My Hero Academia Perfected Chapter 131: A Pact Unbroken, a my hero academia/僕のヒーローアカデミア fanfic

Chapter 131 - A Pact Unbroken

[Earth, Last City, Tower Courtyard]

[Yuki's POV]

The Great Machine reflected sunlight like the moon, it was an early day, a few Guardians had gathered to watch the once in a lifetime event, some up high, overs on the roofs of the shop, others sat by the steps and grass. In three months we've invaded their lives and caused quite the stir with our presence, now, it was time to end our journey with the Tower. And, to say goodbye to the Great Machine that made it possible. Or, well, against its will but semantics.

"Righto, portal's ready!" Akio beamed, the fissure in time and space opening behind me as he stepped back to admire his work. "Man, this great! We're finally going home!"

"Tch, good riddance," Dimitri huffed, uncrossing her arms to glower at the brunette who backpeddled.

"Ah, haha, w-what I mean is, we can uh, well... erm," To cut him off, I smiled as Dimitri ruffled his hair, pulling him into a tight hug around the neck with her right arm. I saw his expression lighten, patting her arm. "Thank you for teaching me,"

"And don't you forget it," She let him go, pushing the black combat bow he held with him all this time back into his hands. "And remember why this thing's called No Turning Back,"

"Because the past isn't worth regretting," Akio recited like clockwork, and Dimitri choked a softer smile, knuckling his face.

"Take care, you dork," She stepped back from him, where a Titan with hair like mine stood by, offering her hand for Dimitri to tightly interlock fingers with, Dimitri hid it well as she dried her eyes.

Hana and Velk both bowed their heads to Morbin, "I cannot thank you enough for your guidance, I have... I will put all you've taught into practise," That earned her a light chop to the head, raising her eyes to the blunt glare on the Exo's face.

"Good. Remember, it is natural to feel, to commit to your darker emotions, but only if you can control them," His eyes flickered red. "~CRUSH THE UNDESERVING!~ ...right, what he said,"

Hana gave a small giggle behind her hand, it was really something seeing her exhibit more emotion as of late, and Velk couldn't be happier, I wonder if they'll merge like Akio speculated?

I sucked in a long breath, facing my mentors standing side by side. Zane, with misty eyes, held out a large tome to me, "It took a whole month, but I've compiled every inch of Eliksni culture and history into one book! Variks was very helpful in that regard!" He sniffed, rubbing his eyes. "The only one who understands me is disappearing...~!"

My smile relaxed as I took the book under my arm. "I've had alot of fun learning more about their culture outside of Siva's fragmented memories, I'll treasure this and my swords," I wiggled by shoulder blades for emphasis. Then, I wrapped my right arm around his lower back tightly. "I'll miss you too, Zane."

He stomached a goofy cry, hugging me in return. "M-me too~" He whined before letting go, leaving me to face Ceres, the hero of the Tower, a Guardian with more names than I could count speaking with Rayla.

"I never got to say this but uh... thanks, for what you said back then," Rayla rubbed her bicep gingerly. "I thought that I had nothing left after losing my fireteam, that Narvoc was the end of our road-" She spared Solaire a glance. "-now, I... I think I found where I belong,"

"You could never be like me," Ceres stated matter-of-factly, her lips pulled into a gentle grin. "But I can never be like you, do you best to live up to your own expectations, and look after them," Her hand stretched forward for Rayla's star-struck face, it was as if those words were all she wanted to hear without realizing it.

"Heh, you got it," She shook hands with Ceres, eyes blazing. "We'll do it our way, right?"

"Where you go I'll follow," Solaire spun his shell. "It has been an honour, Ceres, Ghost."

"The pleasure is ours," Ghost dipped his shell to the flaming ghost.

"Yuki?" When I turned to Ceres completely, I was nearly knocked back when she pulled me close to hug me briefly. "Thank you for finishing our fight, do your best."

Man, I think I'm gonna cry again... I forced my eyes closed, grinning as I enjoyed the warmth from her body. "And you too, Ceres, let's both give it our all, yeah?"

