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?

91. Time Skip Part 5 - Reunited

Hello again, everyone. Well, we now come to one part of this story, when it comes to altering and representing the manga in a novelized format at least, that has so far proven to be the most challenging, simply in terms of figuring out how I wanted to portray it, without just covering events exactly as they happened originally, like I did with Izuku's fight against Muscular, or against Bakugo, or alongside him against All Might.

Normally I would say the result I've come up with is experimental, but after spending as much time as I have trying to figure out an alternative, this is ultimately how it's going to be. I didn't want to just relegate the entire Shie Hassaikai Arc to being nothing more than reflective dialogue, like I did with the events of the Hero Killer Stain Arc; this one is simply too monumental to the core MHA story, and deserves better treatment than that.

Special heartfelt thanks go out to Mizu and Jonny for their support and assistance; as well as to contributing artists on DA Syyndev, Akane Kahomi, Suki-Chan2509, AliceKuroCross and Effasempai; and finally, to all of you for continuing to give your support by reading this story piece by piece every day.

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 92

Reunited

(Воссоединенный)

Monday, September 15th

The train ride all the way from Hokkaido back to Musutafu City, while as lengthy as expected, had ultimately come at the perfect time. By the time they had finally returned to the front gates of Yuuei with Midnight as their chaperoning teacher for the return trip, it was clear to all of the returning students that they had still ultimately managed to return just in time to make it for their starting homeroom classes, only made that much more convenient by having already changed into their regular uniforms back at the hospital.

With the reassuring knowledge that all of their students were now officially back, safe and sound on campus, Midnight breathed in deep of the fresh morning air. "Welcome back, boys and girls! I hope you all got enough resting up from your stay yesterday, because there's still a good deal of schoolwork for you all to catch up on after your forced absences, on top of today's curriculum, even if Vlad-san isn't here personally to do so, for you Class B students. A Hero's work is never truly done, and Shota-kun and the rest of us are going to make sure you all fully understand that, no matter what may have happened before."

And indeed, while Tenya and Momo were naturally at first grateful for the school's faculty being courteous enough to save whatever work they had missed in their time away, that gratitude (and the others' chagrin) was quickly forgotten by their teacher's final statement.

The students did look surprised, albeit not for the reasons Midnight was teasing, as Nikolay and his classmates looked especially confused, with the Russian boy in question instinctively asking: "Excuse me, Midnight-sensei, but didn't you say earlier that Dad and Aizawa-sensei were both still in the middle of recovery at the hospital?"

With all of the students expressing similar confusion after what they had heard her clearly say back at the hospital, Midnight donned a rather cheeky-looking grin. "Yeah, well, we obviously couldn't bog you kids down with all the semantic details right off the bat; we still all have a time table to keep, after all. But since we're here now, the truth is that yes, Tunguska-san and Shota-kun did get hospitalized after their recent mission.

"However, thanks to Recovery Girl's efforts shortly before we'd all left to attend to you all in kind, they've both been cleared since yesterday to return to active teaching duties here and have since already returned, same with all the students they went into action with as well. Sorry about that." While she was still wearing the slightly embarrassed grin on her face, the spoken reminder of Tunguska and Aizawa having not gone into action alone, ultimately forced the students to once more remember all of the secrecy revolving around Izuku, Eijirou, Ochako and Tsuyu the previous week as well.

Even with Midnight's assurances that they were all officially okay, the thought of any of their other friends being involved in something that had gotten even one of their teachers hospitalized, left the whole group of Class A students visibly worried, which she was just as quick to pick up on and intervene. "Hey now, try not to let your worries weigh you down too much, you understand? Hang onto the fact that they're all ultimately okay. Believe me; it's rare for such extensive operations against Villains to be carried out that end with so relatively few Heroes getting hurt, as you've clearly come to experience. Right now, I'd suggest you all start bracing yourselves to start telling your classmates about what you've done up there once you get the chance; I'd say they and Tunguska-san all certainly deserve to know after how worried they all were once the news of the tunnel flooding had hit the airwaves. I can definitely promise they're all gonna be over the moon to see you all back safe and sound."

And with serendipitous timing, the returning students now found themselves looking upon the distant rows of all the different dorm buildings. With the paths ahead of them empty, it stood to reason they would be just in time to return before their classes would have to finally head to their homerooms.

Thinking on just about the same wavelength as the kids, Midnight gave a pronounced crack of her leather cat o' nine tails against the ground, jolting them all that single jump forward while she gave them an encouraging smile and departing wave. "Well, what're you all waiting for? It's a brand new day to take another step forward towards becoming official Pro Heroes, isn't it? I can give you all the congratulations I want, but it can't truly compare to those of your classmates, can they?"

Thankfully getting the gist of her urging, the students of both classes turned back and gave a simultaneous and heartfelt bow and expression of gratitude for her attendance and encouraging words, before finally proceeding on their way back to their respective dorms.

Halfway there, as such, Tenya came to a sudden stop, which thankfully prompted his fellows to do the same, and Class B closely following suit. Straightening his glasses once more, the Class A president announced to their counterparts: "I suppose this is about where we will have to part ways, Class B. I don't dare wish to speak for everyone else, but I would like to personally thank you all for everything you did during our time in Hokkaido. I know this experience will help us all in leaps and bounds towards becoming the very best Heroes we all can be!"

At his cue; Nikolay, Mina, Momo and Kyouka all likewise gave deep bows of gratitude to their rival schoolmates, all echoing similar thankful sentiments, before Tetsutetsu likewise did the same with great enthusiasm, soon prompting Pony, Reiko and Yui to do the same as he likewise announced: "You were all really damn impressive through it all yourselves, Class A. You've all really put yourselves in a different light as far as I'm concerned. Whatever we end up doing either together or against each other for the rest of our time here, know that I'll be cheering you all on 120-percent!"

Of course, for every heartfelt word the grey-haired boy had to say on behalf of his own class, Monoma was dependably there to put a frigid chill in the atmosphere as he proudly proclaimed while trying to drag any of his classmates he could along by the arms: "But don't think that means you can go ahead and let your guards down around us from now on, Class A! Class B won't stop until we're standing at the top pedestal of Yuuei where we belong! You did good over this whole mess, but we'll just keep trying to do better and better, no matter what!"

Tetsutetsu and Pony both couldn't help but laugh eagerly as a result of their loudmouthed classmate's energy; but even despite Monoma's declaration of continued rivalries despite everything, it did little to sour any of Class A's moods. If anything, it only served to bolster them, as Mina eagerly answered with a raucous cheer of her own: "And we'll be just as ready to take you on and get better right next to you! That's a Class A promise!"

And so finally, with hearts and spirits alike encouraged and lifted, the Class B students finally bid farewell and continued on their way to their dorm building, while the Class A group likewise began making their way for their own…although it didn't take long for the lively spring in Nikolay's step to slow down, as his eyes once again took on that distant look of clearly being deep in thought, which Kyouka wasted no time pointing out: "Hey, Kolya-san, what is it? You know that Midnight-sensei was ultimately right, the important thing is that everyone's been saved that could be, and we're all still okay, remember?"

With the slightest shake of his head, Nikolay answered: "Of course I know that, but that doesn't change the fact that people we knew and respected died because of what we were trying to do. Never mind trying to figure out how we tell everyone in class about everything that happened to us up there and where we even start…but even if we do it together like we said, I still just don't know how I tell Dad about Volga so suddenly, let alone what ended up happening to him."

However, just as Momo and Mina began to open their mouths to try and provide some kind of advice or encouragement as to this emotional dilemma of his, the echoing ecstatic joy of Tooru's voice suddenly emanated from the 1-A dorm entrance: "HEY! MINA-CHAN, KOLYA-KUN, KYOUKA-CHAN, YAOMOMO, IIDA-SAN! GUYS, COME OUT HERE! THEY'RE BACK! THEY'RE ALL BACK!"

Before they even knew it, Nikolay and his bunch of friends found themselves nearly getting stampeded by a frantic and overjoyed stampede of their classmates, before just as quickly getting a number of cell phones nearly shoved in their faces amid all of the excited chatter, from Minoru, Hanta, Fumikage, Tooru, Mezo, Denki and Mashirao in particular:

"Holy crap, is it good to see you guys again!"

"Hell yeah it is! Iida-san, when we heard you were caught in that Villain attack that flooded the rail tunnel; dude, we were worried sick!"

"Is it true what the news has been saying about your mentor, Knightfall? My condolences, Iida-san."

"What about you, Yaomomo, Mina-chan, Kyouka-chan? We all tried calling you guys, but nothing could get through!"

"What about you though, Bezpalov-san? We heard your Agency itself got attacked! How did you guys make it through that?"

"Dude, never mind that, what about the news?! I mean, damn, you guys: you and Class B seriously pulled a full-blown invasion of that whole refugee town you were working at? What was that all about?"

"What do you mean what was it about, Kaminari? Try actually reading the articles every once in a while. You guys all seriously fought a bunch of Villains and people brainwashed by a full-blown invader with nuclear arms in hand? That's amazing!"

It was honestly quite shaking to actually hear classmates normally so reserved like Mezo and Mashirao express such astonishment, but Nikolay and his group could hardly even get a single answer or any kind of response at all out before being shown just a handful of the different headlines on different Japanese news sites, detailing in no short order, all of the different incidents they had been caught in, as well as the entire Gagaringrad operation, with at least as much information as any of those outlets could realistically gain in such a small amount of time as had actually passed.

As exciting as it was to know that once more had their Hero exploits actually managed to end up on the news, none of them could actually get a chance to try and calm their classmates down enough so they could even express their own relief at being back together again, before an unmistakable and angry voice echoed out from behind the energetic throng: "WOULD ALL OF YOU LAZY ASSES SHUT THE HELL UP AND CLEAR A PATH?! GODDAMMIT, IT'S TOO EARLY FOR YOU ALL TO BE SCREECHING LIKE A BUNCH OF CHIMPS ALREADY!"

The sound of Bakugo's enraged screaming was thankfully just the break in the festivities needed for the rest of the students to finally quiet down and start making half of a path down the middle, wherein he and Shoto were both intently already making their way down. Of course, the sight of another two familiar faces couldn't keep the returning Hokkaido students quiet for long, as Mina once more excitedly spoke out: "Hey, hey, it's great to see you again, Todoroki-kun, Bakugo! You guys off to that exam practice again already?!"

Shoto never broke his stride, nor did he even take his eyes off the path ahead of himself as he bluntly answered: "That's right. It won't be too long before we can finally take the Provisional License Exam again, and we have no intention of failing again, so if you'll all excuse us."

