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?

109. School Festival Arc Part 5- Performance

Hello once again, everyone. Allow me to formally welcome you all to the long-awaited final chapter, and the literal performance chapter of the School Festival Arc! I personally feel quite proud of what additions I was able to make to this utter showcase, and I hope you're all able to visualize it just as clearly as I was able to, and I hope this chapter leaves you dedicated fans of this particular arc especially satisfied. I really do try my best to try and capture the bliss of these peaceful moments, since we all know they can't possibly last for too much longer.

I would also like to take this chance to let you all know ahead of time that, in response to my plans for the next couple of chapters, I'm making something of a title change, regarding the chapters you've all come across that were listed as 'Part 0' of their respective arcs. I've officially decided to grant them their own distinct arc name that we would be returning to every now and again, kind of like what I did for dividing the Villains Abroad Arc and the Hokkaido Arc in halves like I did. As such, any chapter I either previous or would normally label as a Part 0, will now instead be a part of what I'm calling the Time Skip Arc, just to avoid any potential confusion.

Anyway, I would like to once again thank every single one of you for your continued support, even if I would appreciate if any of you out there would take the time to leave me any reviews at all. Every little bit helps tremendously.

I would also once again like to personally thank my beta readers and consultants, Mizu, Jonny and Carlos; as well as the current roster of DA fan-artists: Syyndev, Akane Kahomi, AliceKuroCross, Suki-Chan2509, effasempai, Eliza-Frost, Yumake and Vanera-Taro. Hopefully more will ultimately come to join the ranks and show their support and talent for this story in the future.

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 109

The Performance

(Представление)

In the few spare seconds that passed between Izuku's last-second return, the formation of the dance team pairs until his eventually departure to the rafters, and the opening of the curtains to reveal the audience and performers to each other; Nikolay could feel his heart repeatedly hammering and his scalp burning like an open flame with his thinly veiled nervousness.

But at the same time, he likewise couldn't completely silence the one reassuring voice in the back of his mind that kept assuring him, just as Mina did mere moments ago: to believe in himself just as he believed in the rest of his classmates, just as they likewise all clearly still believed in him, just as she believed in him.

And thankfully, that reassuring thought was the last thing to cross Nikolay's mind when he and everyone else saw Mirio and Eri in the front section of the crowd once the curtains finally stopped opening, and Mina gave her reassuring call to the rest of the dance team, and at the same time Bakugo pounded his drumsticks together in the final three-count.

"LET'S DO THIS, DAMMIT!"

[Chrissy Costanza - Hero Too]

BKOOOM! WRAAM! BA-BAAM! SHREEEE!

In perfect synch with the stage lights all now shining upon them on the stage, a deafening blast of Bakugo's drums sounded, exactly resembling that of his explosions; at the same time as Kyouka began hitting the opening chords on her bass with all her physical strength, at the same time that Denki and Fumikage each hit an energetic salvo of fretting riffs on their guitars, and Momo slammed her fingers on the keys of her keyboard.

And all as one, every single member of the dance team immediately shot their left fists in unison to the ceiling; their expressions as bright, excited and ready as could possibly be; all that simultaneous activity being enough (he could only hope) to keep people from noticing how Nikolay's knees were beginning to shake, as it finally became cemented in his mind that the time was now, for him to finally give his all and simply hope to high heaven for the best.

Still maintaining the perfect unison, he and his fellow team members immediately threw themselves forward into a one-knee bow at the edge of the stage as the real rhythm of the music, an upbeat but ultimately rocking pop-punk tune, began to play with full energy from the band behind them, spurring the team to finish off their introductory all-together routine by once again springing back up to their feet with another enthusiastic hand held high to the sky; blinding smiles on all their faces, even if Nikolay had to struggle to not look directly into the stage lights and inadvertently blind himself.

Especially because after what was about to happen, would be the time for the real work on the dance team's part to begin, as Kyouka finished hitting the latest chord of her bass and practically bellowed with heartfelt energy into the mic: "THANKS FOR COMIIIING!"

And with her cue, every single member of the dance team, through the respective uses of their own Quirks where possible, all sprung up high into the air in one dazzling display of kick-off energy that already drew a number of excited cheers from nearly half the crowd.

And with that, and their positioning in this beginning row being just right, Ochako managed to place a full hand on Izuku as he rushed mid-stride to the center of the stage, thus giving him just the boost he needed to spring up higher and higher to the rafters, where Yuga was already waiting and prepared by a rope, silently bracing himself for his cue just as everyone else was.

The moment Izuku reached up and grabbed the rope for his twinkly-eyed classmate, he pulled with all his strength in order to send him into a mid-air spin.

"ET VOILA!" Yuga's excited cry would have echoed deafeningly through the whole gym, were it not for the band's music, as he began to rapidly fire one of his Navel Lasers after another, just at the same time that Shoto and Eijirou, on opposite sides of the rafters lining the ceiling, began throwing several buckets of his already pre-chopped Ice through the air, thus resulting in the Laser lights leaving a dazzling and sparkling disco ball effect across the entire gym, drawing even more excited noises from the crowd as Yuga continued firing with perfect momentum to keep all the different lights and sparkles going in every possible direction, thus keeping the spectacle unpredictable, and thereby exciting.

And while this all proceeded to unfold from up high, the dance team was already on the move, their trios having now finally officially formed through the organic flow of their moves so that they were all perfectly in position for the trio showcase to begin.

First up was the trio of Tenya, Tsuyu and Minoru. While their styles were all distinctly far more rigid and less all-over-the-place than their two fellow trios had practiced, in a way it actually proved to be cosmically fitting, as Tenya's robotic movements managed to help appropriately lock up and draw much more flare for Tsuyu and Minoru's respective moves; their clear enthusiasm and enjoyment making it all clearly come together for the audience.

Once Tsuyu had managed to help keep up the ending flow of their routine by incorporating her tongue and hopping to help lead her partners out of the center stage without ever breaking their flow; next came Mina, Tooru and Mashirao.

While the invisible girl's condition made it difficult for the audience to truly discern just what her moves actually were, it was once again the energy reflected in the movements of her costume that made her athletic and bouncy style really pop for the audience.

Mashirao's display ultimately ended up more resembling his regular martial arts maneuvers with a more rhythmic flow, but when put next to his two partner's high energy and high-mobility moves, it still managed to ultimately fit especially well, especially when he started using his Tail to add more aerial variety to his routine.

But out of the three of them, it was naturally Mina who was the standout, as her already impressive break-dancing skills somehow managed to come across as even more insanely flexible, varied and exciting as they ever could be, while still managing to organically mesh with the moves of her partners alongside and around her. During that whole moment, as Nikolay continued trying to maintain his choreography with his own partners, he could swear he could actually hear her laughing ecstatically over the music.

And then finally came the time for the trio of Nikolay, Ochako and Mezo to finally take the center stage, just as the music was commencing the last stretch of its current solo. Keeping his eyes firmly affixed to his two partners, Nikolay took a deep breath and finally strode towards Ochako, just as she was towards him, both of them in perfect synchronization with each other, before suddenly throwing their respective momentums and body weights into a heavy-moving but wide-reaching series of sweeping and flipping dance moves under, over and around each other just as they always had during their practices, and with Mezo incorporating his tentacles to either help keep them supported, or help propel them so their moves were even faster and more dynamic, especially when they were both in the air; and all while keeping himself moving in a similar dancing motion with them.

So far all was going well, and for this, the three of them couldn't be more grateful, but now was coming the time that was going to officially bring this entire performance to its next big crescendo, the halfway point so to speak. The moment Nikolay and Ochako were both in perfect position at both of Mezo's sides, they brought their hands together after a series of pop-n-lock motions side-by-side, so she could ultimately apply her Quirk to herself and her Russian partner alike; and afterwards, Mezo proceeded to fling them both higher upwards than they possibly could have on their own without their Quirks.

With that, the two proceeded to start swaying, flipping, twirling and flying around each other in a zero gravity dancing display that, accompanied with all of the sparkles of the ice crystals continuing to fly from the rafters catching Yuga's Lasers, had a majority of the audience excitedly cheering them on.

But this was just the beginning. So far everything was going as well as the whole dance team had practiced, and now that the bridge for the song was over, and they were starting to approach the crescendo, it was getting to be time to finally activate the dance/music/effects extravaganza that would be the finale. Minoru was already on it, as he was repeatedly popping off spheres of his hair and throwing them for Mezo to fling higher up into the air over the heads of the whole audience, in perfect coordination with Shoto and Hanta using their Ice and Tape together to intercept those flying hairballs and ultimately form a wild array of ice ramps and slides spanning the whole of the gym, and all while Eijirou and Kouji were using their physical strength and the latter's AniSpeak Quirk to maneuver all the stage lights at once to send more sparkling and colorful light arrays over the audience.

With the ice ramps finally to the farthest edges of the stage, it was finally time to commence the third stage, and Nikolay and Ochako could clearly see the preparedness on Izuku's face as he was watching, just waiting for his cue from the rafters overhead. Now that Yuga's spinning momentum had been set up with no sign of slowing down and bringing the energy of the performance to a stop, he was finally able to get back into it.

And with another momentary glance down towards Momo, who gave Nikolay a confirming nod as she got one of her arms up and ready, he gave Ochako a confirming nod in turn, and she in repeat to Izuku.

Everyone knew the time was right, and so as Bakugo's latest drumroll and the guitars began to pick up in pace and frantic energy, and Kyouka's singing reached an heart-rending sincere crescendo; Ochako finally brought her hands back together, deactivating hers and Nikolay's Zero Gravity, and as they began to descend, so too did Izuku.

As Nikolay watched the ever-approaching stage, he breathed in deep, having to fight the urge to close his eyes so he could see this part of the show he'd personally thought up finally unfold. Focusing as much of his Kinetic energy stores into his feet as this trick would call for without risking going too far, he counted down the seconds, knowing that if Momo was giving him the go-ahead, that the timing would be absolutely perfect. It was at just the right moment for the music, as he'd hoped.

BWOOOM!

In perfect synchronization with that musical explosion; the multiple timed glitter bombs Momo had Created (courtesy of Mina's instructions) lining the edge of the stage, had simultaneously burst at the same moment Nikolay fired his lightest but most effective shockwave on impact with the stage; that single forward-moving ripple through the air rising with just enough power to send all those clouds of multiple-colored glitter and sparkles flying sky high, and paired with Yuga's Laser refracting all those colors across the ice crystals and the ramps together, it bathed the entire gym in an astounding array of beautiful colors that finally drew a colossal reaction of excitement from the entire crowd at once, only furthered when Momo threw a multitude of her tiny matryoshka doll smoke pellets into the air with a single upward swing of her arm, creating a multitude of different-colored plumes of smokes into the air above the stage like a fireworks display.

Not missing a beat once Nikolay, Ochako and finally Izuku had returned to the stage, the entirety of the dance team immediately went for the nearest partners they could in a stage-spanning and spontaneous dancing display that miraculously managed to come across as individually chaotic, yet intrinsically connected with each other, like a multitude of various personal dancing styles that perfectly defined every individual student as a person, and yet still managed to compliment their energetic synergy as an entire class, all driven by their excitement together.

And this only got further elevated when, from practically out of nowhere, Tsuyu wrangled Ochako with her tongue before springing herself into an upward slide along one of the ice ramps, pulling an ecstatic Ochako along through the air as she happily reached her hands out to the reaching hands of the crowd, applying her Quirk to every single one she could reach, thus sending them all into Zero Gravity across the gymnasium so they could all partake in the fun alongside them.

