My Hero Academia: Son of Justice

by Jayme F. Midorikawa

The son of the disgraced former greatest Hero of The Soviet Union is extended a chance at a new life by the Symbol of Peace, All Might. After having lived so long resenting Heroes and Villains, and being scared to death of his own Quirk, will he be able to step forward and become the Hero he once dreamed of, and will he be able to find new purpose through friendship, or even love?

87. Hokkaido Arc Part 22 - Stargazing

Hello, everyone. Well, after a frankly insane amount of time of planning, writing and re-writing, we have finally reached the final chapter of the Hokkaido Arc, an original story arc I knew I had wanted to do ever since I first started writing this story, and back then I only had the most rudimentary understanding of what I wanted to have happen in it, and over the course of these last 19 months of writing, everything else just seemed to naturally paint itself into a clearer picture for me organically, and what an incredible experience in long-term narrative planning it has been, with elements and details born from this arc already being planned for future events in this story.

I am certainly very eager to see how I can incorporate characters and events from this arc and the coinciding Villains Abroad Arc into some of the future events from the manga, and I hope the potential possibilities of what that could look like, have many of you similarly excited when those times come.

I want to take this chance to thank not only my beta readers for their suggestions, and all contributing artists on DA for the art pieces they have made for this story thus far, but I would also like to thank all of you for your continuous readership up until this point, and all those of you who have cared enough about my work here to actually voice your critiques about it all, including this arc, both positive and negative. Such support has helped me to make the necessary improvements to this arc to make it the best I could possibly make it at this time, and I can only hope you will all continue to show your support in this way in the times to come as this story, this passion project of mine, continues to take shape.

For those of you who have been reading this story from the beginning and waiting every week with bated breath, this may very well prove to be the chapter you have been waiting for the most, and if so, I hope it meets your long-building expectations.

I would also like to give thanks to my beta reader Mizu and ASMR roleplayer Aloe Vera specifically, for inspiration for some of the dialogue in this chapter.

My Hero Academia is the property of Kouhei Horikoshi and Shonen Jump. I only own my original characters and the original events surrounding them.

A/N: [[]] indicates that characters are contextually speaking Russian.

Chapter 88

Stargazing

(Рассеянность)

Things had begun to move so much faster around the bunch of Yuuei students in the Arakisu City hospital after the news had been given of the disappearance of Pietro Granin's now-unaccounted-for former soldier and last remaining friend to Maja and her fellows, the Romanian Marius Lazarescu. The idea of someone with as powerful a Quirk as he had, potentially still somehow retaining some kind of affect because of the now-vanquished Villain, was unsettling enough as it was. Even the news from some of the police investigating the shorelines outside of Gagaringrad with the Sea Rescue Hero Selkie, of the discovery of a one-person escape pod most likely from the submarine, which should have provided at least a tiny bit of reassurance, did no such thing since the trail leading from said escape pod had been as old as it was.

Firstly, the news had to be shared with Marius' parents by the police themselves before they could be taken to Asahikawa City for the rest of the details regarding the Hokkaido-wide search that was about to be enacted. Secondly, after Nikolay and his fellow interns had managed the Herculean task of actually beginning a complete perspective turnaround in Konstantin Khodamchuk and his men in regard to not only the fates of Maja Kieslowska and her friends, but the potential future of Russia's mentality towards Quirks going forward; the four Russians had to ultimately leave to take the inevitable phone call extended and waiting for them in the lobby; wherein they would have to finally speak with their enigmatic contacts back in Russia on the other end in order to finalize the details in regards to their departure and return to their country, and the recovery of the submarine, its downed nukes and the gunboat and its since-recovered crew.

With both of these extensive measures being taken, and ultimately being far out of their control, especially with all their collective wounds still healing; Nikolay and his friends found themselves effectively being sidelined; not helped with the news that with the finishing touches of the repairs to the Sapporo Undersea Rail Tunnel first thing tomorrow morning, Headmaster Nezu and several of their other teachers would be coming from Yuuei to facilitate their full recovery and return to the school.

With police and doctor's orders still recommending the students all remain on hospital grounds (by now at least having the benefit of personal rooms to rest in, come sundown; Tenya and Momo's respective groups were already having their personal effects and soon-to-be fully repaired Hero costumes returned to them from their respective internship agencies, and their respective remaining mentors informed of their mandatory return to Yuuei so that they could be officially clocked out. The same even went for Mei Hatsume; as indifferent to that as she was when informed, since she actually never even made it to the university Support Department she'd originally been recommended to intern at to begin with.

Ultimately, all Nikolay could bring himself to do was at least be brought to the appropriate section of the hospital, wherein he and his friends could all see for themselves that Leonid Briner the Linguist, De-Condenser, The Giver, and even the little boy Valera, were indeed recovering in their respective hospital beds; the small child already thankfully looking much better, with some color fast returning to his sleeping face, while his parents were dutifully sitting at his bedsides like a pair of guardian angels. In contrast, even though the doctor had said Leonid would likewise pull through, to see the old man wired up to so many machines with a large oxygen mask affixed to his face was hardly an encouraging sight. If anything, for the students, it was a painfully familiar sight to see in regards to Nikolay himself mere months ago.

Across the hall, De-Condenser looked as restful as a statue within his bed, but it was impossible for the students to not immediately focus on how deathly pale he still looked, with some unmistakable discoloration in the veins leading up the left side of his neck, as well as the fact that now there was literally no left arm of his to speak of, neatly cut off and heavily bandaged at the shoulder.

On a comparatively much higher note, in the room right next to his, The Giver likewise looked to currently be resting off an unspeakable kind of exhaustion, while both her hands were nearly completely mummified in order to deal with the near flaying wounds Pietro and his lackeys had ultimately subjected her to in order to try and make themselves stronger. The important thing now was that they were all alive and ultimately going to be okay.

The sight of these four on their respective roads of recovery, while also knowing they had saved the people of Gagaringrad as a whole, had left all the young Heroes still aglow with an unshakable sense of pride in themselves and each other. However, Nikolay's 1-A classmates were quick to notice the deeply emotional and troubled look in his eyes as he kept running through everything they had gained and lost in order to get to this point. Of course, to see any one of their own looking even slightly distraught was something they simply could not ignore, as Mina was ever the dutiful and attentive one at his side: "Hey, Kolya-kun, what's the matter?"

It took some time for him to really be able to find the words. While Nikolay could still not argue that they had all done exceptionally well in their mission, in that they had managed to save the entire town's worth of people; he still couldn't shake the lingering sensation of failure that had now settled in his chest now that they knew Marius was unaccounted for, on top of God-only-knew what Pietro had likely done to him.

On top of that, there was also, of course, the lingering sense of deep personal loss that had been festering in him for a while still, ever since he had regained consciousness. "I'm sorry, everyone. I know I should be feeling really damn good right now. I mean, saving everyone we wanted to, and even getting Maja and her friends off Mr. Khodamchuk's hook and maybe even getting him to change his mind about us, there's no reason I shouldn't be ecstatic."

"You're thinking about Volga-san...aren't you?" Tenya suddenly asked, leaving Nikolay and all others silent with their own surprise, while he had a poignantly empathetic look in his eyes.

In the end, Nikolay had to swallow the building lump in his throat and give a solemn and confirming nod. "I know we've already talked about him and what he did and what it ultimately means, but I just can't fully process the fact he's gone forever now. I mean, it's the man who was essentially meant to be a second father to me if things had been different so long ago; how could I? Of course, I know I'll have to tell Dad everything about what happened here the next time I see him…but I just don't know how I tell him that one of his closest friends and practical brother actually wasn't dead for all the years he thought he was, and actually came back just to ultimately die. I can't help worrying it would break his heart all over again."

His schoolmates all exchanged understandably worried glances with one another. Yes, in the grand scheme of things, by the young Slav's own admission, he and the deceased River Hero hadn't spent very much time together at all, but it had still been enough for Nikolay to once see him as genuine flesh-and-blood family before, just as Tunguska clearly did, so to see him die in an act of pure Heroic selflessness was no less painful than any other death. For Tunguska to have known the man so much longer, only to then be hit with this veritable truckload of information would undoubtedly be as overwhelming for him as it would've been for anyone in his position.

But hell if that was going to stop them, as Momo took that chance to rest a reassuring hand on Nikolay's uninjured shoulder, with Tenya, Kyouka, Tetsutetsu, and soon even the rest of the Class B students ultimately doing the same. With this gesture of unification given, the black-haired ponytail-wearing girl stated softly: "I know this is still a great deal for you to get yourself through, Bezpalov-san, and having to break it all to Tunguska-sensei…and inevitably all the others in class won't possibly be any easier. But I feel we'd all agree that you're intuitive enough to know how best to tell him of all this when the time comes. And if you want it…I'll happily be there to share it all alongside you and ease a bit of the burden."

"Me too, Kolya-kun, it's not even a question!" "I will too, if you want me to." "Here, here, after we've been through this much together already, it wouldn't be right to not continue to do so to the very end!"

As Mina, Kyouka and Tenya similarly voiced their full-willingness to do the same, to help share the story of everything they had experienced and witnessed up here to Tunguska and the rest of their classmates; it was no surprise that Monoma jumped on the chance to interject the moment there was any pause: "Of course! To simply not share every delectable detail of how we finally clawed our way up to stand at your same level against such Villains to the rest of our peers would be a disservice to Class B's very reputation and aspirations, Class A! Rest assured that not a single stone of this experience will be left un-turned for all those who want to hear it!"

While Tenya's instinctive reaction was to assume this was just Monoma trying to gain himself even a little more thunder, it was clear from the looks on the rest of the blonde boy's classmates, that there was more heart to his boasting than usual. If anything, this was just about Monoma's personal way of voicing the very same sentiment of sharing Volga's story and redemption that they themselves just had.

As miraculous as it sounded, this entire harrowing experience had ultimately created a very surprising sense of bonding between all the Yuuei students present, even despite their differing classes. In a way, it was nothing short of inspiring to witness, let alone be a personal part of.

It did thankfully do a great deal to lighten the heaviness weighing on Nikolay's shoulders; that was for sure. To know his friends here would all be standing by his side through everything that was to come soon was honestly the best feeling Nikolay could get out of all this right now, with a very close second.

Aside from the accomplishment of knowing they had saved so many people, and the sadness of losing Volga forever; there was likewise the lingering feeling of relief, of knowing that since all the right people now knew all the proper details and circumstances of their involvement in the situation as a whole; that Maja and her freed friends would likely be shown sympathy, and thus be given an appropriately lightened sentence.

Of course it would've been preferable that they didn't spend time in jail at all, especially since it had recently been confirmed that they were all in good enough shape to be transferred to holding in jail tomorrow; but all things considered, it was still a much more positive switch that he and his classmates were all still physically reeling from having managed to make happen.

"You lot should then consider yourselves lucky the police took all your earlier testimonies regarding things before your mission and sent them to our contacts, alongside everything else that was collected afterward from us and the townspeople. Bringing a bunch of Japanese Hero school students onto Russian soil for such a purpose would be quite tedious and awkward for a good number of people, I'm sure."

