AN: This took less time to write than I thought, but I only started on this 3 days ago so... anyway, here it is! These are the songs that gave me the inspiration to write this fanfic. I should have the final chapter out within a week if all goes well; it'll be a wrap up with some fluff and humor. Anywho, enjoy!

"You've got this, bro!"

"Don't sweat it, Midori. You're going to kill it out there!"

"We believe in you, Deku-kun!"

"You'll do great, ribbit."

"I'd say break a leg out there, Midoriya, but part of me worries you might actually do it. Instead I'll just wish you good luck."

"Relax, dude. You're going to be amazing."

"If you make me suffer from secondhand embarrassment out there by falling on your ass or something, Deku, I'm going to turn this performance into a firework show."

After such kind words from Kirishima, Mina, Uraraka, Tsuyu, Todoroki, and Jiro, Bakugo's statement made Izuku giggle at the change of tone. It had a similar effect on the others as well, save Tsuyu and Todoroki who merely regarded Bakugo's words with silence.

"Thanks everyone," Izuku responded. He took a deep breath, his eyes closing for a long moment, before raising his fist into the air in front of him confidently. "Now let's get out there and do this!"

"Yeah!"

Many of his classmates echoed back with equal if not more enthusiasm. It was about as loud as the cheer they'd done after being informed that the roof to the gymnasium was in fact retractable (by means of a teacher's approval). Aizawa told his class he was fine with it if they wanted to utilize the function, and with the enjoyable sunny weather outside it had been a unanimous vote to open up the roof for the noon performance.

They had been considering leaving it open for the evening show as well, but after the staging team talked they agreed it would have to be closed for the effects to work.

That talk aside, when noon hit it was showtime. The dance team entered stage left, getting into position as the band team went to their respective instruments, the staging team readying themselves for their involvement. Izuku stayed close to Jiro while they walked out until he knew it was time for him to stop. A hand fidgeting with his ear mic self-consciously, he turned to face the crowd with determined eyes from the middle of the stage.

"Thank you all for coming!" Jiro greeted once more from her own microphone. "This is our second show of three, the finale taking place later at approximately four o'clock. Be sure to attend; we're saving the best for last!"

With that she gave the signal for the countdown. Four seconds later, the stage exploxed with movement and sound.

First, Izuku and Kaminari came in at the same time the instruments did.

"Whoa…" they repeated together, their voices harmonizing well as Izuku began slowly walking towards the front of the stage throughout the intro.

At the same time, the dancers spread out around the stage. From their respective spots they performed shuffles in time with the beat. In addition to that, they also worked in varying arm movements. Those consisted of throwing their arms out to either side or in a diagonal direction with their palms flat and fingers together. Every so often they added in a quick spin, which was made more impressive by the fact the front line would do it first with the second line of students following just after.

When the short instrumental came to an end though, the dancers began moving around the stage in complex paths. The entire time they trotted around energetically, occasionally jumping, skipping, or spinning, yet clapping to the beat all the while.

It was at the transition Izuku began his solo, and the greenette would show off his lesser known talents to the world.

"Well it's strange my head is rememberin'," he started by bringing a hand up to his temple, "how the airplane flying overhead," he raised said hand higher into the air while turning it palm up at the same time, "looks so effortless, but I cannot guess," his hand began to fall, "why it lingers in my mind."

He resumed walking as he sang the next sentence, going along the right edge of the stage in order to stay out of the way of his moving classmates.

"Evening after this I'm a crying mess and to be stronger now my only wish," he sang before raising his head to look up towards the open sky, his arm following a moment later, "so I can finally have the bravery, so I can reach on up to the sky."

"This cruel fate, engraving," he continued. A hand curled into a fist and was placed over his heart while the other gesticulated in front of him. "It's carved into the stone, hoping it reveals itself all to me and then I will know just where to go. This moment," he repeated as if breathless, "this moment, I know that I can breathe, hanging on a feeling, believe in, my only meaning."

