from Yaoyorozu's eyes. As kind as their friend was, the idea that she had been lying to them for days and fake-mourning with them crushed each of them as they suddenly imagined themselves in her shoes forced to do something so horrible to them. And the six girls all started crying while coming together in a group hug while sharing their feelings in tender and caring tones.

Zach took off his black t-shirt in the locker room. Yaoyorozu had given him a rash guard to wear too with the black bathing suit in the locker that she had pinned a note to with his name on it like every other locker in use had. The others all spun back towards Zach and looked at his torso with their eyes shooting open huge. "Ah, yeah," Zach noticed their looks and glanced down himself. "I'm going to keep a shirt on most of the time. No need to do a full cosmetic work-up. Haha," he chuckled at the end and scratched the back of his head through his brown hair. His torso was covered in horrific scars that he had not bothered to get covered up like he had his arms and neck and face. The scars continued up to his shoulders and down a bit of his arms before stopping, showing Zach could never wear a tank top, nor anything with too large of an exposed collar.

"Who else knows that you're alive? Other than us," Sero wondered while sliding on his own rash guard that Yaoyorozu had made for him too. Bakugo just tossed his back into the locker, and a few of the other guys who worked very hard on their physiques saw no reason to cover up their muscular torsos either.

"Just the one person who helped with my cosmetics," Zach replied. "Principal Nezu was able to handle the rest practically on his own. Though I guess, the one who procured the fake body that we cremated probably knows. I'm not sure. I don't know how Mr. Principal worked that out. He told me not to worry about it though, so maybe he disguised the body himself afterwards to make it look like me?" Zach shrugged his shoulders. The others were surprised that he was not more concerned about it, but they admitted to themselves that if Zach could not trust Nezu then none of this would work anyway.

The principal didn't even want us knowing. He wouldn't have trusted some random person with the information, Todoroki thought. Even if most everyone in the world would have sworn themselves to secrecy if it meant helping Zach.

The boys finished changing and headed outside, only to find they were the first ones out. It was a few more minutes before the emotional girls finished discussing their feelings and cleaned themselves up so it would be less obvious that they had all just been sobbing.

Each locker that had bathing suits in them also had towels for the classmates to use. Zach put his out on the sand and did not head to the water with the others who started down the beach right away. He sat on his towel and watched as a few turned back only for him to nod at them to go on without him. The mood had already started to lift once they got out of the locker room, but when the girls came out all smiles and laughing about something, the mood really changed for the best. The boys expected this was a plan by the girls to make this outing into more of a celebration than the awkward affair it had started out as. They did not need any explanation to join in and start acting more normal themselves.

"The field trip we never got," Sero said with a grin to his side at Kirishima who he stood ankle-deep in the water with. He motioned past Kirishima to his other side at a shorter boy who sighed while looking out over the water with a small smile. Kirishima smirked ear to ear at Sero's suggestion, and he carefully walked around Mineta's other side. Mineta Minoru was a hero though, and he noticed something was going on instantly. He darted his eyes to the right when Kirishima stepped around him, but he did not move fast enough before Sero and Kirishima grabbed him. They ran a few feet into the water and threw Mineta into the deeper part while the shorter boy yelped and cursed them for it.

Tokoyami chuckled to himself at the sight. Two strong arms grabbed him under the armpits and his smug laughter turned to horror as he looked over his shoulder and saw Shoji looking down at him. Shoji nodded at Tokoyami solemnly that Tokoyami understood what needed to be done, and then Shoji launched him into the deeper water right next to Mineta so that Tokoyami's splash soaked the cursing boy next to him who dove for cover instead. Bakugo slammed his hands down and blasted Explosions below him to launch himself deeper than the other two, falling in a cannonball into the water and making a huge splash as he did. "No using Quirks like that, Bakugo!" Iida yelled while running into the water so fast that it almost looked like he was sprinting on the surface for a second.

A few of the girls thought about walking over and putting their towels next to Zach. They chose elsewhere though as they saw Midoriya turn back and walk over to sit with his friend on their own. It looked like the two needed a minute, so the girls just put their towels down farther away and all sat together. "Not joining in with that," Jirou muttered and shook her head at the sight of the rough-housing going on in the water as all the boys started splashing and dunking each other in the bay.

"Hahaha, I don't know. It looks fun!" Hagakure countered, considering getting up herself and joining in with them. She looked over towards Midoriya and Zach on their towels again then smiled brightly back to the water. Her heavy heart felt so light right now that she just started laughing again as she watched the boys play around like kids. "Ha, hahaha, ha," Toru sniffled and had to wipe her eyes and nose quickly to hide it. What's wrong with me? I'm so giddy right now!

After the shock had worn off, and the anger, and once they all understood that they could not express their gratitude either… all they were left with was joy. Happiness. They could not thank him without hurting him, and so there was no awkwardness between friends that they owed him anything. If they let that feeling show at all they would only be hurting him, and with how perceptive Zach was, they each knew that they could not even try hiding that feeling. They had to actually discard any intentions of ever thanking him for what he had done. By not being able to thank him either, it became that much harder to ever get angry at him for him faking his death that no longer had any counterbalance. The two just cancelled each other out.

As the lighthearted feeling spread around the beach, no one found themselves reverting to their feelings from right after getting off the bus. They understood the explanations that had been given to them. They did not like it, but they each knew Zach well enough that they had gotten over the surprise relatively quickly too. After all, it was something they expected from him. Or they at least felt like they should have expected it. And in the end, Midoriya was right. Zach was their family. There was no getting rid of him. No one sensed an immediate need to fix their relationship, if it was even broken. There was no urgency. Because this time, for sure, Zach was not leaving. They could each tell by the way it had been explained to them.

He was done. His public life was over, but he was not going to stop being a part of theirs. Zach would be giving up everything one more time. Just like he did in the Lifebringer Incident. Ashido had explained it to them though and they all remembered what she told them the night he came back to U.A. This time he refused to give up that one thing that mattered to him more than anything else. The one thing he could not give up this time, even if he was going to give up being a hero, and his name, and everything else… He wasn't giving them up. Not this time.

Midoriya sat next to his friend who he felt so grateful that he would get to talk to for the rest of their lives. "I'm going to need your help. Even if you can't come out there yourself, I'll be coming to you for advice all the time-"

"You don't need it," Zach countered with a laugh and shake of his head. "You've got this," Zach told his friend who furled his lip and darted a sideways look at Zach that got more upset when he saw Zach meant that. "I'm not going to help you, Deku. We both know that we'd have different ideas for how to be a hero out there. You're the one going to be doing it though. So it's up to you. And that's a good thing."

"What if I'm not strong enough?" Midoriya asked back. "What if the time comes when we need you and not Deku?"

Up at the edge of the parking lot, All Might leaned forward with his hands down on one wooden post while Principal Nezu sat on the next one down to his right. The two educators looked down at their students and focused on the pair of boys still on their towels while the rest of them played in the water. Even though the two did not look it, somehow the adults could tell that the conversation was so much more intense than it appeared to be.

A few of the guys in the water noticed as well. Bakugo stopped messing around as much and moved to the shallow end, pretending not to be leaving the water while also focusing up higher on the beach instead and wondering what those two were talking about. Iida and Todoroki each stepped back out of the water themselves too and "caught their breath" while stepping onto the shore.