"Mmhm!" She stood back, hands on my shoulders. It wasn't what I expected nor wanted to happen, being forced from my world, but I think it did more good than I realized. Because of Kovik's drive to be rid of me, instead, he only made us stronger. We found people to connect with, to share in our burdens and strengths. We grew and evolved to the people we are now from loss. And now? We're ready.

"The preparations are complete, the vortex is stable," Tekres alerted us after running a few tests. "Our reality lies beyond this breech,"

"Guess it's time," Ceres let my shoulders go, and I held onto the book tightly as SIVA appeared at the same height as Ceres. Since not every Guardian knew, it came as a surprise when the astral Eliksni bowed his head to her, and just behind Ceres, Silvis and a few Devils who came for the send-off.

Ceres smiled, cocking her head at him. "I'm glad you got a second chance as we have, in a way, I guess that makes you a Guardian," This took Siva back at her words, and if not for his helmet, I swore his eyes would've been bigger than mine. "But don't die for Yuki, live for her, with them, care and watch over the people you love, don't squander your second chance," She enforced, and so, two enemies stood in the sunlight, came to an understanding by complete chance.

"|Do well, my friend|," Silvis spoke in Eliksni, and Siva nodded to her once.

He vanished, and now, all of us gathered at the edge of the rift where the Vanguard offered their own words before we departed for our realm again. Cayde went first, waving his arms wide. "You know, if you ever fall through an interdimensional portal across the multiverse and you end up at our doorstep, I'll make you guys Hunters, you get a cool cloak, plenty of napping spots, and first bowl of ramen's free!"

"Always with the sale's pitch..." Ceres facepalmed.

"The ramen's good though," Dimitri murmured, only to be punched in the shoulder by the blue-haired Titan.

"Dimi..." She scolded teasingly.

"Ahahaha..."

"We'll take you up on that next time, Cayde," I replied, seeing him pump his fist with joy. Next was Ikora, she was as stern as ever.

"Your time with us, while brief in the grand scheme of things, has given us plenty of insight in the worlds beyond our own, and has left quite the impact on our Guardians, for your time and support, we thank you," She gave a small smile, and I shook her outstretched hand.

"It was you guys who trusted us that led to this, if anything, we're thankful," Akio stated, hands behind his head.

"There isn't much we can offer you/But we are eternally grateful," Hana and Velk chimed in.

Last, Zavala looked to address me as I guess they saw me as the 'leader' of the group, I honestly never considered myself to be in that position, everyone was really free to act without my call. But even the Guardians called me that so I just accepted it and never pushed the subject. I stood up straight, meeting those intense eyes evenly. He was a hard book to read, but on some level I understood him, the weight of his position. Siva's memories taught me that of a leader.

"Yuki Azuru, for all your efforts in our stay at the Tower, allow me of the Vanguard to properly state that we too are grateful for the actions you and your team have undertaken with our Guardians in the field against our enemies, despite not originating from our world," Then, if only for a instant, his eyes were lighter. "And if you ever find yourselves lost in our world again, let you take up arms once more as Guardians, with or without your Light,"

"What...?" The announcement earned a roaring applause from the Courtyard. Warlocks clapped politely, Titans stomped their feet with a chorus of cheers, and Hunters were alot louder than the former two put together. My friends held similar reactions, but were all clearly humbled by the notion, say for Rayla, who gave me a winning grin that said she knew of this. "I... and!" Raising my voice to lower the volume, I extended my hand forward with a firm belief in what I felt. "If a Guardian ever needs our hand in our world, we'll welcome you as Heroes too! Quirk or not!"

The Guardians let out another round of applause, and my hand grasped firmly with Commander Zavala's, the Awoken just stared at me, his answer clear in his eyes as it were in mine. Even far away, there was a place we could call home.

[No POV]

It didn't take Yuki long to conclude her side of her story, filling in the blanks for her were Hana, Velk, Rayla, Solaire, Akio, and Tekres where she lacked. There were many stories in between those last three months but the general idea was laid out for their friends to mull over. Yuki sighed after a long pause, leaning into Izuku's side again. "Honestly, I'm still wrapping my head around some things, but considering what's left on our plates I think it's a good distraction at best,"

"Still, to think you ended up in the same world you guys came from?" Hagakure was, probably, looking over at Rayla's group, the raven-whitette yawning a smile.