He held the last note before spinning around, Kaminari joining him for the accenting lyrics and sounds while Izuku took on the chorus by himself. As he sang he practically ran across the stage. On the way to the other side he purposefully weaved between his friends during their routine like practiced, their hands meeting at every encounter for a high-five as well as occasionally twirling each other around.

"I hear a voice a' calling, telling me to risk it," he high-fived Tsuyu and Shoji, "asking if I have been going the distance," Uraraka and Mineta were next, "singing with a passion that I cannot deny!" Mina pulled him into an easy spin before sending him on his way. "My eyes are swollen with the tears that I've been crying," a hand met Iida's and Ojiro's, "but to the rest of the world, ever smiling," Sato and Hagakure were last, "singing for the courage that I'm dying to show!"

Just as he came to a stop at the left side of the stage he turned to face the audience, a hand rising into the air to show off the peace sign he was making.

"With my peace sign up when I say goodbye, write a story of a hero."

Ten seconds of instrumental played, allowing Izuku to catch his breath and for the dance team to get into place for their next movement. When the greenette began the next verse the dancers were in a single line across the middle of the stage. Everyone was roughly arm's length apart as they shuffled from left to right, waiting for their cues from Izuku.

Their next routine was basically a game of 'Izuku says' as he walked from one end of the stage to the other once again.

"I didn't want to say I protected you," his eyes slipped closed as his body carried out the next few movements from memory. "And you were never weak, I'm number two." His classmates held up two fingers the same time he did. "You were stronger than I have ever been," they mirrored his hand sweep next, "and you mean more to me than you know." Everyone had their hands over their hearts. "I have changed myself since the day I yelled," their hands swept out to their sides, "about how you go on by yourself, so if you have to laugh," his hands found their way around his upper arms, and the dancers did the same barely a second later, "I should tell you that I'm afraid that I'm all alone."

"I'm kicking, I'm biting, impossible to breathe," his hands strayed near his throat before finding either side of his head. He executed a quick circle with his head before bringing his splayed out hands to his stomach. "Going down below the depths of my troubled head, and I can feel my stomach heave. I see it," his head snapped up, "I need it, it calms the blood that beats. If only I could touch it," a single arm stretched upwards as he neared the end of the stage again, acting as if he'd grasped whatever it was he was reaching for at the singing of the last word, "enough that it's mine for keeping!"

This time he didn't run across the stage. Instead he joined the dance team, all of them performing a well-executed sequence of moves that involved leaping forwards, a spin, grasping hands with a neighbor (or two in his case since there was an odd number of dancers due to Aoyama being with the staging team this time) to pull one another to the side, and so on.

"I hear a voice a' calling, telling me to risk it, asking if I have been going the distance, singing with a passion that I cannot deny!"

"Whoa…" Kaminari sang passionately.

"My eyes are swollen with the tears that I've been crying, but to the rest of the world, ever smiling, singing for the courage that I'm dying to show!"

"Whoa…"

Izuku broke off from the group once more and showed off a peace sign for the second time. "With my peace sign up when I say goodbye, write a story of a hero."

Those watching roared in approval as Jiro absolutely shredded her guitar while the dance team snapped their fingers. It lasted several seconds until Izuku came in for his duet with Kaminari. The greenette closed his eyes as he sang, Kaminari doing the same from where he and Tokoyami played a few accenting chords.

At the same time though, the staging team executed their part too.

From the center of the stage, atop the rafters, Kirishima began madly breaking away at a long mound of ice Todoroki had crafted earlier. Thanks to the fan Koda was holding in place small bits of confetti-like ice rained down upon the crowd as the singers and dancers went about their routine.

"Those days getting rowdy, getting bloody I was all scraped, getting worn and getting dirty, now I hear you talking and it all is coming back I see it in my mind," he put a finger to his temple, "my memories revived. I could apologize for sleeping in a chrysalis, and with every passing night I wish that I was leaving it, and I swear that I'll be back again."

He belted the last word, his eyes snapping open to look out into the crowd. It didn't take long for him to notice those in the front row.

His mother was looking up at him in awe, her wide eyes glistening with tears where she sat in between Mitsuki and Eri. She exuded a sense of pride in him that nearly made him falter. She'd never been very good at hiding her emotions, yet the obvious overwhelming pools of love and happiness she felt at the site of his confident performance was almost too much for Izuku.