"The world doesn't need me," Zach replied to his friend who he frowned at as Midoriya had sounded so much more confident back when he thought Zach had died. "My being here doesn't give you any excuse to be hesitating now. Just pretend like Zach Sazaki is dead. My new name is going to be Jack, after all."

"After your dad?" Midoriya whispered.

Zach nodded back at him and then looked out over the water again himself. "Yeah," he just replied softly.

Midoriya stayed quiet for a few seconds again but then started in a quiet voice, "I'm not the hero you are, Zach."

"You're a better hero than I ever was," Zach countered.

Midoriya's whole face scrunched up. He bit down and then hissed, "You're wrong. You have this, misconception. Like I'm so good or something," Midoriya shook his head and glared next to him when Zach opened his mouth with a smug look on his face like he could easily counter Midoriya's doubt. Zach froze though then closed his mouth as he saw that doing that would only anger Midoriya more at the moment. "I'm not. You know, that I'm lying. I've been lying since day one at U.A. You treat me like I'm- like I don't do anything wrong, like I'm not a liar like you, but you're the one who told me it, right? I'm lying too. About All Might. About One For All."

"And I don't always make the right decisions. I let my fights get personal. Shigaraki targeted my mom, and I hated him for that! I'm not this perfect hero or- or- ah! I don't get it, Zach. You say it like I don't make mistakes. Like I know better than you, when you've saved the world a dozen times and I've never done it once. It just doesn't make sense," Midoriya stated firmly at him as if challenging Zach to counter that absolute truth.

"Midoriya, you're the Symbol I could never be," Zach replied after Midoriya got it all out of his system. "You don't need to tell that secret. I was worried that you would one day crack under the pressure and admit the truth to everyone, but after you've been lying about it for so long that they would all feel betrayed about it at that point. I believe you can do it though. I believe you can keep secrets if you need to in order to keep the Symbol alive. Telling the whole world that you would be number one? I know you'll live up to their expectations. You will be the Symbol of Peace. Honestly, a better one than All Might. I know you will."

"How?" Midoriya gasped at him. "How could you know that?" Midoriya's eyes shook as he asked the question in a frustrated tone. His voice got louder and he snapped, "I don't even know that! And better than All Might? I can't- I can't even imagine doing something like that. You, Zach. You were closer- no. You were better. The whole world saw you-"

"The world saw me as a liar. They did not trust me. They might love me now, but a few weeks ago they cursed my name and thought I was the scariest person alive," Zach countered Midoriya who grimaced but had to look away as Zach was telling the truth about that. "After all I've done? They weren't even shocked when I went and killed a half dozen villains. I mean, surprised sure, but anyone who didn't know me personally who said they felt 'betrayed' by what I did that night were lying. Because I wasn't a symbol. I never was. Not of heroes. People knew I did something sketchy to get to the War Boys' hideout. They knew I had already killed people. My Quirk murdered instantly, and I looked like a complete demon when I finally got it so my Quirk wouldn't automatically kill all the time."

Midoriya shook his head faster and faster then gave Zach a harsh look to scold him for talking himself down so much. "People thought highly of you even when you weren't a hero though. You did all of that and they saw you as more human than the rest of us. As someone just like them. And they trusted what you said because of it, so you became more of a celebrity- but one whose opinion everyone actually values! And the things you said on the news and in your report were considered so smart that they influenced changes in laws around the world! Everyone listens to whatever you say. You make it all sound so wise and smart. Influencing people's hearts and minds. Even though you're not the Symbol of Peace, you could do that! You've done more for peace than anyone!"

Midoriya got too loud that the girls over on their towels looked towards the boys too and stayed quiet to hear them better. Bakugo turned his head sideways and glared back at Deku for his indecisiveness after sounding cool for a minute earlier that day when he gave his speech to the world.

"You said we don't need a pillar," Midoriya reminded his friend. "Because we could all be pillars. We could all be symbols."

"I do believe that," Zach admitted back. "But, doesn't it make it better if we have one? The sturdiest one?" Zach looked straight into Deku's eyes while saying it to show he meant he was referring to him. "And one who takes that responsibility most seriously. Remember what else I said before? How All Might never got married. Never had kids. He had to lie for his whole life. Maybe the pressure of needing to be that symbol, which forced him to lie, to give up certain things, maybe that pressure isn't there as much anymore like it was in All Might's time. But I've seen that you're willing to make those sacrifices to make sure it stays this way. I've seen you give things up, Izuku."

A brown-haired girl sitting on her towel felt shivers down her spine for some reason. Her eyes shifted for a quick second to the shoreline where she swore she saw Bakugo look towards her for a second, but he was just focused sideways and back towards Zach and Deku himself. Midoriya blinked a few times in surprise to hear Zach use his first name right there, but Zach just smiled more when Izuku did not say anything against it.

"The world will always need people to protect it," Zach continued. "And people will always look for role models to base their actions off of, base what they believe is right off of… and I can't think of anyone better than you to be that role model for them. Not me. Never me. Because I choose the wrong thing all the time. You wouldn't have even killed Ares!" Zach said it incredulously but in amazement of his friend who grit his teeth back and darted his eyes to the sand. Deku knew that Zach was right about that and yet did not know if that was the "right" thing or not.

"Zach," Midoriya began. He shook his head and lifted his gaze back up, "Everything that you did was justified." Zach looked back in shock that Midoriya would say that to him. "Everything," Midoriya repeated. "Because everything you did, led you to where you needed to be. It led you to the place where you were able to bring back the world- so no one can ever judge you now!" Midoriya spoke quicker as Zach's eyes clenched shut for a second and his head bowed as he failed to hold back the memories and pain. He focused back on what Izuku was saying though and squinted his eyes open as Midoriya said, "So no one can ever judge you on your life now. Whether what you did was right or wrong, you're the only one who can say because you're the only one who understands that that's what it took-"

"But I do know," Zach countered strongly back at Midoriya who he could see was misunderstanding this. "I understand, that I did many things that were wrong." Midoriya pursed his lips wanting to argue again, but he froze up completely as Zach continued, "Because they were things that you never would have done." Midoriya looked back at Zach in confusion. Truly baffled that Zach was still saying this. Zach lifted the right corner of his lips up though and admitted, "It's true. You wouldn't have done those things, and that's how I know they were wrong."

Midoriya started shaking his head. He wanted to counter. Zach told him though while others close enough to hear strained their ears to listen to this, "It might be a weird thing to say aloud, but the image I have in my head of what's 'right' is you. Of the word: 'good.' I see you, Izuku. Do you know what I mean by that-"

"I know exactly what you mean," Midoriya interrupted quickly in a whisper. And he did. It was something he thought was too gross to say aloud when he had thought something similar about Bakugo and the word "victory." But I was never brave enough to tell Kacchan something like this to his face.

Zach did not care that it was sentimental or weird to say aloud though. He just laughed that Midoriya somehow understood that too, even if a few others looked towards them oddly at what Zach was talking about. "You saved the world though," Midoriya whispered finally when he got over how Zach had apparently thought this about him. He shook his head faster and countered, "I'm not always- I don't get it! You're amazing and-"

"But I'm not always right though," Zach retorted. "I do things I know are wrong, and I'm a bad person sometimes. A mean person. I say or think things that I just know you wouldn't."