"Took me through a loop when we met Ceres' fireteam again, what a trip that was," Rayla chuckled, cheek creased to her knuckle.

"And you met an alternate version of yourself, who was a total Tony Stark-like genius!" Nana exclaimed, patting her knees.

"Yeah," Yuki skimmed over the ordeal of meeting her birth parents again, even if they were Hiroshi's, maybe when tensions weren't high she'll tell Nana about it. "In the end, without their help I doubt we'd have made it back in three months, tracking Fragment through the Vex Network was by a fluke."

"I do have a question?" Yaoyorozu raised her hand, setting her drink down to point at Akio and Kyoka. "What's that device you're holding, Akio?"

He blinked, then smiled giddily and held up what looked like a rustic silver pocket watch that hung from a chain. In its core was the shimmering Gatestone with only a small crack from the top of the coin. "This? Hehehe..."

Before Azuru and Akio returned to Rayla's realm, Hiroshi held something out for them. "Here, to sweeten the deal to let me switch places to be far away from that pint-sized perv," Her hand swung the chain down, revealing the empty pocket-watch charm. "Jokes aside, it's a pet project I've lost interest in trying to perfect, for the time being that is, maybe it'll be better off with that nanotech of yours,"

"What does it do?" Azuru asked, inspecting it curiously.

"It's supposed to trap and harness temporal energy for long-range... okay, it's a teleportation device, you hit the right dial to draw in temporal energy, then the left to release it, issue is, One, I don't have anything I can use as a catalyst for drawing on temporal energy, and Two, dunno how to tell this thing where you wanna go without being spat out in the middle of the ocean or something," Hiroshi looked irked by the sight of it, however, Akio took the device delicately. "Uh, you okay, chief?"

"Huh... leave it with me boss..." He patted Azuru's face when he meant to pat her shoulder, staring off into space with the watch. "...I think... we just found ourselves a golden ticket..."

Hiroshi snapped her neck toward Azuru. "Okay, what's his malfunction?"

Azuru giggled, rolling her eyes, "I'm as lost as you, but we'll take it, thank you," Holding her fist out, she added. "It's been..."

Hiroshi raised her own fist, "Don't say it, I getcha, remember?" She tapped her own forehead, then their knuckles bumped. "Kick some ass, Quirk Me."

"And surprise them all, Quirkless Me." Azuru winked.

"Turns out, with the proper scientific word, by cramming the Gatestone into this device, we can open up a rift back here while preserving the stone itself, therefore, we have multiple uses!" Akio 'wowed' the class before pocketing it. "Yuyu said I can keep it since I've got the wider knowledge of other realms, thanks again!" He waved as she winked back.

"Magic's your deal, I'll stick with keeping up with Silvis' training, Siva sure won't let me..." His sprite appeared next to her.

"|Do not sound so disheartened | Your aptitude in three months alone has born fruit | And unlocking a sacred technique very few Splicers have learned|," Siva encouraged in his own way. The whole idea of 'Seeing the flow of technology' was a tricky ability to handle in long stretches but with some training Yuki was sure to master it, hopefully, before Kovik makes his next move.

"How was it? Confronting the people that, you know, killed you?" Sero asked, noticing out the corner of his eye how Hana's head was drooping every now and then between him and Velk.

Siva stared at his hands a moment, contemplating. "|I was conflicted, many reactions I expected but forgiveness? | If only in my actions to do better | It was... alot to bear|," He acknowledged the lives he's taken will never be washed away, those ghosts will haunt him until his last day and he accepted that. "|I will pursue a future where my actions are never repeated | SIVA will not bring pain | Instead, through Yuki, it will be a symbol of salvation that I originally wished it to be|."