"Whoa…"

Then there was Eri, who looked just as floored as she had during the last performance. Two seats down (as Mirio was at her other side) Kouta seemed to be pretending as if he weren't all that impressed; however, the subtle way he moved his foot and bobbed his head made Izuku beg to differ.

Even Aizawa and All Might seemed to smile at the performance. Izuku stuck the thought of likening their proud expressions to that of a doting father on his children away for later thought. He could analyze what he'd witnessed later, and deal with his overactive feelings that would no doubt respond dramatically later too. Right now he needed to prepare himself for the finale. Aoyama and he only practiced this once, so he prayed it would go well once again.

Just as Izuku was about to repeat the chorus one more time, several streamers of Sero's tape were let down from the catwalk above the stage. Before most of the steamers could touch the bottom of the stage though, Uraraka high fived half of the other dancers to make them weightless. This meant Mina, Uraraka, Tsuyu, and Hagakure swung from streamer to streamer while the males gripped said streamers from the bottom. The males made short work of grabbing the several dozen pieces of tape from either end of the room and meeting in the middle with them, the tape forming a giant "V" from the point of view of the audience.

It looked uncannily similar to a peace sign.

"I hear a voice a' calling, telling me to risk it, asking if I have been going the distance, singing with a passion that I cannot deny!" Izuku brought a hand to his mic to steady it as he sang his heart out, his eyes slipping closed with emotion. Behind him in the rafters Aoyama concentrated his laser to fire the thinnest, weakest beam of light he could manage. When it hit the chuck of Todoroki's ice they had carefully figured out the dimensions for prior the effect was instantaneous.

"My eyes are swollen with the tears that I've been crying," he tilted his head back as beams of light rocketed high above him, showing off spectacularly in the sky like a firework, "but to the rest of the world, ever smiling, singing for the courage that I'm dying to show!"

He took a quick breath before holding an arm up in the air yet again.

"With my peace sign up when I say goodbye, write a story of a hero."

He formed a peace sign just as two girls hanging from either side of the "V" made from streamers swung to hang off of the sides. Their free arms were raised into peace signs as well (although Hagakure could have been flipping the bird at everyone for all they knew).

"With my peace sign up when I say goodbye," he repeated with less music drowning out his voice, making it stand out more even in the open-roofed gymnasium, "write a story of a hero."

Bakugo and Jiro's instruments played for a few seconds longer, the conclusion of the song ending with a passionate flurry of notes. There was only a second of silence after that before the crowd erupted with applause. To Izuku's surprise, the front row even stood up to clap. At seeing his homeroom teacher, mentor, mother, and so many others he cared deeply about clapping for his classmates and him, he felt his lower lip wobble. He really didn't want to start crying in front of such a large crowd though. He'd done that at the sports festival, and he still wasn't over that embarrassment.

Still, if one tear of emotion got through who was there to blame him?

After that those in class 1-A had some free time to check out the rest of the festival. To say they had fun during that time would have been an understatement.

High from how well the last two performances had gone, and how excited they were for the finale, they had the time of their lives.

"They're going to check out the Ghost Labyrinth being put on by Zombie Eyes' class," Bakugo told Izuku as he gestured to the Bakusquad. "Want to join them?"

The greenette looked over to where Kouta and Eri were chatting about something while his mother, Mirio, and Mandalay watched over them. Bakugo's parents were in line at a vendor nearby getting food. Once the two adults were back the group planned on heading over to where the beauty contest would be taking place. Not only were Mirio and Eri rooting for Nejire to win, but Mitsuki was interested in seeing the dress designs (being a fashion designer herself). Everyone else was along for the ride.

Inko met his gaze after a moment of him staring, a soft smile on her face as she gave him a small wave before doing a subtle shooing motion.

Go have fun, sweetie. Her face said. You deserve it.

He didn't need to be told a third time.