"I'm not perfect," Midoriya snapped. He was getting worked up and felt close to tears over this. He slammed his eyes shut to stop his eyes from watering any further, and he shook his head around. Why? All Might told me the same thing! How Zach followed me to Hokkaido because he already believed in the hero Deku would one day become. How he wanted to protect me to help me get there- here! Am I here already? Am I the hero Zach thinks of me as? No chance! He expects too much from me! Midoriya opened his shaky and uncertain eyes that he looked at his friend with only to see Zach looking back confidently and assuredly at him.

Zach smiled at his friend who he told without a shred of doubt in his voice, "But in my mind, you're the closest thing to the word 'hero' that this world has. When I think of a 'hero,' I think of you. It's as simple as that." Midoriya was close to tears but the confusion and frustration at Zach telling him this was too strong to just accept what Zach was telling him as the truth. "I remember there was a time where I used to think I wouldn't mind being your sidekick once we graduated. But, haha, that was something I felt really awkward about at the time so I stayed quiet about it. I even changed it up in my head to think about us becoming partners instead. I wanted you to be in charge though if it ever happened, because I wanted to know for sure that what we were doing was right. And I knew that you would do what was right no matter what. From so long ago," Zach looked nostalgic about that but also confused as he lifted his gaze up to the sky.

"When?" Midoriya asked him. Zach lowered his eyes back down and looked to his side. His eyes bulged at the confusion and need to know that covered Deku's face. "From when? You've… you've been helping me for so long! You believed in me before anyone else other than All Might. You, you followed me to Hokkaido to protect me- to protect the symbol you thought I'd become. I know that," Midoriya gasped in a hoarse voice at his friend. "Years ago. Did you really know I would show up at Camino Ward to save you? You really believed that at the time?"

Zach was not denying anything Midoriya was asking him. A few others paying attention to this stared at Zach in shock themselves. They each believed there was something special about Midoriya too, but none of them thought it went this far back for Zach. Uraraka, Iida, Todoroki, and Bakugo each had moments that they could think of Deku like that all the way back then. Bakugo recalled what Zach said about Midoriya coming for them when they had been captured by the villains though. He remembered the assurance in Zach's voice that it was going to happen. He didn't doubt it.

I knew Deku-kun would be an amazing hero, but Zach actually thought he would be like All Might from back then? Uraraka thought in disbelief herself while staring over at the two of them.

Even Yaoyorozu looked in awe from the girls' towels towards Zach for saying all of this. You followed Midoriya up to Hokkaido to protect him. That means you felt so strongly about this that you put his safety above all of your own goals. Which means protecting him was most important? From how far back? I would also like to know, Yaoyorozu stared towards the boy who looked so different but sounded the same as he always did when he talked. She and all the others eavesdropping on this conversation watched as Zach hesitated while looking to think back himself to pinpoint a moment.

"How long? What made you think that? I need to know, Zach," Midoriya begged his friend.

Zach nodded back at him but still needed to think for another second. A bead of sweat dripped down Zach's face as he awkwardly paused for another few seconds after. He sighed and glanced away for a moment but knew that Midoriya needed to hear this. So he looked back and replied, "It's always been like this. Before we became friends, before you came to save me from VTS, or the courthouse, or Camino Ward… Before I learned about your Quirk, even before USJ where I heard afterwards how you fearlessly tried to jump in to save All Might."

"Wh-What?" Midoriya stuttered over the word in shock. Everyone else became confused too while looking at Zach who laughed at the reaction from his curly-haired friend in front of him.

"I mean it," Zach told him while Midoriya stared back with eyes as wide as saucers. He was frozen in place and confused at what Zach meant by going so far back. "If I have to say… then it was the day we met. The first day of school."

Midoriya blinked a few times and shook his head around to try and shake away the shock. It did not work though. He just stared back into Zach's eyes with his stuck in the huge shape they were in. Zach explained to him as Deku and all the others who thought back to that day could not understand how Zach had somehow come to the conclusion he had that early on. No one else could think of what Zach's reasoning could possibly be until he started to explain. "While we were doing our aptitude tests. You and I were the worst and second worst in the class. And after you threw that ball and got a high score, I got so worried that I was going to get the lowest score and be expelled."

Midoriya squinted his eyes finally and blinked as they had been stuck open wide for too long. He managed to shake off some shock but just regained a look of utter confusion as to how this had somehow made Zach think of him as some amazing hero from that early on. "I could tell that you were afraid of the same thing. I could tell because I spent the rest of the day watching you, Izuku. Hoping that you would get bad scores, which you did in the remaining events. But I noticed something while I watched you in those final tests, getting lower scores than me in all of them."

"You never once looked my way like you were hoping that I would get a bad score," Zach told him. Midoriya tilted his head to the side, still not understanding what Zach was talking about even as Zach said that in a tone like it explained everything. Zach shook his head and chuckled softly that Midoriya could not comprehend that. "You must have known that I was close to you, but you were just focused on your own scores and how to make yourself better. How to push through the pain from breaking your finger, on somehow staying in it and making it through. Who was right above you on the leaderboard didn't even matter." Midoriya's eyes started to grow wide again and Zach smiled that his friend was starting to understand it. "I was busy thinking about everyone else's score, and my own, and on what I'd do if I was expelled… and how I wanted you to be the one expelled instead of me. It was better if it wasn't me."

"That's how I know you were better than me. From that first day, I saw you break a bone and exceed Aizawa sensei's expectations, while I was stunned myself that Aizawa sensei even let me stay in the class after how I spent the whole day. After what I spent the entire test thinking about." Midoriya's eyes filled with water while Zach smiled confidently at Midoriya in the same way he always had: without any doubt in his eyes. Others watching this found themselves getting choked up too, some of them getting water in their eyes at the touching moment between their friends. Zach just smiled brightly back at Midoriya and told him, "I spent that entire test watching you. I couldn't figure out what bugged me so much about it for a long time after it. It's because it's hard to accept that someone is just a better person than you. And I really thought that. I thought that I'm just a 'thinker,' that I think a lot and so I can't drown out the bad thoughts of all the worst case scenarios, but you don't do that. Even in a situation where your dreams could have been destroyed, you didn't even consider it. You just do whatever you can for the best outcomes. That's what I wish I could have been like as a hero. And it's what I knew you were going to be like as a hero too from that first day."

"You beating me would have meant that I got expelled instead of you, but that was never your goal. Whereas I thought about how I wanted it to be you rather than me. You didn't think the same about me. How did that make sense? It was amazing to me. It's part of what kept me from going down a bad path in life," Zach went on in a way that had the tears spilling down Midoriya's cheeks now. "The reason I was where I was to save everyone, it was thanks to all of you. To Class A. To you especially though, Izuku. To the people who, when I was faced with the toughest decisions of my life, in the back of my head I could see all of them and imagine that if they were faced with the same situation, what would they do? If they had to pick a choice, even though most of them never would in the first place, I always knew what they would choose. What you would have chose. Even the times when I was at my darkest, I always knew what was right. Always. Because of you, Deku."