With the story of events from his partner's side concluded, Izuku lifted his head to look straight at everyone with a tired expression. "I never got to say it, but, thanks, everyone... and sorry for the trouble." Then he winced when a fist jabbed his right bicep. "Ah," He came to see two slit blue eyes watched him.

"I told you to be careful, you promised!" Nana huffed, hands on her hips. "Then I hear you go and start fighting day after day like a madman, dude, you looked like a monster straight outta hell!"

"That's one way to put it..." Ojiro sweatdropped.

Izuku smiled slightly, patting the youngest Azuru on the head. "I'm sorry for worrying you," She just pouted but accepted the headpat as an apology and sat back down.

"I wish you had told Hawks to pick up his phone..." Tokoyami vented in his monotone pitch but a puff of smoke expelled from his head.

"Speaking of, we never asked but can you tell us about OFA?" Ashido pipped up from her spot, standing to stretch from sitting in one spot for too long. "I guess a suspenseful reveal won't be needed anymore because of the letters you left."

That news brought Yuki's head around sharply, "Eh? Wait-wait-wait, they all know now? Like, all of it?" Her startled face led Izuku to shake his head calmly.

"Only that it's a special power given to me, and that it has ties to All For One, well, I guess with how the media's been piecing it together, One For All would be the logical assumption for the name, which is correct," Izuku admitted. "And that I'm the ninth person to hold it, and possibly the last."

"No kidding?" Kirishima blinked. The redhead then looked to Yuki with a knowing grin. "Guess that makes sense you'd know,"

"I was actually to be the next user but I declined," Yuki, while weirded out by the fact she could speak openly about One For All to a degree, still answered their curiosity. "Siva's all I really need, then I stumbled upon this scrawny kid with green hair lugging around trash by his mentor one day, and well, here we are," Her reminiscing made Izuku's face redden a little as some of the girls cooed at the romantic encounter. Yuki then pulled at his cheek. "First thing you said to me was more or less an insult too,"

"You're never letting me live that down..." He slumped.

"Nope." She giggled, seeing him lower his head further in embarrassment.

"It must have been alot, to go from completely quirkless to immensely powerful, what does it feel like?" Ojiro commented with Sero chiming in.

"Well, it breaks his bones, or used to," The ravenette answered for Ojiro, no one could forget the early days and the events inbetween when the timid teen would pulverize his arms and legs with his power, now, all that pain made sense, his body had no limiters in place.

"I'm sure Midoriya's the most tired out of all of us, let him rest," Shoto had stepped into the room, clearly done with his bath as he dried his hair, interjecting for his friends who were clearly fatigued still. "That's why we took him back here after all."

Izuku looked grateful for the concern, smiling a little. "I'm fine... in fact, I can't really sleep,"

Shoto sat down beside him as Nana scooted over for him. "Why's that?"

His mind fell back to that day he abandoned All Might, ignoring his warnings and saying... that he didn't need to keep following him, the more Izuku replayed the memory, the worse that hollow feeling in his gut became. The one person who risked his life to follow Izuku in his blind assault against a whole army of villains, and he pushed him away, afraid and paranoid that any day another would wind up like Lady Nagant, cut away by an assassin, taken from his grip.

"Something I did to All Might... its really weighing on my mind," He replied, looking down momentarily but Yuki felt the strain in his hand, it was eating him up. She squeezed his cold palm, offering her silent remorse when he lifted his head to Shoto. "I won't be able to sleep properly until I apologize but I can't seem to get a hold of him."

Shoto and Nana both were staring past the boy's head, toward one of the windows with blank expressions at the face and hands pressed to the dark glass. In a blur, the skeletal face vanished, and the doors to the dorm burst wide open as All Might came skidding to a halt before his two students, bowing deeply.

"Me too!" He exclaimed. "I'm sorry I couldn't have been of more help, Young Midoriya!" He didn't stop there, feeling complete shame and regret for all that's transpired for those he swore to protect and raise in this unforgiving world. "The same goes for you, Young Azuru, I wish I could've prevented what happened to you and your friends!"

"It's not your fault what happened to us, it was a choice out of our control," She offered a smile, standing up with Izuku who nodded hastily.

