Over the Top

by papireaz

When I died, I expected a big parade, maybe a few manga volumes. Not to be reincarnated in a world with heroes. I guess I have no choice but to become one then!

51. Issue 49

We are reaching the end of this arc!

The official name is the Remembrance Arc, but you could call it whatever you want. Honestly, that's just how I structured it in my notes just so I could be neat and whatnot.

Also, Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantamania was… something.

The code to join the discord is:

p6HcDQpxuk !

---

"Desperately to go on, have I forgotten what lies underneath?

A life that I once thought I could have but was lost.

Or was I the one that was lost?"

---

December.

In my old life, I lived in England. More specifically London. We didn't get much snow in December, and even if we did, it went after a few days. Hell, snow was such a rare occurrence that a lot of schools shut down for a few days from what I could remember. But despite that, I still wasn't used to the amount of snow in Japan. I didn't know why it snowed so much, and if I were honest, I didn't really care.

Even as I lit my cigarette under the dark purple sky signalling it was evening, I trudged through the snow in my school shoes. I couldn't help but smile as I saw Yui run around and jump in it like an excited child.

"This reminds me of back home," Yui told me, a wide grin having been etched onto her face. "It snows so much back there that even when it's Spring, there is still some snow."

"Do you miss it? Home, I mean."

Yui shrugged her shoulders.

"Sorta. Anyways, what's more, important is what's here in Musutafu, and I think I've made a breakthrough in my research." My eyebrows raised at that. Breakthrough? What the hell could that mean? I mean, either way, I was proud of her, writing a book let alone a biography was no easy task, especially on Aozora.

And considering I was the leading expert on Aozora's life, I was interested.

"Really? Do tell."

"Nu-uh!" Yui shook her head childishly, gathering some snow with her hands and throwing it at me. "Not telling! It's a s-e-c-r-e-t!" I rolled my eyes at her but didn't take her challenge without fighting back as I made a snowball of my own and chucked it at her head. I laughed as it hit her forehead right in the middle and watched as bits of snow got stuck in her hair.

Bullseye.

Yui turned to pout at me.

"Sora! I have a date with Neito soon!"

"So?" I asked, making another snowball and throwing it at her. "Just tell him you picked a fight with me and lost. Simple. He'll understand pretty quickly 'cause he's my bitch after all," Yui glared at me as I said that and she made a snowball and tried to throw it at me as retaliation. Instead, she missed the mark entirely and hit a passerby on the back of the head instead.

I doubled over in laughter as the person, in what seemed like slow-motion, fell to the floor face-first and landed in even more snow. What was even Yui tried to apologise, but the person refused and threatened to call the police.

"Oi, just keep walking," I yelled at them. "Call the police and I'll call an ambulance."

"Why?" They asked me in confusion.

"To carry you of course."

Quickly, the passerby left us alone while Yui was trying her hardest not to scold me as she was laughing so much that she began to cry. Eventually, we found ourselves lying down in the snow with our coats and scarves. I even gave her my beanie so her hair wouldn't get ruined, and the two of us just began to stare at the sky, evening had quickly turned to night.

The cold, grey and unfeeling sky.

…

'It really is you! Your hair is brown, but it's still you!'

'I think Jiro is going to have a fit when she sees you, kero.'

'Shut… up.'

'I love you.'

Yui didn't say anything, nor did she need to as she tapped on my shoulder. Then and again, whenever I got like this, she always made me speak about my feelings instead of bottling them up. And if I didn't, she would become uncontrollable and start crying about how I was not being a good friend. Tch.

"Thinking about your old friends?" Yui asked me.

"Did you really need to say it? Of course, I am," I sighed. "...The last time I saw them was on a snowy day as well. Christmas Day, to be precise… I said 'goodbye' to them, and that was it. However, in my case, my goodbye led to me getting punched in the jaw. And my girlfriend said she loved me right before I broke her heart."

"You never told me why you broke up with her."

"I don't think I needed to," I replied. "But I guess you talk more about your hometown than I talk about my time in U.A. I guess it's only fair that I'll grant you this one wish, alright? Ask away."

"Why'd you leave?"

"Pretty sure I said it before, but it's because I felt like I didn't belong there anymore. I couldn't begin to tell you why, just that I did. I still do. I did fail at something important though, it led to my friend dying. Shigeo's grandson," I explained to her. "After that, everything's… hazy. Death changes someone, but I still feel the same. Maybe there's just something broken inside me after all…"

"C'mon, don't be like that!"