From there, Mezo proceeded to start throwing one dance team member after the other through the air, while Nikolay likewise used his Quirk to launch himself for the nearest ramp he could alongside them with Tooru and Izuku in each hand. Soon, everybody was sliding and dancing simultaneously across the gym amid all of their airborne audience members, high-fiving them all along the way or even pulling one after another onto the ice ramps to dance with them to boot. Amid all of it, Mina even managed to step in, using her Acid to melt some of Hanta's flying strips of Tape and using the resulting pieces to help adhere several of the floating audience members to the ramps so they wouldn't risk floating too high and subsequently hurting themselves once Ochako would have to deactivate her Quirk.

As Mezo proceeded to use his tentacles to fling Denki and Fumikage both through the air, instruments and amplifiers and all, Ochako once again came swinging in with Tsuyu's help, planting her hands on all of them, thus leaving both guitarists free to float while breaking out into another high-energy dueling solo frenzy that just seemed to excite the audience below them more and more with each passing second.

And with that, and the rest of the band members still in place, Mezo was finally able to join the rest of the dance team on the ramps, and from there what followed was a gym-spanning frenzy of class and audience-wide dancing euphoria wherein they all managed to randomly pair up and dance on impulse with each other as they continued to slide and fly all over.

And in the strangest way, their wildly varied personal dancing styles, while perfectly illustrating the personalities of each student in the eyes of the crowd as individuals, also managed to somehow organically and perfectly mesh with one another, as though they were somehow able to organically match up and compliment the style of their classmates and friends all across the gym, like a miracle representation of how cohesively they worked together as a class. Somehow, even in the middle of all that hectic but perfectly choreographed mastery, even Minoru still managed to get his moment of personal fulfillment, sliding over the reaching hands of the audience with all his female team members striking poses all around him, leaving him feeling like an utter god, if even for just a minute, overjoyed tears in his eyes.

And over all that time that passed as he slid and sometimes flew like mad to the rhythm of the music, the pulsating sensation of the cheering crowd, or even just the excited expressions of his classmates; Nikolay genuinely felt like he was in a moment of incomparable bliss. Whether he was flying through the air in a Zero Gravity hand-holding spinning wheel with Ochako, Izuku and Tooru; doing the robot back-to-back with Tenya, or engaging in a fast-paced waltz along the ramps with Tsuyu, he couldn't ever imagine being able to have this special kind of pure fun with every single one of his classmates like this.

But even all those incredible moments ultimately paled in comparison to when, after being flung across the gym from one ramp to another by Mashirao's Tail, he ended up landing and sliding right alongside Mina alone, and she immediately managed to catch his forearms with perfect precision and immediately send them both spinning into a high-speed ballroom dance across the ice.

A ballroom dance that, upon weaving through the rafters and descending towards the stage in time for the climax of the song, suddenly turned into Mina throwing herself and Nikolay both into a spontaneous but miraculously perfect rendition of some of the very same high-flying, repetitious and daring maneuvers he had always struggled with from the Soldiers' Dance; Mina taking the lead to make it happen, and managing to finally help him pull off the moves he had never managed before from the very point he had left off the first time he had ever showed her and the rest of the class; thus ultimately allowing him to pull off the rest of those once-impossible moves all the way until they finally reached the stage again.

And all of it made possible simply by Mina never letting go of his hands the entire time.

With his own heart pounding with both fulfillment, disbelief and overwhelming joy at what they had just managed to do with each other's help; Nikolay didn't let all of that momentum go to waste, as the moment he could feel the sturdy surface of the stage beneath his feet again, he let that momentum drive his following full-body leap into landing perfectly on one hand in a spontaneous handstand, leaving Mina speechless and almost crying with emotional realization of her own.

And the tears that followed managed to sparkle just as brilliantly on her face as the glitter and ice in the air, as Nikolay let every one of his girlfriend's teaching words drive every fiber of his being, as he let his mind's picture and muscle memory be driven by his remaining momentum; rolling and propelling himself into an immediate yet perfect rendition of Mina's own incredible break-dancing routines.

A rendition which she wasted no time springing herself into and performing right alongside her beloved boyfriend; the inseparable duo's respective speeds, postures and body control managing to make them stand out as a rhythmic, flexible and altogether visual marvel among an entire class of simultaneous jaw-dropping dancing and aerial spectacles all unfolding at the same time, and all slowly but surely making their ways back to the stage through their routines across the air and ice in time for the finale.

And as the band watched all of this magic unfold before their very eyes, watching their classmates and audience become so enraptured in this watershed moment the further they approached the end; Kyouka could feel her entire body just bristling with so many years worth of emotions as she continued to play and sing with every fiber of her being; the voices of her own past echoing resoundingly in her head amid all the music burning in her very veins even now.

"Mom, Dad, I wanna be a Hero. I'm not gonna be a musician. I'm sorry…I've been struggling with this all along! It's just that putting myself on the line to help and fight for others is so cool! I've always admired what you guys do…but now the music you taught me is gonna go to waste. Our family is so passionate about music…which is why I couldn't tell you."

As she continued to pluck away at her bass like there was no tomorrow, and the finale closing words and notes of her lyrics came flying out her mouth in preparation for the ending, Kyouka could clearly hear her father and mother's words in her head as though she were back in that decisive moment even now; the looks of support on their faces threatening to bring her own tears of joy to her eyes.

"Kyouka…you should do what you want. Your mom and I went with music, because that's what we loved to do. At first, it was just cool and fun, and we were good at it. Basic stuff like that." "But the longer we pursued it, the more we realized that the music we made could actually do something for others.

"In that sense…MUSIC AND HEROISM AREN'T THAT DIFFERENT."

And it was that foundation-shaking statement of absolute wisdom that finally drove the most heartfelt cry of ecstatic joy out of Kyouka's throat as she sang it with all her heart and soul into the microphone in that final vocal note, at the same time that all of the dance team members had finally returned to the stage in their closing positions together, reaching the final steps of their routine, and Bakugo finally reached his last closing beats that would bring this indescribable spectacle of a performance to an explosive end.

And in those final closing moments as the song reached its end, the dance team all struck their final victorious poses with their final unanimous step at each others' side, and the entire audience exploded into a wall of raucous applause; Izuku, Ochako, Tsuyu, and even Nikolay and Mina too, if not all of their classmates, could see how Eri; still upon Mirio's shoulder and having watched this entire marvelous show down to the last possible second…

…was actually bright-eyed, smiling and joyously clapping and cheering right alongside everyone else. For Nikolay and Mina, just to simply see all of their hard work with their classmates bring such a genuine smile to a child's face was tear-jerking and beautiful enough. But for Izuku and Mirio both, and even Ochako and Tsuyu to a slightly lesser extent, it was as though they could both see a literal perpetual shadow of oppression that had constantly hung over the fragile little girl, at long last get washed away, allowing her to bask in the warm and comforting rays of happiness for the first time ever.

And such a sight made it impossible for them all to not start crying their own tears of incomparable joy for her in return.

After so many ups and downs and so much hard work and physical, mental and emotional strain on the parts of everyone involved…the Class 1-A music and dance performance had proven to be an outright miraculous and groundbreaking success that they all couldn't help but just bask in together in that sea of sincere applause.

---

In the immediate aftermath of the show, once the audience members that had been lifted into the air finally had their gravity restored and were safely brought back to the ground amid tons of excited laughter, the whole of Class 1-A was treated to what felt like a solid five minute standing ovation up there on that stage.

Even when the audience ultimately began to leave with their hearts soaring out to the rest of the festival, and Aizawa and Present Mic (who had been hidden amid the crowds the entire time) had instructed all the students to get to work cleaning up the leftover mess that had been made as a result of their performance; it still didn't do a thing to extinguish any of the fires of ecstatic joy they were all still riding high on. Present Mic even taking the time to enthusiastically congratulate Kyouka and the rest of the band members on a truly outstanding show only served to raise every one of the students' spirits that much higher.

Even when having to heft away all the band equipment or dispose of the tape pieces, glitter and ice chunks; Nikolay was still feeling especially proud of himself for having managed to make it all the way through to the very end without managing to trip all over himself…among other things, as Mina was so ready to heap upon him as they worked together: "That was amazing back there, Kolya-kun! Why didn't you tell me you'd been practicing break-dancing, too?! You were nailing it beat for beat like a pro!"

"I just tried to keep in mind what you'd been saying over all our lessons before, about just letting your momentum and body weight do all the work, and just focusing on what position I wanted to be in. I'm sure my legs will be aching tomorrow, but still. Anyway, I should be asking you the same thing, Mina. You springing those Soldier's Dance moves on me out of nowhere like that, I thought I was just imagining things even while we were performing it." Nikolay was still all smiles; his eyes wide with amazement still at the fact of what they'd performed together.

And all the while, Mina was still eyeing him with a knowing smile, simply overjoyed at seeing him smile so much. "Aww, can you really blame me, Kolya-kun? Not only was that whole dance in itself super cool-looking when I watched it again, but when I saw how much you really wanted to try and get it all down, do you really think I wouldn't try practicing it on my own for the surprise?"

Nikolay could feel his whole face grow immensely hot when hearing her talk so affectionately…but even more so when she suddenly inched in closer to his side as they hefted another couple large chunks of ice for Shoto to melt down, or Bakugo to blow up. "But even more than that, didn't you notice it: how you finally managed to do all the high jumping moves you said you were having such a hard time with, once we were dancing them together?

"I mean, that whole dance looked like it was meant for a group, and you're suddenly able to do it once you're not doing it by yourself; isn't that, like, totally poetic or what?" As Mina kept prodding him with such teasing hints, Nikolay's smile was almost overshadowed by the intense blush on his face, especially since he couldn't answer her right away without the rest of their class overhearing them…which then brought to mind the fact that she had outright kissed him in front of everyone in the brief moments before show time, giving nobody a chance to even say anything. Frankly, it was a miracle nobody was taking the chance now to suddenly say anything about it, now that all was said and done.

"Midoriya-shonen!" "Kolya! Both you boys come here." Out of nowhere, Toshinori and Oleg both called out from the entrance of the gym, joined by Hound Dog and Ectoplasm; all four adults watching the two boys in question perk up at attention, only to visibly sink in what had to be shame when seeing the serious looks on all their faces.

Ignoring the passing comments from some of their watching classmates as they answered the call; Nikolay and Izuku stood shoulder-to-shoulder, just waiting for the inevitable chewing out, now that they were no longer pressed for time. And the first thing to happen was Toshinori handing Izuku his cellphone. "Aizawa-san and Koyama-san filled us both in on your recent leaves from school grounds earlier today; and then Hound Dog-san and Ectoplasm-san both told us during your show about why you were both running as late as you did. Now, leaving the school grounds and even running late aren't the outstanding issues here…but Midoriya-shonen, if you're going to leave for town, at least make sure you pick up your phone first. Check your messages and you'll be quite surprised. And Bezpalov-shonen, you didn't even have that excuse, so you could have, at any time, informed us of what was happening, and we could have sent further help your way."

As Izuku apologetically took his phone back with gratitude, Oleg took that chance to follow up, keeping his arms crossed to maintain his serious air, before his voice gradually began to soften to his more fatherly tone: "You boys took a serious risk, getting involved in fighting against two known criminals without backup, alerting any Hero Agencies in the nearby area, or even knowing what your opponents' Quirks were…but at least you actually took the chance to alert someone to call the police once the chance provided itself, Kolya, so there is that to consider. It's frankly a miracle you both didn't end up getting seriously injured."