"And I could tell that from the day we met." Zach finished his speech and put both palms down on the sand at the sides of his towel. "I really don't think there's a single other person in the world who could have gone through that stressful test Aizawa put us through and not think about the placement of the people around them. Especially as a kid." Zach chuckled and shook his head back and forth, still looking amazed even now as he thought back on it. He popped up off his towel, and Midoriya quickly scrambled up to his feet too, trying to come up with words to tell Zach thanks or say how he did not deserve Zach's complete faith over something so small as that. Zach had said it so full of conviction though that Midoriya held himself back from those lame responses to such a confession.

Midoriya took in a deep breath and finally wiped his eyes. He smiled so brightly when he looked back at Zach for saying all of that to him. It really did make Deku feel special to know that Zach felt that way, and he had never felt more confident about the heroic life he was about to start than he did after Zach explained his total faith in him. Zach furled his lips awkwardly while looking back into Midoriya's eyes standing right in front of one another, while some people were clearly staring their way. "Though I still don't think you're the strongest," Zach said, cutting off the heartfelt moment and turning back towards the water he jogged towards himself. "I still think Bakugo is stronger than you."

Midoriya got a confused look on his face as to why Zach suddenly shifted moods so suddenly. Then his eyes widened as he saw Bakugo snort at the shore and say, "Of course," before turning and jogging back into the water himself first. Zach flashed a smirk sideways back towards Midoriya who finally started running after him. "H-Hey! What do you mean? I beat Kacchan at the Sports Festival!"

Zach turned around and backpedaled into the water. "Pssh! That's a fake fight… not that I ever watched it." Zach jumped backwards and dunked himself under the sea.

He splashed back up to see Midoriya stopped right at the shoreline with Iida not far from him also looking at Zach in surprise. "You didn't?" Midoriya wondered.

Iida felt a brief moment of suspicion but cast it off just as quickly. What need would he have to lie now? He wondered.

Zach shook his head back at Deku to show he meant it. Midoriya felt a bit surprised but said, "Well if you had, you would have seen that we were both going all out-"

"Oh come on," Zach interrupted him. "'All out?' No you weren't," Zach countered with a shake of his head. "You'll never fight your friend as hard as you fight your worst enemy. And that's why I think Bakugo's stronger. Because Bakugo would fight his worst enemy harder than you would." Midoriya gawked back at Zach for saying this not just as a way to make the conversation they just had less awkward, but actually like he meant what he was saying too.

Bakugo had ran back towards Kirishima, Tokoyami, Sato, and Shoji who he jumped out of the water near and cannonballed to splash the lot of them. He burst out of the surface already laughing, only for all four of the others to start splashing with all twelve of their combined arms into the spiky-haired blond in the middle. Bakugo took that as a challenge though and started splashing all of them back, seamlessly starting a 1v4 splash fight that the others did not consider making even teams for as that would just be unfair.

Zach watched that fight in interest for a second before nodding his head to the right at his green-haired friend who came up next to him. "It's more than just that, Izuku. I really do think Bakugo's got you beat."

"You're wrong," Midoriya retorted and crossed his arms.

Zach shrugged. "Possibly. But I don't think I am. Bakugo doesn't just fight his worst enemy harder than you, but he fights his regular enemies harder too. Beats them, harder." Midoriya frowned deeper at this explanation that just seemed like them overdoing it and risking harm to their enemies. Midoriya tilted his head to the side admitting to himself that of course Zach would see it like this though. Zach shook his head when he saw the conclusion Deku was having that he and Bakugo were just more alike and that Zach was actually wrong about this. He decided to explain to his kinder friend, "The reason he does that isn't to hurt them. Or because he doesn't care if he goes overboard." Midoriya gave him a sideways look. Zach glanced to his side and made eye contact with Deku who he shook his head at, "It's because he hopes that those weaker enemies are stronger and might give him a fight."

Midoriya's eyes shot wide as he thought about a convenience store where Zach was recorded getting shot in the chest. As if he knew exactly the moment Deku was thinking about, Zach nodded his head in confirmation as to his friend's surprise and realization. "I'll explain it simpler. Izuku, you don't like fighting."

"I… I enjoy, when I fight. I mean, hurting people isn't-" Midoriya stumbled over his words trying to quickly counter what Zach just said. "I like martial arts. I like, a challenging-"

"I know you can enjoy a fight. There are times when you do," Zach responded while holding a hand up defensively to indicate he was not implying that Midoriya never had fun. "But you like being a hero. You train and studied all the techniques of other heroes, and you like utilizing your moves and getting stronger, all for your goals and to help people. And I think that when you fought Bakugo it probably meant a lot to you, to both of you, but that's still just sparring in the end. It's not 'fighting.' And I think when real fighting happens, you don't enjoy it. You enjoy the fake fighting over the Sports Festival, and sparring with Bakugo on those other times, but not that. You don't enjoy it."

"As good as you will be at this, someone who likes every aspect of being a hero- including the fighting, might do a bit better. Just saying," Zach admitted with a shrug. "You better watch your back. Bakugo's going to make it hard for you to keep that number 1 spot every day you have it."

"You're not supposed to 'like' those kinds of fights," Midoriya finally replied in a soft voice to his friend who he really thought was wrong here. It was hard to argue with Zach about anything though and feel like his opinion was valid, but Zach gave him a look wanting Midoriya to go on with his counter-point just like they always did. Midoriya scolded himself for thinking about doing anything but that, and told himself to treat Zach as normally as possible, which meant arguing with him when their opinions differed.

"You're right. It's scary." Zach agreed, surprising his friend once again. "Difficult, and a lot of the time people you're friend with die. You get seriously hurt. Innocent people get hurt. The violence is bloody and horrific… but it gets my heart pumping," Zach confessed. "I don't enjoy violence," he elaborated to eliminate any confusion. "I don't like killing. I hate beating up corrupt politicians and defenseless enemies who can't hold a candle to me, but I do enjoy it when 100 of those guys gather and come at me at once. Or a few really strong enemies at the same time. Or maybe if I think I underestimated a common thug, and I think that I might be about to get a good fight out of him," Zach went back to referencing the convenience store directly this time, and Midoriya nodded as he could understand Zach's reasoning now more than he could that night.

"I have, for a long time, just enjoyed fighting," Zach said while letting out a long breath. Each thing he brought up that he usually kept inside just felt like more weight lifted off his chest, and he saw no reason to stop now. If I'm going to trust them, I'll trust them with everything. He and Midoriya had waded about waist deep and just kept going on with their conversation. "Even people I could beat easily, if I put limits on myself, or if I've determined that I can only fully win a certain way, I make it even more fun. More challenging. I love it. The blood pumping through my veins. The feeling that I could win or lose, and the knowledge that I need to win somehow even more makes the adrenaline-"

"I do understand that," Midoriya confessed back. "I'm not an adrenaline junky, for sure. But I kind of understand what you're saying. I don't want to get in that situation often though where I think I could lose-"

"That isn't the point," Zach cut in on him. "No matter how much I like it, I'd still try and avoid a fight whenever I can too. You never want to hurt people if there are other, better options. But when the time comes and you're fighting for your life… like I was against Kaminari." Midoriya stared at Zach in shock. Zach finished anyway though, "I enjoyed it. I hated it," he added in a soft whisper. "I hated what happened to my friend, but I also knew it wasn't Kaminari's fault. I couldn't blame him or even hate him, and I knew what I had to do. I'd already accepted that. I had to kill my enemy who had the best chance of anyone in the world to kill me-"

"Kaminari was your best friend," Midoriya whispered at Zach. His voice was pained but also with a hint of desperation for Zach to realize what he was saying aloud like it was some terrible thing that Zach couldn't possibly mean.