"Yui, I'm an orphan. My biological mother abandoned me at birth and my father? Yeah, he's a villain. I was unwanted in this world from the get-go. Yukari Aotsuki didn't want me, so she abandoned me. Now she has a family of her own. I have an older sibling, but they're dead. Never met them. Hell, they'd probably hate me as well," I spat out bitterly. "Not to mention my own sister hates my guts as well. I haven't had a full conversation with her in months now."

"But that's…"

I shook my head at her.

"I'm a bastard. I always knew that deep down, I think. Did I ever tell you how I used to be a bully?" Yui looked confused at that. "Yeah. When I was younger I was a real piece of work. The type of child everyone hated, the one people wished they'd never give birth to. I was an ungrateful, arrogant, coldhearted son of a bitch that didn't even see people as people. Deep down, I'd like to say I'm different, but I don't know."

Yui giggled at that.

"Don't be too down on yourself, if you were still like that would we really be friends?" Yui asked me. "And even more than that, would you really be here right now? If that was you, then would you really have left over the death of a friend? If anything, that makes you someone who cares a lot. Not someone who doesn't see people as people."

"You're right, I guess," I told her. "My point is that I used to be a different guy. I hurt a lot of people by leaving U.A., but it wasn't the fact that I left that hurt them - It was the way that I did it. I guess I never told you about the reason why I left either, did I?"

Yui shook her head.

"Well, that's a shame. I ain't gonna tell ya' now." I could only grin at the expression she made before punching me in the arm.

"Sora!"

"Relax, relax," I told her while laughing. "I'll explain it to you, one day. Maybe when you've finished your book on Aozora. But right now, I'm… I ain't ready to talk about it. Alright?" Yui stared into my eyes for a few seconds, but those seconds seemed to last forever as she studied what looked to be my soul before shrugging her shoulders in response.

"Okay, I trust you," Yui told me. "But you better not be lying, Sora Yamazaki! If you are lying, I'll have your head on a pike!"

I laughed at that.

"As if you have the strength to do that."

It was December.

And it was snowing.

Even while lying down here with Yui, I couldn't help but think back to all the memories I had with Class A. With everyone in the dorms, with Kyoka and our dates, with spending time fooling about with Kaminari as we bunked our lessons. Of the times spent smoking cigarettes with Aizawa in the garden of our dorm, of the time we had that one class-wide snow fight…

Of the day I left them.

Of the day that I betrayed their trust. The day I stopped being Sora Yamazaki, their friend, and the day I became Sora Yamazaki, the bastard to them. It was as easy as flipping a switch-, No, to call it a switch would be lying. That side of me never really left. It was always there, on the inside. My true nature. No matter what Yui said, I sorta already knew the truth about myself.

I was an ungrateful, arrogant, coldhearted son of a bitch that didn't even see people as people.

That was the truth, no matter how much I had tried to deny it.

Without my Quirk, without the very thing that made me a hero, that was all that was left underneath. A person who couldn't be loved or love others, someone who was just a failure. I couldn't protect Eri or Denji, I couldn't save Nighteye and I couldn't save Mirio and everyone else Overhaul had absorbed.

Absorbed.

Wasn't that the same Quirk that Gyro said Molinete had? The ability to absorb people for power. A fearsome Quirk in its own right, but it left my mouth feeling bitter as I stared at the cold, unfeeling sky.

It reminded me of the sky that day…

Where there were no more clouds.

I had used them all in my fight against Overhaul. But even then, I didn't win. I couldn't kill him. I was still far too weak, or rather I held back. Maybe if I killed him everyone else would have survived? Maybe. Instead, the bastard died on the beach watching the waves, a peaceful death for someone like him - Even now, I wish Overhaul could have lived so he could see his entire empire topple.

So his victims could get justice.

Tch.

Justice.

In this world filled with heroes, did something like justice even exist? Because if it did, why the hell was I walking free? I killed everyone who died in the raid. Their deaths were all my fault, and I wasn't being punished for it. That wasn't fair. Instead, U.A. played up my 'death' as a grand thing, something to be commemorated.

People like Yui instead of criticising me looked up to Aozora.

I couldn't blame them.

I suppose from their angle, what I did was truly heroic. I sacrificed myself to stop a villain, to stop even more lives from being caught up in death and destruction. But… was that really my goal? I wish I could remember how I felt, and what was going on in my head that day, but I couldn't.

The only thing I could remember was their faces.

Eri's blank face.

Nighteye's eyes as the spark of life left them.

Mirio's cold corpse.

The rubble crushed Denji to death.

That was all I could remember. The bitterness in my mouth as I saw them all, the stench of blood in the air and the way they looked fake. Almost as if they were acting, but I knew that they weren't. How could they? This wasn't a dream, this was my reality. It was under a sky like this that my greatest mistake was made, where I lost my powers for a reason I can't even remember.

