The Final Chapter, i hope you like it!
With the destruction of Japhet, the end of the demonic invasion had been settled. And Gregory's plan to destroy Academy City and revive the order of the Millennial Phoenix was shattered. Though there was plenty of destruction and injuries, fatalities were kept to a minimum by swift action of anti-skill.
Media was spun in an effective but creative direction. Gregory Augustine was arrested and convicted for mass terrorism and the release of a large number of test animals to attack civilians. Academy City got some flak for the test animals, but media was more focused on the actions of Gregory.
His actions earned him a variety of charges, and he was extradited to Europe for various crimes of a slimier nature, though this was actually a fabrication. Gregory was handed over to the Roman Catholics to face a tribunal for breaching the Treaty of Science and Magic, but the media didn't need to know that. It was likely that the world would never hear the name Gregory Augustine ever again.
Mysteriously, Prometheus and Pandora were nowhere to be found. Even after guiding Aizawa to where the group left them, there was no trace of them at all. It was as if they had mysteriously vanished. Izuku had an odd feeling, but quickly discarded it; he didn't have time to worry about those two right now. Something more important needed to be taken care of.
While Index's magical knowledge would be useful for the injuries of the heroes, it would have no effect on Touma. Imagine Breaker was automatic and uncontrollable; regardless of whether the effect was positive or negative, it would negate it. There was only one option for Touma's recovery, unfortunately.
-Hospital, Next Day-
"So I'm trapped in this bed once again… such misfortune." Touma lamented. He laid back, his body covered in bandages under his hospital gown. He didn't have any broken bones or fractures thankfully, but severe burns were clearly evident. "At least the tournament was canceled; I'd hate to have to fight Misaka like this… hah!" Touma sighed happily; though it wasn't how he wanted, he finally got out of that stupid tournament.
There was a knock at his door.
"Come in." Touma called out. The door opened to reveal Izuku, oddly alone. "Hey, what's up? I've never really seen you on your own before."
"Is it that unusual?" Izuku joked, rubbing his neck as he stepped into the room. "We are heading back to our school tomorrow because of the incident, so everyone is off enjoying what they can of the city before they have to go."
"Even Uraraka?" Touma asked.
"She wanted to find a gift for her mom and dad, and never really got a chance to because of everything that was happening." Izuku explained.
"I see…" Touma replied, leaning back in his sitting position. "Too bad I won't be able to see you off; I'm trapped in this bed for about a few more days."
"I see… that's too bad." Izuku said, taking a seat.
"What about you? I figured you'd be off doing the same." Touma replied. "Especially with Uraraka; you could earn some bonus points for helping her out." Izuku blushed red, but shook it off.
"Know from experience or something?" Izuku replied.
"What's with that attitude? I don't know what you're talking about." Touma replied. Izuku desperately wanted to believe that Touma was just joking with him, but he knew better.
The only thing more powerful in Academy City than Accelerator's ability was Touma's obliviousness. He was as dense as a concrete wall when it came to the girls around him.
"I was just joking." Izuku replied with a smile. "I guess I just wanted to be the first one; I'm sure everyone else will come around except for maybe Kacchan, but I wanted to be the first."
"First to do what?" Touma asked.
"To say thank you." Izuku replied. "You've been helping us out for a good portion of our stay in some way, and I just wanted to thank you for it is all."
"You don't need to." Touma replied. "I don't really help people because I feel like I have to or anything. I do it because I want to; simple as that. If I decided I didn't want to I would have walked away. I really kind of do this kind of thing for myself really."
"…But still, you helped us out in a lot of tough spots, so thank you." Izuku persisted. Touma sighed.
"Fine fine, you're welcome." Touma replied. "I don't know why you're so persistent about it."
"Because… well… in a way, I'm trying to become a hero for myself too, I guess." Izuku replied. "I just want to go out and be a hero; to be the guy that saves everyone! But I guess even if the actions are born out of desire to do good for others, they can be a little bit selfish anyway, huh?"