"Sure thing, Kacchan." Izuku finally answered. Mina, Sero, Kirishima, and Kaminari had already begun walking away from them. "You'll hold my hand if Shinsou pulls a jump scare, right?"

The blond scoffed. "You'll end up judo flipping me or some shit if he tries that. Your reaction time and right hook aren't for wimps like him either, so you if you miss me you'd probably knock him out cold."

"I haven't reacted like that in a really long time!"

"You may be strong, Deku, but that doesn't change the fact that you scream like a girl when you're faced with a jump scare."

"Kacchan, that's mean."

"I am mean. What's your point?"

"My scream is nothing like Uraraka or Mina's. Mine is much shriller."

The two boys looked at each other for a short moment before they both burst out laughing. Bakugo swung an arm over the other's shoulders as they made their way through the dense crowd of students and visitors, their friends only a few yards ahead of them.

Roughly ten minutes later, the six of them were walking close together as they made their way through class C's well-made attraction.

"It's so dark in here," Sero complained as they pushed past some fake cobwebs and black streamers blocking their path.

"Well it is basically a haunted house." Kirishima replied.

Just after he said that a square of the ceiling disappeared only for Shinsou in a literal zombie costume, ragged clothes and fake blood gracing his face among everywhere else, to drop halfway out of the ceiling. He let out a loud yet somehow monotone yell that had Kaminari jumping into Mina's arms as everyone save Bakugo screamed in fright.

After a few seconds of screaming, Shinsou and Bakugo couldn't hold back from chuckling as everyone else's reactions. Even as Izuku clutched Bakugo's hand hard enough to cut off blood from circulating to it the sound of his chuckling gradually drew another bright smile from him.

I've missed this feeling, Izuku thought as they continued to venture deeper within the attraction. Bakugo had yet to release his hand.

Once they escaped the Ghost Labyrinth, Izuku and Bakugo ran into Iida, Todoroki, Uraraka, Tsuyu, and Todoroki's mother. The boys were standing behind cardboard cutouts of different heroes who taught at the school as well as the principal himself and even the building. At the sight of Todoroki staring blankly at them from behind the Nedzu cutout and Iida smiling brilliantly behind the cutout of their school, Izuku found himself laughing while Todoroki's mother snapped pictures of them with a soft smile. When the photo shoot was over Uraraka noticed them. She turned around, a hand raised in greeting.

"Deku-kun, Bakugo-kun!"

Izuku felt his boyfriend's grip loosen slightly at the friendly honorific. It seemed the blond was surprised.

"Hey guys," Izuku smiled.

"Midoriya, they have a cutout of All Might over there." Tsuyu pointed towards it. "There's a line, but I'm assuming you'd like a picture behind it, ribbit? Todoroki's having his mom use his phone's camera because it takes the best pictures."

The greenette's eyes shined with excitement. "Of course I'd like a picture!" He turned to Bakugo then, the taller boy bracing himself for the question he knew he was going to be asked. "Want to take one too, Kacchan?"

"Not really. Sooner or later they're going to be making a cardboard cutout of me, and by that point I won't need a picture behind a cutout of the number one hero because I'll be number one."

"What a party-pooper," Uraraka grumbled.

Izuku wasn't fazed though.

"That's fine. I'm still going to get a picture with it, but now I can't wait until they make cardboard cutouts of us! Can you imagine being Todoroki-kun? I'll have to stop myself from smiling in that one if the time comes, because he always looks so serious in hero mode."

The boy in question frowned. "Being a hero is serious business, Midoriya."

"I know, but you have a nice smile. It wouldn't hurt for you to show it those you're protecting from time to time."

"I agree, Shoto." His mother chimed in, one of her hands resting on his shoulder lightly. At her words her son crossed his arms. There was no missing the dusting of pink on his cheeks. It was honestly the first time he'd ever seen the usual stoic boy a bit embarrassed.

Uraraka, Iida, and Tsuyu broke in then, chattering about the funny expressions their friends had made in the past. Bakugo tried to keep up for a little while before he suddenly got tired of the conversation. In an instant he was pulling his boyfriend towards the All Might cutout and telling them to just take the damn picture.