"And... you've already done so much for me, All Might!" More than he could put into words, in all their ups and downs, All Might was his mentor, even if he was flawed, who wasn't?

But this didn't satisfy the ex-pro, he stood up straight and closed the distance to embrace both his students, his hands on the backs of their heads, pressing them to his shoulders. "I swore to train you both well, and when you made progress it was of your combined efforts, I could only sit back and watch from afar as you both made strides to surpass the hero I was, but I should've done more to keep so much harm from coming to you both," He lowered his head. "I will offer any and all support, so that our journey won't end as mine once did,"

The two didn't know what to say, it was clear All Might was a novice when it came to teaching from the get-go, he had a solid foundation which led to them getting into UA, but at times their strives with SIVA and One For All were of their own making. But that didn't discourage the thought that All Might was a poor mentor, he offered genuine advice where he could and supported their choices to the best of his abilities. He was their odd, faulty teacher. With thankful smiles, they accepted the embrace as he ruffled their hairs and stood back, smiling with them until a pink demon shot in front of the tender moment with a pout.

"Hey, if you're gonna apologize then apologize to us too, All Might!" Ashido grumbled, pumping her fists wildly. "Don't just up and leave without saying anything!"

His eyes were shadowed, turning to address her. "Everything will be coming together soon. Sorry... for worrying you all," He couldn't be a Pro anymore, but Scourge's words hung in his mind constantly on the way back. "I can't go into the details yet, but I've acquired some new information, the answer will become clear soon," Even if he crawls, All Might would fight alongside them through hell itself, to ensure the flame burns with them. He hesitated, "I... can't do much with this body, but, still I-"

"All Might!" Izuku pipped up, clenching his hand with Yuki's. "The Tonkatsu Bento you gave me was delicious! I'm sure I ended up in such a bad state... because I wasn't with you, All Might,"

"So let's protect everyone," Yuki began with Iida behind them both.

"Together!" He finished for her, the two smiling happily in agreement.

"Our powers have grown, but so has our enemy," Akio added, smirking as he snapped his fingers, summoning a dark purple flame. "But that's part of the challenge, will surpass them every step of the way, right?" Several nodded and hummed in agreement.

All Might will prove that he can keep up with his students. He closed his eyes, content with their answers as his heart was at ease. "...thank you." With his piece said for the night, he waved. "Well, I better get going."

"Already, to where!?" Ashido slumped as Velk appeared to open the door for him.

"To see Endeavor and the others, I still have things to do! Oh-!" He pointed back at Izuku and Yuki. "And Principle Nezu told me to pass along that tomorrow you two, as well as Akio, Velk, Hana and the others are to rest and recover, no excuses, you all have deserved a moment's rest in this frantic situation. And also, I wanted to call on you both, Young Azuru, Young Midoriya, tomorrow for a talk with someone important."

"Right, seeya..." Yuki yawned, waving goodbye.

"Tell Hawks to atleast text me..." Tokoyami murmured at the door as All Might gave him a thumbs up.

"Will do," Closing the door, the room went back into its drabble of conversations.

"Oh, you're pissed...~" Ashido whistled as Tokoyami passed, the bird-man not making it obvious, rolling his eyes.

"I'm just worried..." He objected.

"Are they not coming to UA?" Sato asked as Shoto stepped around the corner with a blanket in his hands.

"There's still the fallout over Dabi," He didn't linger on that thought for too long, adding. "But I guess there are still some evacuees that respect him all the same..."

Yaoyorozu then waved her hand, a finger to her lips to lower the room's volume. Sat on the sofa again, Yuki was snuggled up against Izuku, head under his chin as the two slept soundly together, completely tired out in seconds. Hana was much the same, resting her head on Sero's shoulder while Velk slipped away into her body again. "Looks like they're finally getting some rest,"

"Yuyu's been working non-stop too," Akio yawned, rubbing his eyes. "All the excitement from facing Fragment leading to Halimaka and to now was more than any of us expected in only a day,"

"You look ready to hit the table too," Kyoka pointed her jack at him but he gave her a whimsical grin, forcing his eyes open.