But neither of the two men's ultimately relieved demeanors could brace the boys for the intensity of having Hound Dog suddenly getting right in their faces; his fierce eyes striking the very fear of God into them. "BUT JUST BECAUSE NEITHER OF YOU GOT HURT, MAKES WHAT YOU DID ANY MORE RIGHT! It's only because you didn't get seriously hurt, that the show was allowed to carry on! No matter what you might try to convince yourselves of; either alone or working together, you're still just Hero students with only Provisional Licenses to your names! When there's a fight, you rely on US! Protecting you kids is our first and foremost duty, after all!"

Neither of the boys could argue just how right the Yuuei head of security truly was; even from the outset, they had both known in the backs of their minds that what they had done was beyond reckless, and just how much concern it had instilled, not only in their teachers, but in their classmates, their friends as well. And it was for that, that they couldn't help but look back at those very same young Heroes all still hard at work across the gym from them.

But before either of them could say anything, they both suddenly felt Hound Dog grab them by the collars of their costumes, lift them off their feet, and send them both flailing through the air back to their classmates with an effortless throw. "STOP WITH THOSE GLOOMY EXPRESSIONS! GET BACK TO THE OTHERS, GO OUT THERE AND ENJOY THE FESTIVAL WHILE IT'S STILL GOING, DAMMIT!"

Upon landing, and both feeling immensely relieved that they'd gotten their delayed chewing out already; Nikolay and Izuku had been quick to get back to helping with the rest of cleanup duty; but it still wasn't long after, that another familiar voice called out from another section of the gym, but this time with far greater positivity: "HEYY, NICE SHOW, 1-A!"

Most everyone immediately perked up and felt their smiles brighten when seeing Mirio approach with a raised hand in greeting, but even more could Izuku, Nikolay and most of the girls all feel their hearts warm when seeing the still smiling Eri close at his side; Izuku immediately approaching her. "I'm glad you both could make it! Did you enjoy the show, Eri-chan?"

And in a display so adorable that it left Mina, Tooru, Ochako and Tsuyu all borderline swooning with a desire to hug the precious little girl, Eri immediately went into an especially animated episode; her red eyes still sparkling like stars: "AT FIRST, THE BIG NOISES AND BRIGHT LIGHTS WERE SCARY, BUT THEN EVERYONE WAS JUMPING AND DANCING AROUND! THEN THERE WAS A BIG FLASHY LIGHT, AND YOU DISAPPEARED, DEKU! AND IT GOT ALL COLD, LIKE WHOOOSH! AND THEN THE LIGHTS STARTED SPINNING EVERYWHERE! THEN THAT ONE BOY JUMPED DOWN AND THERE WAS THIS BIG BOOM, AND ALL THIS SPARKLY STUFF WAS SUDDENLY EVERYWHERE WITH ALL THESE REALLY PRETTY COLORS! THAT ONE GIRL'S SINGING WAS REALLY INTENSE, AND SUDDENLY ALL THESE PEOPLE WERE FLYING, AND YOU WERE ALL SLIDING AND FLYING AND DANCING EVERYWHERE, AND IT ALL LOOKED SUPER FUN!"

Finally, before she could tucker herself out any further, Eri seemed to visibly calm down, but her smile was no less radiant as she looked everyone of the listening students in the eye before finally meeting Izuku's gaze again. "It was amazing!"

And it was those three words that got Izuku visibly emotional (as well as nearly everyone else simply watching this gamut of emotions Eri was trying to display in her innocence), before finally answering with his voice noticeably shaking: "I'm so glad you liked it."

"Awww, isn't that just the most precious thing?!" Mina couldn't help squealing to whoever would listen while Momo and Kyouka had to try and inch her and Tooru into continuing cleanup work, and Nikolay was instinctively nodding in response; all the while silently hoping that Rikido outside would come through with his request from minutes before. If Izuku's wish for helping Eri to smile had managed to come true, then there was still even that slightest chance his wish to forever cement that smile would come as well.

As all of Class 1-A continued trying to work with haste so they could all get out and enjoy the rest of the festival while they still could, many of the still-departing audience members were still eagerly expressing their congratulations to them for an amazing show. At one point, they even got called out to by a handful of third-years who, of all things, actually apologized for wishing their show to have failed before. While many of the students couldn't begin to imagine when that could have been that they would have noticed, it was still at least nice to know that the feelings in their performance had still ultimately managed to get through to everyone.

In fact, even more of the departing guests even said as much, expressing the desire to spread the same happiness and excitement to the rest of the festival as 1-A had given to them. One way or another, everyone's spirits were simply rising higher and higher; without a doubt the greatest feeling in the world for many of them.

Within a half hour of dogged hard work and urging each other on, the students of 1-A were finally able to proudly say that they had performed an excellent show and left the gym completely spotless as when they'd first stepped in. And it was with that; and Minoru being especially energetic in his impatient urging of his classmates; that they all gave a simultaneous heartfelt cheer of accomplishment and excitement together before making their way out to enjoy the rest of the festival as intended, still all in their matching group costumes; with Mirio and Eri gladly tagging along at Izuku's invite along the way.

And with Minoru more than sprinting out the door, it was hard for many of them not to start running back out into the bright morning sunlight right after him in their own eagerness. But when Nikolay, Mina, Tenya, Kyouka and Momo all emerged out into the open together, they suddenly found their feet adhering to the ground instantaneously, almost as though they had stepped into a puddle of extremely strong glue.

But just before Tenya or Mina could voice their suspicion that it was either the work of the Class 1-B student with the Glue Quirk, or a number of visitors carelessly spilling their drinks on the ground; a distinctly accented young female voice suddenly spoke out with a joyous laugh from just to their left: "And I thought your skills as Heroes alone were really impressive! You guys really know how to put on one hell of a show, I have to give you all that!"

As everyone else was immediately rushing worriedly to see what on earth was going on; this voice struck Nikolay and his fellow trapped friends with a familiarity like they'd never expected to feel again, as they all looked and were met by the sight of a very recognizable smirking foreign girl their age with waxy-looking turquoise hair tired in a lengthy braid, with bright and cheerful eyes with irises that were pink at the top and blue at the bottom; and with a running dried pool of wax running across the ground from her feet to theirs, which quickly liquidated and retracted back into her body the moment their eyes all met.

"MAJA?!" "MAJA-CHAN! YOU'RE HERE?! OH, AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME!" "Kieslowska-san?! What're YOU doing here?!" "This is so surprising, but very pleasant all the same!" "When did you get here?!" The moment their feet were all free, Nikolay and the others immediately rushed to pull Maja Kieslowska into a tremendous group hug, leaving her laughing just as happily to see all their faces again as they were to see hers; all while the rest of their classmates were just left utterly dumbfounded at what was going on here.

But just as quickly as Mina was still firing one question after another Maja's way once they had finally given her some breathing room, she and Nikolay both eagerly turned to address their classmates: "Everyone! Come here and let us introduce you! This is Maja Kieslowska, our Polish friend who helped us all the way up in Hokkaido, like we told you about!" "Maja-chan is, like, our bestest bestie from the whole town! I promise you're all gonna love her!"

At their confirmation; looks of astonishment, surprise and happiness quickly reflected on nearly all their classmates' faces, as they looked Maja's way so they could get a proper look at her for themselves, to which she gave them all a confident wink and a grin. "Miło was poznać. Mam tylko nadzieję, że mówią o mnie dobre rzeczy (Nice to meet you all. I can only hope they've been saying good things about me).

Her joking attempt at a distant greeting with the language barrier aside, just the fact they had seen their friends react this way to seeing her, was all the proof they could have needed to know this was the real girl they had been told so much about. Before Maja could even think, she was finding herself being eagerly greeted by the rest of Class 1-A one after the other in various ways; from Ochako and Tooru both happily thanking her for helping their friends as she did back then, to Tsuyu and Shoto both expressing condolences for her unfortunate beginning circumstances told through Nikolay's group's story, to Minoru blatantly asking her measurements when trying to get a better look at her figure, to Izuku eagerly asking to know more about her Wax Quirk, and ultimately to Eijirou and Denki both enthusiastically shaking both her hands in their own.

"I'm Kaminari Denki, and any friend of Kolya-san, Jirou and Ashido-san's is a friend of mine! This is so awesome; these guys have all been telling us so much about you after Hokkaido, I wasn't sure I'd ever get a chance to thank you for your help!" "Same here; we might as well be pals already as far as I'm concerned! These guys, they're some of the manliest people I know, but for you to go through what you did and help them all the same; you're just as manly in my book! Oh, right, I'm Kirishima Eijirou, by the way!" As Eijirou continued this heartfelt excited rambling, he completely forgot to actually release the chuckling Polish girl's hand from his own long after Denki had, until she eventually had to melt her hand down with her Quirk and reconstitute it once it was free; a display that left Izuku wide-eyed and anxiously scribbling in his trusty notepad while Eijirou was already chuckling and bowing in embarrassed apology.

"You're certainly an enthusiastic bunch, aren't you? Well, either way, you're all welcome; your friends here did so much for me and everyone back home, so when word got up to Gagaringrad about this whole festival thing going on, I just had to see the place that made such awesome Heroes for myself."

But as Maja began eagerly casting her gaze across the whole of the class and across whatever of the campus could be seen from here, Nikolay suddenly cleared his throat, getting her attention back. "Now that you mention that, Maja…I'm sorry, but I think we'd all like to know: how exactly did you get all the way here? The last any of us had heard, you were still serving the rest of your agreed upon jail time with the others that Pietro Granin had manipulated before."

Looking around, she could indeed see that many of Nikolay's classmates, not just his group that had fought alongside him in Gagaringrad, all had similarly curious looks and desires for the truth. Clearly, the young Russian boy hadn't spared them any of the details of all that had happened, including with her.

Nodding her head slightly with an understanding smirk, Maja finally answered: "Yeah, I'd probably be asking the same thing too. I mean, I've only got a little bit of time left before the police have said I'm okay to go back home. Believe it or not, though, it was that mousey little principal of yours, Nezu-san, that actually reached out to the police, Linguist and the Kapenta Heroes, to see about giving me one day's leave to check out the festival and reunite with you guys anyway…under strict supervision, naturally."

The mentioning of Leonid and the Kapenta Agency Heroes not only had Nikolay, Mina and the others all smiling nostalgically, but also looking about excitedly with the majority of their classmates, half-expecting to see any one of the Pro Heroes that had been described to them through the Hokkaido story at last in the flesh.

"If you're looking for anyone from Kapenta, I'm afraid you're going to be sorely disappointed, Solovei, children. You'll just have to settle for us, instead. This probably wouldn't feel so awkward if Maja hadn't been so insistent we hide in order for her to surprise you." With no forewarning, a much older man's similarly accented voice suddenly spoke out from a little up the nearest pathway; and following it, Nikolay and his friends all felt their hearts leap at the small group that was even now making its way towards them with smiles of their own:

The bald-headed, blue-eyed and grey-bearded but powerfully standing old man that was Leonid Viktorovich Briner was striding confidently at the forefront and giving a welcoming kindly wave to the familiar bunch of young Heroes before him standing beside Maja, and the many unfamiliar but similarly welcome faces of their classmates taking in the sight of him with curiosity, only for Nikolay to just as quickly refresh their memories of just who he was, which hit them all with sudden remembrance and subsequent excitement at finally having a face to put to the name and Quirk.

"WELL MET, ALL YOU YOUNG HEROES! IT'S SO GOOD TO SEE THE SAVIORS OF OUR TOWN AND THEIR FRIENDS AND PEERS AT LAST!"

Just behind him was the waving duo of a similarly old man (albeit with a head of long and tied back gray hair) with a long beard of varying shades of gray and kindly blue eyes dressed in much more casual autumn clothes; the man Nikolay and his friends were quick to recognize as the Gagaringrad Orthodox priest, Father Sergei Cherenkov; and at his side was his brown-haired and similarly brightly smiling son, Andrei, who was carrying something clearly specially wrapped over his shoulder and across his back.