"Hurry the hell up, Deku. There are other things to do and see within the next hour."

"Okay, Kacchan."

After waiting in a line for roughly five minutes, Izuku (along with Todoroki) stood behind the All Might cut out for a picture. Todoroki was coaxed into showing off a soft smile for the picture, to which his mother was very happy about.

"Hey, Bakugo!" Kaminari happened upon them a little while later as they walked while munching on some stand food. "There's an obstacle course over there that Kirishima and Sero were trying to do, but no quirks are allowed and its crazy tough. Monoma from class B tried like three times before Tetsutetsu had to drag him off."

Bakugo looked at Izuku with a spark in his eyes that the greenette knew all too well.

"We can go to the obstacle course, Kacchan, just don't rub it in Monoma's face when you win."

"I won't need to gloat for that copycat bastard to know I can kick his ass in anything."

Fifteen minutes later, the Bakusquad (Izuku included from now on) were hefting Bakugo into the air in celebration of his victory. According to the person running the course he'd set a new record.

"Good job, Bakubro!" Kirishima said with his usual bravado. "I knew all we needed to tell you for you to try the course was to mention that someone from class B tried and failed."

"Your drive to win is scary, but it makes it easy to talk you into things." Mina gossiped to Izuku while he watched his boyfriend, Sero, and Kirishima chase each other through the crowd about something trivial. Kaminari had split up from them several minutes prior, having seen Jiro, Yaoyorozu, and Hagakure leaving a nearby booth.

"Look at the time," he realized suddenly. His watch showed it was five minutes until they needed to be at the gymnasium to prepare for the final show. "Jiro's going to be mad if we're not there when we planned to be. We're going to need to hurry if we want to make it back in time."

Mina grinned, running forward to yell "race ya!" loud enough for the rest of the boys to hear. She didn't stop even as her friends shouted in protest that she had an unfair head start.

Bakugo and Izuku didn't complain though. Instead they took off running through the crowd like children, jokingly shoving each other as they dodged people enjoying the festival.

Five minutes later, all of them arrived at the gymnasium on time.

"Good luck out there," All Might told him just as four o'clock was near. The man looked more proud of his protégée than ever. "You'll do great out there no matter what, my boy. Your mother, Aizawa, little Eri and Kouta, and myself included are all so proud of the hero you've become. Even when you're not fighting villains you're still saving people with a smile by putting their minds at ease and raising their hearts. You're going to be an amazing symbol of peace."

Izuku had to wipe away the tears he felt gather in his eyes.

"Thanks, All Might."

One head pat later, Izuku found Bakugo just at the sixty second countdown began. As the roof of the gymnasium was being closed (it was too bright outside to stay open for the route their performance was going to take), the greenette hugged his boyfriend from behind.

"Everyone is wishing me good luck, but I wanted to wish you some luck as well, Kacchan."

The blond scoffed, yet it was fond.

"Thanks, Deku. We're going to blow everyone away out there."

Izuku nodded. He believed him wholeheartedly. After all, with Bakugo by his side they could do anything.

The performance began a minute later. The entire gymnasium was dark at the beginning, the stage lights all off save for one spotlight that allowed the crowd to see the band team assembled. As the instruments were being readied to play, Jiro spoke to the audience one last time.

"Thank you all for coming to our final performance! We'd also like to thank you all for attending the festival; we hope you enjoyed your day and made a lot of good memories here," she said into the mic with a smile. "This is class 1-A's send off to you."

A four-second countdown came then, and the moment the music started a lone figure glowed green in the darkness. His voiced entered the same moment the music did.

"I'll cut through the mirage then," Izuku threw his arm out in front of him as he activated more of One for All, the light from his quirk lighting up the area around him, "there's bright blue sky behind it. I'll spend forever flying."

"I'll be singing to the sky!" Kaminari sang passionately as he strummed his guitar.

"I will make my mistakes," Izuku continued as he readied himself for the lights to come back on. "It's fate," the right half of the stage lit up to reveal half of the dancers kneeling down, "it's fate," the left half of the stage followed similarly, "achieve the future with our might." On the last word the middle of the stage was also bathed in light. It was at that moment Izuku stopped his quirk, instead bringing his arm up and raising his fist to the sky. "Hearts alight, still we fight!"

