A/N: Alright, ladies and gents... I've kept you waiting for 1,046 (1,053 if you watched the premiere on YouTube) days.

Time to make good on my promise, and kill the Guardian Hero.

Enjoy, and please do be sure to check out my Instagram the_red_swordsman, as I will be releasing over 20 sketches pertaining to this chapter over the next couple of weeks.

The Final Holder

Nine glared at the clearing debris that he had been suddenly forced to repel with a shield, confusion mixing into his face with his anger as he used his quirk vision to see two of the boys who had continued to fight on their knees, facing away from him. The one with the mechanical arm had exerted a blast of light made up of many colors that had shattered both of the spectral dragons in an instant, his strength seemingly restored. "What is this?" Nine growled as he focused his visual quirk more intently on the pair, though even that could not present an image to him that he understood. That boy whose quirk I tried to take yesterday… It's inside the other one, now?

Bakugo, not having expected the sudden drop, nearly hit the dirt headfirst, but had managed to use a weak explosion at the last second to turn the fall into a reverse tumble that landed him on his hands and knees instead of flat on the ground. He had then looked up to see that Kurai had been a little faster with Mina's fall, catching her up before she could collapse on the earth, making sure to lower her gently on the ground as to avoid hurting her any more than the battle already had.

As he set her against a rock, he looked over his shoulder and wheezed, "Bakugo… Watch over her… and the kids… will you?"

"Watch over her?!" the blond growled as he forced himself to his feet. "What am I, a guard dog?!"

"Please…" Kurai gasped, allowing his blond peer to see the blood that was sheeting out of his nose and dripping steadily from his lips. "I need to know… that she'll be safe." His eyes were distorted with several ruptured blood vessels, but his gaze contained more worry than pain, which- if Bakugo was being honest with himself- was more frightening than any cry of agony could ever be.

"Watch over her yourself," he snarled as he tried to set aside the uneasy pit that was forming in his stomach. "It's time to finish this!"

"Yeah," Kurai coughed, more scarlet spraying from his mouth as he did. "Yeah… It's time to finish… all of this…" Wiping at his face, he took in a deep breath before managing to gasp out, "You've always wanted to be the best… And I need the best… to protect what I love… when I can't." A trace grin made its way onto his face as he all but whispered, "Only the best… for her."

In spite of his hard stance, Bakugo could not find it in himself to rebuke the other boy this time. He could see the wounds that would have killed a lesser man a dozen times over by now, but what really compounded the fear that he had felt before was how at peace the other boy looked. He's not planning on coming back this time, he forced himself to admit as ice crawled down his spine.

By now, the dust between them and their enemy was beginning to clear, and Bakugo knew that he had to make a choice before Nine made another move. With a choked snarl, he lowered his hands and glared at Kurai before he growled out, "I dunno what you and Deku are planning, but whatever it is… Make sure you kill this bastard, Hogo-sha."

"Can… do," Kurai said as he leaned over his beloved's unconscious body. I'm sorry, Mina, he thought as he kissed her forehead, leaving a bit of his blood behind as he slowly staggered to his feet and turned away. I have so many regrets… But not one of them was a moment with you.

"Can you… still fight?" he gasped through his tears, the pressure on his innards continuing to build as Bakugo moved to carry Mina further away, out of the impending danger zone. The words were now directed to his green-haired friend, who was also struggling to even stand, though he had the benefit of working lungs to assist him.

"I don't know for how long, but…" Izuku hesitated as they shuffled forward, trying to put some distance between them and their friends. "All Might was able to protect us with the embers of the quirk, even after passing it on to me." The two of them were now turned to face their enemy, their faces hidden by shadows cast from the fires around them.

Nine, unable to hear their words, but now able to see them without hindrance, sparked lightning in his hands as he shouted, "What did you do?!"

"With Twofold… One For All…" Izuku and Kurai allowed the full extent of their powers to flow through their bodies, giving Nine pause as the air around them swelled with a foreboding presence.

"We'll save everybody!" the ninth holder of One For All declared. Green lightning crawled across his body, giving him All Might's strength for what he knew would be the last time.

Kurai could have sworn that his body was about to burst from the sheer force of the two quirks now dancing and intertwining within his broken and bleeding flesh. It felt like all the cells in his body were on fire as bioelectricity of many colors sparked across his damaged frame. His mechanical arm was trembling uncontrollably and his hair was actually standing on end as he growled, "We… will stand… and triumph!" The earth beneath his feet shifted and groaned, as if threatening to buckle under an enormous weight while the air trembled and crackled with potential force that felt as though it could wreak untold havoc at any moment. In Kurai's eyes burned the fierce determination of someone ready to go down swinging- of a man who had nothing left to lose.

Looking into those eyes, Nine couldn't help the little tremor of doubt that wormed its way into his head. There were red flags and alarm bells going off in the back of his mind, and for the first time since he had set out on his chosen path, he wondered if his dream might not become a reality, after all. Such a thought infuriated him beyond all reason.

"Why won't you weaklings die already?!" he shouted as he commanded the hurricane above to condense its winds and lightning to converge upon the two nuisances obstructing his path. This storm was shaping up to be even more powerful than the last weather attack, but that also meant that it was taking longer to charge, leaving Kurai a moment to ask what he needed to know.

"Why me…? Izuku?" he gasped, struggling to force air into his lungs past the blood that had seeped into his organs as the storm began to tear the entirety of Nabu Island asunder. It was difficult to make himself heard above the raging winds and lightning, but he just managed to remain audible to the other hero. "You could have given it… to Bakugo… or one of the girls… Anyone other than me would have been a better vessel…" When his friend didn't reply right away, he hacked up another globule of blood and wheezed, "You'll be quirkless again… You know that I can't stand being the reason that someone else lost their power… And we both know that I'm not going to make it out of this… So why…?"