"HI, ALL YOU MR. AND MRS. HEROES!"

And just behind them, calling out excitedly, to Nikolay and Mina's immense delight and everyone else's instant realization and similar happiness, was the small blonde-haired and yellow-eyed boy Valera, almost looking like he was waddling in the heavy jacket and pants he was dressed in to protect him from the cold; with his happily smiling and eager blonde-haired father Alexei, and his darker blonde-haired wife both staying securely at his sides to make sure their boy didn't trip; but not nearly so inattentive as not to happily wave and voice their long-awaited greetings to the multitude of young Heroes watching their procession's arrival.

"Oh my god, you guys all came?! Did the whole town come with you?!" Mina immediately asked in excitement, already looking all around to see if everyone from Gagaringrad would suddenly show up, only for Leonid to chuckle amusedly. "Unfortunately no, Pinky-san. While we've all been anxious to see you all again to personally give you our thanks, there's still a lot of work needing to be done to get our lives officially back on track, not just locally, but across Hokkaido as well. Not only did all your actions inspire most of the townspeople to actually venture out and find ways to use their Quirks for the good of themselves and others, but the recent news from Russia regarding Quirk amnesty has also been a tremendous game-changer for many of us as well. You'll all have our eternal gratitude for inspiring that to happen at all, I can promise you."

Stepping in at Leonid's side, Father Sergei further added: "Many of our children have been eagerly awaiting all your returns so they can thank you themselves, but you've no doubt already seen some of the works the people have left behind to commemorate all your efforts in saving us through the video we'd sent you all a few weeks back."

At the mention of this, Tenya visibly stiffened up; his glasses hiding the look of remembrance in his eyes. "Yes, I understand you've all gone so far as to make a memorial for Knightfall-sensei as well, where that old hospital once stood. I sincerely thank you for that, all of you. I promise to come and light it alongside my fellow interns the moment we're able, and not a moment later."

At this, Valera's father, Alexei, suddenly spoke up with great enthusiasm as he hoisted his son up into his arms. "I say, why keep it to just those of you who helped save us? You helped us to rediscover all our faith we once had in Heroes. If the chance ever comes, you should all come up to Gagaringrad and let everyone see you for the Heroes you are! I know they would all be absolutely thrilled to see just what kind of young promising Heroes we have to look forward to following in the future!"

Mirroring her husband's optimism, Valera's mother even chimed in with a heartfelt smile of gratitude: "Yes, and not the least of all would be our Valera! He's wanted so much to see the Heroes that helped save him in-person again, pretty much since you'd all had to leave for school!"

All of them feeling deeply touched by this, Nikolay smiled at Valera happily. "Have you been doing good since we last saw you, Valera?"

To this, Valera's mother couldn't help but laugh as joyfully as she possibly could while her son shyly nodded. "Oh, he's been adjusting amazingly since we moved down to Tokyo. He's already making friends in his new school; why, he even recently got to participate in helping with some Hero students' remedial courses as a volunteer civilian!"

At the same time as many of the 1-A students started exchanging surprised and expectant glances and murmurings with each other at the mention of remedial classes; Alexei set Valera back down so he could answer confidently on his own, and the tiny boy suddenly tried to stand himself up straight in order to look as brave as possible. "Y-yes. Thank you all again for…f-for saving me and my mommy and daddy and everyone, Heroes. I…I've been being good…and smart with my Quirk…and getting strong and b-brave, just like you told me to, Mr. Exploding Hero. I'm gonna be a Hero just like you when I get bigger."

The excitement among the whole class went dead silent, now replaced with complete shock when they all saw Valera was specifically locking eyes with Bakugo, well-hidden amid his classmates; leaving the spiky-haired blonde momentarily speechless, but scowling with furious embarrassment as he stubbornly turned his gaze away, just as the cheeky grins all began to form on his classmates' faces.

"Oooh, what's this, Bakugo? Maybe you're not such a prickly guy after all!" "You got a soft spot for little kids down in that cold black heart, do you?" "Aww, that's so cute! Bakugo-kun's just a big ol' softie after all!"

But before Denki, Hanta or Tooru could try prodding at Bakugo any further, he snapped his head back and shouted furiously as always: "I-I don't know what this kid's talking about! ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!"

Thankfully, Bakugo's vehement denial didn't even seem to register with Valera, who was still simply smiling in encouragement at having gotten to see his personal Heroes in-person again. While this was going on, and Bakugo was still getting continuously teased despite his death threats towards everyone; Nikolay finally returned his attention to the rest of the visiting Gagaringrad locals. "So have you all already been here on campus this entire time? Did you all see the whole show, too?"

As Leonid, Sergei and Valera's parents all nodded with approving smiles, Maja and Andrei both got in much closer, visibly more excited: "I would've gotten closer, but I didn't wanna risk throwing you off if you'd recognized me in the crowd! Either way, like I said before, that was one hell of a show!" "Yeah, maybe you all should consider joining me and my friends the next time we go touring! We'd definitely love to have a lively stage show like that one day; that was incredible!"

Seeing the two getting a bit too close in expressing their enjoyment of the show for Nikolay's comfort, Tenya firmly stepped in and gave a grateful bow. "You're both far too kind, we simply wished to express our feelings to everyone through our performance, and we're all grateful to know you think we succeeded. You didn't need to go as far as gifts, though."

At this note, Andrei visibly flinched, and like a shot, Mina was eagerly trying to get a peek over his shoulders to see what it was. "Gifts? You guys all brought gifts?! Oh, that's so awesome of you guys, you seriously didn't need to go that far!"

Figuring there was no point in delaying any further, the priest's son proceeded to unstrap his wrapped up gift from off his back, and right from the moment Nikolay could see the shape of a triangle and an extended neck underneath it, he could immediately tell what it was, and Andrei could see as much. "I know this isn't exactly what anybody would think of when giving a gift of gratitude to the people that saved you and your home, but I didn't know what else to go with…and since when would I ever meet a fellow countryman my age in this country again? So, I had some of the local woodworkers make this for all of you, even if there's just one. I don't know, maybe think of it as more like a symbolic trophy or something like that."

Once Nikolay graciously took Andrei's gift and unwrapped it, he and practically the rest of his classmates were looking upon a pristinely carved and varnished balalaika; the sight of which had himself, Mina and Kyouka all especially wide-eyed with wonder, before he met Andrei's gaze and gave a deeply grateful nod. "Bolshoi spasibo, moy drug (Thank you very much, my friend). It's been far, far too long since I last ever tried to play this, nor do I think I'd get the skills to be able to play it properly anytime soon…but I believe we can all think of someone who deserves it just as much, and would be able to get far more literal use out of it…but none of us will forget your feelings behind it, Andrei Sergeevich."

With no further hinting needed, Nikolay happily proceeded to hand the beautiful wooden stringed instrument of his homeland over to Kyouka; who for but a moment looked completely lost, before the realization hit her hard. Finally, with a trembling smile on her face and the stinging of fresh tears of joy starting to build in her eyes in the wake of her single most fulfilling moment on this day, she proceeded to gratefully take the balalaika into her hands, looking it over like a master craftsman with all the tools she could have ever possibly needed.

And thankfully, even Andrei and his fellow Gagaringrad citizens couldn't help but smile in just as much appreciation when seeing the purple-haired young Hero with their native instrument in hand. "Well, from one musician to another, after seeing what an awesome job you did up on that stage today, I can't even argue that you could easily do wonders with that instrument as much as any of us could, if not far more. Consider it yours, Earphone Jack-san…consider it all of yours, in spirit, Yuuei Heroes."

[[WELL SAID, YOUNG MAN!]] "Clearly the effects of all your Heroic efforts up there have extended far beyond the acts, themselves! I can promise you'll all be hard-pressed to find a more fulfilling experience once you're all working as Pro Heroes, yourselves!"

From out of nowhere, Oleg and Toshinori's voices boomed out from behind the gathered students, drawing more than a few startled yelps, before realizing it was simply their two teachers having seen the unexpected gathering, and coming to see for themselves. And having listened in on it all, and watching the recent kind gesture, they were both smiling with great pride in their students (and son).

Of course, their shared wish of expressing their pride in the whole class for a successful show didn't last long, as they soon found themselves being stared at by Father Sergei and his son with complete star-stricken awe, while Leonid was thankfully much more casual in greeting and introducing the two legendary Heroes on all their behalf.

Once all those introductions had finally been made, though, Nikolay was quick to tug on his father's sleeve, unable to hide the worry on his face: [[Dad, is it really a good idea to leave Sato-san running the stand without any backup?]]

[[Oh, not to worry, Kolya; as luck would have it, Lunch Rush-san had a chance to step in by the time I asked, since I didn't want to wait until the festival was over to let you all know how proud I am of all your hard work.]] As Oleg explained this to Nikolay's relief; he hugged his son tight, mussing up his hair with his one real hand in a show of fatherly pride.

Meanwhile, Mirio (who had likewise been orbiting around the whole of Class 1-A since their cleanup duties had been completed, and thus had been listening and watching this entire meeting in eager curiosity) took that chance to suddenly approach a momentarily surprised Leonid.

"Excuse me, I couldn't help overhearing, but you're all actually connected to that whole incident in Hokkaido? Oh, I'm sorry; I'm Togata Mirio, Hero name Lemillion! I'm actually a senior for the first-years that saved you and your town, and I've been really anxious to get the details of everything that happened, but Bezpalov-kun and the others haven't been able to tell me anything yet! I mean, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to, today's supposed to be about us all having fun!"

Thankfully, the bright-eyed blonde senior's energy got a hearty aged laugh out of Leonid, which left him visibly relieved he hadn't overstepped any boundaries in his childlike thirst for exciting stories. "That's just the kind of youthful vigor I would expect from nobody else but a senior for such brave young Heroes as these. No need to apologize, young man. It's not exactly as though we have a strict schedule to keep, so if you don't mind staying alongside an old man, I'd be happy to answer whatever you want to know while there's time."

While Mirio was visibly elated that he was finally no longer going to be left in the dark as to Nikolay and company's big mission; at his side, Eri and Valera had long since made full eye-contact; the little boy not finding the wherewithal to say anything to her, greeting or otherwise, and thus simply opted for one raised waving hand in greeting, which she fortunately returned, with the tiniest smile on her face that left him smiling in return.

"Well, since we're all here, what would everyone say to us simply going out and enjoying everything the festival has to offer together?" Momo suddenly suggested once all introductions and other subjects of conversation had started to die down. To this, she was greeted with an all-around booming cheer of excitement from her classmates and Mirio in unison, prompting Eri and Valera to do the same; such a wholesome sight getting a heartfelt laugh out of Maja and the adults altogether.

"Yeah, I actually didn't get the chance to see your performance from beginning to end, because I got a little sidetracked. Those friends of yours from your other Hero class, I got to see a bit of what they were doing at the same time; some kinda really whacked out stage play from the looks of it, but I'm pretty sure that's all over and done with by now, too. But there's bound to be tons more to do, right?"

But while all the students and visiting adults all looked especially enthusiastic about this; Toshinori and Oleg both had to respectfully (but visibly regrettably) bow out. "Unfortunately, even festivals like this don't stop us from having our duties in patrolling the grounds and working with the students' projects where we're needed."

And as Toshinori explained this, Oleg gave their students an encouraging smile and a thumb up. "But don't let our responsibilities stop you kids. You've all been working your hands to the bone to help make that show of yours the best it could be. Now you've all earned the right to enjoy yourselves like everybody else."