The guitar and drum part that took off there had the audience shouting out in approval. At the same time the dancers stood up, getting into position on either side of Izuku in a "V" formation not unlike that used in the morning performance. The only difference was that Izuku was at the peak this time. Even the staging team was hard at work, Koda, Sero, Kirishima, and Todoroki moving some of the spotlights around by hand while some of Koda's birds carried some out above the audience.

"Seeking out," the chorus began with the tune coming from Yaoyorozu's keyboard rising up over the other instruments. As he sang Izuku moved as one with the other dancers. "All the lies I've ever feared in oceans of tears."

"I say goodbye," Kaminari took over, "'cause time has passed. I leave today. No matter what I lose, I'm on my way."

The dancers moved from a kneeling lunge they had shuffled to back into a standing position once more. When Izuku came back in they all turned to the side as one, their arms raised in an "X" and bringing them out as he sang the first two words.

"Frustration, humiliation. I need them," he raised his voice as they threw their hands into the air, "to reach my destination!"

Spotlights were re-positioned so that only the middle section of the stage was the target, a wide circle of light that engulfed only the dancers and the band.

"I'll cut through the mirage then, there's bright blue sky behind it! I'll spend forever flying."

"I'll be singing to the sky!"

"I will make my mistakes. It's fate," half of the dancers pretended to fall to the floor, "it's fate," the other half with the exception of Izuku went next. "Achieve the future with our might. Hearts alight, still we fight!"

During the instrumental the dancers jumped back up, getting into place beside Izuku once more. Those in the crowd watched with bated breath as the view of the boy who'd been so shy in the previous festival transformed. Despite the brutal, powerful quirk he possessed and had used to break himself for the world to see, seeing him on stage singing with a sense of life that invigorated everyone in the audience was something else. As he danced gracefully among his fellow classmates, his soft-spoken but passionate voice demanding they listen, hearts were being lifted.

People often said that music is what feelings, thoughts, or emotion sound like. Had anyone ever said that music might be what being saved sounds like?

"Impossible," they moved as one left and right, "to never make a sacrifice. Move forward, and take flight." A literal leap forwards brought another cheer up from the crowd. "And though I've lost, I know this ideal will be my guide through the darkest dark," the lights suddenly dimmed only to grow rapidly bright again, "and brightest light."

All of the dancers suddenly stopped at the next line, their upper bodies being the only thing moving as they performed a few head and arm movements.

"Don't you laugh at me," Izuku breathed, shaking his head, "laugh along with me. I need you to reach my destination!"

His head snapped up to face directly in front of him. As he launched into the next verse he stepped closer to the edge of the stage and away from the dancers as they continued their routine.

"'Cause I've been meaning to tell you, those things I should've told you, the day that I first met you," he closed his eyes and sang his heart out, a clenched fist clutching his chest as he let his emotions come through in his voice. This song meant so many things to him.

"I'll be singing to the sky!"

"I will make my mistakes. It's fate," as he swept an arm out the dancers to that side dropped to the ground as if felled once again. "It's fate," the same thing happened to the remaining dancers, "no sacrifice will be too great."

He dropped to one knee. "Now, before it's too late," he finished by falling onto his back just as the lights died down again.

All of the dancers lied there looking out of the corner of their eyes towards the band team. The spotlights were on them as Bakugo's excellent drum part set up Jiro's solo, the other guitarists and keyboard backing her up just like they'd practiced. Those in the front row leaned forward with interest as Bakugo suddenly straightened up from his slouched position at the drums so he could place his face closer to the microphone that had been set up next to him.

Then, to his parents' surprise, he opened his mouth and sang.