It was naturally inspiring to hear just how dedicated on this single step in their growth Shoto was as the two boys continued to walk. Of course, it was also just as inspiring to see just how much he still mastered ignoring Bakugo's fuming comments, as the blonde boy was sucking in an angry breath through his teeth while staring daggers in his fellow trainee's back, all the while uttering: "Nobody walks in front of me, goddammit!"

However, while Bakugo continued to voice such anger under his breath behind Shoto's back; the red-and-white-haired boy managed to hit Nikolay with the sensation of knowing he was offhandedly being looked at, even as Shoto continued on his way, speaking as an aside: "I haven't had as much time to be caught up on the details as everyone else, but it is nice to see you all came back in one piece from your impromptu mission, Bezpalov. I intend to be filled in before too long, so you all best prepare yourselves for that."

While Nikolay and his group could all likewise feel amazed and honored to know that such a strong classmate of theirs was displaying such genuine curiosity in their cases; it couldn't go uninterrupted, as Bakugo just let out a typically spiteful 'tsch' before turning his red eyes to address his returned classmates as well with a disregarding sneer. "Don't go getting your heads all inflated, all right? It's not like you lot didn't have a shit-ton of luck on your side to get you back here, even as roughed up as you were. Of course, even with that in mind, it's only natural your collected hardheadedness would be able to get you through a mess like these people have all been going on about since yesterday."

While a lot of their instinctive responses were to take Bakugo's parting words as yet another string of insults; just a moment of critical thinking helped them to realize that, in his typically backhanded way, this was actually his way of commending them for their unwillingness to have given up in the face of danger. Of course, it was only through Nikolay, Tenya and Momo's quick thinking that neither Mina nor Kyouka ended up saying anything in response that would've rubbed Bakugo the wrong way.

No, that distinction ended up falling on Denki, who simply couldn't help but answer: "Aw, c'mon, Bakugo, you don't have to keep up the cold and apathetic front forever! We all know you were just as worried for them as you were Midoriya-san and the others when they got back last night! Just come on out and say it, you big softie!"

Everyone could immediately feel their skin prickle in the moment before Bakugo whipped his head back to give another murderous glare to Denki specifically: "SHUT YOUR GODDAMN LYING MOUTH, DUMBASS HALF-WATT! ONCE THIS STUPID EXAM IS DONE AND I GET MY LICENSE, I'LL BE RIGHT BACK ON TOP OF THIS WHOLE DAMN SCHOOL WHERE I BELONG, JUST YOU ALL WAIT! DON'T GO GETTING COCKY, PEOPLE!"

With that and a burning hot fuming exhale through his nose, Bakugo angrily turned back to stomp on after Shoto, just as Nikolay and his friends became overcome with a unifying desire to speak out to their backs: "Good luck, Todoroki-san, Bakugo! We know you can do it! Let's all get to the top together!"

While Bakugo hunched his shoulders with another disgusted sneer at such childlike expressions of unity; Shoto's own unreadable expression hid the faintest glow of appreciative warmth inside that actually left him feeling that much more inspired to give his all, no matter what kind of training was waiting for them this time in their Remedial Exam Training.

However, with the two boys' departure, the reminder of the very serious exams they were today continuing to train for had ultimately flipped the switch of responsibility in Tenya and Momo's heads, as both Class A representatives dutifully cleared their throats and stood at the gathered head of their classmates, ultimately spurring Nikolay, Mina and Kyouka to get in line with the rest of them.

With a resounding clap of his hands, Tenya spoke: "It is greatly appreciated, all of your sentiments, everyone, but just as Midnight-sensei herself said: today is the start of our next big step towards becoming the best Pro Heroes we can possibly be, and we need to all be prepared to go into it with our heads held high and our hearts and spirits light as a feather and glowing!"

Following his lead, Momo continued: "Rest assured that any and all questions or other curiosities you have regarding our recent experiences in Hokkaido will be answered to the fullest in due time, but right now it's time for us to conduct ourselves properly going into class!"

However, just as she and Tenya were about to give the instructions for their class to start moving, her discerning eye caught something amiss amid their numbers: "Wait, where are Midori-?"

[[KOLYA! EVERYONE! OH THANK GOD IN HEAVEN!]]

With the veritable power of a overhead thunderclap, Tunguska's booming voice tore through the air, nearly sending the entirety of Class A into a surprised jolt, just before Nikolay, Mina, Kyouka, Momo and Tenya found themselves getting swept off their feet by a powerful wind front, which quickly revealed itself to be the bear hug of the Sun of Justice's mighty arms, as the hysterical and weeping teacher had swept them up in the mother of all hugs the moment he had seen them even from a distance.

Mina and Kyouka's surprised laughter perfectly countered Tenya, Momo and Nikolay's mutual shock as Tunguska refused to release his hold on them, even when Denki, Hanta and Minoru started chuckling in amusement to each other at such an insane sight. Finally, Nikolay was barely able to even get the words out: [[Dad, yes it's us, but you're crushing us right now! Please put us down!]]

Even as the massive man was still sniffling with overwhelming emotion, he managed to heed his son's words as he set them down back on their feet again. "Forgive me, kids. That was unsightly, I know. I'm just…good lord, I'm just so glad to finally see you back here where it's safe!"

As soon as they were back on their feet, Nikolay and his friends could finally lift their gazes to greet Tunguska in kind…only for Nikolay especially to be stricken still and silent at the sight of his father's current state:

Once more was his prosthetic arm nowhere to be seen, but even with his right arm heavily casted and in a sling, he'd still forced himself to take all five of them in a fatherly embrace. On top of that, there were a multitude of clearly still-healing bruises all over his weathered face, at least from what they could see between the numerous bandages adorning the right half of his face, including but not limited to a gauze patch and tape draped over the bridge of his nose, a reddening medical patch firmly taped over his right eye, as well as a heavy-duty mechanical brace affixed to his left leg while it was likewise heavily wrapped up in bandages.

[[Oh…oh, Dad, what the hell did you all do while we were gone? What happened?]] Nikolay could barely get his voice above a shocked whisper, while the sight of his father in such a damaged state had Mina and Kyouka both actively trying to fight saddened tears, while Tenya and Momo both couldn't help but feel that instinctive guilt of not having been around to potentially prevent whatever had caused their Quirk History teacher to end up like this; all of them similarly voicing shock and distress of their own all the while.

Of course, even when seeing how much his current state saddened his son and students, it was only natural for Tunguska to try and play it off the only way he could think to: "I know this may look bad, but believe me, all of you, when I say this easily could've been worse, and many more people could've been hurt had things been planned differently. It was only because of those pre-established obligations that we didn't all come racing over the moment we'd heard of the attack at the rail tunnel, the Network Tower and your own internship agency; Kolya, everyone. But that's a story for a different time, assuming your classmates haven't told you all about it already! For now, let me just look at you all! I can hardly even imagine just what could've happened to you all while you were cut off up there!"

It was only natural for Nikolay and the others to feel that much more eager for actual details in the face of Tunguska simply brushing off such visible injuries, and to even go so far as to call it 'a story for a different time' on top of that. However, before they could start to ask, they and Tunguska once more found themselves being crowded by their classmates, once more producing their phones for them to see, only this time the headlines were of an entirely different incident, all of them reading things like 'Sir Nighteye Leads Multi-Hero Mission Against Yakuza', or 'Multiple Heroes and Interns Engage Quirked Yakuza Organization in Underground Battle'.

The idea of Nikolay's father being involved in what sounded like such a massive undertaking against such a dangerous-sounding foe did provide some natural context for his extensive injuries, but at the same time it only produced yet more questions as to just how this whole mission of his unfolded that left him looking like this, and especially questions of if Izuku, Eijirou, Ochako, Tsuyu and The Big Three were all truly okay like Midnight had suggested; only being able to naturally assume this was what all their previous secrecy had been about.

"HEY! YOU GUYS ARE FINALLY BACK!" "Oh, thank goodness you're all okay!" "We were all really worried all this time about you-kero."

All of a sudden, the enthusiastic calls of Eijirou, Ochako and Tsuyu's voices drew all eyes back to the dorm entrance, just in time to see the two stepping out at last with Izuku and Tsuyu in tow; all four of them visibly lighting up with relief and excitement at the sight of their once absent classmates having finally returned.

"URARA-CHAN, TSU-CHAN! OH MY GOD, I MISSED YOU ALL SO MUCH!"

The emotions that spiked between both groups drove them all to practically run for one another with tears, overjoyed cheers and laughs to go all around, with Mina practically sweeping Ochako and Tsuyu into a joyous hug for each, before being joined by Kyouka and Momo all likewise expressing their own relief to see their fellow girls again; all while Nikolay and Eijirou met each other with a blind running double-armed brotherly hug, the red-haired boy laughing heartily the whole way ("Oh my God, am I glad to see you guys! Are you all okay? What the hell happened up there?!"), while Tenya and Izuku formally bowed in long-awaited and reassured greetings of one another.

Once they had done so, Izuku and Nikolay were finally able to lock gazes, and instantly met each other with a solitary clasping of their hands to each other in an instinctive show of comradery, genuinely happy smiles on both their faces as Nikolay finally answered: "I'm so happy to see you're all okay, Midoriya-san! We never even knew about it while we were away, but when we'd heard about what you all got involved in, we couldn't help but worry. You guys are all okay, right? Seeing Dad like that, you can't blame me for asking, right?"

Never releasing his hold on the Russian boy's hand, Izuku was still smiling, but there was also a new depth of emotion, namely an unspoken kind of subtle sadness; or perhaps even a newfound sense of maturity reflected in his similarly green eyes that Nikolay couldn't help but notice, but had no idea how to point out. It was clear that his friend was here in this moment, genuinely happy to see them all again; but at the same time, it was like Izuku's mind was somewhere much farther as well, even as the freckled boy answered: "Not at all, Kolya-san. In fact, I should be saying the same to you."

At this particular note, Nikolay could see that Izuku's eyes had lowered to the very hand he was still clasping onto; Nikolay's right hand that now bore a distinct cross-shaped scar on the palm and back, the leftovers of his two impalement wounds. With that, Nikolay's own eyes couldn't help but shift over to Izuku's right hand in return, and the old but still prominent scars left upon it from his battle against Shoto in the Sports Festival.

In the strangest way, to see them both now bearing such mementos on the same hand couldn't help but fill both boys with a further sense of familiarity and comradery with one another, knowing they had both continued risking so much of themselves for the same cause. Of course, Izuku couldn't bring himself to say something so profound, only instead continuing to voice his initial feelings: "We were all worried sick about you guys when we'd heard about all the Villain attacks on Friday. We all even tried to call to make sure you were all okay, but none of us could get through. I can only hope you all don't mind when the time comes, but I think we'd all really like to know just what exactly happened to you over all this lost time; and I can't imagine the rest of the class doesn't feel the same, either."