The sound of Konstantin's voice having returned so soon after he and his men had left again, visibly surprised all the students and their attending mentors, as they turned back to find him and his trio of soldiers returning with a purposeful stride. Nikolay, naturally taking on the role of the mediator between his friends and these all-around foreign soldiers, instinctively asked: [[Then should we assume that means everything's been cleared with your people? Is there anything we should still be worried about?]]

Konstantin could naturally assume that Nikolay was referring to how he and his side of the conflict intended to resolve the issue of the now-missing Marius…and so it was an unexpectedly pleasant surprise when he actually shook his head as an answer. [[Not as of now, so you and your friends breathe as easy as the situation allows, Nikolay Olegovich. All the details regarding everyone's respective involvement with Pietro and his scheme has been clarified as fully as it can be.

[[I simply figured it wouldn't do to not give a final farewell to the Heroes that ultimately helped save our Motherland, before we and the gunboat crew begin our return journey tonight to Sakhalin Island, courtesy of my contacts at the naval base there. From there, my men and I will be on our way back to Moscow, and begin seeing to the transference of Pietro's loyal followers in order to stand trial…after I've had some personal time speaking to my colleagues in the higher ranks, of everything I saw and have had to think about because of you kids, of course.]]

The wave of utter relief that crossed the students' faces once High Noon finished translating for them, would have looked utterly ridiculous on any other kids, but after everything Konstantin knew they'd been through for the sake of himself, his men and countless others, they'd earned the right to look so relieved. As grateful as they were that the man was keeping to his word, Whiteout was quick to speak in their place: "We're all deeply grateful for you having had the heart to hear our interns out in light of everything you've been put through, Khodamchuk-san. We all wish you and your compatriots safe travels."

As she, High Noon and all of the interns dutifully bowed in gratitude and well-wishes, Konstantin and his men surprisingly did the same, while the leader himself focused on Nikolay specifically, to the boy's visible concern, in spite of every step of progress that had been made. [[I can't tell you what you may ultimately tell Tunguska when you see him, in regards to all of this. The only thing I can say now is…to you and all your young comrades here: thank you, Nikolay Olegovich Bezpalov, for saving us…and bringing a feeling back to me that had been dead for far too long. Even if the rest of our people may dig in to resist the change you're looking for by returning hope to them…you can at least take comfort in knowing you've restored it for at least one person.]]

Nikolay's resolute nod and swelling of deeply personal pride upon hearing this, left Konstantin smiling in satisfaction as he and his men at last took their penultimate leave of Japan; with all the young Heroes respectively bidding them farewell right alongside Nikolay and their mentors.

However, with the idea of the future of his Hero career now being brought to the forefront, Nikolay felt another deeply penetrating and troubling sensation begin to build within his chest, clawing its way up to his head in silence. Looking at the uplifting smiles on his partners' faces, and listening to their confident and assuring words of unity both now and before, had brought a very troubling memory back to the forefront of Nikolay's mind, something he couldn't possibly ignore; but neither could he dampen the air among his friends, in the wake of all their struggling, by bringing it up.

---

Several hours later…

Nikolay had tried to keep the shadow that was troubling his mind so much under wraps throughout the remainder of the day, which thankfully hadn't proved to be too long, because its nagging voice only ever continued to grow louder in his head with each passing hour, and if he'd had to go through the entirety of a day trying to keep from talking about it with his friends while they recovered and tried to keep each other's spirits and expectations lifted, he doubted he could have been able to do so.

In a strange way, it was a blessing in disguise when night had finally fallen and, with the reasoning that they needed to get themselves properly rested in time for Nezu, Recovery Girl and the teachers of their choice to arrive, they needed to sequester themselves to their assigned hospital rooms to get some sleep. Of course, with Nikolay still being in the condition he was in, and since their rooms had already been assigned next to each other's by serendipity (or on purpose), Mina had ultimately decided to share the room with him in another bed.

Of course, as grateful as he was for the company to help him sleep easier…the problem was that the thing he was by now silently obsessing over made him utterly terrified of sleeping, for fear that it would finally materialize itself before him in his dreams and torment him even worse. So frightened was the young Russian boy of actually closing his eyes to try and sleep, that he'd completely lost all sense of the passage of time as he lay restlessly with his eyes wide and itching with dryness. This night would be utter hell in how slowly it would pass.

"Kolya-kun?" The ever-soft whisper of Mina's voice from his side almost didn't register to Nikolay's ears as he continued to stare despondently up at the ceiling; but the second time she called his name a little louder had nearly caused the boy to jump and nearly upset at least one of his injuries in the process. Thankfully, she'd been quick to come to his side and keep him from doing so out of sheer reflex.

Once he'd finally managed to calm down and take in the calming sight of her face, he could just as quickly see how worriedly she was looking at him right now. "You couldn't sleep either, huh?"

Of course, Nikolay was surprised that she apparently hadn't been able to sleep any easier, but clearly her focus was entirely on him, even as her eyes quickly set on his nearby wheelchair, before she just as quickly got it set up and began to help move the confused boy into it. "W-whoa, wait, Mina, what're you doing?"

"Since neither of us can sleep right now, I thought it'd be nice for us to at least maybe hang out and look at the stars from the roof. We've never gotten the chance to do it at the dorms yet, and this town is just small enough so that the lights don't keep us from seeing them. Who knows, maybe working our eyes out that way can help us get tired enough to actually get some shut-eye."

While Nikolay had his doubts the hospital staff would just leave the door to the roof unlocked in the middle of the night, he did have to admit that the idea of stargazing had always sounded like a really relaxing one, and to do it with her along for the experience only sounded that much more enticing. Besides, some fresh air sounded like just what he needed to get away from the overwhelming sterilized smell of the hospital itself.

So, without a word of protest, Nikolay allowed Mina to help him get situated into his wheelchair, and from there they proceeded to make their way up to the roof, all while the pink young girl was smiling cheekily to herself. "Am I the only one getting the weirdest sense of déjà vu right now, Kolya-kun?"

Of course, memories of his state at the end of the Sports Festival came rushing right back for Nikolay, and for what felt like the first time in quite a while, he could actually smile fondly thinking back to that, and to the frankly precious sight of the two inseparable friends in this very same position, with her acting as though she were his very own personal caretaker; and he gladly willing to do the same had their positions been reversed.

It wasn't long before they'd finally reached the roof, stepping (or wheeling) out into the refreshing cool breeze of the autumn nighttime air; even if their hospital gowns ultimately made it feel a bit drafty. However, the sheer expanse and depth of the frankly gorgeous sparkling stars overhead made the chill a distant memory for the two teens, as Mina wheeled Nikolay to the center of the roof so they could both just look up and bask at such a beautiful sight.

For Nikolay, the constant stress of trying to survive with his father during their previous stints in the wild before, had made the idea of simply admiring the stars never even once cross his mind. But to be able to actually relax enough to do so now, made a moment like this feel just that much more well-deserved and fought-for, especially since he didn't have to do it alone. Chancing but a momentary glance to Mina, just to see how brilliantly her black sclera reflected the light of the stars, was a sight the young boy could never forget as he saw just how similarly at peace she looked when taking it all in.

When taking their gazes down to the distant horizon where Gagaringrad's ruins rested, they could even see a multitude of distant light beams emanating from just above it in the sky as well; the beams of helicopters and construction equipment so that the reconstruction efforts could be carried out around the clock. Against the perfectly dark blue night skies, one would've been able to even compare such a spectacle of lights to an unexpected little condensed light show.

However, Mina herself couldn't watch long enough for that distinction to cross her mind, as when she chanced a sideways glance to see if Nikolay was enjoying being out here as much as she was, she was quick to see a distinctly troubled look in his green eyes…the same kind she'd been silently noticing all throughout the course of today. Thankfully, now that the rest of their friends were asleep and it was just the two of them, she could finally call attention to it: "What's the matter, Kolya-kun? Are your wounds hurting at all?"

While she was trying to control her tone as she asked, it was immediately and abundantly clear just how sensitive Mina was to Nikolay being in any kind of physical pain right now, as before the boy could even think to answer her with any kind of reassurances, she was already coming closer to take a look; specifically at the places on his left arm and leg that they both knew specifically had suffered the burns of her Acid while she'd been under Pietro's influence during the final battle.

Seeing just how worried she was from the look on her face as she tried to take a peek, Nikolay tried to put on a clearly forced smile in the hopes of reassuring her otherwise: "N-no, it's not anything physical, really. I promise, you don't need to worry, Mina. I only took a few tiny droplets of your Acid in the middle of all that craziness; I know I could've ended up a lot worse otherwise, so I got really lucky."

Already, he was mentally kicking himself for such a half-assed attempt at trying to make his best friend of all feel even a little better. The fact that his mentioning getting hit by her Quirk in even the slightest degree left Mina looking even more emotionally distraught than before, only made him feel that much worse, even before she started sniffling and choking on some long-withheld tears. "I…I-I'm…*sob* I'm so sorry, Kolya-kun. This…oh, God…t-this is just what I…I was always afraid might happen…*sob*!"

Nikolay's instinctive reaction of apologizing for making Mina cry was swiftly silenced by this sudden admission of hers; a change she had naturally been expecting, since even that much was more about her past than she had ever openly shared with anyone before. And now that she'd started on it, and was in such an emotionally wrecked state as this from knowing she'd unintentionally injured anyone, but especially one of her dearest friends; she couldn't hope to keep the rest to herself. If anyone right now deserved to know one of her most personal truths in a time like this, it was him.

"I-I have a confession to make, Kolya-kun. I-I…I *sniffle* I know that I've always been trying to come off all confident, cool and used to my Quirk, and I am now and have been for a while…but t-the truth is that *sniffle* w-when I first got my Quirk, I'd ended up accidentally hurting one of the kids I went to kindergarten with while they were finally letting me play tag with them. I'd gotten so *sob* scared by what I did, I…I didn't even want to step out of my house ever again. My parents tried so hard to convince me to just try, but I was so s-scared that my Quirk would just hurt people, or worse. Even when I'd finally decided to dedicate myself to becoming a Hero, it's the one thing I've always been super scared of. Back then, all the other kids used to say I'd never be a Hero, or people would never accept me as one cause of how weird I look, and when I got my Quirk, they all said I was more likely to be a Villain. I-I've always been wanting to prove that I could be a Hero who could protect and save people, even with my Acid Quirk…but seeing it hurt you like it did, no matter how small…and knowing I hurt you…*sob* I'm so sorry, Kolya-kun!"

Nikolay didn't dare say a word, firstly because he could see and physically feel just how hard it was for Mina to admit all of this for what was clearly the first time in who-knew how long. In a way, to know he was being admitted something that even her oldest friends didn't know about her, was almost intimidating in the strangest way.

And secondly, he was frankly shocked by a multitude of revelations; primarily that of just how truly similar a place they had both been in before: a crippling fear of the damaging potential of their respective Quirks, except that Mina had the good fortune of having managed to crawl her way out of it and choose her path in life so much sooner than he had. All at once, her natural gravitation towards him so early in the year; and her dedication to helping him out of the lowest point in his life; made so much more conventional and personable sense. And yet, even with that realization, her natural kindheartedness and dedication to her friends still felt like the dominating motivation for her actions all the way back then.