Nobody else could even get a chance to answer before Mina hooked her arms around Maja's and Nikolay's; springing up and down repeatedly in her excitement while cheering: "YEAH! C'MON, YOU GUYS, THERE'S SO MUCH FUN TO BE HAD! LET'S GO!"

Letting his girlfriend get her excitement out, Nikolay and Izuku both set their attention on Valera and Eri respectively. "Do you both wanna come and see the rest of the festival with us?"

Neither of the small children could possibly hide their excitement as they both started nodding and cheering energetically. And so with that, and nobody seeming to have any visible objections, Minoru suddenly started taking the lead of his class again with considerable fire in his body language. "WELL THEN LET'S HURRY UP AND GET A MOVE ON BEFORE WE MISS OUT ON THE BEAUTY PAGEANT!"

Nobody had it in them to shoot down the idea, especially considering word going around that Nejire and Itsuka Kendo were to be some of the contestants. And so, with a spring in virtually all their steps, they all finally began to make their way to the heart of the festival at last.

---

The directory and general foot traffic from much of the festival crowd made it very easy for most everyone to find their way to the site of the beauty pageant, which at that moment was in the middle of its finals round, judging from just how hyped up the audience was, and the number of contestants still doing their thing on stage.

As Mezo did Minoru a favor by propping him up on his shoulder so he could see (and subsequently be left foaming at the mouth at the sight of the girls on stage), so too did Mirio and Alexei do the same for Eri and Valera respectively, while everyone else was lucky enough to get an unobstructed view. At the same time, Eijirou and Tetsutetsu had managed to run into each other in the crowd, just as Setsuna had soon managed to find Nikolay and Mina as well; all students wasting no time eagerly congratulating each other on mutual successful performances.

From the moment they'd arrived, Itsuka Kendo of Class 1-B was in the middle of showcasing her martial arts abilities by chopping through a whole array of reinforced wooden boards with one precisely aimed and speedy hand. While Nikolay certainly couldn't deny it was an impressive display; the contrast between what the orange-haired girl was doing while dressed in as elegant a dress as she was, was almost hilarious.

After that came Nejire's apparent rival and the winner of the previous year, Bibimi Kenranzaki from Class 3-G, perched upon a huge mobile bust of her own head made of what looked like solid gold. By comparison, this was just a site that had Nikolay and many others simply left scratching their heads in confusion as to what this had to do with a standard beauty pageant. And on top of that, the young Russian simply couldn't get over her several-feet-long eyelashes that simply kept her overall heavily made-up and blonde-haired appearance from actually coming together.

By the time it was finally Nejire's turn; stepping out onto the stage in the same minty-colored frilly gown as when Nikolay and Izuku had last seen her, that made her look like a fairy, especially when she started levitating herself into the air with the help of her Quirk; Mina was simply taking in all the spectacle and getups with sparkles in her eyes. "OH. EM. GOSH! They all look sooo pretty! You should participate next year, Yaomomo; you'd knock 'em all dead!"

But the excited pink girl couldn't even focus for long enough to see how much her confidence in Momo's beauty had left the black-haired vice president blushing wildly in embarrassment, before she looked and saw just how much Nikolay was blushing at the same time.

With a cocky smirk and a playful elbow to his arm, she leaned in, practically purring her next words: "Whatcha thinkin' about, Kolya-kun? You seeing something nice up there? Or are you thinking Yaomomo would be a shoe-in, too?"

"If anything, he's probably thinking of YOU being up there instead!" Minoru impulsively shouted back, as though it were the most frustratingly obvious answer in the world; causing Nikolay to visibly flinch at the fact he'd been figured out, and leaving Mina momentarily wide-eyed and blushing at his reaction…before she started smiling knowingly all over again, leaning in even closer.

"You don't have to be so embarrassed, Kolya-kun. After all, I saw how red you got when Kaminari-kun threw in that maid café idea back at the start. I know those kinda uniforms are super-duper cute, but I'll bet I could make them even cuter." Nikolay could only look at his girlfriend like she was trying to mentally torture him by forcing him to think of that beautiful image all over again, which only got her giggling victoriously to herself before hugging his arm tight.

"Y'know, I wouldn't be totally against wearing one of those uniforms for you…on a special occasion. But only if you promise to dress like one of those pretty shoujo manga butlers for me first." The fact that she couldn't even go a second after that before she started laughing, should've been enough to tell Nikolay that she wasn't being serious. But from here until the majority of the students had decided to leave the beauty pageant to see what else there was to do, he was burning red hot in the face and trying to regain his breath.

By the time he'd finally returned to his senses, everyone was already busily discussing what they should do next, with Denki thankfully having had the foresight to grab a festival pamphlet listing all there was and when. "Hey, it looks like Class 1-C threw together a haunted house near here. You guys wanna check that out?"

"YEAH, I'M IN!" Mina, Tooru and Minoru all immediately answered with a pep in their step, prompting Nikolay to ultimately raise his hand in volunteering as well. "What the heck, after the stuff we've been through, how scary could a haunted house attraction be? How about it, does anyone else wanna join in?"

Alas, Ochako, Tsuyu and Momo had already made their way to a nearby crepe stand, and Eijirou was eagerly eyeing another nearby attraction with bright eyes and a big sharp-toothed smile. "How about that obstacle course over there, instead?! What better way to get the blood pumping than a test of pure manly skill?! Midoriya, Kolya-san, Bakugo, how about it?!"

As much as it pained him to do so, Nikolay already began shaking his head. "My legs are already starting to ache from all that dancing, so I already know you'd all beat me, easily."

At the same time, Izuku was looking curiously down at Eri. "Eri-chan, what would you wanna see or do next?"

And to his and nearly everyone else's surprise, Eri was actually looking in the direction Denki had originally pointed, simply looking at how excited it made him and several of Izuku's other friends with adorable curiosity. "Um…could…could we maybe see the haunted house? If it's got people smiling and excited, it should be fun, right?"

Izuku's expression couldn't have looked more hesitant if he tried, but in contrast, Mirio was surprisingly optimistic, as he hoisted her back up to his shoulder. "That's a good point! Some of the most fun things in life can seem scary at first, but you'll never really know if you'll like them, if you aren't willing to try. Just remember that we'll all be there with you the entire time, Eri-chan. Always."

Especially emboldened by Mirio's words, Mina suddenly sprang in, smiling from ear to ear. "That's the spirit, Senpai! There's no reason to be scared, Eri-chan! In fact, the feeling of your heart racing when things scare you can make them seem even more fun than normal!"

With the smile of excited anticipation that Mirio and Mina's encouragement left on Eri's face, Izuku gave Eijirou, and ultimately his own hesitation, a shrug of acceptance, figuring that if Mirio saw no reason to deny Eri's childish curiosity, then what right did he have to treat it otherwise. Thankfully, even having his invite be turned down by two of his friends did little to dim Eijirou's own spirits, even as the group for the haunted house was already leaving for it. "Ah, it's cool! Have fun, you guys! How about it, Bakugo; wanna give this bad boy a shot?!"

"Count me in! I mean, why not have it be a three person race, Kolce (Spikes)?" Maja suddenly volunteered with exceptional eagerness, catching Eijirou by total surprise for more than just his sudden nickname, and leaving Bakugo sneering at her. "After listening to all those people gush on about you and your damn Quirk so much, there's no way in hell I'm backing down if you're taking it on!"

With two people officially stepping up, Eijirou couldn't have looked more excited, especially when Maja actually offered a fist for him to bump in a gesture of sudden comradery. "Come on, and don't go holding back on me here, let me see what you can do."

With a confident grin, Eijirou quickly focused his Hardening into his right fist, watching as Maja proceeded to build up several layers of her quickly hardening Wax over her own hand, reinforcing it so that when they finally bumped fists, he didn't even run the risk of hurting her; a fact of her Quirk and her willingness to get rough or manly that had him smiling like he'd already just made a new best friend.

"WOULD YOU TWO GET THE LEAD OUT YOUR ASSES AND GET THIS OVER WITH?!" Bakugo snapped from the entrance to the obstacle course, spurring Maja to hurry over with Eijirou close behind.

From the moment the starting bells for the obstacle course rang, the three teens were off like shots across the multi-leveled platforms, swinging batons, trap doors and all kinds of insane booby traps and obstacles that had been set up to try and keep them from reaching the goal button at the far end. Where Eijirou's Hardening kept him from getting taken off his feet, Bakugo's Explosions allowed him to just power through everything in his way, which quickly earned him the lead. And right in between the defensive and offensive natures of both their Quirks, Maja's Wax allowed her to both fortify herself against the more aggressive obstacles, while also allowing her the ability to propel herself forward through the use of her extending Wax arms gripping the platforms ahead.

All three of their abilities together ultimately made for a very close race, especially during the final stretch, which was simply a race up a rising series of small platforms to the button at the top. Along the way, Eijirou had ended up missing his footing, which pretty much ended the race for him right there, as Bakugo was off like a shot to get to that finish line; his face frozen with anticipation of proving himself the most dominant of the three.

Until, just as he was about to leap from the final platform and slam his hand on that button, a single hand attached to an elongated arm of half-melted wax, came from out the corner of his eye and grasped onto the side of the podium the button rested upon, just before the rest of Maja's body pulled itself across the platforms to her hand like a measuring tape reel, giving her that split second head start that ultimately allowed her to inadvertently slam the button down with her forehead just before Bakugo's first finger could touch it, thus securing herself the win.

Of course, whereas Eijirou was just plain incredibly excited for his new Polish friend's lucky break ("It's not luck alone…it's luck and skill! Szczęście i umiejętności (luck and skill)," being her immediate answer), Bakugo had reached his typical murderous anger in near record time, already demanding a rematch before they were even off the course for the next group of participants.

"Hey, those Explosions of yours are no joke, and you've definitely got a real fighting spirit. Why don't we check out what other physical games are out there to try? You may just come out on top yet." Maja's nonchalant brushing off of Bakugo's anger, as well as her eagerness to do even more physical games, had Eijirou already eagerly racing to catch up while beckoning Bakugo take her up on the challenge, which he ultimately did with another hateful scowl.

---

At the same time, it had not only been Nikolay, Denki, Mina, Minoru, Tooru, Izuku, Mirio and Eri who had decided to try out the haunted house attraction put up by Class 1-C, but in a frankly adorable attempt at putting on a brave front, Valera and his own parents had decided to partake as well. And while at the beginning the place hadn't really seemed so scary, once it started getting darker was when they really started pulling out all the stops, with one well designed atmospheric unsettling noise, one manipulation of the overall path and one jump scare after the other.

Where Mina and Tooru had both been nonstop giggling in anticipation from the start, by the time they were halfway through, the two girls (and Minoru and Denki both) were all visibly shaking and screaming in what could've been genuine terror whenever a loud bang or prop jump scare lunged out from the walls or the shadows; with one instance of a (quite familiar to Izuku) student with frizzy purple hair, made up to look like a dead body as it dropped from a trap door in the ceiling, making nearly everyone scream at the top of their lungs.

At some point amid all the chaos, Nikolay hadn't even kept track of when Mina had instinctively latched onto his arm for dear life. Frankly, he'd likewise been rendered too terrified to even notice. But the fact was that even when they had ultimately reached the exit at last, once he'd managed to get his own heart to stop racing, he had to almost physically pry her off of his arm one finger at a time before she could even begin to calm back down…and once that had happened, all the abject terror on her currently pale pink face had transformed into that same ecstatic excitement as she always had, even throwing in the idea of going through it again.