"You showed me that we don't have to be the men that we admire to become great heroes," Izuku answered without taking his eyes off of their enemy. "I've always wanted to be All Might… Both Kacchan and I always strived to become him, in our own ways. But even with his power, I was finally able to see that would never be possible. I am me, Deku, and I shouldn't be anyone else. You taught me that, Kurai. The truth is that the world doesn't need this power, not anymore. All For One won't ever hurt anyone again, so this quirk has fulfilled its purpose. And in its final hour, One For All should go to someone who realized what it would take to break the cycle… And that's you!"

His words sparked a memory in Kurai's head, one from not so long ago, yet nearly forgotten all the same. "It means that if you stand alone, you're gonna end up just like All Might," he remembered saying to Izuku after learning about the secret of his power. "You'll end up like Akarui. Both of them tried to do everything on their own, take everyone's burden onto their shoulders. Look where it got them."

The irony of his actions up to that moment struck him as he realized that even though he had often criticized All Might's way of doing things, he himself had done much the same by continuing to fight, even when it was plain to see why he shouldn't. Like his teacher, he had decided to stare death in the eye and spit in its face, believing that he could best it yet again. Now knowing that his gambit had failed, and he was running out of time, he had finally come to accept that his power was not enough to save those he cared about. Now, he was ready to die believing in his own words and truly accept that his burdens could not be borne on his shoulders, alone.

Blood continued to drip out of his gritted teeth as he bared them in a ghastly imitation of smile at Nine's tornado. As he clenched his left fist, he allowed One For All's surging strength to mix with the might of Energon and envelop his arm in a myriad of bright colors that burned away the exhaustion that had been etched into the limb. He's right… It's time to end the cycle… together.

Izuku clenched his right fist as he and Kurai stood nearly shoulder to shoulder, the green light of his aura leaking out of the corresponding limb and merging with his friend's augmented strength. This was their final fight- their last stand as heroes. As the fact fully dawned on the both of them, they remembered their mentor's words from mere days prior, a lifetime ago.

"You may only be on Nabu for a few weeks, but you should act with the thought in mind that these people will remember you after you've gone. At the end of your visit, what will they say about you?" All Might couldn't have known that he would be talking about the sudden end of their careers, but they took his words to heart now.

"At the end…" Kurai drew his fist back and spat blood as he roared, "I stood MY GROUND!" The ground broke apart and scattered beneath his feet as the energy coming from his arm swelled, lighting up the ruins of the mountainside like a miniature star amidst a volcanic storm. To say that his power had increased hundredfold would be an understatement. With Energon and One For All joined in his body, Kurai had become power personified.

"At the end…" Izuku mirrored his friend's movements and drew back his right fist, powering his fading quirk up to one hundred percent. "I saved everyone WITH A SMILE!" he screamed. The power of One For All doubling back on itself in tandem with the might of Energon was creating its own wind pressure, forcing those nearby to duck down behind any shelter that they could find. Unseen by the two heroes, Bakugo peered around the corner of a boulder that he had pulled his charges behind, barely able to keep his eyes properly fixed on the staggering sight of All Might's heirs making their final stand against this new All For One.

"Forget it!" Nine growled as the hurricane funnel descended upon them. "You'll never… defeat me!"

As one, Deku and Kai stepped forward, swinging their arms down and then skyward in an uppercut fashion as they bellowed, "Detroit…! SMAAAAASH!" The raw energy and wind pressure created by their combined attack soared into the eye of the storm above, instantly unravelling it and sparking chain lightning that tangled with Nine's power, halting it in place completely. The stones that made up the ground beneath them shattered into dust as they unleashed the strength of generations gone past. The two boys' war cries turned into screams of agony as their bones were fractured and their skin tore apart from the force of the power leaving their bodies, but they held strong, keeping up the attack, determined to undo the shadows that Nine had cast on the island.

The sky itself was rocked all the way up to the heavens as the colossal quirks fit for the gods of old were pitted against one another in a battle that made it seem as though Ragnarok was descending upon the earth. It was a struggle that lasted many long seconds, but inevitably, the power of One For All won out and dispelled the hurricane, the tornadoes pummeling the island, and even the dark clouds above, allowing the sun to shine down and reveal the peaceful blue sky that Nine had tried to block out. All those that were outside of the mountain shelter gazed up in wonder at the light of the eternal sun, and the heroes who had cast aside such a dark oppression.

In spite of the agony radiating from his arm, Kurai ignored the crushing pressure in his chest that was making it nearly impossible to breathe and lowered his arm before giving his friend a pained smile. "Look at… that," he wheezed with a wet chuckle. "We made… the sun shine… Izuku."

"Yeah, but this isn't over," the other boy grimaced, having now broken both of his arms so that they were an ugly purple color that matched Kurai's injured limb.

"I know…" the tenth holder nodded as he turned back to Nine, who was looking down at them with something like horror. "It's… funny."

"What is?"

"I always thought that… if I died a hero… it might be… fighting beside a… friend," Kurai gasped as he settled into a lower stance, multi-colored lightning stirring up the remnants of his clothing. When Izuku looked at him with confusion, he gave him a peaceful smile before saying, "I never thought… that I would die… alongside my brother."

Izuku was too stunned to speak for a moment, and when he did, he was barely able to get out, "Well… You're not dead yet. We have a job to do." He turned to keep his eyes fixed on Nine once more, and to try and hide the tears building up in them.

"You're the team leader," Kurai wheezed through another weak chuckle. "Waiting on you." Izuku nodded and then was gone in a burst of electricity and wind, Kurai hot on his heels as they charged at Nine.