All of this inner understanding aside, Nikolay finally couldn't keep his curiosity to himself while Mina was finally starting to try and get her sobbing under control. "It's okay, Mina, you don't have to cry anymore, it's going to be all right now, really. I know it probably doesn't help much now, but the fact is that you weren't in control of your actions back then, so my being burned by your Acid isn't technically your fault, so please don't blame yourself."

As Nikolay wished he could've been able to move his arms in order to place his hands on Mina's shoulders in reassurance; his mind went to the first natural question that came to mind: "I won't dare to assume admitting this was easy, I know it couldn't have been. I just…I just can't help wondering why you never brought yourself around to telling me this, like back when I'd tried running away and you'd come looking for me."

By now, Mina was thankfully wiping the remaining tears from her eyes, breathing deep to try and calm herself down, even though the tears still wouldn't stop. "Well…b-because I-I just…*gasp* …when I'd finally decided I wanted to become a Hero, I also wanted to try and keep my fear about my Quirk from back then all to myself. I wanted to try and focus all of my energy towards making friends and working on becoming a Hero instead. I didn't want to keep thinking about just how scared I was back then…but every time we've gotten caught up in super dangerous stuff this year, or even when I've been faced with danger before, that old fear of mine always ends up coming back and makes me freeze up, even if just for a couple seconds...but especially when other people I care about are in danger.

"The fact is…I know there's a part of me that's always scared every day, and that in itself really scares me, Kolya-kun. Like, even though we've already won here, I'm still scared about how dangerous things are gonna be when we become Pro Heroes…and I…I-I really don't like letting people know that I'm scared, so I…so I try to hide it by being all, y'know, all smiling and laughing and making jokes and being happy all the time. Don't get me wrong, I really am happy all the time…at the same time; I know that sounds weird. I just…I don't want everyone else to know that I'm afraid at the same time, despite my being happy a lot…because I can't help but worry that if everyone else knows I'm scared, they'll get scared too, and then we won't be able to do anything to save or protect anyone or each other.

"I know, I know it's okay to admit being scared…but still, when the time finally comes for us to be Pro Heroes, I wanna be the kind that can assure people they don't have to be afraid, that there's always a reason for them to be happy and hopeful. God, I don't know what I'm trying to say, Kolya-kun! This is all so damn frustrating and confusing!"

Mina nearly looked like she was about to start pulling her frizzy hair out as she bowed her head, growling in almost childlike frustration, feeling as though she were either talking in circles or just going completely off the rails. When Nikolay himself was struggling to think of just what he could've possibly said to try and reassure her of this stress and fear of hers; they both ultimately settled for having her simply embrace him in his wheelchair as some form of comfort.

As Mina continued to hold onto her precious Slavic friend for dear life, she finally regained the wherewithal to keep explaining everything that had been weighing on her for so long. "I honestly hadn't thought about how scared I was of my Quirk for so long, Kolya-kun…until I tried to help save all the kids in the orphanage with Pony-chan and De-Condenser-sensei yesterday. Even though I knew they were all trying to kill us because of that Villain, I was so scared of hurting any of them at all…and with so many of them being so young, it just sent me right back to that point in my head in kindergarten, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about how that fear's actually still been with me ever since.

"I've never wanted to use my Quirk to hurt anyone at all if I could help it…but especially none of my friends. I wanna be the same kind of Hero that can inspire those kids to move past their own fear and be their best selves, just like the Pro Hero I saw on TV that convinced me to do that when I was little. So when…w-when…*sniffle*…when Pietro completely blindsided me and made me actually fight you guys, it was like my worst nightmare come true.

"The whole sensation, it's just like what Maja-chan and Linguist-san described it like, or even like Kyouka-chan guessed it. It was like I could see and hear everything that was going on, but those fake memories Pietro put in my head kept forcing themselves in front of me and steering my body to attack you all, no matter how much I was trying to force myself to stop. And when I saw I'd actually hit you with my Acid, even a tiny bit…oh God, Kolya-kun, it hurt worse than anything I could've imagined! I…I-I just couldn't control it! *sob* You and every single one of our friends, you're all the most precious people in the world to me! I don't ever want to hurt any of you at all! I know I…I-I don't deserve it, b-but…can you…*sniffle* ever forgive me?"

More than ever was Nikolay silently cursing the fact his arms were so immobilized that he couldn't even embrace Mina in return to try and give her some kind of comfort himself. However, that wouldn't stop him from giving her an immediate heartfelt answer: "Of course I can, Mina; we all do, because you have nothing to apologize for! We all know that what happened was because of Pietro, not you! Please, don't keep torturing yourself like this, that's what you don't deserve! It doesn't change the fact that, no matter how scared you may get, you always ultimately pull through and come rushing in to help people in every possible way you can! That's the real thing you should be taking away from everything we've gone through so far.

"You're still one of the bravest and strongest people I've ever known, Mina, and it kills me to see you beat yourself up so hard like this. I meant what I said before: you'll always be my best friend, my Hero, for everything you've done, for me and everyone else. Nothing will ever make me forget or change my mind about that, so please…if we all know you have nothing to apologize for; then please try to remind yourself of that, so we can all try to take all the steps forward we need to together again."

Nikolay's imploring thankfully managed to really strike a chord with Mina in the midst of her sorrowful tears; as soon enough, her hyperventilating and trembling hold on him began to steady, and she soon enough managed to regain a sense of calm. With that much-needed clear headedness, something of especially powerful resonance came back to Mina's mind from the emotional fog as she continued to hold Nikolay; something that made her once rushing heart continue to beat regularly, but with increasing power, as her pink cheeks began to turn a radiant warmer shade, and her once trembling lips began to slowly curve into a heart-melting smile.

[Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade of Pale, Live 2006]

"You know, Kolya-kun…with what I said about what it felt like being under Pietro's Quirk…there's something else I have to confess to you. When everyone else was trying to get through to me with their words; like I said, I could hear them, but his fake memories kept forcing themselves up. But…but honestly, when it was just you and me…your voice somehow managed to get all the way through so much clearer than everyone else. I want to think that, along with how much I didn't want to fight any of you guys; that was what helped me fight his control long enough to tell you to knock me out so I wouldn't keep trying to hurt any of you for him."

The rigidness with which Nikolay was sitting could've easily been because of his casts; but if that hadn't been the case, the poor flustered-looking young Hero still would've been like a rock at that moment, as the emotional softness in Mina's tone was making his own heart start to race; his bandage-covered fair face turning a deep red, as her embrace somehow began to grow warmer.

However, his stupor was quickly broken when he actually felt Mina's right hand start gliding down his side towards where his left pocket normally would have been. Since their hospital gowns had no actual pockets, this was ultimately nothing more than a symbolic gesture…one that he was thankfully very quick to pick up on, as Mina finally lifted her head from his shoulder and looked into his eyes. The sight of her warmly blushing, smiling and tear-streaked face, alongside just how much her black-gold eyes were shimmering with the light of the stars and his own reflection, had Nikolay's racing and pounding heart skipping a beat, and that was before she finally said the one thing he was bracing himself for the most after her recent admission:

"Even as happy as it made me to know you were holding onto that locket I got you, Kolya-kun; that was nothing compared to what I felt when you…you…w-when you said what you did when you pulled it out. I was able to hear all of it loud and clear. Every. Word. Of. It. You made me so happy in that moment, that it was enough to break through that haze completely. I just wish I'd had the courage to tell you the same a long time ago…but now I finally can return you the favor and more."

Mina's emphasizing of those four words and all that came after, each hit Nikolay's heart like a sucker punch. If the bloody thing hadn't outright stopped by the time she'd finally stopped to let him take it all in, he would've been amazed…and he was. He wasn't sure what to expect in the aftermath of his most desperate confession in the heat of battle, but this hadn't been it. He had so wanted to have finally said those long-awaited words in a much more peaceful and traditional setting…whatever the hell that looked like in their world, admittedly.

Now, Nikolay was at a complete loss for words, unsure what to think despite the deeply joyous smile on Mina's radiant face at this very moment. Anyone with half a clue could have seen the way his best friend of all was looking at and speaking to him, and would have been able to put the pieces together, but poor Nikolay was utterly clueless and lost in the storm of his numerous emotions upon her admission. His whole face was almost glowing red, and his heart was beating hard enough to risk breaking his ribs all over again.

But he wouldn't stay that way for long, as the gentlest touch of Mina's hands to both of his cheeks in order to hold his head steady, had rendered all conflicting noises in his panicked head utterly silent, leaving nothing for him to take in once more, except for just how happily she was smiling amid the tears of joy now running down her face, illuminated once more by the starlight overhead.

Mina had to exercise every last ounce of willpower to not start either laughing with her own happiness, or start sobbing from just how happy she was now that they were finally in the moment she'd been hoping to work up the courage for so long to have. Looking into his wide green eyes; the raw emotion of his words upon that submarine to her, paired with the countless wonderful memories of everything they'd gone through and shared together, all made the warmth building in her pounding heart nearly turn white hot, as her common sense was quickly giving way to complete and total impulse…the kind of impulse she knew without a doubt now to have been building in her for so long, and now that the truth had at least been halfway out, it was time for her to finally be completely honest with them both, and act upon it in a way she felt, in that moment, to be the most appropriate for both of them.

"Kolya-kun, you remember back when we were studying for the Final Exams, how that one day we studied history by watching all those old movies at your house? You remember how that one war prison movie had that bit of the two guys trying to blend in with Russians, and one of them only knew one sentence, and you went on that adorable little rant about how he had the meaning of it right, but not the grammar?"

Nikolay was still in too much of a momentary state of shock to really follow where she was going with this trip down Memory Lane of their all watching 'The Great Escape' together during their exam studies…but he was about to get it beyond a shadow of a doubt, as Mina's hands continued to gently caress his burning hot face, and her smile only grew that much more in warmth and affection. "Well…you might not have thought so, probably…but I was really listening then…and I still remember how you said you're supposed to say it."

And with that, before Nikolay Bezpalov could utter a sound, Mina Ashido leaned in without a moment's hesitation, looking deep into his eyes the entire way, before finally closing her eyes and pressing her warm, soft and pursing lips against his. The sensation of their second mouth-to-mouth kiss still electrocuted Nikolay as much as it had the first time, alongside the overwhelming aroma of strawberries from her hair, and the subtle sweetness amid the soft warmth and wetness of her lips on his own. He was still left just as wide-eyed and speechless as he had been then, even if his heart was all-but singing from within his chest, and the tiniest voice in the back of his mind was screaming for him to return the gesture before Mina pulled away.