But out of everyone in the entire group, the most remarkable examples were Eri and Valera, who had proven to be the only ones to never scream in fear even once through the entire thing. In all honesty, such a brand new experience only seemed to just prove incredibly fun for Eri, who if anything, actually laughed in enjoyment at several different points at some of the creative props that had been set up throughout the course. Even hearing some of them make Mirio scream like a girl was nothing short of really funny to her. And right next to her the entire time, Valera was consistently putting on the same adorably stoic air he had been stubbornly maintaining from the moment they'd first set foot inside, constantly reminding himself not only of Bakugo's words of wisdom from long before, but also just of the simple belief he had that Heroes didn't let themselves give in to fear.

Had Nikolay, Bakugo or anyone been able to notice this in the little boy, they all would have undoubtedly been very proud, and especially eager to see just what kind of Hero he was anxious to have himself grow up to be.

---

Once everyone's heart rates had returned to normal, it was onto the next most interesting feature of the festival, which at this point was the support Department's Tech Showcase in Power Loader's development garage. Every one of the participating student's featured tools and inventions were all intricate and vastly impressive, coming in all shapes and sizes, to be sure; with more than a couple catching Eri and Valera's rapt attention like a new toy in the store on Christmas.

But easily, the most standout was Mei Hatsume's finally perfected invention that was her self-titled Super Cute Baby #202, finally able to actually move at her command without bursting into flames, much to the relief of her classmates, and the group of students watching her tech wizardry at work, to the applause of a vastly impressed crowd.

When the crowd had only finally started to disperse in order to check out the rest of the gadgets on display, Nikolay and Izuku had both gotten spotted by the excited pink-haired inventor. "OI, MIDORIYA, BEZPALOV! COME TO SEE MY BRAND SPANKING NEW BABY IN ALL ITS ADORABLE GLORY, HUH?! I'm bound to have all this whole festival in the bag with all the Support Company bigwigs with this!"

Looking back up to the robotic suit, if just to make sure it wasn't about to start smoking and sparking while Mei's back was turned, Izuku answered: "It's definitely very impressive, Hatsume-san. I don't think anybody is going to forget all the things you've made for this showcase anytime soon."

Nodding in agreement, Nikolay added: "It's actually a good thing you spotted us, since I was hoping for a chance to thank you, too, Hatsume-san. I saw Midoriya-san wearing what I can only assume if whatever he asked you to make for him before, and I think we can both agree that it, along with the Magne-Grips you made for me, all worked like a charm earlier today."

Where Nikolay would have expected Mei to look utterly enthused at the confirmation, she instead struck a very confident pose and a grin. "Like there was ever any doubt, my babies never fail their mama after I make a few tweaks! Believe it or not, Midoriya, I actually originally designed your Air Force gloves after a similar baby I made for Bezpalov while we were up in Hokkaido; a set of Kinetic Knuckles he could channel his Quirk through with a punch! Good thing you gave me the details of what you were trying to do when you did; probably wouldn't have worked as well as those babies did then!"

While Mei was now looking back nostalgically, and Izuku was looking notably surprised at not having gotten to actually see such a device on Nikolay with his own eyes; their whole conversation had not gone unnoticed by Mina and the other girls mere feet away, as they practically bolted closer with multiple exclamations of "ARE YOU SERIOUS?! YOU TWO GOT IN A FIGHT WITH SOMEONE TODAY?! IS THAT WHY YOU BOTH CAME SO LATE?!"

By the time Denki, Minoru, Shoto and Tenya had instinctively come in to hear just what all the ruckus was about for themselves; Nikolay and Izuku exchanged another embarrassed glance, before the freckled boy gave a defeated sigh: "Yes, it's true. We ended up running into a pair of criminals on our way back here from shopping, and it just got out of hand from there. It was that Gentle Criminal that I'd mentioned a couple weeks back, the guy who made all those videos online, and his camera operator."

Nobody else even needed to say anything to make the two boys know they wanted to hear all there was to be told. And so, as they continued on their way through the festival; Nikolay and Izuku proceeded to detail everything they could about their recent confrontation against Gentle Criminal and La Brava.

Some of the most notable reactions over the course of the story, were when Nikolay had to explain his understanding of La Brava's Quirk and how it affected Gentle; an implication that had the hopeless romantic in Mina instinctively swooning; and when the two boys had ended up letting themselves get particularly drawn into recounting the intensity of the moment when they had impulsively thrown their mutual long-ranged attacks into each other in order to create a massive shockwave to throw the two off their feet. Just the very idea that they had both somehow come up with the same attack name idea of 'Vladivostok-Alaska Smash' couldn't help but have Mina and Ochako both nearly choking with laughter.

"That…I'm sorry, that is just so crazy weird, how you both came up with the completely same name! It's like you two are long-lost twins with, like, psychic links or whatever!" Mina finally managed to apologize while gasping for breath.

As soon as Ochako caught her breath as well, she gave the two boys an especially encouraging smile. "Well, I have to admit, after seeing you two spar with each other so closely as many times as you have, it's almost kinda fitting that you would be that in synch with each other in battle."

"If anything, maybe it's a sign that Kolya-kun and Midoriya-kun could be a really cool team one day!" Tooru suddenly exclaimed excitedly; the sleeves of her costume waving in the air to emphasize it.

And like that, Denki's eyes widened with what had to be inspiration. "Hey, yeah! With an attack name like that, and considering who Tunguska-sensei was a Hero for, and who All Might used to be a Hero for before Japan; you guys could be like the perfect combination of those two sides! You could be something like the Cold War Duo, right?"

While the fact that such an on-the-nose idea for a team name got so many of their classmates laughing was indeed very embarrassing for Nikolay and Izuku on the receiving end; the general idea of them working together as a team in the future definitely had considerable promise in both their eyes.

From there, many of the other attractions they got to check out at the festival were widely varied. After seeing Shoto and Tenya get their pictures taken at a carnival-esque Face Board (over portraits of Principal Nezu and Yuuei itself, respectively); Mina had practically pulled Nikolay by the hand to one of the others one on the line; which unbeknownst to either of them, had ended up being of Nikolay's face on a portrait of Mt. Lady's body, and Mina's bright grinning smile on the adjacent portrait of Kamui Woods; a spectacle that many of their classmates couldn't help taking pictures of with their phones when seeing it; along with Midnight, who'd just happened to be passing by at that perfect moment to snap a shot for herself.

From there, Eri's little stomach had ended up starting to growl, and Ochako and Tsuyu were both very quick to bring her to the extensive line of food stands lining one of the pathways; many of the various delectable morsels leaving her and Valera both bright-eyed and amazed at how delicious they were.

From there, it had then been on to another assortment of stands that this time were offering little games for the students and guests to participate in. It was there that they ended up finally reuniting with Eijirou, Bakugo and Maja; who was smiling especially brightly alongside her red-haired new friend when showing off the assortment of little prizes they had both won from the various physical games they had played each other at, having essentially come to a tie; all while Bakugo was continuously grumbling in rage to himself at the female newcomer proving herself as many times as she already had.

But out of all the games there were; what had managed to really get Eri's attention was a game consisting of tossing a little ball into any of a number of small bowls full of water that each contained one or a number of goldfish, and whichever one they managed to land would be the players' to keep.

Having never played any such games before, and being as small as she was, it wasn't necessarily surprising that she would struggle to work up enough strength or coordination to actually land a shot at first. But with Izuku and everyone's continuous encouragement, in the end, Eri finally managed to land a lucky shot in one of the bowels containing five goldfish in it; leaving her wide-eyed and smiling brightly while everyone else naturally started clapping for her.

At least, until she'd finally been given the plastic bag with those same fish inside, and found that one of them was floating belly up and not moving. While nobody could guess as to whether it had just happened naturally, or if perhaps Eri's aim had been a little too accurate, the only thing that mattered then was the slowly forming look of saddened realization starting to form on Eri's face the longer she looked to be at a complete loss as to what to do.

But before Izuku or Mirio could both try to comfort her, it was actually Valera who was the one to unexpectedly step up, nervously trying to look at Eri without actually making eye contact. "Don't cry, p-please. Can…can you open the bag for me?" Hearing no malice or even anger in his tone or demeanor, Eri naturally did as she was being asked.

And before hers and everyone else's eyes, Valera focused on that one floating goldfish and simply poked it with his finger, and with a brief but incredibly warm-looking glow, it suddenly began to swim just as energetically as all the others, leaving Eri clearly elated, while Valera's parents hurried to his side when it almost looked like he was about to start feeling dizzy.

And as for everyone else present who had just witnessed this miracle Quirk in action, even after having heard Nikolay and his friends tell them about Valera's Quirk before, it was something else entirely to actually see it for themselves. Even while keeping behind the rest of his class, Bakugo had seen the whole thing for himself as well, and couldn't deny feeling a hint of impression that such a little kid who had once seemed like such a crybaby could have a Quirk with such potential to be matured and molded, both for better and for worse, as he'd already heard with everyone else.

But the only thing that mattered, as far as Eri was concerned, was that Valera had done something amazing for her, for no reason other than to simply try and make her feel better, and the smile on her face when she looked the little Russian boy in the eye and nodded with a timid but heartfelt "Thank you," couldn't have left him any more red in the face. Naturally, his mother and several of the girls watching were borderline swooning at such an adorable scene.

The rest of the festival had managed to go far more smoothly from there all throughout the course of the day, with the beauty pageant even culminating in Nejire ultimately coming out the winner. In the end, the skies began to turn orange, and the crowds of visitors slowly but surely began to thin out; and considering what a long trip there still ultimately was for them to make before they would finally be home again, meant that it was soon going to be time for Eri, Mirio, Valera and the rest of the visiting Gagaringrad citizens to take their leave, too.

"Hey, there's something I need to check up on really quick, so you guys just wait for me at the entrance before you leave, okay? I promise I'll be right back!" The realization of time running short had suddenly spurred Nikolay to start running on his own back to the Class 1-A food stand near the gym, where just as luck would've had it, Rikido Sato was still there, just now handing off what looked to be the last snack order of the festival, as far as he was concerned, while Oleg was already in the process of initiating cleanup duty; having long since returned to help keep carrying his weight of the workload.

"Hey, Bezpalov-san, you're just in time! Man, you should've seen this place; we were blowing up all festival-long! Everybody loved everything on the menu!" Rikido's pride was unmistakable, as was Nikolay's by proxy, simply knowing that theirs and Yuga's culinary brainstorming had managed to ultimately work out.

But his big-lipped and muscular classmate couldn't simply ignore the clear urgency in Nikolay's body language, smiling knowingly as he reached down under the counter, before presenting him with a perfectly wrapped candied apple on a stick. "Hey, not to worry, man; I got you covered, kept it nice and refrigerated the whole time for you. Don't know why you needed me to hold onto it, though; you could've just swung by and asked me to make you one any time."

Gratefully taking the sweet on a stick, Nikolay looked at it for a moment as though he might as well have been holding the Holy Grail. "I know…but it's not for me, though, Sato-san. Thank you so much for this."

The sudden sound of approaching footsteps snapped Nikolay out of his reverie, and when he looked, he found Izuku alone approaching, clearly looking only the slightest bit confused. "Hey, Kolya-san, why are you choosing now to suddenly take off? Everybody wants to say goodbye…and…is that what I think it is?"

Izuku's tone had drifted, as his eyes grew wide with the same realization when he saw what Nikolay was holding; leading the young Slav to smile in relief in return. "It is. Ever since Togata-senpai and Eri-chan had first come here, and she asked if I was going to make candied apples, I couldn't just go and not make sure to have what I'd need to make at least one for her. You probably already figured that's what that bag of apples I'd been holding onto earlier was for, huh?"