Of course, Nikolay couldn't even echo that sentiment before he and Izuku both found themselves getting wrangled into another joyous group hug in Mina's arms, as she was still crying and laughing happily at just being back together with all their friends safe and sound; not even waiting for five seconds before just as quickly trying to pull Eijirou into the whole thing as well while trying to herd the whole bunch back towards the rest of the similarly happy and giggling girls.

"Oh, c'mon, let's not start today off with a bunch of questions and sad looks, you guys! Can't we just enjoy this for a minute? We all just did a whole ton of super-dangerous Hero work together and came out winners! Don't we get to at least enjoy tha—? "Holy crap, Kirishima-san, what kind of Villain could you have fought that could do that to you?!"

The sudden break in Mina's focus by Kyouka's sudden exclamation finally managed to take off the blinders of pure joy they had all been feeling by seeing each other again; finally forcing Nikolay and the others to look and see that, despite the casual sharp-toothed smile on Eijirou's face, it was still adorned with a number of band-aids, alongside full bandage wrappings on both his forearms, as well as one wrapped completely in a strip around his forehead.

Just like the last time, the sight of what was supposed to be their most impervious classmate actually bearing signs of having been hurt, had left Nikolay and his group's stomachs in knots as to just what kind of enemy they could have faced that was capable of doing such a thing, with Mina and Nikolay similarly echoing: "Oh my God, Kiri; are you okay?! What the hell happened?" "Yeah, we'd heard you guys and a bunch of Pros, Aizawa-sensei, Dad and The Big Three were all involved in some big mission against a yakuza group while we were gone, but what the hell could they have had that would actually hurt someone like you, Eijirou-san?"

Despite all his close friends similarly voicing the same concern over seeing him in bandages, Eijirou was ever the resilient trooper, as he just chuckled to himself and brushed it all off with a wink and a smile, complete with a reassuring thumb up for good measure: "C'mon, you guys, it's not that big a deal. I know it looks bad, but I'm okay, trust me; these are superficial at worst. Besides, wouldn't you say that coming out of a huge battle with some nicks and tears to show for the effort is even manlier than coming out all spick and span? I mean, look at Kolya-san: new scars on his hand to go with Midoriya and Iida-san! It's almost like we're all becoming total brothers in arms, right?!"

Nikolay and Izuku couldn't help but exchange mutually embarrassed chuckles at Eijirou making such a wild leap in logic, while Tenya couldn't help but look down on the single scars adorning both his own hands as a result of his battle against The Hero Killer, Stain; a permanent reminder of his single lowest period in his life.

However, just as Eijirou began to notice the beginnings of what looked like the faintest new scar above Nikolay's left brow, hidden conveniently otherwise under the hanging bangs of his dark brown hair—

"Alright, everyone, as much as we're all likewise happy to see you all again, let's not shirk our responsibilities as Yuuei's finest for the sake of blind emotion!" Tenya's instinctive knack for responsibility helped to break apart whatever remaining awkwardness hung among the class, while Tunguska dutifully cleared his throat and echoed in kind: "Indeed, there will be plenty of time for catching each other up on our own experiences by tonight, so for now, line up and march forward to the new day, Class 1-A!"

Naturally, Tunguska's unflappable enthusiasm as a teacher was easy to appreciate, but before any of the students could start to take their leave for class, Nikolay knew this was his only chance to really do this, as he cleared his throat enough to get everyone's attention. "I'm sorry, but I just really quick needed to say that…we will tell you everything about what happened after school tonight…but Dad…this is something…this is something that you need to be here for, too. It…it deeply involves you, in a way."

Now Tunguska's eagerness was visibly replaced with a natural sense of curiosity and foreboding, especially when he and the other students could see how Nikolay's once bright and happy eyes had started to lower and dim with an unspoken sense of reluctance.

It was only because of the timeliness of the starting bell that the veteran Hero didn't take that opportunity to ask his son to clarify right here and now, instead only watching with a concerned eye as the whole of Class 1-A, finally reunited as one big family again, made their way for homeroom; a new beginning after the life-changing experiences so many of them had experienced over the course of a single day.

And for but a single moment as the students left for class, Tunguska could easily gleam that Izuku was deliberately glancing back his way; a similarly troubled look in his own eyes, to which the Sun of Justice could only give a single solemn shake of his head that told the boy everything he needed to hear right now: 'Don't tell them anything yet.'

---

Midday

For all intents and purposes, as far as the students were concerned, their first day of school this week after finally being reunited couldn't have been going better, even if it hadn't involved any distinctive training thus far before lunch break had come around. Frankly, they were all still simply riding the euphoric sense of being together again after having experienced such incredible dangers of their own, while many of their classmates were simply bristling with anticipation to just know in full what all had happened.

However, where Tunguska was concerned, his mind was still solely focused on the one thing out of this entire cluster of a past weekend that troubled him the most; a fact that was far from lost on Aizawa, as while the two teachers ate in silence in the comfortable quiet of the employee offices, he was easily able to sense the Russian man's unease.

"You shouldn't let yourself look so outwardly worried like that." Aizawa's sudden comment all but shattered the overbearing silence over Tunguska's head, as the larger Hero jolted with surprise, looking to his fellow confusedly. "I'm sorry?"

Continuing to pensively eat his ramen, Aizawa continued: "For starters, we're supposed to represent a benchmark for what those students will want to be as Pro Heroes, and as much as I may disapprove of All Might's naïve outlook, there's some merit to the idea of Heroes not outwardly showing their being troubled in front of those that look up to them, in order to bolster them to keep doing their absolute best. There's a big difference between that and admitting you're afraid for whatever reason when things get serious.

"But aside from that, you really shouldn't have a reason to be worried right now. In the end, we all…most of us came back from our mission in one piece, as did all of them…well, with the exception of Iida's internship mentor, sadly. But we need to take the victories we can for what they're worth. Without knowing exactly what it is, there's no point worrying yourself needlessly over whatever it is Bezpalov feels he needs to tell about what happened that involves you."

As much as Tunguska could clearly understand exactly where Aizawa was coming from, he still let out a solemn sigh as he set his own food down at his desk, looking worriedly out the nearby window. "I understand all that, Aizawa-san. That's not what I'm thinking about, though. Hell, I would be going to that dorm to listen to Kolya and his friends tell their experience even if it had nothing to do with me. My own son just went through probably one of the single most dangerous instances of his life so far without me there to help him, and ultimately came out victorious; but that still does nothing for the worry we all had to choke down until their return. Hell, you saw how a lot of their classmates were throughout that Friday, how you yourself were feeling all the while until we had to go out there for work. It's only natural I'd want to know exactly what happened, just like those kids do."

Even despite the normally unreadable look in Aizawa's tired eyes, Tunguska knew he was right; all the time up until their secret mission had finally been enacted after the news of the Hokkaido attacks had reached Yuuei, the 1-A homeroom teacher had likewise been subtly climbing the metaphorical walls with concern for his students.

Since the black-haired man gave no signs of protest for the older Russian's words, Tunguska continued with a reluctance all his own: "No…what worries me is just how much I want to tell Kolya and those kids about what exactly it all was we did out there while they were gone. Yes, they were surprised to see me and malenkii Kirishima all patched up, it wasn't the full extent of surprise I'd been bracing myself for, which tells me that either Koyama-san or Nezu-san told them only the slightest gist that we'd all gotten involved in something big."

To this, he and Aizawa both let out an instinctive grumble of annoyance, since this was one of the instances surrounding their recent actions they'd been dearly hoping could have been prevented, were it not for their peers' apparent running mouths.

In the end, though, Aizawa finally gave his retort: "You need to think very carefully about this, Tunguska. I can't say I don't understand this desire of yours to fill your child in on things when you get hurt, but remember everything we promised. There are details that need to be kept secret for the good of everyone…no matter how intrinsically tied those details are to everything else."

The sharp exhale Tunguska let out voiced his internal frustration far more effectively than any words could have; his blue eyes thoughtful and clearly running with energy, as he was just anxiously trying to find some kind of solution that could satisfy both parties. Finally, though, he just gave voice to the first feasible approach that came to mind: "I know we need to keep…certain details a secret for the good of others, but would it really be so unreasonable if I were to at least bring this up with the students involved themselves, see what they want to do, or at least what they think would be the best approach? Surely it wouldn't break our word if Kolya and the rest of his classmates from Hokkaido were simply told our mission was about taking down the Shie Hassaikai for all the other reasons, and spin it that it just inadvertently turned into a rescue mission partway through, and not even give any compromising details about exactly who?"

Aizawa at least looked to be thinking of Tunguska's suggestion, rather than just outright ignoring him, as he easily could've been. Unperturbed, Tunguska went on: "We both know Kolya and his friends would be well within their rights of privacy to just let the news cover their experiences for us and leave it at that, but they're still making the decision to tell us everything there is to share. Surely those kids deserve to know at least that much of the truth about us in return, right?"

By now, Aizawa's outward distance finally gave way to an exceptionally tired sigh as he took another bite of ramen. "Look, Tunguska, we're both adults here, I can't really tell you what and what not to do. If you ask those students what they feel you should all do, and they decide to share any non-sensitive details about the mission with your son and his group, then that's all your prerogatives. Just don't go asking me to chime in with any info myself. This is ultimately your responsibility."

Tunguska had nothing to immediately answer with, instead letting his focus return to his own lunch for now, as deep down, he knew his fellow teacher to be absolutely right. It was clear that this conundrum weighed solely on himself and the students in question more than anyone else, and when the opportunity came, he would need to ultimately run this suggestion by them and have their opinions ultimately be the deciding factor on what they would ultimately tell their friends; what he would ultimately have to tell his own son.

---

Evening

Thankfully, the rest of the school day had gone by exceptionally smoothly. In the time when classes had ultimately ended, to Aizawa's complete lack of surprise, Nikolay and Mina had proven to be quite the inquisitive pair by immediately asking if there was anything about his and Tunguska's mission with their friends he was able to share, to which he firmly had shut them down by simply stating it as official business over which the police had sole confidentiality with only those involved.

However, this thankfully didn't dampen either of their spirits too much, because they, Tenya, Momo and Kyouka all knew that once they were all freshened back up and had dinner at the dorms, it would finally be time to fill all of their ever-worried friends on just how much of an experience they'd truly had together in their absence. As nervous as it instinctively made them deep down, there was also an undeniable air of excitement it inspired in their chests as well.

It was almost perfectly around the time the students of Class A had all finally finished eating dinner, that not only had Tunguska made his long-awaited return, but so too had an especially thoughtful-looking Shoto, and a similarly pensive Bakugo as well, at last returned from yet another day of their Provisional Exam training.