The villain raised his arms and screamed, "Get out of my way!" Lasers, lightning bolts, and dragon snakes flew out of his body by the dozens, each one packing more than enough force to kill the two boys.

They split up at the speed of thought, with Deku moving in close, dodging everything that came his way, even at short range. Kai's skin shifted to a bright red tone and the energy enveloping him became scarlet in color, keeping the man's attention focused on him as he skidded past dragons, slapped aside bolts of lightning, and overwhelmed the lasers with his own. I fear the death that is approaching, but I will not surrender to that terror…

It hadn't even taken a second to summon the focus needed for the Muladhara power- it was as though One For All had broken down the gates to his chakra network and was keeping them wide open for him to select at his leisure. Not only that, but he felt no trace of the exhaustion that using Basic Instinct usually inflicted on him.

Nine howled his fury and concentrated every offensive quirk that he had in his arsenal at Kai after repelling Deku with an air blast, which the Guardian Hero countered by invoking his Endless Resolve, nullifying the impact of every blast and dragon strike that his enemy could muster. I have stood tall against every trial that tried to bring me down, and I will stand against this one, too…

The instant that he had endured the second wave of attacks, the yellow energy shifted into an orange shade that infused his eyes and hair as he drove his fist into Nine's stomach at the speed of sound, a sonic boom cracking across the island right before he made contact. The villain went flying down the mountain, even further away from Katsuma and his sister as he clutched at his abdomen in pain. The last of my days contained so much joy- I cannot ask for more than that.

The recoil from the blow fractured some of the metal in Kai's right arm, but it held as he crashed into a crater that had come about as a result of one of Nine's earlier attacks on class 1-A. Meanwhile, Deku had come to a halt partway up the mountain, lightning blazing through and around him as he bunched up all of the muscles in his legs and back in preparation for the shot that he knew Kai would prepare for him.

I have always been able to see the world so clearly for what it is, and yet I was privileged to learn more every day that I lived… Seeing what his friend was doing with a brief look from his Divine Eye, Kai planted his right arm on one of the walls surrounding him, the one standing in between him and Nine, and let both of his powers surge into the damaged limb, sending the stump attached to the prosthetic into a state of even greater agony, which he ignored in favor of accomplishing his task. A brilliant indigo light flared before him as he added his broken, flesh arm to the strike that heralded a colossal Kamehameha, which blew apart the mountainside itself and streaked right toward Nine, who immediately conjured a massive shield to block the deadly energy wave that would surely vaporize him if it made contact.

Once again, unused to the extra recoil impact from his augmented strength, Kai found himself flying backwards, this time higher into the air as the cells of his nervous system screamed and begged for him to stop. In other circumstances, he would have pulled out of the fight then, knowing that the damage being done to his body might be irreparable, but of course, this was no ordinary fight. It was his- and One For All's- final battle, and as long as he could draw in another blood-filled breath, he would keep pitting himself against his opponent.

Meanwhile, Deku had chosen that moment to unleash all of the potential energy that had been building up inside of him in one massive burst of movement, transforming the boy into a bolt of green lightning that streaked down the mountain toward his enemy. As he flew, he reached out and grabbed at his friend's outstretched arm, whose veins glowed green. Kai poured energy into his friend's body with his Giving Heart, compensating for Deku's flagging strength as they built up their momentum until they were nothing but a missile of shimmering lightning headed right for Nine, who conjured up even more shields to try and halt their progress. Though I have suffered great loss, I have always been loved enough by those around me so that those tragedies cannot weigh me down.

Nine's shields almost protected him, up until the point where Kai used True Speech to conjure a nine-tail's cloak that reached out and shattered the barriers like glass with blows that struck with the force of a meteor shower. The second that they were down, one of the tails that had been hanging back suddenly whipped forward, and Deku shot out at Mach 2 to deliver a blow that sent Nine flying out to sea, far away from any land where he might be able to try and regain some form of balance. The origin of my power did not make me a monster… It was my decision to serve the greater good that made me the person I am. Lightning and Energon surged throughout their enemy's body, obliterating any attempt at conscious thought, annihilating the chances that he could muster up any kind of counterattack or defense.

I… am ready to die… as a hero.

Deku landed on a bluff overlooking the waters for less than a split second before he leaped after Nine, even as violet energy suffused Kai's body, allowing him to take to the stormy skies in pursuit of their enemy. Together they flew at full speed, charging heedlessly after their enemy, covered in blood and hideous bruises, raining lightning behind them as they prepared for the final push. Deku drew back his left fist while Kai raised the opposite arm.

This is it.

Kai's body shone with purple fire with while his metal arm glowed with a lavender light like a star from the cracks in his brother's creation as he channeled the maximum potential of both quirks into the artificial limb.

The last one.

Deku could feel the sparks of One For All fading inside of him, but he willed them to blaze within their former vessel, one final time.

It's over now.

They could see the terror on Nine's face as they rocketed toward him. There was nothing he could do, no quirk he had that could stop them. He had gambled everything he had against the resolve of these young heroes, and still it was not enough. He had lost.

"This is…!" Kai croaked.

"One For All's…!" Deku cried.

"FINAL SMASH!" Their punches landed in sync, sending Nine straight into the ocean at the speed of a comet. Kurai's arm exploded with the raw power of a falling star that followed the enhanced villain into the waters, disintegrating both him and tons of water that went all the way down to the ocean floor, leaving no trace of the man that had endangered so many lives.