With that explanation given, Izuku's wonder turned into a deeply heartfelt smile of appreciation. "I should've, honestly…but that was good thinking, Kolya-san. I wasn't sure what to do when I saw none of the other food stands were selling any, and I didn't want to risk over-working Sato-san by asking him to lend me the supplies to make them myself while he was already working hard here. I know Eri-chan will greatly appreciate this. You've been just as great a host for her and all those people from Hokkaido as any one of us has been. I think she and Valera-kun may already have even become friends. Thank you for helping make that happen by helping them to make that possible…and for all your help this morning, too."

Even after all this time, Nikolay couldn't hide his own fluster when being given such heartfelt thanks from any one of his friends. Indeed, over the course of the festival, he'd similarly noticed how, ever since the goldfish incident, Eri and Valera had been gradually getting more comfortable standing closer together and making eye contact, which was a damn fine start, from where he was standing.

However, thinking back on it now, seeing just how clearly attached Eri was to Izuku and Mirio both today and before…a sense of realization washed over Nikolay that ultimately drove him to suddenly hold the candied apple out to his green-haired friend, leaving him looking momentarily perplexed, even when seeing the Russian boy's smile.

"I was only trying to do what any good host would do for a girl like that…but no matter what I or anyone else could've possibly done to make her happy today, it's obvious who her real Heroes in life are…and that's why I think you should be the one to give this to her, Midoriya-san. I may have had the idea to have it made…but it's bound to mean even more to her to get it from you, of all people, after all the fun she's gotten to have."

As Nikolay explained this, Izuku looked truly moved by his friend doing something so selfless so suddenly…but he didn't dare to argue in the face of such a kind gesture, bowing in gratitude. "C'mon, you deserve to say goodbye just as much as me, Kolya-san."

With a happy nod, Nikolay followed Izuku back to the school entrance, where many of their classmates were already waiting with their particular guests, with Aizawa standing guard mere feet away for when it would finally be time to take Eri back.

To see the way Maja and Eijirou were smiling while telling everyone of all the games they'd played each other at, it would've been easy to think they'd been lifelong friends already. Right beside them, Andrei was chatting away with Kyouka and Denki with noted energy that they were both matching beat for beat. She even still had that honorary balalaika still securely slung to her back.

And just like those five; the same could have been said for the way Eri and Valera were saying goodbye to each other at that very same moment as well; the silver-haired girl still holding her little bag of all living goldfish close while doing so.

Of course, having to say goodbye at all, and especially without Izuku in sight, had her looking noticeably sad once Valera had to return to his parents' side. But once Ochako looked back and called out to the two returning boys; Eri visibly perked up.

The moment they both finally came to a stop, Nikolay immediately bowed to all their departing friends and guests, with Izuku quickly doing the same. "Thanks for coming today, Eri-chan, Valera, everyone! I hope you all had fun!"

With many amused chuckles, Mirio and most of the Gagaringrad visitors returned the polite gesture to their young hosts; Leonid even answering: "Indeed we did, and we owe it all to you, young Heroes."

With that, Maja took a sideways glance and saw Eijirou's eyes were noticeably downcast, even despite trying to maintain his friendly smile. "Well, I guess this is goodbye for now, huh? I get you've still got some time to serve and all. Here's hoping we can hang out again sometime, you're way too cool for just a one-time meet-up, y'know?"

With a sincere chuckle of amusement, the Polish girl gave the red-haired boy a friendly wrap against the arm. "Don't get so down already. You just gotta have faith in these kinds of things. I'm sure we'll all be seeing each other again real soon, one way or another. After all, if just a handful of you guys were able to become good enough Heroes to save our town already this far in, then there's no telling what kind of Heroes you'll all be by the end."

To see such a moving exchange between two of their best friends like this had Mina and Nikolay both grinning from ear to ear in satisfaction. And at the same time, Izuku had finally taken the chance to kneel down at Eri's level, keeping one hand behind his back. "I'm really glad you had such a fun time, Eri-chan…but I've got one more thing for you. Surprise!"

The moment her downcast eyes lifted from her sadness of having to say goodbye again, Eri was presented with a single pristine candied apple on a stick, to both hers and Mirio's astonishment; her tiny hands visibly trembling as she reached for the handle, almost as though she weren't sure if it was real or not.

But then, once she could physically feel it in her grip, and Izuku finally let go so she could at last have it, her eyes were glistening like stars as she stared at the shimmering red orb at the end, all of Mirio's previous words building up her anticipation for it beginning to echo in her head.

And with all of her excitement for tasting one of these coveted candied apples over all this time finally about to come to an end, Eri took but the tiniest bite out of it with her little mouth…and the way her lips curled into the most heart-melting smile when she let the sweet flavor overwhelm her taste buds, the way it made her eyes sparkle even more, was enough to nearly make everyone watching among the students start feeling just as misty-eyed as Izuku was.

"Extra sweet!" The moment Eri echoed Mirio's words when describing the heavenly taste of these things, Izuku and Mirio both had to quickly wipe the happy tears from their eyes with their sleeves, just before Mina, Tooru and even Ochako finally couldn't contain themselves anymore and came rushing in with their hearts aflutter, embracing the visibly surprised but still smiling Eri in a spontaneous group hug; Mina all but screaming: "WAAAH! ERI-CHAN, YOU'RE SO PRECIOUS!"

Of course, the three girls couldn't crowd Eri for a second longer before Aizawa swiftly had his wrappings snug around their midsections, wrangling them away from her and forcibly guiding them back to the rest of their chuckling classmates. "It's time for us to take Eri-chan back…but I'm sure you'll all be seeing each other again before too long."

"THANKS FOR A GREAT TIME, 1-A!" Mirio eagerly thanked his juniors with a wave, as he and Aizawa finally began to take their leave with Eri, prompting Leonid and his fellow Russians to gratefully voice the same well wishes and gratitude, prompting Maja to finally rejoin them so they could start following the three back to the nearby train station.

With that, all the students of 1-A could do now was just bask in the euphoria that the school festival as a whole had been one colossal success, and the part they had all played in order to make that possible. A joy so tremendous, in fact, that it made it impossible for Mina to keep her next bright idea quiet: "Hey, who says the celebrations gotta stop just because the festival stops?! We've got our free day tomorrow; after all! We should have a whole-class slumber party in the commons area tonight!"

Naturally, Tooru, Denki, Ochako and Eijirou were the most outwardly enthusiastic in their support for the idea, and when nobody else really had anything to say to the contrary, Mina was once again all smiles, even when Bakugo just gave a dismissive 'tsch' in the back. "Sounds like a total waste of time. Now that all this festive shit is over, we're gonna be getting back to being serious soon, and I'm not about to let myself get rusty like you all are."

But a well coordinated group grappling from Eijirou, Denki and Hanta was somehow enough to at least get his protests to quiet down, even if they were all ultimately taking their lives into their own hands by physically reeling him back, encouraging him to give it a shot every step of the way.

With virtually all of Class 1-A in support of the spontaneous idea of a class slumber party in the wake of an already fun-filled day, everyone finally made their way back to the locker rooms of the gym so they could change back into their casual clothes at last, making their way back to the dorms after.

But just as they finally got the building in sight, Nikolay felt the warmth of Mina's hand gently grasping his wrist, prompting him to look and once again feel his heart race when seeing the heartfelt smile on her face, looking in his eyes. "I know I already said it, but I just can't get over how good your dancing was today, Kolya-kun. I knew you had it in you, I could just feel it. You know…if you ever wanna maybe…I dunno, learn some new moves, or maybe practice the ones you've already got, you can always come to me anytime, anywhere, right?"

By now, her already adorable pink face was starting to blush a rosy red as she struggled to get her real point across. "I mean…if you wanted, maybe we could have our own little private dance parties whenever…y'know, just the two of us? We could do it in my room if you were interested; at least I don't have the risk of an explosive next door neighbor like you do, right?"

Of course, her invitation for them to dance alone together in her room, her most personal and private of places, couldn't help but leave poor Nikolay completely red in the face and dry in the throat. No matter how much he would've wanted to take her up on the offer, he just couldn't get the words to come out.

And he would never get the chance tonight, as the sight of him blushing so heavily, just had Mina's smile warming up that much more. "Aww, you're just the cutest thing ever when you're all red like that, Kolya-kun."

And with that, she suddenly turned her boyfriend's head by the chin with one finger, just so she could lean in and meet him with a brief but warm and loving kiss to his lips, giggling sweetly in amusement at how every time they kissed, it seemed to just turn Nikolay into putty in her hands.

"AAAAAAH! SO IT IS TRUE! IT WASN'T JUST MY NERVES PLAYING TRICKS ON ME!" Minoru's animalistic screech of disbelief snapped both of them out of the momentary reverie, just to now see the little grape-haired boy pointing at them with wide, bloodshot eyes, almost like he was about to start inhumanly howling like the Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

And he wasn't alone, as once again, Mina's impulses for public displays of affection had been noticed by nearly everyone in their class before they could all enter; and with the exception of Eijirou and Tooru, their expressions were all just as shocked; from all the dance team and band members similarly echoing how they hadn't been sure if they'd been seeing things before or had let the overall mood of the festival distract them from bringing this business to light; to the rest of the stage effects crew anxiously asking for clarification as to just what all the fuss was about, only to then be left just as dumbfounded once they'd finally been filled in.

"YOU'VE BEEN TOGETHER FOR REALS ALL THIS TIME?! HAVE YOU BEEN DOING DIRTY THINGS IN PRIVATE, TOO?! BEZPALOV, YOU LUCKY BASTARD, HOW COULD YOU?! WHAT'S YOUR SECRET?! TELL MEEEE!" "How the hell long has THIS all been going on, you guys?!" "Does this mean what I think it means, finally?" While Minoru was once again almost literally foaming out the mouth with pure envy from what his own eyes were telling him he saw; Denki and Kyouka were ultimately the ones to finally ask with some degree of calm, over all the other over-eager questions from everyone else.

And, considering that the cat was all but literally out of the bag, and there'd be no point trying to tell everyone that they were having the same dream, Mina breathed in deep, and with an eager and ultimately relieved smile on her face, she took Nikolay's hand in her own and stood proud…with him soon following suit when hearing the sincerity in her declaration: "Yeah…yeah, it is true! Kolya-kun and I…we…*giggle*…we've been together, like, all officially and such, ever since Hokkaido!"

While Ochako and Izuku were both left wildly blushing at the very thought of an in-class romance actually having come to life; and Denki, Minoru and Hanta were quick to notice how Eijirou and Tooru both were far less animated and surprised, and thus could only naturally accuse them of knowing and holding out on them; Nikolay affirmed his grip on Mina's hand as well, looking everyone honestly in the eyes as he continued in turn: "The truth is that we'd both been feeling this way for…well, for a long time, and after everything that had happened and…had almost happened to us up there, neither of us could take holding those feelings in any longer, and we've been a couple since then, at least when in private."

People like Mezo, Fumikage and Shoto all looked borderline indifferent in comparison to everyone else; most likely because it'd been obvious to them just what Nikolay and Mina had been developing between each other over the course of this year; but they at least had the courtesy to at least give a single nod each, with Shoto even being kind enough to note: "It pretty much seemed inevitable, to be honest. At least you both finally admitted it to yourselves."

By comparison, Bakugo's style of indifference came in the form of an apathetic sneer. "Goddammit, it's about time you two stopped beating around the bush and got that sappy shit out in the open! Now can the rest of you stop tripping over yourselves like this was any kind of surprise!? God, there's more important things you should all be focusing on, not this crappy soap opera!"