"Hey, you're finally back! Has your training always taken you guys this long?! What's it like? Is it like the exams themselves over and over again?" Mina immediately asked with mounting excitement upon their return, only to be quickly diffused when Bakugo gave a disinterested sneer and roll of his eyes. "Yeah, some damn training; it was barely more than glorified babysitting. You all better not have been getting some real training behind our backs, you hear?"

Of course, his venomous tone could hardly even phase the rest of his classmates, especially when by comparison, Shoto for once was actually far more approachable in his answer: "It's been rather similar to what we've studied in school so far, but today was certainly…certainly interesting, even enlightening in some ways. You all don't look like you were in the middle of anything extensive, so should we take that to mean Bezpalov and the others haven't started recounting everything?"

While the rest of the class gave scattered confirming answers, Nikolay himself couldn't help but ask: "Todoroki-san, everyone else here in class at least had what the news was saying about what happened in Hokkaido to go off of, but do you actually not have even that to go off of?"

Thankfully, Shoto didn't look to take any kind of offense from such a question, while Bakugo already looked like he was about to explode into another defensive tirade, which he thankfully was quick to get in front of: "Unfortunately, no. Our training has required us to dedicate a fair amount of time towards practice in between lessons. We really only have had a rudimentary understanding of what Midoriya and his group have gone through as well. I trust this isn't too late a time for you all to finally fill us in?"

Nikolay and Mina alike couldn't believe they were actually hearing Shoto, of all people, express even this much willingness to actually hear about what had happened to them and their group, yet they couldn't even take that sensation in for long before Tooru, Denki, Eijirou and soon the majority of their classmates were similarly calling out: "Yeah, c'mon, we've been starving for the details all this time, you guys! Please?!" "Yeah, the news made it sound like things got hella nuts up there, but you guys gotta tell it even better!" "Damn right; a full multi-Hero mission into a whole refugee town, brainwashing and nuclear submarines?! Just what in the hell was going on with you guys?! That sounds freakin' amazing! Start at the beginning; that was when we were just hearing about the tunnel flooding! What all happened from there?!"

Thankfully, Tunguska, Tenya and Momo alike were able to help quell the growing energy in the room, urging everyone to settle down with respect before the teacher gave his final word: "I know we're all eager to know the full truth about what happened in Hokkaido, but let's at least play the role of the respectful audience, malchiki i devochki (boys and girls). Let's all gather round in the commons area, let malenkie Todoroki and Bakugo get their share of food, and let your classmates recount at the pace they want."

This thankfully proved to be enough to get the class to quiet down and gather up on one side of the commons area, sitting side-by-side on the floor and couches like a genuine theater audience, soon joined by an attentive Shoto and apathetic-looking Bakugo in the end; while Izuku, Ochako, Tsuyu, Eijirou and Tunguska all looked enraptured in their readiness already.

With their hearts all pounding with anticipation and building preparation; Nikolay, Mina, Kyouka, Momo and Tenya all took their places at the other end of the room, with Nikolay ultimately opening: "Alright, so we might as well just begin by recapping something. Do you all remember at all those local teenagers at Gagaringrad, some of the adults, that little boy Valera, that man Pietro and his soldiers we talked about after our first day?"

Thankfully, virtually the entirety of their class echoed a confirmation that they indeed remembered; complete with Tsuyu and Kouji Kouda both hushing Minoru the moment it seemed like he was about to start mouthing off any potentially spoiling details when pulling up one of the connecting news articles on his phone.

Naturally, though, Shoto and Bakugo were the only ones to have not even been filled in on these details before, and so it was with an especially professional conciseness that Nikolay and his friends all shared what details there were to tell about their respective internship mentors and the individuals from Gagaringrad they had gotten to know, especially their respective Quirks, save Pietro's. To none of their surprise, Bakugo simply wrote off such descriptions of their abilities, while Shoto at least looked to be listening intently, while giving no other outward hint of his thoughts or feelings; even when it ultimately had to be shared that Pietro Granin was a long-lost old associate and friend of Tunguska's from his younger days. Although the description of the small child Valera's Resurrection Quirk earned more than a few astonished gasps and mutterings from their classmates.

From there, and with exceptional energy, one by one they all proceeded to recap and describe each of their individual experiences with their respective Villain attacks on that fateful Friday, from Tenya describing his group's desperate struggles against Ljubomir, Tuule and Danila in the Hokkaido Rail Tunnel alongside Knightfall, Tetsutetsu, Pony and Yui from Class B (every mention of his iron-skinned fellow intern's actions in battle never failing to excite and hype up Eijirou in particular); Momo detailing her own battle with Whiteout, Monoma and Reiko around the Hokkaido Hero Network Tower against Gazsi, Jozef and Marius; and all finally culminating with Nikolay, Mina and Kyouka describing the entirety of the attack launched on the Kapenta Hero Agency after a bloodied Leonid had turned up at their door, all carried out by Eliška, Hristofor, three Quirkless Russian soldiers neither they nor any of their Pro Hero mentors recognized, and none other then their well spoken-for near friend Maja Kieslowska herself.

While Tenya and Momo's respective stories both had most their classmates already on the edges of their seats, the three Kapenta interns' story had left the whole commons room stone cold silent with anticipation, with Tooru and Ochako unable to keep their instinctive gasps when the reveal of Maja being one of their attackers had finally come.

However, as exciting as their stories were already proving to be, they could all feel the atmosphere take a drastic downturn when it had finally come to the point of their recollection, wherein the previously unmentioned Villain known as Ocean Master had made his sudden arrival after their whole agency had collapsed, and had summarily proceeded to make playthings out of Nikolay and Mina's attempts to keep him from nabbing his fallen comrades and The Giver altogether.

Somehow, Tunguska could just feel the rising in his heart rate as he saw Nikolay's troubled eyes meeting his own directly, as he continued to describe the sheer versatility and power this Villain's Quirk granted him over water. Not only did the true danger his son had been placed in have Tunguska starting to shake, but there was also something unsettlingly familiar about how it looked in his mind the more he tried to picture it.

And he could see that Nikolay was just about expecting this kind of thing to happen in his father's head by this point, judging by the deeply troubled look in his green eyes. This was clearly the moment his son had been dreading the most once they had finally started telling their classmates about everything that had happened. He hadn't even realized he'd been holding in a breath of anticipation by the time Nikolay had finally started speaking again, this time to him directly amid his friends: "Dad…this Ocean Master's water Quirk was so powerful for something so simple in concept. For everything we tried to throw at him, he always knew how to counter it and throw us around like we were nothing. I'm not even sure how, but there was a point I'd actually managed to get close to him, but before I even knew it, he'd gotten me pinned under his feet. I-I thought he was seriously going to kill me."

Nearly the whole class looked just as similarly breathless with the buildup, before Mina just as quickly continued on: "But I'd managed to ride that super-fast water jet wall thing of his all the way up and come down on him without him even realizing it…or at least, that's what I was thinking, but the guy had, like, super crazy hearing or some other kind of senses like that, because he caught me so easy before I could even land a hit…but I did actually manage to hit his helmet with my Acid. That was the first time either of us had actually managed to catch him off guard. And Kolya-kun…you…"

The fact this was proving just as hard for their otherwise ultra-chatty classmate to put into words had a good number of the students feeling genuinely uncertain if they were ready to hear where this part of the story was going. However, Nikolay had been spending their entire day here trying to brace himself for this very moment, and so with his face grimacing with tension, he finally met Tunguska's gaze and got to the core of it all: "The face inside that helmet was so badly scarred, I didn't really recognize him at first…but he still had some hair, and…a-and his eyes…Dad, his hair was this really light blue…and his eyes were blue with pupils like sunflower petals."

The jolt of an emotional gut-punch Tunguska immediately let out as these details came together with the described Water Quirk was so powerful, it nearly caused the whole of the class to similarly jump with surprise, only to feel their mouths collectively go dry with foreboding when they saw how pale their teacher's bandaged face had just become; his normally vibrant blue eyes now constricted and empty with an agonizing expression of remembrance and denial all in one.

Naturally; Izuku, Eijirou, Ochako and Tsuyu all looked deeply worried at whatever in the world could have elicited this kind of reaction from Tunguska of all people, while he himself was silently mouthing incomprehensible words to no one but himself and his son, his head vehemently shaking in a genuinely terrified kind of denial. [[No…no, no, no, it can't be! This isn't true, what you're telling me, Kolya, it simply can't! Tell me you were seeing things right now! Tell me you aren't saying what I think you're saying! That man that attacked you both…h-he couldn't—he couldn't have been-!]]

But the sharp inhale of similarly emotional anxiety that Nikolay took in response had many of his classmates looking genuinely torn on whom they should have been watching right now, until he finally forced himself to confirm that which his father so desperately hoped wasn't: "I'm sorry, Dad…if you only knew how much so…but I am being serious. I couldn't have mistaken those eyes for anyone else, no matter how long it'd been…especially after all the old photos you've shown me over all these years. It really was him. It…it w-was Uncle Volga, living and breathing in the flesh right in front of me!"

While this was clearly eluding to something deeply personal between father and son that many of the presiding students had no context for, it was clear as day that it was something that deeply hit Tunguska in his most sensitive spot, as while his shaking head had finally stopped, there were now a multitude of torrential tears running down his shocked face, with even a few slightly red-tinged streaks soaking through the patch over his right eye, while his bearded mouth was still silently trembling, as he struggled to try and process what his son and students were ultimately telling him. If his heart had suddenly stopped beating from the shock in that moment, it wouldn't have been remotely surprising.

At the same time, though, memories of some of Nikolay's recollections from back in his previous house had stricken Izuku, Eijirou and Ochako in particular, as the name 'Volga' came racing back in relation to their teacher's former Pro Hero team from all the way back in his golden days, with Eijirou and Ochako both immediately exclaiming in disbelief: "Whoa, whoa, wait a second, are you guys kidding?! Wasn't that one of Sensei's old New Bogatyr buddies?!" "Yeah, I thought you both had been saying they'd all died in that Siberian Flash! How is this even possible?! And why on earth would one of Sensei's friends attack you guys?!"

Having no choice but to try and block out the resulting amazed exclamations from some of their other classmates as to this re-contextualized reveal, Nikolay steadfastly shook his head as he answered: "I couldn't begin to tell you, guys. I wish I knew, though…because as much as I hate having to think about it, the fact is that he had been in league with that man, Pietro…and over the years they'd both turned to Villainy along the way…or at least, somehow, someway, Pietro had managed to convince him to turn over. The fact is that he'd been the one pulling the strings behind not just all the attacks we went through that day…but a whole lot of other incidents both here and back in Russia…much, much more serious things, if you can believe it. It was only because of two of those soldiers, along with Leonid Briner and Maja that we were even able to figure this much out."