"And he knew my weaknesses," Zach replied. "Planned to fight me for years. The fate of the world was on the line. I couldn't lose. Kaminari had hidden weapons everywhere. It was hard. Painful. Sad… And when I was sprinting through the streets of Tokyo fighting my best friend in a deathmatch, I got excited. I hated that I had to do it, but the fight itself was something else." Zach was frowning as he said this. Midoriya's eyes shook more because he saw that Zach was not saying this like it was okay anymore. In fact, Zach's frown deepened more and more and he actually looked distressed himself as he spoke back on it. Zach's eyes clenched shut for a second in pain as he thought on his fight with Kaminari, and he questioned himself how he could have possibly been smiling at times during it.

He shook his head around and then dunked himself under water. Zach kicked off the sand and shot forward then leapt out and spun to Midoriya who was surprised how far Zach sped underneath the surface. Midoriya waded farther out and gave his friend an uncertain look at the way Zach was already smiling when he dropped back down nearly up to his shoulders now. "It was the same with Ares. I'm sure you remember, but I was honestly having a pretty good time during that."

"No you weren't," Midoriya reminded him, while also darting a cautious and uneasy glance to his right at a few of the other guys out here who gave them confused looks. Zach had not said that quietly, and the others who had not been a part of this conversation but were within range now looked towards the two of them. They tried to piece together what Midoriya's response could mean.

Midoriya wasn't with Zach out in the world. Who was "Ares?" Mineta wondered.

What are they talking about? Todoroki gave a side-eye towards the two of them.

What fight were only Zach and Midoriya at? Was this back in our second year? Iida felt confused by the lack of context to this character Zach mentioned who Deku clearly recognized.

Zach went on without bothering to retort against what Midoriya said. "Though unlike Kaminari, I really did hate him. Hate him. So I guess fighting him was more fun. I didn't hold back at all either. I used everything and was so outclassed it was insane, and somehow that made it even better! Haha," Zach admitted that with a laugh and shook his head at how crazy it was that knowing he might lose even at his strongest gave him such a thrill in his rush of adrenaline at the time.

"Zach," Midoriya warned hesitantly.

"It's fine," Zach told his friend who started speaking like Zach needed to be careful. Zach glanced to the others who listened in and looked confused, then he just shrugged while looking back to Deku who stared back anxiously. Zach really did not care about any of his former secrets though.

Midoriya understood why and could not say another word to question him over it. If Zach really did believe that they would keep the secret of his survival to their graves, then there was no point in hiding anything else from them. So he just went on without censoring himself, "I went into that fight knowing I was going to kill that God or die trying. Even if Ares didn't want to kill me. I was going to finish it."

"What 'God?'" Sero wondered while walking up next to Midoriya with an amused look on his face.

"The God of the assassins," Zach responded just as amusedly. He said it in a tone almost jokingly and Sero just rose his eyebrows while smirking more as Zach told one of his amazing stories. The only thing that was a bit off-putting about it, was that Midoriya looked really uneasy about what Zach was talking about. Mineta gulped because Midoriya looked the same way he did back in the hospital when he let slip something about Zach flying that had freaked him out so much. Zach just went on though without addressing the response he just made, "I hated him more than I've ever hated anyone. Those things he said about what he did to this world?" Zach asked while looking Deku straight in the eyes.

Midoriya flinched and glanced away as he thought back on it. "Seeing Ares kill all his men on a whim just to make it so I couldn't get any stronger? Killing Eziano who had spent hundreds of years praying to him, for speaking out of turn? It enraged me. It set me off more than I knew… more than I knew I could be set off without killing anyone. I hated Ares more than ever in that moment. Killing him was the end goal. Losing meant the world ended. And I could go all out. The fear and the rage and the panic and the pain all combined into this excitement that… well, that I love. When we were throwing the Muindo's at each other, I was honestly having a blast. I'm not gonna lie. Hahaha-" Zach laughed and then covered his mouth at the way the color drained from his other friends' faces at the sound of that.

Midoriya stared back into Zach's eyes and saw that Zach did not look worried at all. He felt like face-palming or telling Zach how they agreed not to talk about this, but instead he just felt his gut clenching and his eyes starting to water. Why? Midoriya wondered. He thought it and then watched as the others around Zach confirmed what was said by checking Deku's facial expression, before shouting off their questions at Zach about that night. Or saying how they knew he had something to do with it. Or asking more about this 'Ares' who Zach did not refrain from admitting that he cut down at the end of their fight, upsetting some of his hero friends who he then had to give his reasoning for and blew their minds over it.

How can he just say these things so casually? Zach kept so many secrets. He has forever! So why? WHY?! Midoriya rubbed his eyes really quickly and then clenched them shut in frustration that this was making him tear up. Why do I have more secrets than him?! Things that I "can't" tell people, when Zach is willing to tell them everything? I've always thought Zach was a liar. We accepted that was part of who he is and love him for it anyway. But me? I'm not- I don't want to be! People don't think of me as one… or do they? They're suspicious. Uraraka- Midoriya shook his head. She knew. She knew something, at least. And I am the liar she called me. Why though? Why do I need to?

I can't just give up the secret of One For All because Zach feels open right now. I have a lot of good reasons not to tell people. Midoriya looked back up and around at the friends so accepting of what Zach was telling them. In as much disbelief as they were in, they believed Zach nonetheless. As crazy as the story was, they believed him. Didn't I mean what I said on that stage? Zach became our family, but because of that! Because of that, we all became a family. Midoriya's eyes shifted off of Zach and to the other boys around him who kept looking his way to check to see if everything Zach was saying was true.

They might not agree with how I destroyed the God Book. I'll just omit that part at least. Zach checked over to Midoriya again to give him a reassuring look that he would not bring up the God Book. Midoriya's shoulders relaxed when Zach looked his way though for a different reason. Deku let out a deep breath and looked up to the bright blue sky. He lowered his gaze back to his friends who all faced him wondering what his weird expression was for, though Zach had a feeling already, and Todoroki's eyes started to bulge wide as he realized too what Midoriya was about to say.

Class A will know all the secrets. Zach will make it so we can protect our minds. So why hide it from them? I trust them too, Zach. They'll know my secret. And All Might's. I can make this decision because we are closer than just classmates. We're all family now. Midoriya looked away from Zach and Todoroki and to the others out here who were all listening now after hearing the insane conversation going on about Ares. "I, also have something I need to confess…"

Up on the sand at the beach towels the girls had laid out, all six of Class A's new female heroes sat in their bathing suits facing the water or each other. They were talking and laughing and enjoying the sun in happier moods than they had been in for a long time. Ashido glanced back to the water from Asui who she was sitting cross-legged facing, and her smile faltered for a second as she saw the serious looks on all the boys' faces while they discussed something. She stared at the back of Zach's head that she would not have recognized if she just spotted it out in a crowd. Had he disappeared, we never would have seen him again. Not a chance. Even if he was right next to us we wouldn't have known.