But pull away she did, after a good several prolonged seconds of simply savoring the sensation of their mouths perfectly locked together, if not even just a little bit of the taste of it; running her fingertips through his hair all the while. As euphoric as such an action with Nikolay made Mina feel, she didn't let it distract her from finally taking the ultimate plunge of her life, and following up her bold physical declaration with the verbal one she'd wanted to give for so, so very long; his awestruck face as clear as day even through the tears filling her eyes:

"Ya lyublyu tebya (I love you), Nikolay. *sniffle* *sob* I-I love you too. I've loved you…a-and wanted to tell you *sniffle* for so long now. I wish I could tell you just how long. Maybe it was the very same as you said, from that day at the bus stop in the rain ever since then…but I guess it doesn't really matter anymore, huh? I love you more than I've ever loved anyone else before, Kolya-kun…*sniffle*b-but I was so scared of telling you, because I...I-I didn't want to risk ruining our f-friendship by making it all weird if you didn't feel the same, y'know? I didn't even want to admit it to myself at first; and that's why I kept thinking, or trying to convince myself that Kyouka-chan liked you that way instead. I mean, I'd never even thought of myself being in, like, a romantic relationship with someone before, I didn't have a clue how I'd be able to tell that someone if I did. But dammit, I did it, and now you know, Kolya-kun! I love you, I love you, I love you so much!"

Even for as overjoyed as Mina sounded to finally be confessing all of this in as many ways as she could think of on the spot just to leave no room for doubt in his head or heart; the poor girl still sounded like she was hyperventilating from the sheer adrenaline rush it was giving her. At the same time, as Nikolay was all but literally blown back against his wheelchair to finally be hearing the words he'd been dreaming for so long now to hear come from Mina's lips, he found himself cursing the injuries to his arms and legs more than ever. More than anything else in the world did he want to just be on his feet, standing at the same equal footing as the girl before him, so he could pull her into the very same kind of embrace she managed to still have on him even now, and be able to finally express his feelings the exact same way she had, with no outside influences anywhere to get in the way or deprive the moment of the emotion it deserved.

But alas, to even try and move only ended up sending a bolt of pain from his legs and arms straight up to his brain. Nikolay wasn't going anywhere, but this impulsive move on his part hadn't gone unnoticed, as when Mina finally released her hug on him and they were able to finally look in each other's eyes again, Nikolay's words came automatically: "For such a long time, I've been trying to think, rehearse every possible way this moment could go. I've tried so long to practice exactly how I wanted to tell you the truth of how I feel about you, Mina…I just hate that it had to be during such a violent and dangerous moment. I can't ever take that back and be able to just tell you the way I really wanted to, however that could've been. The truth is, I was just as scared as you were; that you wouldn't have felt the same, and we wouldn't have been able to stay friends anymore."

"Who says you can't take it back?" Mina's question was automatic, and unmistakably sincere, as the radiant pink-skinned girl knelt down in front of Nikolay; the two love-stricken teens now on the same exact eye level; her loving smile never once faltering as she gently laid her hands upon his cast-wrapped forearms. "Please…just for us, could you say it again, Nikolay? Nothing getting in the way, no fancy language moves…just say it like you always wanted to."

Nikolay nearly broke into grateful tears for Mina's generosity at giving him the chance at a true do-over, on top of her pure sincerity of her feelings by addressing him by his full name. All at once had every possible scenario he'd been cooking up in his head in preparation for a moment like this, just gone flying right out the window. Now, of all times; Nikolay knew he didn't need to fall back on rehearsed speeches or fancy tricks of wooing someone like he'd seen in the movies. This was real life; this was their lives, and undoubtedly the single happiest moment in both of them yet. He knew now this was his time to seize the moment just as Mina finally had, and he finally spoke with no hesitation or regret:

"I love you, Mina; in a way I'd long since given up ever being able to feel for another person. In all the time we've known each other, you managed to become one of the most precious people I have in my life, as a Hero, as a dear friend, and as someone I no longer question I love with all my heart. You saved my life in every way a life could possibly be saved, and while I know I can't ever be able to fully repay you for that, nor thank you enough…I can only hope that knowing how much you truly mean to me can give you even a fraction of the happiness that you've given me."

By the time Nikolay had finally forced himself to stop in order to try and catch his breath, the sweet and soft giggle Mina gave nearly melted his heart, as she brought her warm soft hands up to the corners of his neck and shoulders; the two of them almost getting genuinely lost in each other's eyes as she inched closer and closer once more. "Oh, way, way more than a fraction; you have no idea how happy you make me, Kolya-kun…how happy you've always made me."

Chyuu!

To Mina's speechless, wide-eyed and deeply blushing surprise; Nikolay had actually managed what was once thought impossible for him, and had taken the ultimate initiative of leaning his own head forward the moment she had her eyes closed, and actually brought his lips to hers in a return kiss that nearly had her squealing with unbridled loving joy. Of course, given his immobilized state, he couldn't let his own kiss upon her linger like she had, and thus had to part from her after but a second.

But neither of the two youths was willing to let that moment; this happiness and long-desired connection between them; go to waste, as the very next moment as Nikolay's head met the support of his chair, Mina just as quickly brought herself forward the rest of the way and met his lips in another burning hot and infinitely heartfelt kiss, which he proceeded to just as quickly follow once she had to part as well, and visa versa and onward; every single one igniting fireworks in both their hearts as profoundly as the last, if not even more. It was as though they were both trying so hard to let the other feel every waking moment of affection they'd been holding inside for one another over the course of this entire year without a single actual word having to be spoken; both their faces streaked and flowing with the best kind of tears.

It was hardly the picture-perfect recreation of every long-desired lovers' kiss in romantic movies, melodramatic TV shows or romance anime, like the ones Mina loved watching with her mother over the years, but it was a display of incomparable pure love that was entirely hers and Nikolay's; and in this moment, every last ounce of physical pain, sadness and hardship they had both gone through over the course of their lives, even long before having met each other, all felt absolutely worth it. To know it had all ultimately led them to each other; they both silently swore to themselves and one another, as they held one more lingering kiss and one-sided embrace, that they wouldn't have traded a single moment of any of it for anything else in the world. To know they had gone through so much of it together made it all so much better.

After a stretch of time neither of them had even bothered to pay attention to as they'd gotten lost within each other's kisses; it seemed to click for them both that they finally needed the time to really catch their breath and really take in the reality of where they now officially stood. Just the thought of it still had their hearts leaping within their chests, but now they were able to really think about what awaited them ahead. Finally, Nikolay was the first to regain the wherewithal to speak: "So…how do you think we tell everyone in class when we all get back? No, no…how do you think they or Aizawa-sensei will take it? He doesn't exactly strike me as someone who'd tolerate that kind of risk in our whole class team dynamic, you know? I-I'm sorry, I just—this is so brand new to me, I don't know how we're supposed to go forward or what the real next step is!"

However, even if Nikolay's concern barely reflected the happiness evident in his eyes; Mina didn't look nearly so worried, even if she was clearly thinking about it as well. Finally, she let out another, albeit more embarrassed-sounding, giggle. "I know, me neither; but that's what makes it so exciting, isn't it? A-anyway, yeah, what next? Uh…well…as far as everyone else goes, actually…it might not be as surprising as you think."

She could already just feel Nikolay was going to want more details, and thankfully the downright humorous way she recounted her point was enough to undo his lingering concerns: "I mean…I said I'd been super nervous about telling you how I really feel for a while, but I wasn't really the one to realize my own feelings first. I know; how does that even work, right? You see, for a while now, Tooru-chan, Yaomomo, Tsu-chan, Kyouka-chan; even Setsu-chan all pretty much had me figured out even before I did. I finally got to know what it feels like to be Urara-chan."

Mina couldn't help but start laughing in good-humored nostalgia at the thought of it, while Nikolay was visibly trying to decide if he should've still been concerned or relieved. "Has it only just been them that made you realize it? That pretty much already knew?"

To this, Mina's blushing cheeks grew an almost illuminating red. "Well…not exactly. The day before we took the train here on Friday, I…I'd actually gone to Midnight-sensei for advice on how to confess to you when I had the chance. Believe it or not, I'd actually been totally psyching myself up since the start of this week to confess by the end of it. Got delayed by a day, but hey, who's marking points for timeliness, right? I figured that with such a risqué Hero costume and attitude, she must've had fans sending her love confessions all the time, so maybe she'd be able to help. *ahem* Anyway, yeah…Midnight-sensei, she, uh…she'd also pretty much figured it out on both our ends, even long before the rest of the girls in class did."

The way Mina saw Nikolay bite his lower lip in contemplation made it clear just how embarrassed he was feeling, to know that so many other people had already figured it out so long before either of them had. She couldn't exactly blame him; for someone who loved the very concept of romance as much as she did, it almost felt like a mark of shame that she couldn't have even figured out or admitted her own feelings to herself before so many others had for her.

However, she couldn't dwell on her own embarrassment for long, either; as she was soon met with the sound of Nikolay chuckling to himself, now giving her a good-natured smile of some kind of remembrance, himself. "Well…I don't know how much of a comfort this'll be…but I didn't exactly come to the acceptance or awareness of my feelings on my own, either. I, uh…I-I actually kinda got a much-needed push from…from Eijirou-san, in fact."

This time it was Mina's turn to look like she was so obviously in need of more details, which he was fortunately more than happy to finally get out in the open as he remembered it all so clearly. "It was back on our first night at the dorms, during the Room King game we were playing. After I'd shown you all my room and hanged back for a minute while you'd all gone up to the last floor of the boys' wing; I was actually looking at that…*ahem* that last photo of us from the photo booth, inside that locket. I just had made the mistake of not closing the door, so Eijirou-san got the drop on me and ended up seeing it, too.

"I honestly didn't expect him to be so happy for us as he was then, especially after I'd told him the story behind that photo. I definitely didn't expect him to say that he'd been seeing that spark between us for as long as he had. But in the end, hand to God, he not only said he thought we were perfect for each other…but, no joke, he actually volunteered to be my…I think the word from the movies is 'wingman'? He basically volunteered to give me what support he could to help me figure out how to confess to you, myself. I don't know if any of the girls ever volunteered to do the same for you…but I guess it's safe to say neither of us needed it, huh?"

To this, Mina's resultant giggling was quickly accompanied by yet more deeply heartfelt tears of joy; a remembering look in her eyes as she momentarily looked back up to the stars. "Yeah…yeah, that sounds like totally the kind of thing Kiri would do for a friend in love, doesn't it? I swear; Bakugo has no idea how lucky he is to have someone like him watching his back. God knows he'll need it if he ever were to try his luck at dating."

As admittedly hilarious (and in another way terrifying) as they both initially found the ideas of Bakugo ever actually giving attention to that kind of thing, or there being a girl who would actually find his hair trigger temper endearing; their laughter couldn't go for long, as they still had the ultimate question before them: just how exactly did they go about the immediate future at school in regards to this new cemented relationship between themselves?

Finally, albeit with great self-willing, Mina gave the most honest answer she could: "Well…as for us and what we do next? I mean, I don't know what could happen, but I don't wanna do that whole cliché; you know, where two people who love each other try, for some dumb reason, to keep it a secret from everybody else, including their own friends. Plus, if you'd seen how many times I've tried to tease Urara-chan into just admitting that super obvious crush she has on Midori-kun by now; to go around acting like I don't love you the same way would make me look like such a total hypocrite. I don't want to do that."

Thankfully, Nikolay could indeed understand where she was coming from with this answer, as he gave a slight nod the more he thought about it. "I don't wanna hide it either; it'd give the impression like it's something we're ashamed of…but at the same time, I don't think either of us want this new thing between us to get in the way of everything else we've still got waiting for us at school…right?"