By now, seeing just how enthralled their classmates were (even Bakugo by now was at least giving them the courtesy of eye contact to show that something about their story had gotten his attention), all five of the Hokkaido students proceeded to, one after another, detail for their friends all of the long-time details they had learned from their two sources of just what kind of schemes Pietro had ultimately been putting together, as well as the grand reveal of just what his Quirk ultimately was, and how he had been manipulating the memories of a handful of innocent teenagers just like themselves into genuine child soldiers, before ultimately doing the exact same thing to the whole of Gagaringrad with the forced help of The Giver's Quirk on top of that, all to eventually use them all, alongside even more imprisoned sailors and soldiers to launch a full-blown invasion of a Russian naval base to bolster his forces and nuclear resources.

And all throughout this massive recounting of so much history until finally beginning to detail their whole mission to save the entire town and its people; Tunguska's mind was simply awhirl with one single thought that pierced and tore through him mind and soul with an agonizing pain, even though he was hearing the words Nikolay and his group were saying loud and clear.

Every step of recounting their individual parts of the Gagaringrad mission had their classmates all but actively cheering or likewise voicing their enthusiasm and admiration for how well they had ultimately conducted themselves and worked together to save everyone they could without getting anyone hurt. Every mention of themselves or their partners and mentors getting hurt never failed to elicit numerous worried mutterings from the others, just as every detailing of their individual victories over each of Pietro's brainwashed and genuine soldiers alike earned ecstatic cheers, especially when Tenya ultimately revealed Maja's miraculous jump into the fray to help them…but it was shortly after, when he ultimately had to take the forefront and detail how his mentor Knightfall had sacrificed himself to save him and Tetsutetsu from a naval artillery strike, that once burgeoning cheers had changed into deeply pained tears of sadness and sympathy for the Class A president, which he too was clearly having a hard time resisting, himself.

And yet, even amid all of the similarly sad looks on most of their classmates' faces when Tenya had finally gone silent; Nikolay and Mina both were able to notice something in particular, namely that the same indescribably deep sadness that had been so well-hidden before in Izuku's face had swiftly returned…and this time even Ochako, Tsuyu and Eijirou were reflecting it as well. The sadness presently on Tunguska's face was difficult to ascertain if it was still in relation to Nikolay's utter bombshell of news regarding Volga, or if he had mentally finally caught up to the rest of his students.

As far as their four friends were concerned, it was clear that they too were deeply saddened by the news of Tenya genuinely losing his mentor…but at the same time, on a level completely different from the rest of the class.

Unable and unwilling to stop, they continued ever onward through their race to catch Pietro's fleeing gunboat and submarine, and all throughout Nikolay's retelling of his battle against the man they all now knew as Volga, nobody else dared make a sound. Hell, half of them didn't even realize they were holding their breath, while Tooru and Ochako specifically were both trying to fight back tears, listening to their foreign friend talk about having to genuinely fight a real former Hero, let alone such a close friend of their teacher, and his own intended godfather.

The more he detailed all of his desperation and conflicted feelings when they had finally come to their fight upon the submarine itself, the more raw Nikolay's emotions became; his voice cracking and his green eyes glistening with tears of his own in the light more than once. It was only when he'd gotten to the point where he'd once more found himself at Volga's mercy that he couldn't keep the final extent of the truth a secret any longer, and thus finally admitted with all the anguish he still felt: "I had tried everything I could think of to try and get through to him…but in the end, I was right back where I'd been the last time, and I didn't know what more to do. I didn't want to risk hurting him more than I could be able to take back! Did that make me stupid in those circumstances? Yes, I'll admit that, but for God's sake, this was a man I'd been told so many admirable stories of over so many years! This was someone Dad always spoke of as though they were literal brothers! This was the Hero he'd personally chosen to raise me! How could I have possibly been able to stop thinking the Hero he once was could still have been inside? I had to keep trying as much as I could, didn't I?"

With the reveal of the full familial connection between Nikolay and his opponent having finally been revealed for all of them, even Bakugo's instinctive reaction to confirm the young Slav was an idiot for holding back had been rendered completely silent. One could have genuinely heard a pin drop, the whole class had gone so quiet and wide-eyed with disbelief at the extent of such genuine tragedy. It was downright poetic, as far as they could possibly wrap their heads around. Eijirou, Izuku and Tunguska all looked utterly shaken by Nikolay describing his unwillingness to give up on the man, while Ochako and Tsuyu both looked similarly emotional, even heartbroken at such a cruel twist of fate. The fact Nikolay himself wasn't even able to stop his tears from rolling down his face as he continued left Mina, Tooru and even a small number of the other boys across the class feeling similarly emotional.

In the end, though, when he finally told of Volga suddenly showing mercy and refusing to fight anymore, the relief that washed over the whole of Class 1-A was nothing short of palpable…and that was when it was finally time for Mina to take center-stage in this impromptu retelling, and the extent to which she struggled to properly convey the weight of what had happened next was unlike anything her friends had witnessed from her before.

It was as though it genuinely caused her physical pain to have to tell this part, but even despite that, she ultimately forced herself to soldier on through it; with no one else daring to break her concentration with questions until she finally admitted the most painful thing she ever could have: of having lost track of her own ear protection, and thus was able to get taken control of through Pietro's Quirk, and ultimately being forced to fight against all her friends with full deadly intent.

"YOU DUMBASS AIRHEAD! YOU SERIOUSLY WENT AFTER A VILLAIN WITH A BRAINWASHING QUIRK THAT WORKS WITH SOUND, AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN CHECK TO SEE IF YOUR EARS WERE STILL PROTECTED?! GODDAMMIT, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" It was hardly surprising that Bakugo's immediate interjection came in the form of yet more furious screaming…but what was very surprising was the unmistakable tinge of what sounded like genuine concern that just barely framed his words in the middle of it all. Even for as much of an angry scowl as he was wearing, the spiteful intent usually evident in his red eyes was nowhere to be found.

As much as Mina herself could appreciate this being his personal way of expressing worry for someone, while also trying to force herself to ignore the continuous name-calling and derisive words, she still carried herself admirably through her own tears and sobs, as she continued to detail every painful moment the Villain had forced her to fight her friends…and when it had finally come to the ending of that nightmare, where Nikolay proved to be the one voice that could break through the fog Pietro had put in her mind, just long enough for her to have him take her out of the fight, the entire mood among the watchful class had shifted once more, especially from Tooru and Eijirou.

In fact, just the idea that Mina and Nikolay both were visibly struggling with whether or not to actually share with the class just what it was he had admitted in the intensity of that one moment, ultimately ended up telling their two friends far more than any words could have, and that natural realization that hit them both had left Tooru blushing like crazy while trying to hold in a natural squeal of excitement, and Eijirou grinning and wide-eyed with anticipation and genuine pride in his Russian best friend.

Thankfully, this entire recap was proving so compelling and exciting to the whole class, that nobody else dared to break the mood by asking Mina the big question of what had been said; thus allowing her, Nikolay, Kyouka, Tenya and Momo to succinctly continue recounting the rest of the story of the penultimate battle they all had to fight against Pietro himself; the reveals from Tenya and Nikolay of their new scars on his forearm and right hand respectively drawing a number of pained hisses from Denki, Minoru, Ochako, Hanta and Kouji specifically.

The entire description of what Pietro had ultimately tried to do to Nikolay's mind when having him separated from the others had left everyone else pale and speechless with horror and sympathy, while the despair they had all felt when seeing him manage to finally launch his warheads had left everyone feeling downright frigid cold inside, none of them able to even guess how this had all managed to still be prevented. By that point, nearly everyone had been unconsciously clutching the seats or their pant legs in white-knuckle grips.

And it was from that horrified silence, that one of the single strongest transitions to genuine heartbreak and then overwhelming respect occurred that any one of them had ever experienced, for it was from there that Nikolay finally had to recount for them and his father how Volga, from the abyss of what he could only have imagined to be existential conflict, had somehow managed to make the miraculous turn-around in those final moments, back to being the legendary River Hero that Tunguska knew and respected with everything he had, as he had used the last of his strength to save them all and countless others by sacrificing himself alongside Pietro to take the warheads down in a single lightning strike conjured by the storm of his own Quirk.

Having to recall that entire spectacle and the heartbreak that came with it had left Nikolay and his whole group virtually out of breath, but thankfully their classmates were there to fill in the ensuing emptiness that would've followed, as so many of them were overwhelmed with the desire to express their respect for their friends before them, now that they knew everything there was to know about that day:

"Holy shit, that is just unbelievable, you guys! Those news stories don't even come close!" "You guys did so awesome, you not only saved the whole town, but you actually did get through to him after all!" "Goddammit, that's just so sad…but so beautiful, too!" "To think it was possible for a decorated Hero to turn to Villainy, and yet still ultimately find the strength to come back, and immediately make the choice to pay the ultimate price for the well-being of others!" "Hell yes; that has to be one of the most old-school examples of Heroic manliness you can even think of! But what happened next?" "Yeah, c'mon, please tell us! What about all those people he took prisoner, what about the town and the locals? What happened with all of them?"

It was honestly overwhelming, just how engaged with their story most of their classmates had become; but even if that hadn't been the case, they knew they couldn't have possibly allowed this evening to end on such a devastatingly tragic note. And so, it was with slowly but surely lifting hearts and spirits that they proceeded to go through everything that had followed the next day at the hospital, from the immense number of thanks from all of the townspeople they had managed to rescue, all the way to the downright foundation-shaking description of the fundamental debate that occurred between Nikolay's group and the Russian government official known as Konstantin Khodamchuk (the name spurring yet another shocked jolt of remembrance out of Tunguska as a result, for both long-passed memories and much less pleasant recent ones when hearing his name on the news over the last several years), that had resulted in the downright miraculous shift in such a stalwart and dedicated man's perspective, so much as to actually take Maja and her manipulated friends' lives off the proverbial hook, and actually make the decision to share everything he had witnessed and come to learn with all the people back in his, Tunguska and Nikolay's home country.

As amazed and inspired as nearly all the students looked at the idea of Nikolay having managed to inspire this much of a fundamental change in a single person in such a position of influence, especially after everything they'd come to know about the views on Quirks back in his country; none looked more so than Tunguska himself, who could only look upon his son before his classmates and friends with a pride that couldn't even be justifiably summed up as that felt by a father. In that moment, already just being able to imagine the affects of what Nikolay had inspired that day in the times to come, he could only look upon the boy as a Hero-in-the-making, and the image that formed before his eyes was nothing short of awe-inspiring for the former Number One Russian Hero.