"Nah, just mana drained, but maybe... hard to tell the difference sometimes, Dimi's training really paid off in boosting my reserves," He answered weakly, lying, but Kyoka would let it slide for now.

"I'm Dabi's brother and Endeavor's son," Shoto continued with his thought, tucking the blanket around his best friends who kept each other close, it was good to see them so relaxed again, it put his own worries to rest. "So I bet deep down he's still worried about me."

"All because of family circumstances, aren't you frustrated? It's not like you did anything to deserve this..." Kirishima just couldn't wrap his head around some of the whispers he heard around UA, some that saw Shoto as cut from the same cloth. A person's family shouldn't define who they are, but he was one voice against many.

But Shoto didn't see it that way, "I did. I was so caught up in my own problems I lost sight of my origins," He raised his head with a smile, grabbing the mask he cleaned up and tucked it between the folds of the blanket between Izuku and Yuki, back where it belongs. "But I'm different now. I'll protect everyone. I won't let you all worry about me anymore."

"You're a man amongst men! I can't stop these tears!" Kirishima hissed, keeping his voice strained as Rayla laughed at his antics.

"It's a noble effort on your part," Solaire agreed, floating around their heads. "From what I've learned of you, Todoroki, you've grown alot as a person since you first applied to his school, and given your dark history, your fortitude is commendable."

"'There are still some evacuees that respect him all the same', was it?" Kyoka curled a jack around her finger, contemplating what she heard. "It's that, isn't it?" She cupped her hands behind her back, extending her jacks. "Like that time, though it's strange to group them together."

"Jiro..." Shoto trailed off.

Like twin vipers, her jacks ensnared Kaminari, Yaoyorozu, and Tokoyami close, her hand dragging the disgruntled Katsuki across the floor to their feet while her left hand held onto the music note swaying by her collarbone, smiling warmly at Akio, then to her class. "People regard us with apprehension now, in order to ease their worries, to put smiles on their faces, we'll think of what we can do," Her friends around her smiled say for Katsuki, still annoyed to have been dragged over. Akio leaned back, his eyes becoming heavy, but all centered on the wonderful girl and her confident smile. "Just like we did during the Cultural Festival, let's give everything we have and do our best! That's what we've been doing before we got these dorks back!"

"Right..." Shoto smiled, the answer was plain and simple, a lesson learned long ago.

"We won't just take it back," Rayla encouraged, holding her fist up.

"We'll move forward," Kirishima sharpened his smile.

"And become better versions of ourselves," Nana perked up, closing her eyes with a large grin. Everyone gathered in unison, surrounding their slumbering friends to stand and protect them as one.

"And Go Beyond!"

To Be Continued Next Arc...

The conclusion to probably my most ambitious arc yet... for now, the duality between Izuku and Yuki and the people they met was so much fun to write. Getting back into Beyond Infinity's roots was another exciting piece of mine, as well as the memories Izuku traversed with the Barons to shed more humanity on them and the sinister side Kovik still has for humanity despite his allies, though they're the exception. It's scary to think we're only Two Arcs left and this story will be over, but let's focus on the big stuff to come!

The next arc is more of an intermission, the calm before the storm, leading to the showdown of my own making with a few ideas from the manga sprinkled in. But at this point, if you're reading you're okay with that or have read the manga yourselves. Right, I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next arc, Heroes!

Next Chapter Intermission: Here's to the Perfect Downtime

"Finally, some R&R..." Yuki yawned on the sofa, leaning her back against Izuku's. "Wonder who All Might wants us to talk to...?"

Izuku copied her action soon after. "Guess we'll have to wait and see, but once we're rested up we need to use our time wisely,"

She flicked his nose at that, "Villains later, nap time now," She snuggled in, tucking the blanket up then waved her hand for the sign to appear. "Uwah... up next, Here's to the Perfect Downtime..."

Nodding his head, Izuku managed to speak in a sluggish voice. "G-go Beyond... uwah..."

"Plus... ultra... zZZzz..." The two soon fell asleep once more, SIVA appeared, snapping his fingers to turn off the light.