"That's a way to look at it I guess." Touma replied. "But that's life. Everyone is looking out for what they want to do or become. Some people can be good, some can be bad, but in the end we are all hunting after our own happiness, right? I can't fault someone who's just trying to make their dreams come true."
"…I guess Hugo Japhet wasn't such a bad guy after all." Izuku stated.
"Probably not… I'd just say overzealous in his attempts to save everyone. Wanting to protect everyone is fine, but you can't save people from everything. Sometimes life will throw something at you that you just have to deal with. Sure you can have help every now and then, but in the end there are some challenges that you simply have to overcome yourself."
"You're really wise, Kamijou." Izuku said.
"I've just learned from a lot of negative experiences." Touma replied.
"How often do things like this happen around here?" Izuku asked.
"There was a nasty time where it was about every other week, and admittedly right now I'm waiting for a certain organization to make a move, but it's slowed down a lot since I got back into the city. Just had an incident where an experiment took place to outright forcefully create heroes, but that was a few weeks back."
"I see…" Izuku commented. "We've bene having some problems with an organization back home, but their attacks are usually a few months or so apart. And they've mostly been aimed at defeating All Might."
"Oh well, like I said, that's life." Touma shrugged. "There's always bound to be some kind of conflict."
"Kacchan is from my class; trust me I know." Izuku replied. "Our class actually has twenty students, only eight of us actually wanted to come out here for the tournament. I wonder how they are all doing."
"If they are just as over the top as your group is, I'm sure they are fine." Touma replied. "Man I'm already restless. I spend too much time in the hospital…"
"I know that feeling." Izuku admitted. "When I first started, my power ran so wild I broke my arms and legs really easily. I had to spend a lot of time in the infirmary myself."
"…Guess we're both cursed to reside in hospital beds." Touma stated.
"Guess so." Izuku replied.
After a short time, they both sighed in disappointment. Another knock came at the door as it slowly opened, and Ochako poked her head into the room.
"I did make it to the right room, right?" She asked.
"Yeah, but I thought you were shopping?" Izuku asked.
'I managed to find some things I think my parents will like." Ochako answered. "But I also managed to find two other people looking for a gift for a certain someone!" She then stepped into the room pulling two girls with her. The two girls blushed wildly and pulled against Ochako's grip in protest, revealing themselves as both Mikoto and Index.
"Y-you don't need to pull on me! I-I can walk inside myself!" Mikoto shouted.
"I just don't want to visit him while she's here!" Index shot a glare at Mikoto. "This classless girl will just corrupt Touma's sensibilities; it is up to me to fix the damage she causes."
"Is that so huh…!?" Mikoto sparked wildly, glaring back. "Then I suppose you trying to drill religious nonsense into his mind is better? At least I can keep him grounded in the real world!"
The two continued to glare and argue with each other. Izuku, Ochako, and Touma watched, but only the first two fully recognized why.
A love triangle is a dangerous thing. But then they thought about Misaki and her involvement, and the numerous times it was mentioned that Touma was seen constantly around other girls.
In the end, both Izuku and Ochako decided that Touma just attracts dangerous women like a magnet. When things would come to a head if Touma would eventually become interested in a girl, a war of cataclysmic proportions would take place. They both dreaded the day when this would come to pass.
"Girls, please." Izuku called out. He received violent glares form the two, causing him to freak out with fear. After a short time however, he managed to shake it off. "You both are here to visit Kamijou, right? Doesn't fighting in front of him kind of defeat the purpose of trying to cheer him up about being in the hospital?" The two girls exchanged looks.
"You… have a point I guess…" Mikoto replied.
"I… suppose we should get along while we're here…" Index admitted.
"Thanks you guys…" Touma let out a relieved sigh. He then noticed that Mikoto was carrying a sack, but didn't pay much attention to it at first.
"Guess occupancy limits in rooms don't really exist here in Academy City…" Izuku commented.
"It's not that… it's more along the lines of having a bit of reputation around here since I show up so often…" Touma replied, scratching his head.
"You really should be more careful you idiot!" Mikoto shouted.
"Yeah! T-think about those who care about you and what they'd do if you got seriously hurt or worse!" Index added. Touma laughed nervously.