The resulting shockwave ripped across the air, dispersing the last of the storm that Nine had created, and sent the pair of heroes hurtling back in the direction that they had come from. Even so, the force was not enough to carry them all the way back to Nabu Island's temple grounds, which led to the two boys falling toward the violently churning waters below, whereupon both of them closed their eyes, knowing that they had done their duty, and that they could finally rest. So exhausted were they that they failed to hear a loud string of curses and explosions headed right for them.

Kurai awoke with a gurgling sound, his vision dim and his hearing dull. He couldn't seem to get any air into his lungs, no matter how hard he tried to inhale. After a moment, he became aware of a sound on his right- that of someone yelling at him.

"Dammit, Saiyaman! Don't close your eyes again, ya hear me?!" Bakugo shouted. "You won't wake up if you do!"

"Ngh…" Kurai tried to open his mouth to speak, but all that came out were some dribbles of blood. He couldn't feel his right arm at all, and he knew that his brother's masterpiece had been destroyed by the combined quirks, which made him feel sad for some strange reason. After all, it wasn't as though he was going to be making use of it anymore.

"Stop trying to talk, you idiot!" Bakugo screamed, and only now could Kurai see the terror in the other boy's crimson eyes as he knelt beside him. "What the hell were you thinking, coming out to help us?! You made yourself into a liability! The doctors told you not to fight, didn't they?! We coulda done this without you!"

Kurai, unable to say what he needed to say as his vision began to dim again, rolled his head to the side, hoping to find the friend that had given up his dream to save them all before the end came. He knew it was approaching- he could feel it in his limbs: the cold, the dread of what came next, even knowing what lay on the other side. I've been here before, he thought sluggishly. But this time… I need to leave something behind…

For a moment, he lay still, wondering idly if Mina might be close by so that he could see her, one last time, but his luck had apparently bottomed out. I'll never see her again… Not on this side, anyway.

"Hey! I said not to move, idiot!" Bakugo raged as he partially entered Kurai's field of vision again, his face even more strained than before. "Don't ignore me! You need to stay still until the Evac squads arrive, you hear?! Are you just gonna leave Ashido all alone?!" Kurai knew that the other boy was trying to invoke a reaction out of him, something to keep him from sinking further back into the dark, but he was beyond even that now.

Nothing is going to stop my death, now… Not this time. Craning his neck painfully, he managed to say one word, barely audible to his classmate. "Deku…"

"Whaddya want with him?!" Bakugo snarled. "He's right next to you!"

Kurai could not see his friend, so he realized that he must be on his left, the opposite direction in which he had rolled his head. He still had one last job to do before he could pass on in peace, so he tried to lift his head to turn around, but now it seemed that his body lacked the strength to accomplish the task.

"Stop moving!" Bakugo ordered, but Kurai ignored him.

There's only one thing I need to do…

He tried to move his left hand, to reach for the brother in arms that he could not see, but all he managed was a weak twitch of his fingers. Summoning some of the last remnants of his flagging strength, he gurgled, "Help…"

"Dammit, what are you doing?" Bakugo asked him in a strangled voice. "The fight is over, Hogo-sha. You won."

"…Help." Kurai tried to move his hand again, to no avail. The cold was creeping into his fingers, which refused to obey his will any longer.

"Tch."

He heard Bakugo shuffle around before he had a vague awareness of his head being turned toward his friend- the boy who would someday become the number one hero in all the world. Izuku was a mess of broken bones and bloodied skin, and his sleep looked fitful, but he was alive. He's going to be… the greatest of us all… I won't… let his dream die today. He tried to reach for Izuku again, but this time only his shoulder would wobble. Come on, Bakugo… Help me, please… His best friend was just out of his reach. Less than a foot of grassy terrain separated them, but to Kurai, he may as well have been trying to leap across the entirety of the Atlantic Ocean.

He couldn't speak at all anymore. He had no hope of being able to communicate what he was trying to accomplish. He wasn't even sure that what he wanted to do would have been possible under the best of circumstances. Maybe I'm just desperate in my death throes, but… I can't let it end like this… As his vision continued to fade away, he prayed with all his might that Bakugo would understand what he needed, and that he would help him carry out his final task. Please…

Just as he thought he would die with great regret, Kurai felt his broken hand being placed on Izuku's arm, causing him to open his eyes just a little bit again. Before he could do anything, Bakugo said in an uncharacteristically soft voice, "I doubt you can give One For All back to him. If quirk accepted you, what makes you think it'll go back to him?"

I know… Kurai thought as he watched his blood seep into his friend's skin. But… All Might also told us that One For All can amplify the properties of a person's original power beyond the scope of their highest ambitions… If that's true…

With the very last of his strength, Kurai focused once again on the Anahata chakra and summoned up every memory that he had of using his quirk, from the first little sparks of light that had made his father smile with pride and his mother laugh in delight, to the agonizing, exhilarating rush of power that had carried him through this last battle. Green light appeared in his mind's eye, flowing from his hand and followed the trail of his blood into Izuku's body, turning into a richer emerald shade as soon as it entered his broken frame. As Kurai kept pouring every experience that he could remember into this final act, he realized that he could no longer hear anything at all, and that the light from his quirk was getting farther and farther away.

One For All… Inika… Give him the strength… that he'll need…

He was so cold. He wanted to shiver, but his body lacked the strength to do so. The only dwindling bit of warmth that he could hang on to was the feeling of his quirk leaving him. So he focused on it, trying to hold on to that feeling for as long as he could, doing everything in his power to make sure that his final act was not in vain. The world may not need One For All anymore… he thought as even the light and its warmth started to fizzle out. But it still needs Deku.

The instant that he had finished the thought, the light faded away from his conscious self, so his body went limp and died.