Of course, everyone else's expressions and reactions were more varied between complete surprise, and contented smiles from those that had likewise clearly felt something like this taking shape in their ranks. And it was to those classmates of theirs, that the young couple bowed apologetically, with Mina stating: "We're really, really sorry for keeping it quiet from you guys like this; especially you, Yaomomo, Urara-chan, Tsu-chan! I know you'd all mentioned thinking this was going on before, and I would've loved to tell you…but I didn't want us to get in trouble."

This little detail, rather than surprise, instead drew understanding nods from Momo and Tenya specifically; the bespectacled class president keeping his arms crossed. "Speaking as your friend, I would say I'm a little hurt that neither of you felt you could trust me enough to share these personal feelings between you two…but speaking as your president, I can't rightfully say you had no good reason for your secrecy, either. You both surely must understand this is a fairly serious development that we as an entire class now have to consider."

Once again providing the softer touch next to Tenya's more rigid posture and tone, Momo couldn't hide the worried look on her face, either: "While I am indeed very happy for you both, Ashido-chan, Bezpalov-san; I can't help but agree with Iida-san as well. Even outside of settings like Yuuei; things like in-workplace romances have always been a very serious risk to the overall unity of a team going forward. Conflicts of interest; and all."

And with that, even Tsuyu hesitantly stepped forward, that same thoughtful finger perched upon her chin as she tried to think of how best to say what she was thinking. "They've both got a point, you guys. What would happen if either one of you was caught up in a really dangerous situation, and the other was forced to choose between their significant other, or the safety of civilians? As Heroes, you gotta know that's a very possible risk you'd be taking if your new relationship was allowed to just keep going alongside our lessons and training without question, right-kero?"

All three of them, alongside other students like Ochako, Izuku and Kouji all felt an exceptionally painful pang in the heart when seeing the weight of these irrefutable facts sink into Nikolay and Mina's minds. Indeed, as their friends, they couldn't have been happier for them finding love together like this, but that didn't mean anything when faced against the inherent risks of their future professions, and it would ultimately be best for them to take this into consideration early.

But just as Eijirou and Tooru were about to try and speak out to their class representatives on the two's behalf; a sudden clearing of the throat from Shoto, of all people, was what suddenly broke the air of building dread. "While I'm not going to pretend I understand Bezpalov and Ashido's personal experience; what I can at least say I understand to an extent, is the potential we've all seen them show as a team when out on the field or in training. Even with Quirks as widely different as theirs are, they always manage to be on the same general page, and have found a number of ways to combine them together in ways that make them very effective in more than one way. I think we all know how rare that kind of synergy is, especially with first-years like us.

"While there have indeed been times when one or both of them have ended up in dangerous situations, can any of us who've seen them in action personally, really say that they aren't already able to make that same difficult decision, of acting for the safety of the most vulnerable person in that moment, instead of going with the most self-serving option of defending each other only? I would be willing to say they're already ahead of the curb, as far as your concerns go, Yaoyorozu, Asui, Iida…at least, for now. So with that being said, perhaps we could allow them just the tiniest bit of the benefit of a doubt until the next time we all have to go into action."

Of course, Shoto's words were more of an outright statement of where he personally stood, rather than actually beseeching the rest of the class to try and change whatever their opinions were. But all the same, his summarizing of the facts had given many of them considerable pause. Indeed, even when it had started to seem obvious how attached Nikolay and Mina were to each other; nobody could honestly say they had ever seen the two make reckless or selfish choices when things were serious. And while Tenya wasn't about to ease up on his own personal concern, he likewise couldn't deny the facts and experiences as they currently stood. In contrast, Momo actually seemed to visibly loosen up considerably.

But before anyone else could think of any possible argument to give in response; Eijirou, Tooru and Denki all quickly jumped in, pulling in the nearest of their classmates they could reach around the shoulders, all smiling from ear to ear. "C'mon, everyone, are we really gonna end a day like today with a bunch of what-ifs? The fun times have only just gotten started, we've got all night to party!"

Whether this was simply their attempt to try and get some of the attention off their star-crossed friends, or their simply wanting to try and capitalize on the festive atmosphere that only a successful festival could give; nobody knew. But that didn't make Nikolay and Mina any less grateful for the thought, especially when it actually seemed to finally convince most of their classmates to simply let things be, still voicing their overall happiness for their friends, before finally starting to make their way inside the dorm building, hopefully to get their sleeping bags out for the proposed slumber party.

As they both breathed a sigh of immense relief, Mina's grasp on Nikolay's hand tightened even more as she rested her head tiredly on his shoulder. "I don't know about you, Kolya-kun…but I actually feel tons better, finally having everyone in class know about us. It's like I feel so much lighter now."

"You know…me too, actually." Nikolay finally admitted, to his girlfriend's delight. "I'd been so ready for almost everyone to give us the same argument Iida-san and Yaoyorozu-san gave us…so I'm still just trying to process what just actually happened."

Finally moving her hold from his hand to his arm, Mina smiled with another warm blush. "Well, don't take too long processing that big brain of yours, cause there's something I've been wanting for a long time that we can finally do. Hey, Kyouka-chan, can you wait up a minute?"

Nikolay and Kyouka both looked very surprised the moment Mina called out to her; bringing the purple-haired girl to a stop before turning to face her friends. But Mina's excitement was already near overflowing, as she was immediate with her words: "I saw how you, Kaminari-kun and Andrei-kun were talking a whole bunch all day. What exactly was it about?"

Thankfully, the truth proved far less embarrassing today of all days, as Kyouka actually didn't hesitate to answer, pulling the balalaika from her back so that it was now hanging from a strap over her chest. "Oh, well, considering he's also a real enthusiastic guy for music, I was hoping he'd be able to give me some pointers on how to start learning to play this thing, along with some songs to practice with it. And Kaminari…well, he's just the kinda guy that can talk anyone's ear off about anything when motivated enough."

At this confirmation of her own suspicions, Mina's smile brightened up that much more as she suddenly asked: "Did he maybe mention if any of those songs for you to practice was maybe called something like…Dark Eyes?"

Nikolay's synapses all simultaneously fired at full force in his brain as he realized just where Mina was about to go with this, while Kyouka's eyes widened with surprise of her own. "Yeah, actually; he said that was a really popular song for people like him, Kolya-san and all those Gagaringrad folks. But how could you have possibly known that?"

Hugging Nikolay's arm tight and giggling adorably, Mina answered: "Do you remember, back at the Training Camp hot springs, when I told you and the girls about Kolya-kun giving me a nickname that I'd gotten all bummed about?" The moment Kyouka had to think and then subsequently nod in remembrance, she continued: "Well, it was that song name that he picked for my nickname, cause of my eyes, obviously. When he explained how popular it is to everybody back in Russia, I've been dying to finally hear it, and knowing you, Kyouka-chan, I'll bet you've been squeezing in as much practice as you can already, just listening to it all day, right?"

Nikolay looked like he was struggling to swallow the awkward lump in his throat, while Kyouka gave a half-hearted nod. "Well, I've been listening to it sporadically today, but I've got the overall gist of how it goes, and how you typically play an instrument like this, but I'm not nearly good enough to start actually talking in any Russian, let alone singing in it."

With that, Mina was already bouncing excitedly. "That's a-okay, Kyouka-chan! I want Kolya-kun to be the one to sing it while you play!"

When Kyouka saw the resigned look on Nikolay's still-smiling and embarrassed face, Mina finally let go of his arm and leaned in at the hip so they could still look in each other's eyes, still smiling that pretty wide grin of eagerness. "Please, Kolya-kun? I love listening to you sing, and ever since you said how much your people love this song, and that was why you picked it for me…c'mon, after everything we've already done, are you really too nervous for this?"

For a few seconds, Nikolay was struggling to find the most fitting answer. But in the end, his body went slack, and he let out an accepting sigh. "No…maybe in front of a large crowd, like last time…but not here. I'll admit I'd always been trying to brace myself to finally let you hear this song you're nicknamed after…I just didn't think it would be so soon."

This admission had Mina already squealing in her excitement. By now, Kyouka could likewise tell this was seriously about to happen, and even she couldn't deny feeling a bit excited herself, not just to hear their mutual Russian friend sing again, but to finally try her chops at playing the balalaika for the first time.

As soon as she had herself in the right posture, holding the triangular wooden instrument the right way, and giving the three strings a few plucks to make sure the tune was right; Mina was standing attentively in front of her boyfriend; Nikolay's one-girl audience. And as soon as he steadied his breathing once more and gave Kyouka a confirming nod to let her know he was ready, she began to listen to a recording of this fateful song on her own music player, and rapidly plucking at the balalaika's strings at the same rhythm and note progression, essentially playing it phonetically.

[Ochi Chyornye (Dark Eyes)]

And after a good solid minute of listening to Kyouka play the extensive opening to the most beloved folk song in all the Slavic world; as Nikolay looked emotionally into Mina's beautiful and expectant black-gold eyes, that beautiful and kindhearted smiling pink face that had saved and started his entire life anew…Nikolay could feel his heart race as he finally began to sing.

"Ochi Chyornye, ochi zhguchiye

Ochi strastniye i prekrasniye

Kak lyublyu ya vas, kak boyus ya vas

Znat' uvidel vas ya nye v dobryy chas.

Ochi Chyornye, zhguchne plamenny

I manyat oni v strany dal'niye

Gde tsarit lyubov', gde tsarit pokoyy

Gde stradan'ya nyet, gde vrashdyy zapryet.

Ochi Chyornye, ochi zhguchiye

Ochi strastniye i prekrasniye,

Kak lyublyu ya vas, kak boyus' ya vas

Znat' uvidel vas ya nye v dobryy chas.

Nye vstrechal vyy vas, nye stradal vyy tak

Ya byy prozhil zhizn' ulybayuchis'

Vyy sgubili menya ochi chyornye

Unesli na vyek moyo schast'ye.

Ochi Chyornye, ochi zhguchiye

Ochi strastniye i prekrasniye

Kak lyublyu ya vas, kak boyus' ya vas

Znat' uvidel vas ya nye v dobryy chas."

After such an extensive performance, with more than a couple instances of simply having to listen to Kyouka keep working her fingers out by plucking the strings so rapidly for so long...in the end, Nikolay felt completely out of breath, having tried to put all the heartfelt feeling he possibly could into this one and only performance, nearly feeling like he was going to pass out by the time she had plucked those final notes.

But even for as emotionally, mentally and physically heightened as he was feeling, or even for as embarrassed as Kyouka couldn't help feeling after being the player in what was essentially a serenade…to see the teary-eyed smile of indescribable love and joy on Mina's face after having finally gotten to hear the song of her namesake from the lips of the boy she loved more than anything, made it all more, far more than worth it.

And as Mina ecstatically threw herself onto Nikolay with an impassioned number of tear-wetted kisses; holding him tight and profusely thanking him and Kyouka both between every single one; the purple-haired rocker graciously took her leave from the scene, able to confidently say to herself, just as they both undoubtedly were to themselves right now, that today had ultimately turned out to be simply incomparable for every single student of Class 1-A. And it was with that universally satisfying thought, that Nikolay and Mina had eventually made their way together back into the dorms to commence her proposed slumber party heading into their free day, and the Yuuei Academy School Festival had well and truly come to a perfect end.

And there it is, everyone: the last chapter to the School Festival Arc! I have to say, I was likewise pretty intimidated going into this one, simply because it entailed describing a lot of things I've never written about before (i.e. dancing), and yet now having made it to the end of it, I actually feel rather proud of how it all turned out.

But what did all of you think about how I handled this arc? I know I didn't really change a whole lot in a major game-changing way, but I feel like every addition I make, is one little piece I can ultimately contribute to something much bigger, the further along we go.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed what you read here today, and I will see you all with the next chapter on 01/21!