To this, Mina gave an agreeing smile as she teasingly mussed up his hair with her fingers, dedicating the laughing smile on his face to memory as she did so. "Of course, not. I mean, even if the dangerous stuff that Heroes do is still scary, the stuff we're doing at school for training is still super-exciting and fun; not to mention just how fun it is to always be hanging out with everybody around the dorms on our down time. I don't wanna change any of that, either."

Knowing they were both on the same page, Nikolay gave a resigned sigh. "Then...I guess maybe the best way for us to do this is to just let the others know gradually over time, huh?"

With that, Mina unexpectedly reached and brushed away some of the locks of Nikolay's hair hanging over the left part of his forehead; whereupon she could see the stitched up laceration that started just above his left eyebrow and reached just up to his hairline. While the sight of any kind of battle scar on Nikolay's precious face still hurt her deeply; it still couldn't do anything to sour the downright euphoric air between them on this night, as she instead gave her full agreement to their approach by leaning in and planting a single gentle kiss upon his forehead; holding his face in her hands as she did so.

"Whatever we decide to do in the end as far as letting the others know, I'm with you for it all the way, Kolya-kun. No matter what, I'll always be there to have your back, just as I know I'll always have you to watch mine. Partners, friends…and more, through thick and thin for life, right?"

Nikolay's smile at this made it clear that he agreed with her sentiments with not a shred of doubt, which had Mina's smile spreading from ear to ear with excitement. However, even in the haze of joy they were both reveling in; Nikolay's mind couldn't help but quickly drift back to something he'd hoped he wouldn't be able to go back to, in this of all moments. Mina's expressed desire of always being there at each other's sides had brought the specter troubling him all day back in full force…and this time, the sight of the troubled glint in his green eyes was something Mina could not possibly ignore. "Kolya-kun…what're you thinking about? Is it whatever's been having you look so serious all day?"

She didn't even wait for the young Slav to ask how she possibly could've known before she followed up: "C'mon; we all saw how distant Midori-kun got that one day after we'd met The Big Three; you really think I'm not gonna notice you looking or acting the same way today after everything we'd just been through together? You know you can talk to all of us, to me about anything at all, Kolya-kun. What's been bugging you today so much? Is it Volga-san or that Marius guy again?"

Nikolay couldn't hope to put on a façade of ignorance, instead relenting with a very shaky sigh as he tried to force the images in his head out through words, with Mina as his sole audience. "No, I…I just…*gasp*back during the battle with Pietro, when he took off from the submarine with me and we ended up landing on that cliff…he…he tried to use his Quirk on me, too. Or, I think he was trying to see how much stronger he must've made it after the last time he'd used Giver-sensei's Quirk on himself.

"He kept telling me that everything I was doing was like some kind of useless and desperate throe, because I'd already failed every single person that I cared about. He was trying to make me lose the will to live with his Quirk…and…*sob* oh God, Mina, I think it damn near worked back there. When I opened my eyes, I know now it wasn't real, but…it looked and felt so real, like I couldn't believe."

Mina could already feel her own apprehension start to build the more she saw just how torturous it was for Nikolay to revisit whatever cruelty Pietro had inflicted on him in that short time; but he was still trying to maintain his courage all the while, and she couldn't dare to take that from him, instead only asking as softly as she could: "What did he make you see, Kolya-kun?"

The hellish images all came back so clearly as Nikolay tried to put it all into words; his voice cracking and his vision beginning to sting and blur the further he went: "I…I saw you…all of you, everyone from school…our friends, our teachers…everyone…y-you were all…*choke* …you were all dead. Everything had been destroyed. I could actually smell ash and blood in the air, it felt so real, Mina. You were there, lying motionless right next to my Dad, and everyone else was scattered all over the place. And I…I-I was the only one there who was alive. And all I could hear the more I looked…was the sound of everyone's voices, including yours, blaming me for not being able to save anyone! And the more it went, the more I felt every bit of willingness I had to keep fighting just get sucked right out of me! All I wanted then was to just die! *sob* Oh my God, Mina, it was so horrible!

"It's like Pietro had taken everything I was the most scared of, and gave it an actual real-life image to torture me with. I haven't been able to get it out of my head ever since! I mean, it's just like you said earlier: things are gonna get more and more dangerous once we all become Pro Heroes…and knowing that, I haven't been able to stop wondering to myself, if what Pietro put in my head…might be some kind of possible vision of the future."

To this, Mina could no longer stay silent, reaching and cupping his trembling face in her hands as she forced him to look her in the eye, all while trying to fight the frightened tears of her own. "Kolya-kun, it's okay, you can stop right there now. We both know that couldn't really be the case. Pietro's Quirk was all about screwing with people's memories, right? I mean, no matter how strong somebody's Quirk can get, they can't possibly change into something totally different from what they actually are, can they? He was just trying to mess with you, and that's it. None of what you saw is real, okay? Where we are, right now, just the two of us…that's more real than anything, okay?

"No matter what happens, none of us are ever going to be alone, and that's a promise, Kolya-kun. As long as we're there to fight together with all our friends, I know we can tackle anything, I can just feel it, you know?" The bright and eager smile on Mina's face as she tried to reassure Nikolay of this, left the boy looking utterly perplexed at how she could sound so confident in that after what he'd just shared. Had he not known her as well as he did, he almost would've wanted to assume she simply had ignored everything he'd said and replaced it with meaningless platitudes.

But it was just like Eijirou had told him in the beginning, and he'd come to know as an outright fact of life: Mina Ashido never said anything she didn't mean from the bottom of her heart. And the fact she meant all of these reassuring things after he'd detailed something so soul-crushing, was an inspiration. "I won't lie, Mina; after you'd admitted how even a part of you is always scared when things get dangerous, I was afraid that image Pietro had put in my head would've been too much, even for you. You really do believe everything you're saying, don't you?"

To this, Mina gave a slightly embarrassed grin as she shyly scratched at the back of her head. "Well, I mean, we've all seen how tough a lot of our friends are, it's not like we're a class of pushovers, you know? Plus, something my mom says a lot is that the two strongest motivators a person can have against even the scariest things is pure inspiration and love…and I know this is gonna sound super cheesy, but I don't care. The fact is that you've given me tons of both those things already, Kolya-kun. Our whole class is, like, one big dream team!"

Nikolay clearly was in deep appreciation of such votes of confidence as Mina was giving. If they were enough to help him put Pietro's mind tricks away for good, then that was all she could've possibly wanted for him. They'd both already suffered enough yesterday, it was now time for them to put that hardship behind them and focus on the sheer emotional bliss they were both still reeling from together at this moment, as she comfortingly embraced Nikolay, nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck; both teens simply taking that moment to calm themselves and bask in each other's warmth.

Of course, they could only ignore just how truly heavy their eyes were for so long, as Nikolay ultimately broke this otherwise peaceful silence: "I guess we should probably make our way back down and try to get some sleep again. Nezu-sensei probably won't appreciate it if we fall asleep halfway through whatever lecture he might have."

Their mutually good-natured giggling at the thought, prompted Mina to finally release her latest embrace around his shoulders, but there was still a noticeable hesitation on her part, before she finally answered in an especially soft voice: "Kolya-kun…do you think we could maybe…m-maybe just stay up here and look at the stars just a little longer? Like, who knows if we'll get a chance like this together again, right?"

Chancing a glance up to the stars himself, Nikolay's smile took on an almost wistful look as he breathed deep of the fresh night air. "Of course…but, before we do, there's actually something else; one last thing I…I want to ask you."

As Mina excitedly knelt down so they could be at the same eye level again, Nikolay had to mentally psyche himself up and try to calm his anxiously racing heart so he could ask the single most difficult thing he ever had to date. "I don't want anything about how we've been living our lives at school so far to change any more than you do…but at the same time, we both don't want to go around acting like we don't feel the way we do for each other in front of everyone, either. I don't exactly know how we should go about making this change…but I feel at least starting off between just the two of us is best."

Mina could clearly see just how difficult this was for Nikolay to just get right into, but she was far too excited to even think of telling him to get to his point. That encouraging look in her black-gold eyes thankfully managed to give him the calming he needed, as with a few preparatory deep breaths, he focused on getting the words out right: "Ashido Mina…even knowing what we could end up fighting against in the future and how dangerous it'll be…for the sake of the time we'll be able to share together when things are fun and peaceful…would you…*ahem* Oh, man…w-would you…wanna b-be…would you want to be my…g-girlfriend?"

The sharp gasp that Mina took as she held her hands to her mouth, her eyes wide with surprise and ecstatic joy, was almost silent to Nikolay's ears. He could only see just how blindsided she'd been by such a question, no matter how much her whole face was turning a rosy red, and her gold irises were wavering with her tears.

The sight of the latter had Nikolay's instinct to apologize for making Mina start to cry immediately kick in, but the moment he opened his mouth, he nearly got knocked right onto his back in his chair, as Mina threw herself upon him with her arms flying over his shoulders; her tears glistening like diamonds in the starlight as they flew from her face, and at first she could only answer with the most heart-tugging mixture of joyous laughter and emotionally raw sobbing.

Just as Nikolay miraculously managed to keep his balance while dealing with Mina's added weight and warmth upon him as she cried into his shoulder, her voice finally came as clear as could ever be: "YES! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! Oh, Kolya-kun, yes, I'll be your girlfriend; are you serious?! Of course!"

Nikolay didn't even have time to truly hear the utterly sweet giggling Mina began to let out in her joy as she hugged him close, inadvertently tickling his face with her hair, before she just as quickly proceeded to bring their lips together in another trio of overwhelmingly emotional loving kisses, wetted by the tears streaking down her face.

While the rest of their schoolmates and friends slept soundly beneath their feet within the hospital; Nikolay Olegovich Bezpalov and Mina Ashido had officially cemented their already unbreakable bond into something that couldn't possibly be compared to or described with mere words, all while under the gorgeous sparkling glow of the boundless stars above.

---

Monday, September 15th

"Alright, that should just about do it. That right shoulder and hand are both going to be pretty stiff for the rest of the day, so don't start thinking you can start using your full strength through them just yet. And Tetsutetsu-kun, don't exert yourself any further, either. Your ribs need a day to finish setting back into place, and with the internal damage you took along with it, you're frankly lucky you were able to even be on your feet at all as soon as you were. Honestly, you kids need to start exercising a lot more caution out in the field; my Quirk isn't any closer to being infinite than yours are."

As Recovery Girl had finally finished applying her Healing Kiss Quirk to all of the students present, she had wasted no time reprimanding them for having let themselves get hurt so extensively, and forcing her to exert herself so much. Thankfully, even though the teens were all looking with great relief at their already-healing wounds, they weren't outright ignoring her, lest they'd incurred even more of the diminutive old woman's aggravation.

Indeed, there hadn't been even a remote chance by sunrise for Nikolay and Mina to have even started thinking of how to reveal the recent evolution in their relationship to their friends, as Headmaster Nezu and Recovery Girl had arrived at the hospital with remarkable haste with the sunrise, once the Sapporo Sea Rail tunnel had been brought back to operation; accompanied by Vlad King and Midnight, who both looked considerably more relieved that their students were all in one piece and going to be okay in the end, just as the bipedal mouse of a headmaster was while the nurse gave the kids such a chewing out.