There was indeed no telling what, if anything, would occur back in those parts because of Nikolay and his friends' actions and sentiments up in Hokkaido, but the fact they had all done so much and put so much of themselves on the line in their own grand struggle for justice in so many different forms, had cast an especially brilliant new light on the lot of them in the eyes of Class 1-A, not least of all being their sole foreign member himself. While the majority of his classmates had come to deeply like him by this point into their first year, while a select few mainly just tolerated him by comparison; after hearing all of this and seeing just how heartfelt he was about everything he had said and done right alongside his dear friends, especially in comparison to how he had started out; he had now come to earn the genuine respect, and in a few cases the heartfelt admiration, of a good number of his classmates at last.

Finally, with the details of their farewell crowds outside the hospital much earlier this very morning being recounted until they had finally boarded the train that ultimately took them back to Yuuei, after well over an hour, Nikolay, Mina, Kyouka, Momo and Tenya had finally finished detailing everything of their incredible mission in Hokkaido for the rest of their class, and the instinctive need to applaud was irresistible for them all, while the small group of five could only manage to mostly smile awkwardly (or brightly and with full willingness to accept said applause, in Mina's case) while receiving the respect and acceptance of their peers.

When the cheering and words of encouragement and pride had ultimately started to quiet down, Tenya had chanced a momentary glance to the nearby clock on the wall, and as he squared his shoulders back up and straightened his glasses once more, he commanded the room with a single resounding clap of his hands. "Thank you all very much for your time and attention, everyone. However, it is fast approaching bedtime, and we mustn't let our senses for tomorrow's lessons be dulled simply by lack of sleep. I recommend we all give our good nights and file off for bed."

However, all this earned him was a near wall of disappointed groans from his fellow students, especially as Mina and Nikolay both replied: "Awww, c'mon, Iida-saaan! Don't make us go to bed already! Class story time is too much fun!" "Yeah; and besides, don't you wanna hear about what Midoriya-san, Eijirou-san, Uraraka-san and Tsu-san all did with Dad and Aizawa-sensei while we were gone, too?"

The moment they asked this, even Eijirou and Ochako looked particularly okay with the idea; but in sharp contrast, Tunguska suddenly rose back up to his feet, a surprisingly serious glint in his one exposed eye as he approached his son's group. "I'm afraid malenkii Iida has a point, Kolya. The fact is that even without this whole retread you all gave us, you've all still had an especially long and trying day, and the last of your wounds, as Recovery Girl has told me, still need to finish healing, just as malenkii Kirishima's do. We can discuss this further tomorrow, alright?"

Nikolay and Mina exchanged frankly disappointed glances, with Ochako and Eijirou looking similarly so. In the end, though, he could only bring himself to give a slight nod, which was a good enough sign for Tunguska, before he made an especially abrupt beeline for the dorm exit, leaving all the students in question visibly surprised, and much more so concerned. While the majority of the time spent telling their Hokkaido story had left the veteran Hero and teacher visibly emotional, there still was a great degree of restraint his four connected students had noticed he'd been forcing himself to go through as time went on.

It would have only been natural for him to finally be letting those emotions out once they knew they'd learned everything there was to learn of their friends' experience, and instead he was putting on the air of the professional teacher and exiting so hastily, it seemed just downright unnatural, and thereby much more concerning.

Fortunately, both groups of students could clearly see they were all in agreement of this, as while the rest of their classmates decided to take his and Tenya's advice and turn in for the night, they instead had decided to follow after Tunguska outside; where they were quick to hear the man choking down some especially torturous-sounding sobs from behind a nearby brush off the entrance walkway.

"Sensei, are you all right?" Ochako immediately asked the moment they could see the beginnings of Tunguska's form from around the corner of the brush, catching the larger Hero by surprise as he hastily tried to wipe the tears from his eye and get his breathing back to normal. "Y-yes, malenkaya Uraraka, everyone, I'm alright. I-I'm just…just trying to prep myself for a last minute little jog back to the faculty dorms, that's all. I need to get myself back in my best shape."

However, even Tunguska could feel only shame in himself for trying such an easily detectable lie on such worthwhile students, and his own son on top of everything else. The worried looks on all their faces made it clear he wasn't fooling anyone, the instinctive worried comments of Nikolay, Mina, Eijirou and Izuku all asking what was truly wrong only further compounded onto this overwhelming sensation of grief he hadn't felt in so, so long.

Already was the vision in his one eye going blurry as he dropped the façade, simply unable to stop this outpouring of so many emotions at once. "I'm sorry, all of you. I know teachers and Heroes are all supposed to not let themselves be seen like this for the good of your inspiration and development, I know that. I just…oh my God, I haven't felt like this since those earliest days way back when."

It didn't take a genius for any of the young students to realize just what their teacher was referring to, which only left them all looking at him with even greater worry as he continued; his eye looking distant as he thought so far back: "I never…I had convinced myself for so long that everyone I'd called a friend, a comrade, a brother was dead and gone. I'd convinced myself of that so that I wouldn't be tempted to go back to where the Flash had happened and go looking for them…and…and risk seeing the remains of what I'd done to them in my stupidity. It had taken such a long time, but eventually I'd truly believed I was the only one left, and didn't think about it again."

By now, Tunguska's one hand had closed into a painfully tight-looking and trembling fist hanging at his side as he sucked in a deep and shaky breath through his teeth. "But tonight…tonight, I find out that not only was one of my longest-time and closest friends in my entire life still alive over all these years…but that he'd also been broken down into becoming a Villain; a Villain that laid hostile hands on my own son, the son I chose to entrust to his care on the day he was born. In its own way, this is even more painful than the thought of him having been lost alongside everyone else. Even as foolish as I know it is, already I'm wondering if things could've been different if I'd just given him the benefit of the doubt and gone searching for him all that time ago."

Finally, Tunguska's eye clearly had shown his mind had returned to the present, as his emotional gaze fell down to Nikolay and his friends at his sides. "And then to know that you, Kolya, were able to get through that Villainous darkness to reach the man I always knew him as…and to now know that in those last moments, he still had the heart to save you all and put himself in the line of danger to save so many other people…I can't think of another way to say it: I'm torn. On one hand I feel like I'm drowning in thirteen years of grief all over again…and then on the other, I'm stricken with a gratitude that the River Hero I knew, respected and loved liked a brother was still there after all this time…and with that, too, comes the sadness of knowing he now truly is gone…and I can never have the opportunity again to see him face-to-face…and apo-*sob* apologize…for…for everything."

In a heartbeat, Tunguska found himself nearly getting plowed into by a distraught Nikolay; the young boy vehemently throwing his arms around his father and holding on as tight as he could while struggling with his own tears, with Eijirou, Ochako, Tsuyu and Mina all immediately doing the same, trying to communicate whatever feelings they were trying to find words for to him through this one simple group gesture.

All the while, Izuku, Tenya and Momo all looked similarly saddened to see their friend and his father like this, while easily understanding why it was so.

Finally, Nikolay forced the words out: [[Please don't talk like that, Dad! Don't do this to yourself! He never would've wanted to see you suffer like that, no matter what! He only ever wanted to be able to tell you he never blamed you for any of it, I swear those were the last words I ever heard him say!]]

While Nikolay continued desperately trying to ease his father's anguish, Eijirou was likewise trying to keep from breaking down into empathetic sobs as he looked up to the man he respected the most here: "If that Volga is really the kind of manly Hero you say he was, then you gotta know he wouldn't have wanted you to beat yourself up like this, Sensei! I don't even know the guy like you and Kolya-san do, but I can just feel it, you'd have to know a true manly person like that by sheer instinct, wouldn't you? Please don't turn his decisions against yourself like that!"

And just like that, Ochako couldn't stay silent either: "Y-yeah! We all know you only did what you did because you were trying to save people; even if he turned into a Villain somewhere along the way, he had to have always known that too! There was no way for you or anyone in your shoes to have known he was still alive, so don't blame yourself, Sensei! From everything you and Kolya-san have told us about what happened, anyone would've made the same assumptions you did!"

Mina herself was simply too overwhelmed by all the emotions radiating from her friends to be able to try and feasibly chime in; but while even Tsuyu herself was visibly trying to hold back tears, she was still able to try and speak with both reason and sympathy for their teacher, even despite her natural blunt and nasally monotone: "Sensei, you and Kolya-san even said you'd picked your friend to be his godfather when he was born, right? He surely would have to know what being a dad would have to be like in order to accept that, I'm sure-kero. So wherever he was over all that time, if he had heard that you both hadn't been confirmed dead over those years, then surely he must've understood that you didn't go looking for him because you had your son to look after first, right?"

This one simple question had managed to break through the blinding tears the rest of Tsuyu's classmates were struggling through, even Tunguska's own; as the light of total reason became clear. To this, Momo visibly brightened up as she clapped her hands in recognition, a confident smile of reassurance on her face as she looked Tunguska in the eye: "That's absolutely right! Sensei, no matter what kind of inherent responsibilities or senses of duty a person can be assigned by society, it can never overpower one's purely natural instincts, and that includes a parent's instinct to protect their children. If you had trusted this Volga to be a secondary father for Bezpalov-san, then he surely had to have the natural parental instincts to realize that if you were both alive, then you were simply gone because you needed to protect your child from all the dangers that the Siberian Flash had made so prominent. If you still have any doubts, then please ask yourself this: if the roles had been reversed, and you had been the one left alone, but had no confirmation that your son and the man you'd chosen to be his guardian had perished, then wouldn't you naturally assume that he had taken up his responsibilities you'd entrusted him with, and was simply acting out of his inherent child's best interests?"

With the nighttime air now mercifully rendered silent, Izuku was the one to take that chance to try and give their teacher the words he most needed right now, out of just a sheer sense of reading the atmosphere among his friends. "Yaoyorozu-san and Tsuyu-san are both right, Sensei…and I think you know it just as well, too. I know this is ultimately no more than speculation, but if you couldn't truly bring yourself to blame Volga for doing the very same actions you had if the roles had been reversed…and if you truly know him as well as you've said you did, then can you really believe that he would blame you? If not, then please…like we've all been saying: please don't blame yourself for not acting on things no one ever had a way of truly knowing. You and Kolya-san have both been through too much to let yourself fall down that path again."

Neither Tunguska, Nikolay nor any of the other students present could bring themselves to say anything in the face of all their impassioned sympathetic pleas towards their elder's grief. All they could truly do was keep trying to communicate to him how he wasn't truly alone anymore, and that he had all of them here to give him what support they possibly could, as little as that might have been.

Such a display of true attachment was purely natural coming from Nikolay as his own flesh and blood, but to know that he had this many bright-eyed and aspiring youngsters who had come to feel this strongly attached to him as well, had Tunguska physically feeling his recently devastated heart already beginning to mend itself in his chest, as his once unstoppable tears in his own available eye had finally started to wane, allowing him to see clearly again and get his breathing under control.