"Hogo-sha?" Bakugo asked in a trembling voice as he realized that Kurai wasn't moving, and his eyes were no longer reacting to movement. "Hey, stop screwing around. You hear me?! This isn't funny! Hogo-sha?! Hogo-sha!" He put his head to the boy's chest and heard nothing, though he just told himself that was because of the waves lapping at the sands just beneath them. He gave up this thought when he looked into his classmate's eyes and saw that they were no longer even registering the light of the rising sun. "…Dammit, Hogo-sha, wake up!" he screamed as he scooped Kurai's head and torso into his arms. "Wake up! This isn't how it's supposed to end!"

His heart was racing and his eyes were stinging as he shouted, "Deku and me were supposed to surpass you, remember?! I'm supposed to beat the both of you and prove that I'm the number one hero of all time! It can't end like this! Not like this!" Bakugo planted his head in the other boy's chest again, desperately hoping to hear something, anything other than the silence of the grave. When all that he could hear was the continued crashing of the nearby waves, he threw his head back and screamed from the top of his lungs, "DAMMIT ALL!"

Tears poured down his eyes, mixing with the blood splattered on his face as he set Kurai down and started chest compressions on his unresponsive body. "We never asked any of you to make this sacrifice, Hogo-sha! Not your brother, not your old man, not even you! But you…!" He gave out a long groan as he continued to pump, feeling some of the other boy's ribs crack as he sobbed, "You never would listen… Even more than me, you… you knew what it meant to go all the way… To be the best…!" His throat constricted, and he could no longer speak as he kept trying with all of his might to get his friend's heart going again.

Bakugo wasn't sure how long he was there on his knees, shoving on Kurai's body and forcing air into his lungs at regular intervals, but eventually he heard someone's labored breathing coming closer, followed by a familiar voice asking, "Young Bakugo…? What is-?"

"All Might…" the battered teenager said as he sagged over the body, looking up at his teacher with his tear-filled eyes. "I… I let him go… Please… Help." His arms were shaking, and his chest was heaving from the force of his desperate, fruitless efforts.

The former number one hero gazed at the body in front of Bakugo, and immediately paled to an unhealthy shade of white. His hand went to his mouth as he fell to his knees, utterly speechless as he saw what had become of his second protégé. "Young Hikari…?" Bakugo, seeing the look of horror and defeat on his teacher's face, was instantly forced to accept that he had failed, leading him to slumping down on his rear as he fixed his agonized gaze on Kurai's ashen face.

The boy's body was practically shattered. His artificial limb had been blown to pieces, and his remaining arm was a hideous shade of purple, featuring rupture wounds that had split apart his muscles so badly that his bones were visible in some places. Blood was no longer flowing, but he was covered in more bruises and bloodied wounds than he had healthy skin. Almost more startling than that was his hair, which had turned completely silver, completing the image of an utterly drained vitality from the deceased young hero.

"Is that you…? All Might?" The two of them were startled by Izuku's subdued voice, focused as they were on what had become of Kurai.

All Might shook himself and moved toward his heir with the words, "I'm here, my boy. Don't try to move, you're in rough shape."

"Kurai… Ochaco, Ashido, and Kacchan… Are they okay?" Bakugo stiffened in place at Izuku's inquiry, but All Might held up a hand for silence.

"As usual, you're more worried about others than yourself, young Midoriya," the older man chuckled, though there was pain in his eyes. "You're in rough shape, so don't worry about them too much, okay?"

"All Might…" Izuku started to cry. "I… One For All… I gave it to Kurai."

Those words checked All Might like a physical blow, dropping his jaw as he struggled to comprehend the full impact of those few words. "You what?" he gasped.

"It was… the only way we had to win," Izuku explained weakly as he shut his eyes. "This villain was so strong… We had to double the power of One For All back on itself with Energon. I'm so sorry, All Might…" Tears flowed from the eyes of the broken young hero as he waited for his mentor to condemn his actions.

However, All Might did nothing of the sort. He placed a thin hand on his student's brow as he told him, "The power was yours' to do with as you saw fit. You used it to save people who needed you, and you passed it on to someone worthy of that gift. Your unwavering resolve and fiery spirit will forever be a part of One For All, even if it no longer dwells within you." The man's thin shoulders were trembling as tears began to fall from his eyes. "You are the greatest hero I have ever known, young Midoriya. And I'm glad that you found a worthy vessel to be the last holder of One For All."

With Izuku's revelation, All Might was now able to understand what had reduced Kurai's body to such a sorry state. The combined power of All For One's masterpieces in his body must have been too much to handle, he thought as his eyes stung. Even if he suffered external wounds, his insides would have been all but annihilated by those quirks being put together… I can't even imagine how much pain he must have been in.

The tears flowing from underneath Izuku's eyelids began to increase in number as he registered the words of his idol. "Kurai…" he said softly. "Is he…?"

"Everyone else is safe, Deku," Bakugo said without looking over, his voice betraying none of the anguish on his face. "He's the only one that didn't make it."

"…And One For All died with him." Izuku's words laid heavily upon the trio as they contemplated a world without the power that had saved so many people and kept unspeakable evils at bay.

"All Might…" Bakugo's voice drew both of their attention back to the other student, who was moving to close Kurai's eyes. "Get a blanket for Hogo-sha. I'll look after Deku and him until you get back."

Kirishima and some of the others were nursing their wounds with smiles on their faces as they congratulated each other on a job well done. It had taken everything they had and then some, but class 1-A had come out on top once again. "Maybe the League of Villains will finally take the hint when they hear about how we stomped these guys," he chuckled as one of the medics that had arrived a little while ago finished applying bandages to his arms.