What are they talking about? Jirou thought while looking towards the water herself to see what had Ashido's smile dropping. She just shrugged her shoulders after a second though and refaced Momo who she no longer felt mad at. She decided that she had had enough of feeling angry and hateful at her friends for lies they felt forced to make. I guess I just trust you both to know that you wouldn't have done this to me again if it wasn't the only choice.

Jirou looked back to her best friend who was answering all the others' questions about the days leading up to this excursion. Yaoyorozu had been the only one to travel with Principal Nezu to America where Zach had been in the hospital after the Day of Revival. They all needed to know what had happened there that led to the world believing that Zach Sazaki had died.

Yaoyorozu continued on to her friends who all focused back on her as she got to the good part, "…When Mr. Principal told me to come in, I still did not know if he was alive or not. Zach had been pretending to be in a coma…"

---

4 Days ago…

"If you could give me a moment with my student?" Principal Nezu requested of the American doctors in the room with him. The hospital in Kansas City, USA, was surrounded by police vehicles to keep out the press. Heroes were stationed all around the facility. Principal Nezu knew exactly who those heroes were and what their Quirks were. He glanced around the room as the healthcare professionals left too though, and he could see that his student was in a soundproof room without security cameras that could be hacked to spy on Lifebringer's condition.

Nezu was left alone with his student. He watched the doctors leave then walked over to the singular bed in the large room. It had machines around it all hooked up to the boy who the doctors had just been checking on once again. Nezu glanced up at the machines and read the numbers on the screens. He checked the chart at the side of Sazaki's bed and confirmed what the doctors had said to be true. Nothing appeared wrong with him. Yet no one could properly diagnose Lifebringer. They all believed that because this was the first case of this ever happening, that there was no way for their medicine to know what was ailing him. Nezu just looked towards the motionless scarred face of the young man laying on the hospital bed. "We are alone now. Open your eyes, Sazaki."

Zach's eyes opened up and stared at the ceiling above him. He shifted them down towards Nezu then clenched them shut fast and flinched. His mind pushed aside the thoughts of why he was in this hospital bed and why he was faking his coma. Zach lifted his right hand up and focused on it with his eyes snapping back open. "Nothing," he whispered after the test. "My Quirk is gone."

"I see. Well, then we must have a serious conversation about where we go from here…"

---

Present

"The principal knew that Zach was fine?" Uraraka wondered. She looked over her shoulder for a second towards the parking lot where All Might and Mr. Principal were talking at the edge at the wooden fence. "How did he… well," Uraraka stopped questioning it and sighed at how unnecessary that question was. The smartest mouse man in the world would know.

"That's what Zach tells me," Yaoyorozu replied. "Principal Nezu was confident that Zach was hiding his consciousness in order to give himself time to plan out his next move. After all, using Apocalypse was a spur of the moment decision on his part. He did not have an 'after' planned…" Momo's voice got softer and her eyes lowered to her towel. She twiddled her fingers then smiled with a small blush on her face while glancing to her purse that she had brought out of the locker room with her and also had on her towel.

"He thought he was dying for us," Tsuyu whispered. "So painfully-"

"But he's alright now," Yaoyorozu cut off her disturbed friend whose face was scrunching up as she imagined Zach injecting himself again. Yaoyorozu looked sternly at Tsu who just shook her head after a second of trying to regain a normal look on her face. Yaoyorozu eased up her harsh look and sighed. Forcing it is too difficult. She needs to though, for his sake. "He really is, Tsu-chan. It's up to us to make sure of that though. As long as we stay away from the topic of that day, he'll be fine. Zach knows how to move past trauma. How to enjoy life despite the terrible things he's been through. It's part of the reason why, I'm so in love with him."

"Awwwww," Uraraka and Toru clasped their hands together and gasp-"aw"ed together. Both did it involuntarily after hearing something so cute, and they had to purse their lips to keep from doing it again when Yaoyorozu's cheeks turned red and their friend bowed her head shyly in a moment just as cute.

Ashido remembered Momo yelling that out so much during the Apocalypse. While we all forced Zach to keep saving the rest of the world with our encouragement. You were the only one who tried to get him to stop. You loved him so much that you were fine with a destroyed world if it meant he could live. Ashido's eyes watered and she rubbed them quickly while looking away and back down to the water where the boys all looked to be talking about serious stuff, though no one appeared confrontational. They were just gathered up making points to each other and looking amicable, though confused, and some upset, but understanding too.

Momo looked at her purse again and twiddled her fingers while staring at it. "After Zach and the principal talked about it and Zach told him what he wanted to do, Principal Nezu came to get me. Before we faked his death and he was still 'comatose,' I went to see him." Yaoyorozu interlocked her fingers and pursed her lips once more before reaching for her bag. "We… talked." Her cheeks got redder and she averted her gaze as much as possible before quickly trying to move on. "And we decided that he's not going anywhere. That we'll live in Japan, and there's no need to go start over anywhere else. He wouldn't leave Class A behind again. Or me…"

The other five girls were wondering what Yaoyorozu was being so anxious about. Then she pulled her hand back out of her bag. I won't have much of a chance to wear it. Not in public at least. Yaoyorozu slid the ring onto her ring finger and then hesitantly removed her covering hand to show the other girls whose jaws collectively dropped at the sight of it. "Whaaaaaa…" Uraraka could not close her mouth to finish the word.

Hagakure eeped and started waving her hands around like crazy though along with Ashido who leaned closer to Yaoyorozu's hand and inspected the engagement ring in shock. "Did you make this?" Ashido asked while darting her eyes back up to her friend who glanced to the side but then admitted it with a small nod of her head.

"I can't wear it out in the open for now," Yaoyorozu started in a sheepish voice after revealing to her friends the ring. "Not for a few years at least before 'Jack' emerges to the public eye."

"You really…" Jirou was amazed and shook her head around a few more times to try and wrap her mind around this. "Married? You're really-"

Yaoyorozu blushed so hard that Jirou's cheeks actually went red a bit and she had to look away quickly while covering her mouth at how cute Momo looked.

"How did that even happen?" Toru asked in astonishment, and some jealousy she tried to hide from her tone.

Jirou looked back too as their taller friend started, "He said this big speech about how he never wanted to leave me again. How much he loved me and wanted to spend his life with me…" Yaoyorozu smiled brightly and still with slightly red cheeks thinking about that hospital room. Principal Nezu gave us some time alone. I did not even know he was going to live when I entered the room. And when I left, she lifted her twinkling eyes up and her friends all turned to look down to the sea where Zach was the focus of all his guy friends' focus as well.

"He's really something, isn't he?" Uraraka asked no one in particular after a few seconds of them staring down towards Zach's broad and scar-covered back.

"So," Mina looked to her left and smirked at Momo. "When's the wedding?"