"Really, Recovery Girl; given just what insane odds they were up against, we should all be downright grateful they didn't get hurt even worse. After everything else that's happened, and especially after we'd gone to the measure of having those dorms built, I don't think Yuuei could survive another public relations disaster like last time." Midnight finally intervened as soon as the nurse had spoken her last piece.

All the while, Nezu himself was positively aglow in comparison to Recovery Girl herself: "Agreed, at the end of the day, the well-being of our students is absolutely paramount, and we shall see to it that all proper measures are taken that they take greater caution into consideration when next they step out into the line of duty…but I won't let that stop me from personally extending my sincerest congratulations and pride as your headmaster, in wake of everything you've all managed to accomplish here, O bright-eyed young Heroes. To have persevered and fought to the bitter end at each other's sides to save the lives of the innocent, through pain and despair alike, is the very heart and soul of Yuuei Academy's mission statement as a Hero's educational institution.

"And that is not all; far from it, in fact. Not only did you all manage to put aside the rivalries between your classes to work together towards the far greater deed of saving an entire town of endangered civilians and refugees, as well as stopping an understandably dangerous Villain's schemes for international violence, but I understand your combined efforts were even able to manage the miraculous task of helping a once-fallen Pro Hero within that same Villain's ranks, to make the conscious decision to return to the fold and help put an end to it all, albeit at the greatest of personal costs.

"That particular outcome, whilst regrettable in its conclusion, is nothing short of astounding, and I don't want anything else you're told at all today to take away the gravity of what you've managed to accomplish there. Make no mistake that your actions shall truly stand as but one immovable monument to the potential and reputation of Classes 1-A, 1-B and Yuuei Academy as a whole for years to come. If nothing else, let that convince you all to carry your heads high with even greater conviction in your hearts for the journey home and beyond. There is not a shred of doubt in me that your actions will make every single one of your teachers immeasurably proud of your growth. Your displayed dedication to the cause of the true Hero these last couple of days are the very epitome of Yuuei Academy's motto: PLUS ULTRA!"

To receive such extensive commendations from their headmaster, when some of them had grown so used to being on the receiving end of punishment at the hands of their teachers, had left all of the students feeling downright elated and especially proud of themselves. The particular inclusion of Class B in his speech had Monoma, Tetsutetsu, Pony and Vlad King all practically aglow with their own respective pride; even though every one of them all eagerly echoed back Nezu's proud declaration of "PLUS ULTRA!"

Of course, that didn't stop the Class B homeroom teacher from voicing that very same pride with a hearty fist pounding to his chest, which Tetsutetsu had to fight the urge to imitate in his own excitement: "You hear that, you lot? You were all told it would take time, but you've all ultimately already proven yourselves capable of taking that step forward just like your peers in class to exemplify yourselves as just-as-good Heroes as any that Class A can produce!"

Monoma's resultant gloating towards their Class A peers naturally fell on deaf ears, as the pronounced presence of Vlad King had inevitably driven Momo to ask Nezu: "Your praises are too kind, but no less gratefully accepted, Nezu-sensei. Please, forgive me for asking on behalf of my classmates, but is there a specific reason as to Aizawa-sensei's absence from this meeting?"

With Momo having pointed out their own homeroom teacher's absence while Vlad King had made the effort to come all this way, Nikolay and Mina instinctively found themselves feeling more than a touch apprehensive and nervous. Even if Nezu himself expressed such immense pride in their having taken action in the face of danger and evil, as well as relief in their all having come out in one piece; it was still easy for them to imagine Aizawa would be far less accommodating the next time he laid eyes on them, assuming he would only focus on their having charged headlong into danger above all else.

To this, it was Midnight who cleared her throat to provide the much needed answers the 1-A students were looking for: "Yes; Shota-kun's absence is due to…well, I guess there's no real point prolonging the inevitable. You see, kids; your actions here weren't the only incident of note to have occurred involving members of your class these last few days…and that includes Shota-kun and Tunguska-san, as well. They've all already been moved elsewhere for medical care themselves, don't worry. All the details will be made clear once you get back to Yuuei, that's a promise. Plus, forgive me for reminding you of the obvious, Bezpalov-kun, Ashido-chan, Jirou-chan; but with your internship office still in the middle of being rebuilt, it wouldn't really do to have you carrying on your internships in this area right now."

It was no surprise that the news of any one of their classmates, and especially two of their teachers, having gotten involved in a situation that required their being hospitalized, had lit a figurative fire underneath all the Class A students. It was the sudden reminder of all the secrecy days ago revolving around Izuku, Ochako, Tsuyu and Eijirou, and that it had also involved Aizawa and Tunguska, that had them all but ready to just get on their feet and race for the train station as soon as possible. After all, their Hero costumes had been repaired and returned to them by now, so there was virtually nothing stopping them as far as they were concerned…save for one little thing that Nikolay couldn't ignore: "If Recovery Girl-sensei thinks we're good enough to make the trip back, then we will, Nezu-sensei…but before we do, would it be all right if we say our goodbyes first?"

Thankfully, Nezu had already given a permissive nod in response, and so it was with heavy hearts that the young Heroes began making their way for the appropriate section of the hospital, where Maja and her friends were all still resting and being watched over.

Upon their arrival to that section, the interns were all greatly surprised to find that the police retinue had now been added by the almost expectant presence of every one of the Kapenta Agency Heroes as well; including an already much healthier-looking De-Condenser, despite his missing left arm, and a gratefully smiling The Giver with her hands still completely wrapped up. Between High Noon and the proudly smiling Whiteout, Chiaroscuro and Blast Beat were still in a wheelchair and crutches of their own respectively, but they both looked just as visibly pleased to finally see their young Hero charges arrive.

And sitting upright among the lot at Chiaroscuro's side, to all the students' visible relief, was Leonid Briner in his own wheelchair, but already looking markedly healthy for a man of his age who had just been treated for a gunshot wound to his midsection.

The all-around air of relief and unwillingness for goodbyes could hardly last before De-Condenser finally broke the silence at the sight of them all: "We just knew you all wouldn't want to head back home without saying goodbye first, so we all thought this would be the best place to catch you all at once."

Just like it had the last time at their Work Experiences, the prospect of having to finally say goodbye to all their mentors, even for the indeterminate amount of time they were looking at, had left the young interns racked with emotion, as Nikolay, Mina and Kyouka effectively led the charge to close the distance, bow, shake hands and very nearly embrace any one of their Kapenta Agency mentors one after the other, all while vehemently expressing their thanks for all their teachings and assistance over the course of just this one week (the realization of which, when everything they'd gone through had made it feel like so much longer, nearly bowling the three over.)

Even Momo, Monoma and Reiko were all visibly trying to hold back their own emotions of gratitude when it came to bidding Whiteout farewell, even though she was far more casual in her response by comparison: "Don't let this upset you all so much, you three. Once my eye is back to normal, it'll be back to active duty like nothing had ever changed…and I'll be hoping to see your faces at my door again one day, ready to show me everything you've learned since then."

As her three interns all gave their own respective forms of enthusiastic agreement to the Blizzard Hero's invite to one day return; Blast Beat was doing the same, as he too was giving Kyouka a good-natured mussing of her short hair, to her amusement and embarrassment. "That goes for you too, Jirou-kun. From what I've heard from everyone, you proved yourself to be a natural with my gear back at Gagaringrad. But if you think there's nothing more you can learn to be the truly rockin' and rollin' Hero you were born to be—"Then I've got another thing coming, right, Sensei?"

The fact that Kyouka was able to so easily guess the musical reference her mentor had in mind for his pep talk, had the Jukebox Hero glowing with pride as they both gave each other deeply appreciative bows of acknowledgment and well-wishes, both expressing a silent hope to reunite in the (hopefully) near future.

At the same time, Tenya took charge to step forward and address Leonid specifically: "It's a great relief to see you're already recovering, Briner-san. I only regret that none of us were there to stop such a thing from happening in the first place."

Without even missing a beat, the older man held up a shaking hand in protest. "Don't even begin with expressing any kind of regrets or apologizing to me, young man. That goes for all of you. Your responsibilities that day were of much greater importance, and the fact that you all managed to pull through and save all those people is something we will most likely never be able to thank every last one of you enough for. And besides, as far as my situation is concerned, I really must thank Maja in there for intervening as she did, even if my own insistence in helping ended up getting me shot to begin with. If she hadn't acted, things here could've unfolded in such a worse fashion. In the grand scheme of things, it played out the way it was meant to, and the way I see it, it's ultimately for the best.'

While Tenya and Yui were both visibly surprised at just how easily Leonid was shrugging off the visible stiffness and weakness his injury was still inflicting upon himself in order to express his thanks to them instead; Tetsutetsu and Pony were both taking that chance to glimpse through the doorway into Maja and her friends' shared room. Already they could see the turquoise-haired girl herself just gearing herself up for the ensuing goodbyes while also smiling happily to see her Yuuei friends again…but they could also quickly see that Jozef a few beds away was trembling and audibly crying to himself.

"Hey, what's dat boy cryin' for? I thought dey were all off da hook from their biggest trouble yesterday." Pony immediately asked confusedly, with Tetsutetsu thankfully managing to keep his voice down as he voiced his agreement: "Right? I'd think a regular jail sentence would be a damn sight more preferable to…whatever the hell that Konstantin guy would've had them go through if Bezpalov-san hadn't helped change his mind."

To this, Leonid planted a firm yet kindly hand on the sharp-toothed boy's shoulder, snapping them both, alongside Tenya and Yui, to attention. "It's not nearly so grim as it looks, I assure you. Jozef…he's always been a most sensitive soul among his peers. He's never really had many friends for quite some time, always needed a friendly push in the right direction…and that was essentially what I was always by his side for when he was younger. I wouldn't go so far as to say he's like a son to me, but I wouldn't be surprised if he perhaps felt that way in a sense. He's honestly been like that ever since I showed myself earlier today, up and about, alive and well. Believe me, those are tears of relief if I've ever seen them."

All the while, Nikolay and Mina were both somehow managing a balance of expressing relief at De-Condenser and The Giver being on their feet again, and also expressing concern for their conditions when looking over their respective battle scars. In particular, Mina couldn't keep her curiosity to herself when looking at how heavily wrapped the sidekick's hands were: "What're you going to do about Hero work while your hands are like this, Giver-sensei?" "Yeah, and what about you, De-Condenser-sensei? I know Yaoyorozu-san's family can provide good prosthetic replacements for Heroes now, but would such a thing really still be able to recreate a Quirk like yours? And what about conducting work itself? How're you all gonna be able to do that before the Agency is rebuilt?"

The two interns' constant questions only drew some wry chuckles out of both their mentors, as well as High Noon and Chiaroscuro, as De-Condenser and The Giver confidently answered: "If there's anything you learn when you're a Pro Hero, you two; it's that you never truly discount anything as impossible. I'm confident I'll get the stuff I need to get back in the saddle like it were the good old days." "Yeah, and my hands will ultimately be back to normal in the end, that's a relief in and of itself. If I have to relegate myself to standard civil duty work in the meantime, then I'll do so happily. So don't you two go worrying about all of us, okay? You've all earned the privilege to at least let yourselves feel proud about all the people you've managed to save; including me and Valera-kun, so take that for everything it's worth, okay?"