"This suffering," his voice was low yet tinged with emotion, "it's like a storm over our heads. But I will still rise to my feet through the mud of ridicule and doubt. I'm trapped in this storm, and every time my dreams and my ideals are within my grasp," he closed his eyes for a moment even as he played. In the darkness Izuku got back up onto his feet. The greenette walked forwards until he was standing at the edge of the center stage, his loved ones only a yard away. "The more I grip, the more they slip through my fingers, leaving me with nothing but this warmth, telling me that we deserve to live this life, and push beyond this stream of disappointment to where the light shines—"

Izuku activated his quirk just before the last few words, making some of those in the crowd cry out in shock as he lit up the area around him, singing louder than he had previously.

"And now the storm is ending!"

And then Bakugo and Izuku were singing together, the lights coming back on to reveal the still unmoving dancers scattered across the stage.

"I'll cut through the mirage then, there's bright blue sky behind it!" Izuku raised his arms in the air before sweeping them out dramatically. "I'll spend forever flying."

"I'll be singing to the sky," Kaminari repeated.

"I should've listened to my heart it was dying to tell you," the two boys belted intensely, Izuku's hand going to his heart while the other gestured in front of him with emotion, "the things I should've told you on the day that I first met you."

"I'll be singing to the sky…"

"I will make my mistakes." The dancers prepared themselves to get up, half of them standing once more at the first "it's fate" and the other half joining them and the second "it's fate". They all began to walk to the front to stand on either side of Izuku. "Achieve the future with our might. Heart's alight, still we fight."

"The end, the end." Jiro and Kaminari both came in to join the other two, their voices forming an echoing effect. "Fight for the future until then."

The dancers all raised a fist into the air, smiling brightly while the four singers harmonized as one.

"Hear our hearts, we ascend!"

Instrumental filled the gymnasium as the dancers locked hands and bowed, all of them looking down as the final few chords were played. The lights shut off in time with the very last chord, leaving the audience screaming in the darkness until a second later when Koda turned on all of the lights. Clapping went on for a while. Izuku breathed heavily even as he grinned at where Bakugo's parents were nearing jumping up and down with joy, his own mother crying freely while a sheepish All Might comforted her. Kouta just stood there clapping in awe while Eri had her arms in the air clapping widely while Mirio held her in place on his shoulders.

"Thank you once again," Jiro's voice cut through the applause to be heard over it, "and goodnight."

The students of class 1-A made to get off stage when the word "encore" made itself heard over all of the other voice. At its appearance more people suddenly began shouting for them to do one more song.

Jiro felt the stares of her classmates just as Izuku felt Jiro's own eyes on him.

Did they want to do one more?

Izuku ran over to where Jiro was motioning for him to speak with her, an idea already forming in his mind.

"Do you feel up to doing one more song?" She asked him. "Both of us can sing something if you want, but I'm not sure which one to pick. That one was a really good closer, so—"

"What about 'Period'? We recorded the instrumental that was played in between performances, but no one outside our class has actually heard the words. We could get the rest of the class on stage to just enjoy themselves while me, you, and whoever else wants to join in sings along."

Jiro smiled broadly.

"Sounds like a plan, Midoriya. I'll go inform the band and dance teams if you want to run up and get the staging team down here."

"Right!"

As Aizawa watched his students gather on stage, the band team setting up a few microphones along the middle of the stage while several students stood by each one. He wasn't the only one in the crowd getting (mildly in his case) excited about hearing one more song by such a talented class.

Finally, a couple minutes after Jiro had originally bid the audience goodnight, Izuku took a deep breath before speaking into his ear mic to address said audience.

"Hello everyone! We heard your request, and we decided we would all sing you one last song. You might have heard the instrumental earlier if you stuck around in between performances, but now you're going to hear the words that go along with it. We hope you enjoy it. Plus ultra!"

The returning cry nearly shook the gymnasium.

"Plus ultra!"

A moment later Mina pressed a button on the computer now hooked up to the speakers, running back over to where the other girls save Jiro stood around a microphone. There was a ten second delay before the music began.

Several students shifted awkwardly, unsure of what to do at first. Many simply tapped a foot to the beat as they stood around the microphones. Their eyes were on Izuku and Jiro, who stood at the front of the stage a few feet apart from one another bobbing their heads.

Izuku might have been the one to write the song, but after hearing it for the frist time barely a week ago it was already one of Jiro's favorites.