"R-right… of course… sorry for worrying you both!" Touma replied. Mikoto and Index weren't convinced, but they decided to drop it.
"Seriously…" Mikoto sighed. "At least you're ok."
"Misaka, now might be a good time to give him your gift…" Ochako whispered into Mikoto's ear, causing her to blush.
"R-right…" Mikoto stuttered out as she reached into her bag. "H-hey… um… I k-know you prefer them h-homemade but… w-well! I tried!" she quickly took out a small container of cookies that looked rather high class. She practically shoved them out in front of her, but Touma didn't seem to mind as he took them.
"You tried? What do you mean?" Touma asked, looking at the container.
"W-well! I-I don't have an oven so I had to borrow a friend's! A-and I was on my way over but… w-well I slipped and fell… and the cookies I made flew into the street and got run over…" Mikoto replied in a sad tone. "S-so! T-they aren't homemade, b-but I hope you like them anyway!"
"It's the thought that counts, isn't it?" Touma smiled. "Sorry that you had to go through all that work just for me, it must have been a hassle."
"N-no! I'I didn't mind! It was for you so I was more than happy too!" Mikoto abruptly shouted, covering her mouth in embarrassment after doing so. Touma didn't seem to mind the response and opened up the container and took a cookie out, having a bite for himself.
"Hey, these aren't bad!" Touma cheerfully said, causing Mikoto to smile herself. Index was starting to grow jealous of Mikoto getting so much of Touma's attention.
"Touma!" Index ran to his bedside. "I managed to clean up the apartment like I said I would! And I even did the grocery shopping with my own money so you don't have to worry about it this week!"
"You did?" Touma asked, to which Index nodded. "That's great! I really appreciate it, Index!" Touma smiled at her, but still seemed rather continent with Mikoto's cookies; Index's mind went for desperation, and she suddenly leaped up onto the bed and hugged Touma's right arm, confusing him. "I-Index!?"
"I-I was just so worried when I saw you pass out in the chapel!" Index said. "S-so to help you recover, I-I'll hug you like this, ok!? I m-may not be some kind of super curvy girl, but a hug from a girl is supposed to help a boy relax, right!?"
"H-hey! That's cheating!" Mikoto said. Touma was starting to blush himself, partially out of embarrassment and partially because a girl was holding onto him so affectionately.
"I-I live with him, I can hug him like this whenever I want." Index shot back.
"Oh so that's how you want to play huh…!?" Mikoto replied. She then walked up, leaning over and hugging Touma's left arm into her somewhat more developed chest, without fully realizing what she was doing.
Normally, a boy of Touma's age would be thrilled to have two girls hugging him. However, Touma was not most boys. He was more confused than anything, wondering what was going on.
"H-hey! Be careful what you're grabbing onto! Don't I get a say in this!?" Touma shouted.
"No!" Both girls replied at the same time.
"As much as I would like to let Kamijou enjoy the wonders of female companionship, could you please not injure my patient any more than he already has been?" An older male voice called from the door way. He was a bald-headed and short man in a doctor's outfit, but the most notable feature is that his face highly resembled a frog's. Index and Mikoto fully realized what they were doing and both backed off, blushing profusely.
"S-Sorry…" Mikoto muttered.
"I lost control… I apologize." Index bowed her head. The frog-faced doctor laughed a bit.
"It's fine. Just making sure you're not injuring my patient." He walked into the room.
"…Deku, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Ochako whispered.
"…Can't hurt to ask right?" Izuku whispered back. "Excuse me, sir?"
"Yes?" The frog faced doctor looked up toward Izuku.
"You wouldn't happen to know a girl named Asui Tsuyu, would you?" Izuku asked. Tsuyu was a girl from Izuku's class. She had long black hair with a green tint to it, with a frog-face somewhat smiler to the doctors, and had various frog-like abilities for a quirk.
"How do you know my granddaughter?" The doctor asked.
"She's in our class back at the U.A!" Ochako cheerfully replied. The doctor smiled.