After finally bringing himself to try and hold the students still clasped to his sides with his one arm in a silent show of gratitude for their support and feelings, Tunguska let out a truly world-weary and weighty sigh. [[Thank you, Kolya.]] "Thank you all…thank you, as many times as I could possibly say it. To think, a multi-decade veteran Hero, being able to be brought back from despair simply by the actions and hearts of a bunch of children. Such is truly a testament to just what a precious thing in this world youth is…and I wouldn't even be surprised if perhaps, those very same unspoken feelings and heartfelt actions were what helped you all to bring my oldest and dearest friend back from the darkness as you did."

Nikolay and his friends were all finally able to bring themselves to let go of Tunguska and step back to see the genuinely touched shimmer in his eye as he continued, looking Nikolay and his group over specifically, while giving no cold shoulder to Izuku, Eijirou, Ochako nor Tsuyu, either.

"Every last one of you…over the course of just these last couple of days, have grown so tremendously, and have developed the very hearts of the kinds of Heroes you were all born to be so tremendously, I can barely find the words. You all know that Heroes are meant to embody hope for others before anything else, and now knowing all of your simultaneous experiences, you've all already managed to extend that hope to those most in need of it, and have subsequently saved so many others as a result, and to say I'm prouder than I've ever been of every single one of you, is simply a gross understatement."

Naturally, to receive such genuine praise from their teacher had Eijirou, Ochako and Izuku all looking especially touched an grateful, while Mina, Kyouka and Nikolay were all looking simply overwhelmed with further emotion in the wake of it all, with even Momo and Tenya visibly trying to keep themselves composed.

Through it all, though, Nikolay could soon feel his father's attentive gaze fall solely upon his shoulders, as he looked up wondrously to the Sun of Justice above him. "And you, Kolya…you still never cease to put whatever concerns I could have for your future to rest with every action you've taken over this year…but especially now, knowing what you put yourself through for the sake of so many, including one that was by definition your enemy, because you wanted to save them all…this, more than anything, is both a testament, and has given me the clearest picture I could ask for, as to just what a truly spectacular Hero you'll be one day. Certainly a far greater Hero than I ever could've been when I started out.

"All of your dear friends in this school, and your own willingness and determination to look inside yourself and find your strength and devotion to become who you yourself want to be…those have all helped to shape you into the young Hero you are right now, just the same as it has been for every single one of you here…and it's left me feeling like the single happiest father I could possibly hope to be."

Nikolay didn't even realize he and his friends had all once again started to shed tears of indescribable joy the further his father went, while Tunguska himself had to wipe yet more from his own eye as he breathed deep in this pure night air that would soon bring about a new day, one step closer to the bright future these very same young Heroes, whom he had long since come to see as though they were all just as much his children, were born to preserve and create together. "Kolya…malenkie Ashido, Jirou, Yaoyorozu, Iida…thank you all…for…*gasp* for giving me a closure I'd never even realized I'd needed. Thank you so much. But more than anything else…thank every last one of you…for coming back to us all safe and sound. In the end, as your teacher and as a father, that's all I could ever ask for from you."

This time, the group hug that ensued was born from an all-encompassing sense of similar gratitude and unity between all the students present, as they proceeded to all gladly embrace their teacher and each other all in one, all similarly just grateful to still be here together alive and well.

However, in the moments that they began to once more part, Nikolay and his group could once more distinctly see that all of Tunguska's words of death, life and amends had clearly stricken an unspoken chord in the students he himself had been involved with over these last few days; just the same as what the young Russian had seen in Izuku at the start of the day.

And it was that very similarity, in the wake of all this emotional outpouring, that had finally given him the courage to speak up about this, even when knowing how sensitive and personal it doubtless had to be: "Dad, Midoriya-san, you guys…what exactly happened with you all during this other mission you were all on? I can just feel it coming from all of you…that it was…something much more serious than what the news is saying…isn't it? Are any of you able to tell us even a little bit about it?"

"Yeah, I mean, we don't wanna pressure anybody! It's just that we know you all were super worried about us, and we wanted to let you know everything so you wouldn't have to anymore! You guys all gotta know we were just as worried about you when we first heard, right? I mean, if we're all always helping each other to go further and get better and better, it only makes sense we'd worry and want to hear what's bothering you so we could help you all feel better too, y'know?"

Mina's plea for an answer was no less imploring of them, as was Kyouka's to follow. They could all clearly see that even Izuku and his group were looking just as conflicted as to whether or not to meet them halfway on this, just as Tunguska was; despite having been just as worried and wanting to know their fellow group's experiences just as much before. Seeing all of this written all over their faces ultimately only made Nikolay and his group's desire to know the truth, that much greater.

However, even despite both their similar wants to know that their classmates were indeed okay in light of whatever they had done, both Momo and Tenya felt their inherent responsibilities for the well-being of their entire class take hold, as the bespectacled class president resolutely stepped forward, addressing his Hokkaido compatriots: "Everyone, that's enough now. They all know we were all just as worried for them, but please calm down.

"If they don't wish to go through the emotional strain we did by recounting their experiences, then we must respect their wishes as their classmates, let alone as their friends. If nothing else, we could just inform ourselves like everyone else by catching up on the news broadcasts on our own time. Just as we ourselves do, they too deserve to be able to rest their weary spirits; because just like us…it isn't just their bodies, but their hearts that have also been worn down by everything that's happened to them."

"Iida-san?"

The faint sound of Izuku's voice suddenly speaking up from behind Tenya's back managed to render the class president silent as he and all his fellows looked back curiously to their freckled friend.

Having taken in all of his present classmates' heartfelt desires to know and give their support to him and his own group, as well as Tenya's desire to respect their needs for space and time to recover, he was easily able to give a soft but no-less genuine "thank you, but…" in response. However, in the few extended moments of silence that followed, Nikolay and the rest of his partners could once more see that depth fill his eyes, as though he were thinking back on something of indescribable weight that only he and his group could ever truly be able to understand.

However, this time, the unmistakable air of sadness that had been present before, only lasted for but a fleeting moment, as soon his body language had become strong and focused as it did when he was at his emotionally brightest, as Izuku finally lifted his gaze again to meet all of theirs, letting this unspoken emotional resonance between them fully be made so they would know the rest of what he was about to say was as genuine as could be: "…I'm fine."

Again, nobody could find the words at first, but despite that, they could still see how the emotional air about Izuku had changed, and unmistakably for the better, as his eyes carried that same ambiguous maturity Nikolay had but briefly glimpsed in the beginning…and that was somehow able to help them know that he was serious, and that they subsequently didn't need to worry about his state. Nikolay could certainly feel the worry in the pit of his chest lighten by just a little.

And as for Tenya, his glasses managed to hide the analytical sharpness in his eyes as he observed the shift in Izuku's demeanor…but in the end, he too had come to know how far the honesty of his curly-haired friend and classmate went, and thus answered his blunt reassurance with his own: "If you're sure."

While Izuku's demeanor had at least lifted up to a much more resonating and less outward show of general positivity inside; the same could clearly not be said so easily of Ochako in this same moment, as Momo, Kyouka and Mina had all quickly spotted how their rosy-cheeked classmate had cast her eyes downward, looking both sad and deeply contemplative.

"Are you okay, Ochako-chan?" Kyouka ultimately asked as Tsuyu likewise laid a supportive hand on Ochako's shoulder, as though to act as a physical conduit for the well-wishes of all her fellow girls here right now.

Ochako's face didn't change, neither in softening or growing in its emotional intensity, but that didn't stop her body from physically reacting, as her hands were gripping anxiously at the hem of her uniform skirt. It was taking a great deal for her to not start shedding tears again the more she thought back on exactly what all had happened to her and her friends over the course of their work together…and an even greater effort for her to not just start going on about all of it, and especially just what a weight it was placing upon her heart and mind even now. She didn't want to break the promise she and her comrades had made, but she hated having to keep such things secret from her friends as well. If she did, she had to believe it could help to make this sadness brewing in her heart right now just that little more bearable.

"I…" The first sound Ochako made was almost entirely silent, as she finally lifted her hands and looked intently upon them, as though she were envisioning something that could only be grasped by them alone, something that none of her classmates could ever be able to visualize the same as her…something that managed to spark a different kind of emotion in her troubled eyes as she finally found the wherewithal to really put into words what was weighing on her so: "…I want to save people, just like you guys did."

As blunt and painfully short of an answer as it was; thankfully none of the girls felt the need to try and ask Ochako to elaborate on exactly what she meant. To save people was one of the most important things a Hero could possibly do, and as her experiences alongside their own in Hokkaido had shown: to save people didn't simply mean to take them out of danger…but to also try and save them in body and spirit. Whichever context the gravity girl was referring to right now, it was undeniable that it was a declaration to herself that was going to forever shape how she went about her training from this night onward, and that in itself left all of her observing students with a motivated warmth in their chests.

And it was from there that Nikolay and Mina both finally turned their attention to a similarly thoughtful-looking Eijirou, clearly thinking back on whatever had happened to himself and his partners just as Ochako had, albeit with a less obvious air of overbearing sadness in comparison.

But if there was anything about him that they had both come to know very well, it was that for as outspoken and expressive as Eijirou was, that didn't make him a total expert on really expressing the full extent of his emotions, especially when they weren't exactly a positive influence on himself or others. And it was because they both knew this about him so well, that Nikolay finally broke the silence between them: "What about you, Eijirou-san? You've always said that so many of us could come to you to share our thoughts and feelings when they bothered us. You gotta know you can do the same with us in return, right?"

As much as Nikolay was definitely not used to expressing such sentiments on the fly like this, that didn't make the words come any less naturally, nor be any less heartfelt; and that was what made it such a relief when seeing that his words had reached Eijirou's ears, as the red-haired boy momentarily jolted with realization that he was being spoken to, and immediately seeing the similarly worried looks on his two best friends' faces.

Thankfully, he hadn't been emotionally deaf to Nikolay's words, as even though his eyes reflected how truly emotionally tired he was alongside his partners, he was still able to give that reassuring sharp-toothed grin in kind: "Of course I know that, you guys…but thank you for saying so, regardless. I guess it's still pretty easy to think that kind of thing only goes one way for me unless I hear otherwise out loud, huh? But I really am okay, don't worry. For real-"

"Kiri…"

As Eijirou tried to maintain his semi-convincing act of saying he wasn't at all troubled, Mina's utterance of his nickname came out crystal clear with a deeply resonating focus that was so much more serious than either of the two boys was used to hearing. It wasn't like when she was in emotional anguish of fear or sadness, or even like how she had been the previous night, when finally pouring out all of her feelings of love to Nikolay with all the tearful joy one person could express.