"Haha," Momo chuckled and then shook her head. "That won't be able to happen for years. 'Jack' needs the world to forget about what he looked like first…"

As Yaoyorozu explained how they were going to keep Zach a secret to the rest of the world, Ashido and Hagakure looked towards each other. Hagakure's eyes were invisible, but Ashido made eye contact with her friend anyway. The two shared a look and the kind of telepathic thoughts that only two girls could have as they had a full mental conversation with one another. Hagakure and Ashido stood up at the same time, and Hagakure came up behind Yaoyorozu and curled her hands over Momo's shoulders that she started massaging to get Yaoyorozu to relax before Ashido dropped the big news on her.

A bead of sweat rolled down Yaoyorozu's face as a smirking Ashido leaned her face close to her friend's. The way that Ashido grinned at her made a pit of nervousness swell inside Momo's chest. Uh oh. Her face paled a bit while she looked past the smirking pink girl once more towards the water, and she gulped but smiled with a twinkle in her eyes at the "suggestion" Ashido declared to her that Yaoyorozu was already expecting from that look in Mina's eyes.

Every one of the other girls nodded in agreement with Ashido and then started ushering Momo away off the towel to only meek protests from the tall black-haired girl. She felt unsure and anxious about the timing, and yet she wondered why she brought it all up in the first place right here if not because she hoped for something like this from her best friends. They dragged her back to the locker room, to the confusion of some of the boys in the water who were in the circle of boys facing the shoreline. They glanced over Zach's shoulders for a second if they spotted the girls heading up to the locker room, but they were far too focused on what Zach was arguing with Midoriya who was two people down to his right and did not back down from his own opinion on the issue as some of their friends thought he might.

"They should become defunct now," Midoriya countered his friend.

"They'll always have a use in the world. It won't be as prominent, and you might actually think that they're gone completely, but I don't think they ever will completely disappear," Zach retorted. Midoriya opened his mouth back up and Zach continued quicker than he could counter again, "I know it's something we'll never agree on, Deku. There's good reason for them to stick around though."

"I will stop them," Midoriya declared. He did not hesitate on the statement he made. "If they continue to act and commit crimes, I will not treat them any differently than any other villain."

"I know. I know, but you won't catch them," Zach remarked back and even smirked at his friend who got an even more frustrated look on his face at Zach's cocky statement. Worse was how much Zach had just told him how he believed in Deku more than anyone, and yet somehow he still thought it amusing that Midoriya would try to stop the Army of Death. He saw how upset Deku was getting too, and some of his other friends who were all listening to them now after the bombshells about Ares and One For All had drawn everyone into a serious conversation. "You have to realize," Zach started. "The Army of Death have now replaced Ares' assassins as the strongest shadowy group in the world."

"That's not a good thing," Midoriya began quickly, before cutting himself off and grimacing as he did not actually believe that but had gotten worked up and responded before thinking. Zach did not jump on that though, instead giving Midoriya a second to rephrase. "It might not, be worse. It's better. Okay? But just because it's better than things were, doesn't mean it's perfect. And things will be even better when there are no shadowy groups secretly in control of the world at all."

"The amount of power you as heroes would have to wield to make sure of that would turn heroes into an authoritarian force without a doubt," Zach stated. A few of the others gawked at him for that remark, wondering how Zach got that conclusion from what Midoriya had said that most of them agreed with. "You can't keep watch over everyone. You can't stop all crime as heroes. It just doesn't work, because heroes do have to wait. Respond to threats."

"So your soldiers would act preemptively? Hitting people before they have a chance to commit crimes?" Todoroki asked harshly, feeling more on Midoriya's side about this. Midoriya nodded fast that Todoroki thought Zach was suggesting something like that.

"It's not about 'acting' to prevent crimes. Just the mere existence of them…" Zach trailed off and he tilted his head up for a second to collect his thoughts here in a way the heroes would understand. "It's like the mob, Izuku." Zach looked back down and into Izuku's eyes again. "I left them in place because someone needs to fill that position in society. You might not like it, but it does work. It keeps real criminals from filling what would have been a vacuum in Italy's underworld."

"Just because it 'works,' doesn't mean it's the best option," Sero mentioned. He suggested it as a counter but did not sound too strongly on Midoriya's side here. He just shrugged at Zach and offered up, "Even taking them all down, you don't know for sure that the heroes wouldn't have just succeeded at preventing any new villains from emerging."

"You're right. I don't know that for sure. All I can do is base my predictions on experience and history. And historically, there has always been a shadowy group with a ton of control in the world. Lots of them, actually," Zach added. "We could remove them all and then pretend like no new ones came around and took their place, or we can actively create the new one that takes their place only with a different goal than all the old ones had. Instead of some new shadowy force coming into the shadows that I cleared out, there's already a force in there far more powerful than any of the previous ones. With more control than Eziano or his forefathers ever managed to obtain in the world. Assets in every country. Ready to respond to any disturbance to the new peace. The new order."

Mineta's jaw dropped so far some sea water splashed in. He's talking about a kind of power I can't even fathom! That's what the Army of Death can do though. He set it up like that! Mineta shook his head around rapidly. That's really scary.

"You might have thought that was the best thing while you were in charge-"

"I trust Gentle entirely, Deku," Zach started.

"And if he falls and gives it to someone else? And they give it to someone else after?! You don't know!" Midoriya exclaimed at him. "You don't know how long they'll survive for out there. And you don't know if your ideals will get twisted three or four generations down the line. You've set a precedent to break laws for what one man believes is right."

"Death could be a woman," Zach mentioned. He said it more lightheartedly even though Midoriya was really frowning angrily at him here for this argument. "You might be right," Zach told him. "Maybe it will happen like that. I doubt it, but for the moment let's say you're right. Let's say that at some point the Army of Death turns evil. They will immediately lose all the control they have, because their power is based on helping people. They're better than any other group that could have filled the gap, but unlike the others they cannot survive without support from the real world. But in reality, I just think you're wrong. I don't think it will ever become twisted. It's not like in the thousands of years that the Mozcaccio's ruled that they suddenly became worse or better. They were always terrible. There's no reason to believe that the Army of Death won't always be good."

A few of them felt like mentioning that the Army of Death were already not "good." But it was too hard to say that. They had to admit it to themselves while thinking back on all they had actually seen about the Army of Death and not the negative rumors that Zach and his friends had spread for years about them. We don't actually have to worry about that with Zach, Kirishima thought. Or his friends. He wouldn't have picked anyone who wasn't amazing like him.

He picked people who were willing to throw their lives away for us, Aoyama reminded himself as he thought on the story of Switch.

They came to save Tokyo and did so in a way to prevent themselves from ever getting any of the credit, Todoroki thought. The Gentle Criminal saved my father. Stopped Intanzo. Gave Zach the Trigger to revive the city. As much as I want to agree with Midoriya, I can't imagine Gentle picking anyone so bad that they might turn out to be a supervillain. And if he picks someone like him, what are the odds that person picks some terrible monster either? Zach has a point. Still, it's too much power for one group. "They have no oversight," Todoroki just said in a low disapproving voice. "No regulations. That makes them inherently dangerous."

"Villains know that too though," Zach brought up. "Which along with Sero's stream of Wampajawa, I wholeheartedly believe, will reduce crime rates for decades to come."