"At last we're here at the half way point," Izuku began by himself, "in the heart of our endless journey. At last, while everything still is calm—"

"Take a deep breath," Jiro held as her eyes slipped shut.

"We both have just began to grasp it, but it's slipped out of our hands."

"Ah," Jiro interjected expertly.

Izuku contiued along with some of his classmates who had decided to come in as well.

"And we will learn from those fragile mistakes 'til nothing stands in our way."

"An unbreakable bond will forever link our hearts!" They sang loudly, Bakugo and Todoroki begrudgingly sharing a microphone to join in. "There's no spell, no hell, that will undo us."

"Oh," the girls sang into the mic as they got lost in the music.

"We have made it here at last in this never ending dance, and we'll live through this period of time."

At that moment Uraraka rushed forwards, reaching her hands out to the front row.

"Eri-chan, Kouta-kun! Grab my hands."

While Kouta was far more hesitent than Eri who practically leapt out of Mirio's arms, the two children felt themselves become weightless as they were brought onto the stage. It was with a joyous laugh that echoed through his mic that Izuku rushed forward to grab onto the now floating kids.

Once their hands touched his any small amount of panic they were feeling evaporated. They looked at him in awe, his kind green eyes filling them with hope.

With their hero they were safe.

"It's love that rushes within my veins." Izuku spun Eri and Kouta lightly for a moment, bringing a bright smile to the girl's face while Kouta fought off a blush and a grin. "It keeps me warm on my darkest days, just like this one single memory. May it not fade."

Jiro joined in then, meeting Izuku's eyes in a silent signal for the upcoming duet.

"I will promise you that I'll do everything I can, and I will take you along."

"And this song—" Izuku started while bringing Eri and Kouta to sit on his shoulders.

"Overflows—" Jiro sang back.

"Like a wish—"

"Nearing close."

Nearly every student came in for the next line.

"Everything in life sings along!"

"Don't you dare look away from this one reality! Find the courage to stand up and fight. Turn your anger into strength," Izuku met eyes with Kouta meaningfully before they met with Eri's, "melting sadness in its wake 'til you find your fate waiting here always."

"Oh," Jiro and a few others added in passionately. As they did so Izuku crouched down to hand the kids off to Mirio. Uraraka saw this and deactivated her quirk so they landed gently in the third year's arms.

"So look ahead and carry on," Izuku stood up as he sang, his eyes closing as he took a deep breath. When he came in with the next line it was like his voice was channeling his quirk. "It's a glittering new world!"

People broke out in goosebumps, losing their breath for a moment as he sang his heart out.

"I am shaken to my core," vulnerability snuck into his voice as his body moved on its own. His arms went to either side as he brought his clenched his into the air to splay them to either side, "by the cries that call my name!"

"They're the ones that I will never betray," his classmates echoed into their microphones just as fervently. Once that was done they quickly made their way to the front of the stage until all twenty of them were standing side by side. Without saying anything they joined hands as Izuku and Jiro finished singing the song.

"We have made it here at last, may this future never end. And we'll live through this period of time."

Izuku couldn't help but grin as he sang. With one hand in his boyfriend's, the other in Uraraka's, and all of his loved ones close by, there was nowhere else he'd rather be.

"At our fingertips, the truth will align."

They bowed as one, the audience's cheers becoming deafening.

In order of appearance:

Jason Young's cover of "Peace Sign" (Pīsu Sain) by Kenshi Yonezu

Jason Young's cover of "Singing to the Sky" (sora ni utaeba) by amazarashi

AmaLee's Cover of "Period" (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood 4th OP) by Chemistry (Some of the movements/facial expressions are what I tried to portray Izuku doing/using, so watching the video may help visualize it.)

Songs I tried to fit in at some point but couldn't (or alternate versions to ones I used in prior chapters):

The Reason by Hoobastank

Lost In You by Three Days Grace

Over and Over by Three Days Grace

Halo by Starset

Kelly Mahoney/Studio Yuraki cover of "Update" by Miwa

AmaLee's cover of "Odd Future" by Uverworld