"They even had an All For One junior on hand, but that didn't stop Midoriya and Bakugo from fighting him head-on," Kaminari grinned. He had recently recovered his intelligence after having taken on the brunt of Nine's lightning attack, and now he was staying close to his classmates, per the orders of the other pros that had come to investigate the situation. "I thought they were crazy, but I guess everything turned out okay."

There were recovery teams all across the island, and so far it appeared that everyone who had been sent to deal with the henchmen were all safe, if a little more than beat up. Even Iida, Tokoyami, and Kirishima, who had been the victims of a cave collapse, had managed to make it out okay, thanks in part to the rescue efforts of the number two hero, Hawks.

"Did any of you guys actually see what happened?" Jiro asked as her legs were being bandaged by another one of the medics. "I was knocked out not long after he hit you, Kaminari."

"I went down pretty hard too, so no," Ojiro said with a negative shake of his head.

"Ashido, Uraraka, and Hikari joined the fight, last I saw," Shoji told them, startling his friends. "Yeah, it was crazy. I was knocked senseless for a bit, but in between moments of consciousness, I saw them fighting alongside Bakugo and Midoriya. Just before I totally blacked out, there was this crazy flash of light coming from Hikari and Midoriya, but I don't know what happened after that."

"Knowing Hikari, he probably unlocked another chakra in the nick of time," Kaminari snickered. "Ah, well. At least we won, right? All's well that ends well."

"For once, you and I agree," Jiro groaned as her head ached.

"Hey, speak of the devils," Kirishima said as he pointed toward a dip in the mountainside, where several figures could be seen coming from down the hill. Midoriya was on stretcher being carried by EMT's, unconscious and looking as though he'd been thrown head-first off the Himalayas. All Might was walking between the medics and Bakugo with a somber look. Bakugo himself had his eyes downcast, his expression unreadable, all while carrying something long, wrapped in a heavy blanket.

It didn't take the other students long to realize that the explosive hero was carrying a body in a shroud, and it wiped all the smiles off their faces in an instant. "Whoa…" Sero said with wide eyes.

"I guess the villain didn't leave them any choices, huh?" Ojiro said with a wince. "Even so, that's crazy that both theirs' and Rose's team had to do that." Word had already spread about the defeat of the Chimera villain, which had resulted in his beheading, but from what everyone could gather, he hadn't left the girls with much choice, given the situation that they were all in. There were still some instances in the modern day where villains were killed by heroes, but most of the time it was a result of an accident, the villain simply refusing to give in until they either died of their own efforts, or the hero's hand was forced, which they guessed was the case here.

The surviving villain who was the worst off was probably the teleporter, Switch. In order to prevent her from using her power to escape again, Mina had burned her eyes with acid, completely blinding her, probably for life. No one could say that the villain hadn't deserved it, but it was still surprising that the pink girl had been the one to do it, even if Kurai had been the victim of Switch's cunning during their first encounter.

"Can't say I'm surprised Bakugo was involved in this one, though," Jiro pointed out, causing the others to nod in agreement as their thoughts returned to the sight at hand.

Kirishima stood up and said, "I'm gonna go check and make sure that he's okay. Be right back." With that, he started walking toward the group with All Might at its head.

Once he had managed to come up alongside them, he waved a greeting with a smile that no one returned, not even All Might, who was almost always ready with an easy grin for his students. "Tough fight, right guys?" Kirishima decided to ask when no one said anything. "Is Midoriya gonna be okay?"

"He'll be fine once Recovery Girl has a chance to look at him," one of the medics answered. "Sorry, kid but we can't stop for visitors right now. All Might, we'll leave you to explain the situation, but we need to get this one back to the main island right now."

"Of course, I understand," the former pro said in a subdued tone that was adding to Kirishima's growing unease. Turning to the redhead, he said, "Let's let them take care of things, young Kirishima. Young Bakugo… we should put him near the boats so he can be moved as soon as we clear out."

Bakugo didn't give an answer, but he moved to follow the direction that his teacher was taking, back down toward the water where several craft could be seen. His silence worried Kirishima even more, as the only time he'd seen him be this quiet was when All Might had been forced to retire due to injuries sustained by All For One. What happened with that villain? the Sturdy Hero thought worriedly as he looked back and forth between All Might and his friend.

"You okay, man?" Kirishima asked Bakugo when he couldn't stand the silence any longer. Looking around them, he added, "Where's Hikari at? I didn't see him earlier, so did he already leave with the other medics?"

"He's gone," Bakugo answered in a barely audible tone.

"Well yeah, I figured," Kirishima said with a slight frown. "But did he already go back to the mainland or a triage on Nabu? I figured he'd come to fight, even if they told him to stay off his feet, so where did they have to send him this time?" Kirishima grinned at the thought of his friend acting on his conscience, physical impairments be damned. He's spent too much time around Midoriya and us, he mused.

"He's not going to a med bay, you idiot," Bakugo said, his voice ominously soft. "He's just… gone."

Kirishima's smile slowly died away as he realized that the entire time that they had been walking, Bakugo had yet to take his eyes off the shroud in his arms. Ice crept into his spine and a rock harder than his skin slowly sank to the pit of his stomach as it began to dawn on him that there were tears leaking out of both his and All Might's eyes. His breath caught in his chest as he tried to ask for clarification, but his tongue refused to move, would not let him seek out the answer to the horrible reality that was being laid out before them. His wide eyes searched Bakugo's for any chance, the slimmest hope that this was all some kind of sick joke, and that the shroud didn't contain the body that he thought it did.

"The villain-?" he managed to get out. "He…? Where-?"

"The villain that attacked the island is gone, according to young Bakugo and Midoriya, and his cohorts are all restrained, awaiting a transport that will take them to a max-security prison," All Might explained in a subdued tone. "You don't have to worry about them anymore."