At this, Chiaroscuro cleared her throat to get their three interns' attention: "That's right, and in regards to how we're going to keep maintaining our Hero work while the Agency's being rebuilt; we've already been in contact with a number of other volunteer Heroes across Hokkaido, as well as some from the mainland nearby. They've already offered their services to assist us in that regard while our wounds finish healing. Once that happens, we can maintain our patrol duties like normal, and conduct the more tedious paperwork side from home; it might as well be just like when we were all starting out as interns and sidekicks ourselves. It's actually quite nostalgic when you think about it."

As encouraging as it really was for all the Pro Heroes to express such confidence that things would ultimately return to normal in the end, the interns themselves knew they could no longer prolong one of the most heartfelt goodbyes to come, as Nikolay and Mina finally steeled themselves and entered into Maja and her friends' room, with the rest of their friends and schoolmates quickly following suit.

Of course, even the semi-stable emotional front Maja was trying to maintain quickly crumbled once she locked eyes with her two closest friends among the bunch, sniffling between her words; and thus causing the stoic composures of Danila, Tuule and Gazsi to just as quickly crumble.

"I guess it doesn't come as a surprise you'd come here one more time. The police told us we're officially cleared to be transferred into holding at the station in preparation for our trials, so I'm glad we can at least say goodbye like this before. It's not like we'd get the chance to even see each other again afterward."

To hear the Polish girl say so, even after having listened in on the whole revelatory conversation with Konstantin the other day, had left Nikolay and all his friends visibly shocked, as he hurriedly answered: "What are you talking about? Nearly everyone seems to be of the same mind that, with all the details behind your actions with Pietro cleared, you're all likely to get much lighter sentences; that's damn miraculous when thinking about some of the things he got you to do. The point is, this is hardly goodbye forever; you all must know that, right?"

Nikolay's attempt at trying to ease their spirits, while appreciated, really didn't look to make much of a difference as far as Maja and her friends' prospects for the future were concerned. Seeing this, Mina chimed in with just as much enthusiasm: "Yeah; we promise, as soon as we get even the slightest chance, we'll even come to visit you guys if you want us to! Just because you have to be in jail right now, that doesn't mean it's all over! You guys could still get the chance once you're out to try and use your Quirks for real good, just like the rest of us!"

As the rest of their fellow interns voiced their own votes of confidence in such admittedly optimistic outcomes, Maja had a regretful smile on her face. "You guys don't have to keep up with the lofty-headed hopes and dreams talk, you know. The fact is that we still did a number of bad things, and we're ready to face whatever punishments we have to so we can make up for it. Hell, just the fact that we'll even have the opportunity to serve that time is essentially…no, it's entirely because of all you guys.

"If you hadn't come here the very first time last week like you had, there's no telling what could've happened to all of us and our families, or even all the people in town. We're all alive and free from that psychopath because of you guys, and that's more than enough for me, if not all of us. We may not get the chance to become Heroes like we originally wanted, but as long as you guys are out there giving your all and more to save people, then that may be just all the people of this country need, if not the world at large."

Nikolay, Mina, Tenya and Tetsutetsu all naturally wanted to argue Maja's apparent resignation of her fate, but they were swiftly interrupted by the resolute sound of Leonid's voice as he began to wheel himself into the room with them, while all the Kapenta Pros and Yuuei teachers listened in from the hallway:

"Maja makes a very good point, you kids. I'm sure you've already heard this countless times since the end of your mission, but it doesn't dim the fact that the whole of Gagaringrad owes its very life and its future to all of you, and by extension, your school for having instilled in you the strength and drive to see that deed through as you did. It's been far too long since we'd gotten to see what it was for Heroes to go into action for the sake of the innocent, but to know you all did what you did for us and countless others is the kind of inspiration and restoration of hope we were all in greater need of than we were willing to admit.

"And to know your example drove our own Maja to do the very same after where she'd been and what she'd been forced to do, all for the sake of saving her friends the very same way alongside you all is no small feat, either. I have great confidence that your example, through her, may inspire a veritable resurgence of faith and desire for Heroes in the people. For that, I can only continue to say: 'thank you all.'"

To now be receiving this very same heartfelt praise from the veritable leader of Gagaringrad himself, especially with just how masterful and poetic his prose was; it had left Nikolay and all the students feeling as though their hearts would burst from just how emotional this moment was making them feel. Even Maja couldn't help but feel even a slightly similar swelling of pride in her chest, just as her friends likewise felt for her as well. Indeed, the examples of the Yuuei interns and their friend had taken root in all of them; and even as doubtful as they all admittedly were for their own futures, it didn't make what the Heroes had done any less inspiring.

Taking note of all this, High Noon finally got the chance to speak her piece as well: "You all can see and feel it, can't you? It's easy when you're on the outside of it all, to assume that day after day of receiving thanks from the civilians you protect would grow tedious or meaningless. The truth is as far from that as you can possibly get, though. As Heroes, you dedicate everything you have towards helping those in need, and it instills you with the heartfelt knowledge that every single expression of gratitude you receive, no matter from whom, is spoken from the very bottom of the heart, with the utmost honesty, just as much as every proclamation we make as to our intentions of serving justice and protecting those in need.

"With all of your unbending shows of courage, even in the face of overwhelming danger and despair; you interns have already proven yourselves to all of us, just the sheer scale of true Hero potential you all really possess. If you carry on as you have been, then your capabilities will only continue to grow beyond the limit currently standing before you. And…Bezpalov-kun, for whatever it may be worth right now…considering the truth of your history with each other, I have no doubt that Volga would be unspeakably proud of how far you've already come. With your friends in Yuuei at your side, my partners and I have no doubt you'll do him and his real legacy proud."

No matter how outright uplifting this atmosphere was for all of them, that still couldn't stop Nikolay from letting some seriously grateful tears of his own start running silently down his face, as his mouth formed into a trembling but inspiring smile. To hear even one of their mentors express this so honestly was as wonderful as could be. To soon hear the rest of them start voicing the same from behind his back was indescribable, for him and all his friends, to know just how far they had truly come, and would be able to help each other get from now on.

With yet one final round of emotional goodbyes ultimately exchanged, it was time at last for the Yuuei students to finally begin the long and exhausting trek back to their home for the first time in what genuinely felt like months after the insane battle they had all gone through together. There was of course a great deal of reluctance to have to finally leave Arakisu City behind, but there was still that reassuring notion that one day, they would be able to come back and see all these familiar and irreplaceable faces again, that made their having to leave just a little more bearable.

Once it was time for the young Heroes to finally start taking their leave for the train station, it quickly became apparent, to all their confusion, that while Midnight and Recovery Girl were accompanying them; Nezu and Vlad King were actually staying behind with their mentors and Leonid just outside Maja's room. "Sensei's; are you not going to return with us?" Tenya instinctively asked, albeit with the natural intensity as though this were otherwise a permanent goodbye of its own; to which the headmaster gave an amused chuckle.

"Not to worry, Iida-kun. Vlad-san and I are simply staying behind to receive the finer details of the damages, so that Yuuei may be able to provide what resources it can towards all the repair efforts. We will return in due time. Right now you all simply focus on how you will tell your classmates of all you experienced here once you make it back to the Academy, all right?"

Thankfully, this seemed to be enough to put their students' apprehensions at ease, as soon they were finally gone with Midnight and Recovery Girl, on their way out the hospital and ultimately back to Yuuei; leaving the headmaster and the homeroom teacher alone with their Pro instructors and the Gagaringrad leader, as well as the handful of young teens in their beds, who were now all looking uncertainly at the two Yuuei officials.

As Vlad King and Nezu made their way inside and made eye contact with them all, Maja swallowed a nervous lump before finally speaking: "I-I didn't want to interrupt all the goodbyes…but exactly who are you two?"

With a single hearty clap of his paws, Nezu answered happily: "Yes, our apologies for the intrusion and lack of proper introductions. As I told our students, we simply wanted a chance to really get all of the finer details of these recent events, as well as a chance to speak individually with and truly get to know some of the promising individuals they got to know over the course of these last couple of days. As for who we are, you are welcome to refer to me as Nezu-sensei, Headmaster of Yuuei Academy."

---

The students' driven departure from the hospital was swiftly brought to a screeching halt, as at the entrance to the lobby, they were met by the sight of Father Sergei, his son Andrei, and most prominently, Maja and her friends' parents, along with both of Valera's parents, with the thankfully healthier-looking boy being supported up in their arms. The looks on his parents' faces especially looked eager for this moment, as though they simply knew the youths responsible for their child's return would be departing on this day.

And as if that weren't incredible enough, just behind their shoulders and through the doors; amid numerous news vans and journalists, there was also a large gathering of nearly all the Gagaringrad citizens forming two human walls along the entrance walkway into the hospital, with many of them hoisting up signs and banners that all bore in Cyrillic and crude Japanese alike, a number of the same messages: 'THANK YOU, OUR HEROES!', 'HOPE LIVES THROUGH YOU!' 'HEROES OF GAGARINGRAD!' 'THANK YOU FOREVER!', and 'THANK YOU, OUR CHILDRENS' SAVIORS!'; as well as a number of signs simply bearing the teens' Hero names in celebration.

Even from a distance, such a sight of widespread appreciation was downright overwhelming for them, but they could hardly dwell on it for long, as Midnight, already being able to read the intentions of the civilians before them, gave an encouraging smirk before nodding her head in their direction. "Well, go on, young Heroes. It's hardly fitting not to spend a little time with your appreciative public, you know."

Acting on their teacher's advice, Nikolay and his friends felt as though they were being pulled through the air to finally be given the biggest universal helping of pure-hearted thanks from the people who were still alive because of them; all started by Father Sergei gratefully taking the hands of each of them in his own, only for his son Andrei to gratefully shake their hands in following. "God has truly blessed us and our home with your arrival to Hokkaido, you brave young souls. Know that, no matter what may happen in the future, God willing, you will always find yourselves gladly welcome here and in Gagaringrad when it is back on its feet. You will forever be remembered as our Heroes. The hope and inspiration your actions have left us and our children will not soon nor ever be forgotten."

And to officially top it all off, and break down the last emotional dams any one of the teens could maintain as the doors opened for the cheers of the crowd to come echoing in, all of the parents graciously stepped forward, all of them likewise visibly trying not to start crying. [[Thank you all…thank you all so, so much for bringing all of our children back to us. If Tunguska truly has had a part in turning you all into the Heroes you proved yourselves to be here…then every last one of you does his legacy more than proud. We'll never forget what you've done for us all.]]

As more and more of the parents had to take that moment to try and recompose themselves as Nikolay and his friends all gratefully bowed in acknowledgment of all their feelings; Nikolay and Mina both felt the tiniest of hands suddenly start just brushing at the edges of their hair, prompting them and the rest of their schoolmates to look up and see that Valera himself was looking intently at all of them, as though trying to dedicate every last one of their faces to memory, or he was truly trying to match their faces with all the Heroes he knew now to have been the ones that acted to save him.