Zach glanced to Sero and smiled at his friend who beamed with pride that Zach actually thought that of his decision to stream that courtroom video.

The most powerful force in the world, Bakugo thought. He decided not to just smirk and think immaturely about destroying them himself just to see if he could and prove that he was stronger than them. His lips furled and he gained a more thoughtful look instead. Hiding and secretly making the world better for the rest of us. That's what he thinks they'll be because it's what he made them. That's his legacy. Yet, so much is his legacy, that that's just one part of it.

He's changed the world in so many ways, Iida thought in awe of his classmate. Laws have changed. I always scolded him about the rules and talked like the way that things were written in the law codes were perfect. Rules are there for a reason. To not be broken! Yet he changed them. Changing the rules? For the better?! I broke them with Stain and believed that it was my job to never break them again, but maybe that was too shallow a way of looking at what happened back then. Maybe, there was another lesson to be learned there.

Society is changing. It will keep changing from Zach's legacy even without him there, and he'll get to see it! Mineta felt really happy at that thought. Most heroes don't get to see how the world would change after their death. See if all they did meant anything at all. He gets to. He gets to, and in his case? He's going to see his actions make a better world every single day. Not that he couldn't already see that after just being Death…

Lower villain rates across the board, Sato thought.

The world is healthy. He eradicated so many diseases, Koda thought in wonder.

Lower villain rates than ever before. He changed so many villains' outlooks when he revived them. They knew who he was and what he was like, and he gave them second chances, Tokoyami imagined. How can they remain evil after that?

Deserts are being terraformed. Fresh water is appearing in areas that have never had easy access to it, Midoriya rubbed his forehead and let out a long sigh. As much as he felt strongly about the Army of Death and his role in stopping any villains… it was really hard to argue against Zach when he knew what the Army of Death was currently doing. Zach's friends are building schools and propping up poor neighborhoods that suddenly find themselves with the budgets to educate their children. I don't really want to stop them. But Zach, the moment that they stop doing what you set them on the path to do, Midoriya tried to find in him a sterner look again even though he was struggling to keep convincing himself that the AoD were a "threat."

All he's done, Shoji thought. He smiled behind his mask. Zach's a legend. We are in the presence of a living legend. Amazing beyond compare. He's 18 years old, and he's changed everything. Saved us all. And he's still here because he wants to be our friend. And we all want to be his. Whether or not he had done any of those amazing things, we all want to be his friend. Because as much as all these feats sound like something no man could have possible done, it really was just a man doing it.

I can't believe he's actually human like us, Ojiro thought. Our friend. Our hero! It was partly how Zach just gave Sero credit for reducing crime for decades, as if somehow Sero was the hero in this situation because of that. They could not even feel disbelief at Zach's humility because it did not sound like he was being humble. It really sounded like he meant what he said and that he considered Sero's action would have that kind of world-changing impact. Like Zach thought he was an amazing hero for it.

I'm so happy you're still alive dude, Sero was not one to get emotional. Yet he was smiling so hard he felt his eyes getting watery for a second. This day could not get any cooler- Sero looked towards the shore behind Zach and his lips pursed before he blew air through them and nearly fell backwards into the water while laughing in utter shock.

Sero's reaction was the abnormal one. Everyone else stared in shock past Zach to shore as well, but they were all just dumbfounded and had dropped jaws at the sight of the girls walking towards them. Zach got confused and turned his head sideways. He froze when he spotted it out his peripheral vision. His cheeks flushed red and his eyes bulged and trembled at the sight of the five girls in pink dresses, and the one girl in white who stood on the sand staring down towards him with her hands locked together anxiously in front of her waist.

"Wow," Zach whispered. Momo read his lips and blushed brightly to see it, causing Zach to blush even more back in an adorable way that had the girls around Yaoyorozu swooning. The other guys in the water finally processed what they were seeing and what was going on here, and not one of them could even blink. Even All Might fell over the wooden post he was leaning on at the edge of the beach as he watched the exchange.

"Wait wait wait wai-gurgh-ack-guhh," Mineta choked on water as he stumbled in the shallows while still repeating 'wait' over and over again.

"Holy… you didn't," Bakugo looked to his left and then cracked a huge grin over his face even as a bead of sweat dripped down the side of it. He proposed?! When? WHAT?!

Ashido spun around in front of Momo's left side and swung out the tuxedo she had been hiding behind her back. "Ohh Zach!" She called down in a sing-song voice. "While we're all here and together. The only time we might ever all be able to get together like this without anyone noticing again. You know it's the best time for it. Even if it has to be in secret!"

"You didn't think we'd let you get away with not having one, did you?!" Toru exclaimed down in shock that Zach would even consider such a thing.

"Doesn't Momo deserve something special?" Ochaco called out.

"Don't disappoint, Jack," Jirou remarked in a cool voice showing no disappointment or anger at all anymore over being lied to over Zach's fake death.

"Gero. You boys can just watch in your bathing suits," Tsuyu mentioned, as Yaoyorozu had only made bridesmaid dresses and the one suit for Zach.

"We really doing this? Right now?" Zach wondered while looking straight up towards Momo with a growing smile over his face.

Ashido swung around the suit a few more times in front of her as if showing him there was not even a need for the pointless question. Yaoyorozu blushed again and wondered back to the boy walking up out of the shallow water, "Do you want t-"

"More than anything in the world," Zach interrupted before she could finish the question.

Ashido pulled the tux back and covered her face with the jacket. "Eeeeee-MMmmm!" She squealed into the suit as the level of cuteness overload was too much to handle.

Yaoyorozu held a hand out towards him as Zach walked up the sand towards her. He bowed his head as he approached and reached his right hand out. He touched her small hand with his rough right hand that had no glove on it. Zach took her by the hand and lifted his head to meet her eyes, and the sun caught the back of the girl in front of him in such a way to give her a golden aura around her body that sent shivers down his spine. Zach smiled at the woman of his dreams and told her, "I love you, Momo Yaoyorozu."

She smiled back so brightly back into his eyes that it nearly blinded him. "I love you too, Zach Sazaki."

FIN

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A/N Hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading. Not going to write review responses below here, as I'm about to go to a friend's to watch the Lightning game (Go Lightning!) and need to hurry XD. https(colon)(backslash)(backslash)discord(period)gg(backslash)uh9NHagM is the link for the Discord that someone in the comments made. I hopped on it and if anyone else has questions about the story or just wants to talk about it, you can hop on too. (Replace the "colon" with an actual :, the backslash's with /'s, and the (period) with . as I'm pretty sure putting links in a story can get the chapter removed. Just didn't want that to happen). Anyway, I really hope you guys had fun reading Death. I loved writing it all this time. 4 years+. I still read random chapters at night sometimes for comedy, or tears, or action. It'll always hold a place in my heart. You guys reading this and supporting me all these years made it way more fun to write too! So thanks! I know one day when I publish a real book and come add a chapter onto Death where I tell you the title and how to find it (probably on Amazon), that I'll have a ton of readers ready to see what else I have in store for them! Makes me really happy as a writer to know that. Good luck in all your endeavors. Thanks for your support. And...

Stay frosty. XD

-Tmb1112