Kirishima could no longer tear his eyes away from the blanket being carried by Bakugo as his hopes continued to die inside of him. "Bakugo… Is that…?" He just couldn't bring himself to finish the awful question. However, when Bakugo continued to refuse an answer, the redhead clenched his bruised fists as his temper flared while he started to shout, "Come on man, stop screwing around! Is that-?!"

"What do you want me to say, Kirishima?!" Bakugo snarled, finally breaking his gaze from the body in his arms. "You want me to tell you to look for Hogo-sha just over that hill where we came from?! Should I go run over to the other evac squads and wake up Ashido to tell her that he's gonna be right over?! Hogo-sha's gone, and he's not coming back!" With that, he quickened his pace, shouldering his way past All Might, who stopped and watched him go while Kirishima looked on with a dropped jaw.

"All Might…?" the student asked slowly. "He's wrong, right? Hikari's gonna be-?"

"I'm sorry, young Kirishima," All Might said without turning around. "I know you were a part of the raid where Nighteye died, so you already have some knowledge of this lesson. Even if it's too early for you to have to learn this firsthand, you know the reality is that heroes almost never get through their careers without losing someone close to them."

"B-But!" Kirishima tried to protest. "This is Hikari, All Might! The League killed him before, and he still pulled through, right?! He can't just-!"

"Young Kirishima!" All Might's voice cut at the young hero like a whip, instantly silencing him. "I'm sorry, but young Hikari is not coming back. He gave his life so that the rest of you might live. Don't dishonor his memory by trying to deny that fact, no matter how much it hurts."

Kirishima fell to his knees as he watched Bakugo lay the body down by one of the boats, his arms and legs feeling as though they were lined with lead. "But… he's Kai," he said dumbly. "He always stands his ground and gets back up, no matter what life throws at him…" All Might could only sink to the grass beside his student as they both began to cry in remembrance of the young hero that had paid the ultimate sacrifice in place of his friends.

I never thought that I would live to see One For All pass from the world, All Might thought despondently. Master… What do I do, now?

From atop a hill, amid a field of flowers that afforded a clear view of Nabu Island's temple ruins, Tomura Shigaraki's clone smiled at the ocean in front of him. "Well done, Nine," he said in a satisfied tone. "Truly exceptional work."

Done with his surveillance, he stepped into a foul-smelling portal, which took him back to the mainland of Japan. After making his report to Doctor, he found himself walking amid the bustling morning street among the citizens of the country, none of them having even the slightest idea of the bullet they were dodging. Without his hand-mask, Shigaraki looked like just another average person in a superhuman world.

Even with All Might gone, these idiots just go about their daily lives, as if they haven't a care in the world, the copy of the Liberation Front's new leader thought with a sigh, his good mood starting to evaporate. How many times will it take for all of these people to get it that the heroes can never win? Whatever the case was, his original would be more than happy to be the thing that went bump in the night to keep them all on their toes. The incident with Nine on Nabu would be an excellent blow to the heroes' already-damaged reputations, especially now that a student had finally bit it. Now that one of All Might's disciples is out of the way, my original just has to get rid of the other fledgling Symbol of Peace. I'm sure he'd have liked to have killed Hikari himself, but I'm also sure he'll figure out a way to make up the missed opportunity…

He was so wrapped up in thoughts of how to further destabilize the public's faith in UA and heroes in general with the new forces at his disposal that he failed to pay attention to where he was walking, leading him to bump into another pedestrian. "Watch it, kid," he grunted as the other person recoiled from him. It hadn't been any significant amount of damage that had been dealt to him, but as one of Twice's copies, he had to be extra careful, or else he could wind up as a puddle in the pavement.

"Sorry," a teenaged girl said as she kept her eyes downcast while making to walk around him. Black hair mostly veiled her eyes, but Shigaraki's clone caught a glimpse of caramel-gold orbs that locked onto his face for less than a second, but in that moment, he could have sworn that he saw a fierce flash of fear, followed by rage.

She didn't stop in her walk, however, and by the time he had turned around to try and get another look at her, the girl had vanished amidst the midmorning crowds. Even so, her brief glare had been burned into his memory, though for some reason it felt as though it was not the first time he had received that look.

Who was that kid? He wondered as he kept glancing around for a few seconds. He might have guessed that she was a hero course student, given her age and the cape he had caught a glimpse of, except that she hadn't called for any pro heroes to come and arrest him, nor did he recognize her from any of the profiles of the students at UA High. His gut told him that they knew each other somehow, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out how that could be. He just couldn't shake the feeling that whoever that kid was, she could turn out to be trouble later on down the line.

I'll have the others keep an eye out, he decided. Maybe this kid'll be dumb enough to follow us, and then we can get some answers. Whoever that girl was, he knew the look of someone with a grudge to settle, so he didn't doubt that even if he didn't run into her again, the new wielder of All For One would certainly have the chance to settle the score.

"Are you sure you made the right call?"

"I can hardly take it back now, can I?" Kurai grinned wryly at the two men that stood between him and streets of gold. "It'll be hard, but they'll be okay. Besides, I made sure that the future of the number one spot is in capable hands." He looked down and wiggled the fingers of his right arm, enjoying the full sensation of his own flesh and blood being whole once more.

The two men chuckled together at that. "I suppose I taught you too well," said the one on the right. "I wish that this reunion hadn't come about for much longer, but it's still good to see you again, son."

"You too, Dad," Kurai nodded as he dropped the smile. "To be honest, I wondered if I would see you here, after learning everything about All For One. I'm glad that my suspicions were ill-founded."

"I'm just glad that your grandfather finally gets to meet you in person," his uncle Shiro grumbled. "He hasn't shut up about missing your arrival last time since you were taken back."