In seemingly no time at all, his usually nervous-looking eyes seemed to nearly light up with that very recognition, before finally uttering out a soft-spoken but indescribably heartfelt: [[Thank you all.]]

It was that, the simplest of things in a near ocean of thanks, that finally left all the Yuuei interns crying with smiles on their faces, as they each one by one placed their hands gently upon the little boy's head and looking him in the eye; an unspoken echo of gratitude, farewells and well wishes shared between them, before they finally stepped out into the open to be met by the cheering crowd around them, slowly but surely meeting with and accepting the thanks of every single one of them along the way, until in the end, it was finally time for them to have reached the train station and make their way for the final stretch back home; the cheers of the Gagaringrad public never dying down once the entire way.

The sheer euphoria in which they were all floating on their way back to the train station was so overwhelming, that as their friends all echoed their joy at their teamwork, accomplishments and further voiced their pride in one another; Nikolay and Mina never even consciously realized that somewhere along the way; they had instinctively reached out and started holding hands the rest of the way back to the station; nor did they even notice how Kyouka, Momo and Midnight had all been the ones to notice this tell-all sign the moment it had happened, but either hadn't thought of, or thankfully had the good graces not to call it out.

Out of all three of them, though, Midnight was the only one to at least give some kind of sign of acknowledgment, as she gave a cheeky but overall approving smile to Mina before just as quickly turning her eyes back forward. 'Congratulations, Ashido-chan. I told you you'd find the perfect way to tell him when the time was right.'

From there, once they had all finally boarded the train waiting for them, it was finally time for this motley crew of young and promising exhausted Heroes to make the long trek back to their long-awaited home, back to the safety and comfort of Yuuei Academy.

---

Sakhalin Island Naval Base

It had been a long journey, especially after having gone through a period, however brief, wherein Konstantin Khodamchuk genuinely doubted he and his men would be able to ever return home. But in the end, after having been rescued alongside them from the jaws of death and destruction of all they still held dear; he, Angel's Eye, Ilya, Anatoly, and the entire recovered crew of the gunboat Rakhamaninov were finally able to set their feet upon the Motherland's soil again, as with the aid of another deployed naval vessel from the Sakhalin Island base, their lost ship and its crew had all been returned in one piece to the cheers and relief of their comrades and commanders.

Given his high position within the government and military, it was hardly surprising that Konstantin found himself being swamped with countless questions from the officers and foot soldiers as to just what exactly all had happened to him and his men while in Japan, but regardless whether he had the luxury of knowing he was back somewhere safe and familiar, he knew he still had a direct duty to uphold, as one of the very first things he'd requested upon his return was to be brought to the chief commanding officer of the base while the rest of his returned comrades were looked over and reported for medical and psych evaluation.

It had indeed been a very tense and difficult call he'd had to partake in back at the Arakisu City hospital yesterday when it had come to securing the recovery of the sunken submarine and its nuclear payload. Just as he had warned Nikolay Bezpalov and his friends of back then; a good number of his fellows in positions of authority within the navy did not appreciate the idea of having to work together in even the slightest capacity with Japan's Quirk-possessing Heroes.

Of course, while it had been a difficult call to have, and even more difficult argument for him to make in favor of such cooperation, despite how much it still clashed with his own long-held principles; that did not mean it was an impossible task. The prospect of Russia's government getting its hands back on its stolen property and weaponry was a means of getting even the most uptight figureheads to budge just enough for such a task; it was a tactic just about as old as time for any militaristic branch of any government.

In time, the missiles and their submarine would indeed be brought back home and either repaired or completely dismantled and rebuilt from the ground up. Such a matter was up to the industrialists and navy commanders now. As far as Konstantin was concerned, his objective now was of a much wider scale, and yet also one much more personable.

And of course he couldn't begin to achieve that objective without first presenting himself to the current commanding officer of this base; a jovial and clearly relieved sort of fellow upon seeing Konstantin's face in one piece, almost to the point that it sharply contrasted with how clearly decorated this red-faced man's uniform was. Even without the tell-all smell, it was easy to guess he had taken to drink much too early in the morning upon the news that one of his boats and its crew were returned and fully accounted for.

[[Frankly, I think it's a damn miracle you were all able to come back unscathed, in spite of this considerable delay and the unfortunate personnel and hardware costs that came with it, Comrade Khodamchuk. The way things have been, a miracle was in short order, but couldn't have come at a better time. You've simply got to tell me just what exactly happened out there…after a celebratory drink, of course.]]

As much as habit made Konstantin want to partake in the officer's generous invite in order to relieve the lingering stress, he politely raised an objecting hand. [[Thank you, but I'm afraid my business has to take priority. I can't stick around for very long. Word will have no doubt gotten to the Kremlin by now of our return, and I've no doubt President Zaitsev will want to see me and hear my full report. With how stressed he's been as of late, I may just have the good news and reassuring piece of evidence he needs to breathe easy again. If I can borrow your phone to get in contact, that will relieve at least some of the pressure on my shoulders for now. Then maybe I can indulge you, Comrade. It was…quite the mind-broadening experience, to say the least as of right now.]]

However, where Konstantin had been expecting to see the chief officer chuckling in equally good nature while presenting a phone to patch him through with; instead he was met by the eyebrow-raising sight of his red-faced host going completely frigid where he sat, not even trying to reach for the phone. Where there had once been hospitality and all-around absentmindedness, there was now only a deeply-rooted uneasiness that somehow provided a whole other explanation for why Konstantin had found the man so drunk this early in the day.

[[You mean…you honestly haven't already heard, Comrade Khodamchuk? Have they really made the decision of blacking it out for the rest of the world so thoroughly already? I didn't think it was possible to do that on such a scale for this long.]]

The inebriated-yet-aware officer's hand was visibly shaking the further he went with his words, and with each one he uttered, Konstantin's curiosity turned into an unsettled worry, and finally into fear-driven impatience: [[What the hell are you talking about? What could've possibly happened that would make my asking for a call to the Kremlin unsettle you this much? How could anything happen to the capital that the rest of the world wouldn't automatically know all the details of it? What on earth happened while I was gone?]]

The officer was clearly more than hesitant to start just opening up to Konstantin about whatever could've possibly been plaguing his head, to the point that his initial instinct was to reach for the third half-empty vodka bottle on the edge of his desk; an action that Konstantin's attentive eye honed in on, as he expertly swiped it up out of the officer's grasp, forcing him to look into his visitor's eyes.

Finally, his already shaky composure continued to crumble as he nearly spat out the words: [[Several days ago, Comrade…there was some kind of attack in the capital. Nobody knows exactly how to describe it, other than that nearly half of Moscow is in flames…and somehow, someway, nobody has been able to get into contact with either the president or any of the other senior members of his circle in the Kremlin. It's like they all just simply disappeared.

[[The military and the police have been trying to restore

order, but there is at least one bit of good news: they were able to get the drop on the culprits available and take them out with extreme prejudice. Nobody knows how the hell they were able to get into the country, especially that far in, without being identified and apprehended beforehand, but by God, our boys were somehow able to pull it off, so at least there's some comfort in knowing that.

[[There isn't much left of the old guard within the higher government ranks, but the ones that are still around are still waiting to get all the details of the story straight so as to provide an acceptable explanation for the rest of the world; God knows there's already been some rather nosy types trying to get a peek as it were. It's just a shame you weren't here to provide some help to them in the days after it had all ended; otherwise we might've had that figured out by now, and we could actually focus on getting work on the infrastructure repair done already.]]

CLUNK!

This sudden outpouring of the worst possible news had hit Konstantin so hard and out of nowhere, he couldn't even think of keeping a hold on the small metal suitcase he'd been keeping close to himself since departing from Japan. Upon landing, the whole thing clicked open, nearly causing the single intact severed organic hand of Pietro Dobrynich Granin to come spilling out; his self-proclaimed piece of reassuring evidence for their president to know the Villain ultimately responsible had indeed been taken care of.

[[Do we have any idea just who these bas—these criminals responsible were?]] Konstantin had to ask this through tightly gritted teeth, barely maintaining a professional calm. Of course, no one here would have been able to blame him for losing his temper when knowing their very government, their own president, had somehow been spirited away in the midst of what sounded like an all out blitzkrieg on their capital city.

To both their relief, the chief officer knew exactly where to look, explaining as he hurriedly rummaged through his personal desk: [[At this point, I don't think anybody in this country won't know the names or faces of the people responsible for this if they tried. If it weren't for the fact we got them all stone cold dead in the morgue in Moscow already, we'd probably be dealing with pure anarchy as we speak…assuming we may not be looking at the very same anyway once the last of the fires are put out.]]

With this, he finally pulled out a single sizable manila envelope, and practically slid the whole thing wide open as he nearly tossed it for Konstantin to catch and look over the contents; wasting no time in asking: [[Tell me, have you been keeping up with the foreign press at all over this year so far? Do any of those faces or names ring any bells in particular?]]

As Konstantin's eyes grew wide with disbelief while looking over the compiled paperwork regarding this surprise cataclysm, he could only half-heartedly utter: [[Of course they do, and of course I have. I don't think there's a person on this planet that hasn't been doing so for at least the last month or two. I just…I-I can't believe we've got a victory on our hands like what you're describing, and nobody anywhere else online has said one word about it.]]

Of course, even if it were just through paperwork as of right now, Konstantin was already greatly anticipating his return to Moscow so he could confirm all of this with his own eyes and hands, and therefore be able to make the official statement to the rest of the world as need be.

The rest of the world would be in great need of the assurance as well, he already knew this deep in his gut. After all, across the handful of papers he was holding and looking over within his hand; were both provided profile pictures and even camera snapshots of a number of individuals that had been all but immortalized through the world's media outlets the last couple of months:

A total of six, numbering five young adult men and one teenage girl; the majority of whom had unmistakably Asian features; with looks ranging from a dried out and scarred face with shaggy white hair, to spiky black hair and stitched leathery patchwork skin, another in a white doodled plate mask and top hat, another that looked like an anthropomorphic lizard with tall purple hair, another man with a single stitched scar running straight down his forehead between tired blue eyes and short blonde hair, a girl with messy blonde hair and vampiric fangs, and finally a more foreign-looking young man in comparison to the others with pitch black hair and piercing silver eyes that Konstantin could have recognized anywhere, no matter how impossible he knew it was to be seeing this particular man so young again: 'Vukodlak…but how?'

Indeed, if he was reading this correctly, which he hoped beyond all hopes he was: the eliminated culprits of this apparent mass attack on Moscow were none other than the individual members of the organization the media across the globe had been referring to as The League of Villains!

And with that, we finally finish the Hokkaido Arc! I won't bore you all with another long-winded speech; I would simply be repeating myself from the beginning if I did. I hope you all enjoyed this arc in any capacity, the culmination of over 80 chapters worth of character relationship-development, and I hope this ending has you all eager to see what I have in store for you next and beyond.

Please be kind enough to leave a review of either this chapter or what you thought of this story arc as a whole. I've already mentioned how much time has gone into planning this the best that I could, and some honest feedback would be appreciated beyond words right now.

With that all being said, I hope you all have a good rest of your week, and I will see you all with the next chapter on 08/06!