No, if anything, it almost sounded like she was speaking from a much more nostalgic place; especially when, upon seeing that she'd gotten the redhead's attention, with her eyes and her expression never once changing from that of a very subtle concern, she simply asked: "You good?"

Those two words really seemed to strike a chord with Eijirou, as his grin slowly faded, and his eyes now looked to be thinking backwards much like how Ochako just had, before finally answering with no pomp or playing up an air: "Getting there", to which Mina simply took a single steadying breath, and gave him only the slightest, yet no less genuine, of relieved acknowledgments in return: "Right, then."

And from where Nikolay was standing, this could very easily have been an instant where he could've been missing out on so much that was really being communicated between his two best friends with just this briefest of an exchange. After all, Eijirou was the one who made the decision at the start of the year to actually open up to the young Slav about his and Mina's history of friendship through middle school, and what an influence she'd ultimately had on his deciding to commit to becoming his own kind of Hero back then.

Had he not done so, then Nikolay never would have been able to even remotely glean how this approach of Mina's to finally get Eijirou back to earth for his own good, was clearly tied back to some kind of exchange between them he sadly never had the chance to witness himself, but was clearly something of great importance and meaning that was theirs alone to share, and he could feel just as happy for them for that.

In the end, the most important thing was that Eijirou clearly understood both Nikolay and Mina's intentions in their respective expressions of support for his emotional well-being. Soon, the deep and contemplative, tired look on his face had gone, and his own inquisitive gaze quickly shifted back to meet them both. Just as fast had his previous train of thought returned, regarding the unmistakable change in the air he could almost physically feel between Nikolay and Mina even now. He'd been able to see it ever since hearing the whole part of their story about her being brainwashed and Nikolay bringing her back on his own; and with that returning realization he had gained in that moment, did a genuinely happy smile return to his face as he in return simply asked: "And what about you guys? Are you both good, too?"

To his amusement, yet not to his surprise, neither Nikolay nor Mina seemed to understand exactly what context he was asking them this question back for; but as far as they were concerned, his spirits seemed to be lifting back to normal. Ultimately, that was all that really mattered to them, as they were finally both smiling just as happily at each other as he was to both of them; primarily thinking now about what a new and wondrous change in the relationship they had with each other, as they both answered: "Absolutely!"/ "Better than ever!"

And it was those very answers accompanying such deeply-rooted happiness reflected in their smiles when glancing to each other in this moment that ultimately confirmed what Eijirou was thinking, much to his ecstatic happiness for both his close friends, as he had to exercise all his restraint to not just come outright and say what he was thinking as he simply answered: "That's no surprise, coming from you two, but still great to hear!"

While all of these clarifications and emotional connections between all the students had been reaffirmed and cemented, it still did little to nothing in regards to how Izuku's group could really be able to convey what they had gone through to their friends here…and it was because Tunguska himself could see how much this enforced silence on their parts was clearly bringing them pain like it was to him, that he finally was able to stand tall and authoritative again, giving a pronounced clearing of his throat to gain all their attention back.

"Everyone…I just want to say that I can fully understand everyone's feelings on this matter of discussion right now. It's true that we had to maintain silence regarding our work throughout the previous week and even now…but it's also true that Kolya and his comrades went out of their way to help us understand everything they'd gone through, precisely because they knew how worried we'd all been about them, and the same rings true in their worry for us. As friends and partners, we all need to be able to meet each other halfway so as to remove any reason for considerable worry, and most importantly to further strengthen our understanding of one another going forward.

"That's why, as your teacher and supervisor over the course of our previous mission, I'm giving express permission for our group, at our own discretion of course, to share whatever you may feel comfortable with everyone here. How you'd all feel it would be best to do so is up to you." Tunguska's declaration never faltered. He wanted the students he'd been made responsible for on that fateful day, to know without a shred of doubt that he wasn't messing with them. They all knew that keeping this whole thing a continued secret would only become more and more difficult, and as such he was throwing them a lifeline that would indeed make things all the better for them and their friends here in the end.

Of course, with that also came the inevitable concern of just how much they felt would be best to share, because they all knew that there were certain aspects of their mission that absolutely could not be thrown about all carefree, for the well-being of others in question. And so, racking his brain about it, while Nikolay and his group were all waiting with subtle anticipation to see what their decision would be, Izuku ultimately came to the one approach that made sense to him in this moment:

"Well…I know Aizawa-sensei isn't going to hold back on giving us more and more work to do around here now that our mission's been said and done, so giving you guys the entire story in one go like you did would probably be too much…but what about if we were to all meet together during lunch breaks, and we could each give you what info we can about what happened over that time? Would everyone be okay with that?"

As much as Izuku felt confident in this approach, it still did little to hide his natural awkwardness about making such a decision like this for his entire group, as he looked back nervously to Ochako, Tsuyu and Eijirou…only to let out a deep sigh of relief when they all three were clearly reflecting just as much enthusiasm for the idea as he'd hoped for.

As for Nikolay and the others, they all thankfully looked to be more than okay with this idea as well, as soon everyone was not only expressing eagerness for the lunch period tomorrow when they would finally start to get filled in on everything they'd missed alongside the rest of their class, but were also once more starting to excitedly express congratulations and pride in one another for all of their respective work and victories in saving people and stopping Villains all across the board, as though they were simply now just trying to catch up on such expressions and friendly chatter like they should have done earlier this morning, making up for lost time.

And all the while, watching as Mina wrangled all the other girls into another deeply emotional and relieved group hug; and Nikolay, Tenya, Izuku and Eijirou all respectfully bowed and shook hands in acceptance and good night wishes to each other with all having been settled; Tunguska likewise felt an overwhelming sense of relief and gratitude that, even after such intensity as they had all clearly experienced, they were still able to experience moments of peace and solidarity with each other like this.

With good night wishes given to Tunguska himself, the two reunited groups of students felt so much lighter in heart as they finally made their way back to the dorms, soon bidding each other the very same before parting ways for their respective wings and rooms, with Nikolay and his now-former comrades especially feeling ready to put an end to this long day and really begin to start over, and go back to their normal routines, as far as Yuuei could allow.

At least, for him this was the plan, before he suddenly felt the unmistakable warmth of Mina's hands grabbing his right while also gently holding his shoulder, driving him to look back and see the deeply emotional smile on her face as their eyes met. And naturally, such a sight from her was always enough to put one right on his face as well. "What's up?"

With a breathless chuckle, Mina began shaking her head. "Nothing. I mean, nothing specific. I just…this is so silly, but it's like I'm only just now really getting that awesome feeling that…you know, that all of that scary and dangerous stuff we did is behind us, and we're finally home with everyone again! You know what I mean? Like I'm finally feeling like I can just breathe all normal and stuff again! I never even thought about it before, but it's such a cool feeling!

"Like, after so many fights and times of feeling like we were gonna lose or one of us…*gasp*or feeling like one of us was gonna die…it just makes the fact that we're safe and sound together with everyone again feel *sniffle* so much more amazing! We all pushed ourselves so much through all that craziness, saved so many people, and I…and I feel even more like a real and inspiring Hero than I ever did before! I-I don't even know how to say it any other way! I just…I-I'm just so happy that we can all still get to keep training to be totally awesome and cool Pro Heroes together after all, Kolya-kun! Don't you feel the same?"

Halfway through, all of those long delayed feelings of relief, accomplishment and contentment had brought the tears welling in her black-gold eyes again, but the quivering smile on Mina's lips couldn't have been happier if she'd really tried. That was what made Nikolay so easily able to feel the same kind of happiness she was, as his smile radiated a warmth and peacefulness that drove Mina to hold him tight just to be able to bask in it, no matter how embarrassed it could have made him if anyone else had been here, giggling sweetly all the while.

In the end, the young Russian Hero found no difficulty in fully admitting to her sentiments as he returned her embrace: "Of course I do. I wasn't sure what it would feel like once we'd finally gotten back…yet it somehow managed to be better than I ever could've imagined. To know we all managed to pull it off and save all those people; save…save Uncle Volga like we did together, and that we all managed to come back okay, it's like the greatest feeling in the world right now."

It deeply warmed Mina's heart to see the emotion shimmering in Nikolay's eyes alongside his deeply happy smile; and her pink cheeks grew just as warm in kind, as she let herself be absorbed in the overwhelming feeling of all-around happiness of this precious moment alone together. At the same time, Nikolay could quickly see a new kind of glimmering and loving light had become evident in her watchful eyes as her smile never remotely faltered.

"And that's not the only thing we accomplished together that's worth feeling this good over, Kolya-kun; remember?"

She didn't even bother waiting for the quickly blushing boy in her arms to answer, for they both knew he never could have even begun to forget. That was why this time, Nikolay was fully ready to meet Mina's next move. With that, the long-awaited and newly-formed star-crossed boyfriend and girlfriend took the biggest risk here in the thankfully empty commons area, and proceeded to meet each other in a single lingering yet heart-racing kiss; holding each other close and just tight enough to not ruin the intended feelings of this precious moment.

Neither of them even bothered trying to figure how long they'd let this indescribable contact last, instead simply letting themselves become intoxicated in this heavenly sensation of their kiss; each one feeling infinitely better every single time; all before finally parting from each other; to which Mina immediately began giggling joyously to herself, twirling back towards the girls' wing on her heels before shooting Nikolay a playful wink and grin. "Now that's a really good start for us if I ever could've imagined it, Kolya-kun. I mean, it's only right that your girlfriend give you all the good night kisses, right?"

Even as just the act of calling herself Nikolay's girlfriend had Mina squealing ecstatically, the radiant blushing smiles adorning both their faces pretty much answered her question for her on their own. With a final spoken goodnight and following joyful kiss, as well as an uncountable number of 'I love you' spoken infinitum in their heads to one another every step up to their dorm rooms; Nikolay Bezpalov and Mina Ashido finally managed to meet their beds and greet the inevitable next day with their hearts both the lightest and warmest they could ever recall before.

And it was all because of the turn their lives had both taken that had brought them here, because of Yuuei and all of its opportunities, because of their families, because of their beloved friends…and, just as much as all those things combined, because of each other.

And there's this week's chapter, and the beginning of this story's take on the Shie Hassaikai Arc, which I'm unofficially labeling the Eri Arc, just to save room for chapter titles going forward. I can only hope this format I'm going with will be satisfactory for you all until we reach the end of it and move onward.

My latest college semester has recently started as well, and it's already forcing me to make some serious adjustments in terms of my time management. I'm going to keep trying to deliver the chapters to you all on the same weekly basis, but I'm just saying that it's no longer a 100% certainty for a short while.

I hope you're all having a good summer. I will see you all with the next chapter on 09/03!