"So you're from the hero academy she's always writing me about. Good to know she has come to have such good friends!" The doctor happily stated. "Now, I'm sorry but I need to be alone with Kamijou. I need to check his burns and change his bandages."
With that, the group left the hospital. They would return later, but there was much to be done.
The wonders of Academy City were a once in a lifetime opportunity, after all.
-Next Day, Airport-
"K-Kamijou!?" Izuku stuttered out. "I thought you weren't going to make it out here…"
"I'm actually not supposed to be… but I have a really good doctor." Touma replied. Around him several people stood around. Index, Tsuchimikado, Aogami, Mikoto; just about everyone they had met during their time in Academy City was there to wish them well. Well, save for Accelerator and Stiyl, but those two weren't expected to appear anyway.
"Hey… Shokuhou?" Ochako called out. "I just wanted to say… thanks for your help with… well, my personal dilemma…"
"Think nothing of it!" Misaki moved from the crowd and gave Ochako a rather affectionate hug. "Us maidens in love have to look out for each other, you know? We have to make sure each one of us uses our love power properly!" Ochako blushed red in embarrassment, but returned the hug anyway.
"I guess we do, don't we?" Ochako admitted with a smile.
"You just make sure to keep your significant other in check! With a goal like his, he's bound to have more than a few more female interactions!" Misaki said.
"I'm not worried." Ochako replied. "I'll make sure to do my best so he doesn't have to even worry about another girl!"
"That's your love-power at work, use it well!" Misaki said. Other goodbyes between former opponents took place. Aogami tried hard to meet up with Momo again, but Tsuchimikado and Touma had to restrain him. Kirishima and Sogiita fist bumped each other, saying their mutual desire to fight again when the time was right. Shouto and Momo both paid their respects to Mikoto and her ability, embarrassing her as she attempted to calm them down.
Katsuki walked past Touma, pausing a moment before turning around towards the teen. After an odd look, Touma held out his hand for a handshake. Katsuki grinned wide and shook his hand.
"Next time we meet, I'm going to blow you to bits." Katsuki threatened.
"I wish I could say I was looking forward to it…" Touma replied in a dismal tone. Katsuki's grin formed into a smile as he let go; seemingly accepting the response.
Somehow, Touma had managed to earn Katsuki's respect. Whether that was a good or bad thing had yet to be determined.
"You sure you're going to be ok walking around like this?" Izuku asked.
"Yeah. This happens a lot, so I'm used to it." Touma replied. Izuku smiled.
"Hey, let's exchange numbers! So we can keep in contact!" Izuku asked.
"I don't mind, but I can't guarantee how long this phone will last." Touma replied.
"I'm sure it will be fine, you're a really responsible person, you know?" Izuku stated.
"I think you severally underestimate the misfortune of this male known as Kamijou." Touma replied. Izuku laughed at the joke, and Touma smiled himself. There was more everyone wanted to say to each other, but time was not on their side.
With their jet ready to board for takeoff, the heroes in training accompanied by All Might and Aizawa boarded and left.
The espers of Academy City would remember the heroes who visited their city. Their abilities were impressive, but their most important feature was their camaraderie and teamwork; even if they hated each other they would work together as well as they could to achieve victory.
And they would especially remember a certain hero who bore a powerful ability simply known as One For All, because he proved that not even the strongest were undefeatable.
And in turn, the heroes would remember the technological marvel that was Academy City, and the Espers that lived there. The advancements were amazing, and it was unbelievable that people could develop abilities with such devastating capabilities with just their minds.
And they would especially remember a certain level zero, who proved that it didn't matter how strong or weak you were rated; that what mattered more is how you used your power rather than what it could do when it came to being a hero, even if that person never saw themselves as one in the first place.
Even if these two sides never crossed again, they would always remember their experiences with one another.
And with that, the heroic adventures in Academy City had come to a close.
Hello there! Thanks for sticking it through this one! This is my second story I've written that I've actually finished.
I hope you all enjoyed this little story I had an idea for on a whim, and I hope you are willing to stick around for my next project, whenever it appears next.
Have a good one! See you all next time!