"I'm looking forward to meeting him again, too," Kurai laughed as they began to head into the shining city. "I've heard a lot of stories from Dad over the years, but I'm wondering which ones weren't exaggerated."

"Oh, I'm sure he downplayed his part in our antics more than enough."

"Don't you start with that, Shiro! You were always the first one to get into Dad's stuff, and I had to bail you out!"

Kurai laughed as the two of them began to argue in good fun, much like how he and Akarui would have back in the day. It was strange, seeing his father so carefree and full of life when all he had ever known of him growing up was a strict code of honor and shoulders heavy with the weight of the world. With his responsibilities left behind on Earth, and in the presence of the brother he had so dearly missed, it was as though Kurai was seeing how his father was meant to be all along.

The two men looked behind them as Shiro said, "We nearly forgot, but welcome back, Kurai. You've certainly earned your stay here."

"Yes, welcome," Shigeru added a little hastily. "I've been watching over you, and I'm proud of the man that you've become. You did our family name more honor than I ever could have, and for that, you have my thanks, Son."

The praise warmed Kurai's heart, and he smiled brightly as he replied, "I did my best. Now we just have to wait for Shukin and Akarui to screw it up somehow."

"Kurai!"

The three men's laughter echoed throughout the city of the afterlife all the way to the hall of their ancestors, where there would be a massive feast and many stories told in honor of the latest addition to their residence; the Final Holder of One For All.

Deadwood: And so... a light has gone out in the world.

Mataras: ...

Deadwood: Get it? Because 'Hikari' means-

Mataras: Mate, I've already fed one villain to Mina as cannon fodder, don't make me do it twice in one arc.

Deadwood: But I'm not a villain!

Mataras: No, but you are literally called 'Deadwood'. As in, I don't need you. As in... tread lightly.

Deadwood: Well, you're just no fun at all, are you? I thought you'd be happier, finally being able to move beyond what's been looming over you this entire time. Also, didn't you and mister Sunshine not get along?

Mataras: This next phase is going to feature some heavy stuff, so forgive me for feeling the oncoming mood shift in advance.

Deadwood: What shift? You're just a straight-up mood killer.

Mataras: Start doing your job here before I call Kai's ghost in for commentary.

Deadwood: For those of our readers interested in the visual gags relating to this chapter, please be sure to check out the Instagram handle that 'Full Growling' over here mentioned at the beginning of the chapter.

Mataras: What did you call me? And it's visual aids, not gags!

Deadwood: Look, do you want people to look at your artwork or not?

Mataras: I don't want to lie to my audience!

Deadwood: You are telling them a series of made-up events to keep them entertained, right? You are literally, constantly lying to them for their entertainment- and yours'.

Mataras: That's it, you're fired! Get out!

Deadwood: They hated Jesus for telling the tru-! Ow! You're gonna put someone's eye out with that thing!

Mataras: You're lucky I haven't sharpened this thing in ages! C'mere!

Litrosh: Okay, if Mataras has run out of ideas for who to bring in for this segment I'm just going to wrap this up. Next time- The Path Relit

Deadwood: No, not the face! I need that for commentary!

Litrosh: Go for the legs!

Deadwood: Who's side are you on?! Also, who?!

Mataras: Oh, hey! Been a while!

Litrosh: The fight is over, but Nabu Island is in desperate need of repairs. Will Class 1-A be able to Go Beyond?

Mataras: The fact that you're here is pretty damn Plus Ultra!

Deadwood: Guys, come on! I just got this gig, don't replace me already!

Next time on Your Hero Academia: Renewal...

Of course, no one was faring worse than Mina, who had yet to say a word since regaining consciousness and seeing her boyfriend's body covered by a mortician's blanket. What was frightening to her friends was that she had yet to shed even a single tear for the boy that she loved- a sign of an unhealthy mourning process, if ever there was one for people their age. Of course, no one could even begin to think about how to approach her, either. She and Kurai had been together through so much that one was now hardly mentioned without the other. The two of them had even been thought of as the most likely to get married among their friends. How did one go about consoling someone who had just lost what she had, especially when they couldn't even pretend to relate? Izuku and Ochaco were close and liked each other a great deal, certainly, but they had never been as forward in their relationship as their friends', so it wasn't likely that any advice that they could scrounge up would be helpful, if even welcome.

So the silence reigned supreme while the students allowed the teachers and other pro heroes that had come to rescue them take over the handling of Nabu's population and surveying the extent of the damages done to the island. No one wanted the quiet to endure, but no one wanted to be the first to break it, either. All they could do was look at one another with haunted eyes while Mina stared blankly at Kurai's scouter, which he had left behind at the shelter when he went to join the fight. It was one of his only belongings that had survived the storm that Nine had rained down upon them, and Mina had refused to let it go since finding it.

It was supposed to be turned off, so it was nothing less than a fright when it suddenly started beeping with the sound of an incoming call. It startled Mina badly enough that she nearly dropped it, only managing to keep it from hitting the floor when Sero's tape snatched it up and deposited it back in her shaking hands.

"Thanks," she whispered hoarsely, though she made no move to answer the call.

"Who's calling him?" Kaminari wondered.

"Whoever it is probably doesn't know what's happened to him, yet," Asui croaked.

"Should we just let it go to voicemail?" Blake asked tiredly.

They were all a little surprised when Mina- without looking at the lens- hit the call button and said in a dead voice, "Hey, Akarui."

2023 A/N: And so the premise of the story has come to pass, but this is not the end of our epic. The tale continues in Your Hero Academia: Renewal. In this coming story, we will see the aftermath of Kurai's death and just how far-reaching the effects of said event will get...