A sky like this where I turned into the worst person I knew.

A sky like this is where a lie was born.

My lie.

"Sora," Yui stood up from the ground, waving at me. "I'm going to go in a few minutes. I have my date with Neito to go to after all. I think he's taking me to a theme park, but one themed after Winter."

"Sounds nice."

"You know," Yui tilted her head slightly to the left. "I'm sure you could message your old friends. Maybe they'd be willing to hang out with you for a day. Even if it's just some of them, that's better than nothing. Maybe it'll make you stop being such a Debbie Downer all the time."

"Why don't you go back home and meet your parents for a day?" I teased her with a smile. "C'mon, we both know the answer to our questions."

"That we're too prideful?" Yui joked.

"Nah. It's because we're right. In your case, Aozora's death has meant you can live your life freely, right? It gave you a different path in your life. An escape," I then thought back to Gyro and his promise. My powers. "And I have something as well. Something that can affect my future, if you'll believe it."

"Really?" Yui asked me excitedly.

"Yeah. If all goes to plan well… My future will change. I know that much at the very least. Whatever path in my life that's currently on will be changed."

"I thought you enjoyed your life currently?" Yui asked me.

"I do, it's just… Never mind," I told her, waving it off. "I'm just being silly again. Trust me, big things are going to happen soon."

"I'll take your word for it," Yui waved at me. "See you tomorrow, Sora!"

"See ya'," I lazily waved back.

…

I got up from the snow and checked my phone. After Yui was supposed to leave, Gyro said he'd meet with me here in the Musutafu General Park. Near the pond, which I was at. But the bastard didn't show, that or maybe he was arriving late. I could only tap my foot against the ground impatiently as I waited for him to show. Maybe he was attacked by Mulinete? No. Mulinete hadn't made an appearance in a few weeks now.

Whatever his plan was, it was something that was going to happen soon.

I could only wonder what information Gyro had for me as I walked around the small pond that was now frozen, whistling to myself. Yui and I had skipped school for this. Well, Yui was going on a date with Monoma who had a free day today while I was going to meet with Gyro. Thus, in the small amount of time before both of those things, Yui spent that time with me, her 'best friend'.

Still.

I couldn't deny that she was my friend.

Nah.

My best friend.

She was the person I was the closest to, especially after I left U.A. Hell, talking to her about U.A. didn't feel like a chore - It didn't feel like I was talking to a brick wall that couldn't understand me. On the contrary, Yui understood me more than Miwa ever could. After all, Yui had left her home town. She was in the same boat as me, whatever that boat was called.

"Hey!" I turned to the left and saw Gyro smiling at me, wearing the same brown jacket as ever. This time his black hair wasn't slicked back, and I could see that it fell to his shoulders. Still, the single lime green strand of hair in his head was something that made me shudder in disgust.

"Yo. Took you long enough."

"Sorry, sorry," Gyro apologised. "I had to make a few plans. But that's beside the point. I have news."

"Yeah?"

Gyro reached deep inside his pocket and pulled out a picture for me. I squinted my eyes so I could see what he was trying to show me and clicked my teeth in annoyance at what I saw.

Shit.

"How recent is it?" I asked him.

"I got it yesterday," Gyro replied, putting the picture back in his jacket. "Looks like Aizawa and Yukari have finally met. Our time is running out, Sora. I don't know what your 'uncle' is doing with her, but it can't be good-,"

"Lay off him, Aizawa's a good guy." I cut in.

"He's a hero who makes shady deals with Yakuza," Gyro pointed out. "If I were you, I'd trust him about as far as I could throw him. He's an obstacle. He's not your teacher anymore, nor is he your mentor. You have no responsibility to him, and if he wants to get in the way of you getting your Quirks back, I say fuck it."

"That's-,"

"Molinete won't care if you have a Quirk or not when he comes and gets his revenge, Sora," Gyro told me. "Now, if I were you, I'd screw any responsibility he might say I have towards him. You are nothing to him. Didn't you already tell me that he refuses to discuss cases with you? Because you're a civilian? Sora, you and I both know that you deserve better than that."

"I-, I guess…"

"Sora," I looked up at Gyro's soft eyes. "Listen to me, you need your powers back. If you want to fight, then this is the only way you can get them back. If Aizawa locks Yukari up, or even worse, leads Molinete to her, you'll lose that chance forever. Whatever hope you have of getting your powers back, of fighting and protecting once again - Of escaping this mundane life that you hate, then this is your chance. Don't mess it up."

…

"You're right," I told him. And he was. "Molinete isn't going to wait for me. So I shouldn't either. What's our next move?"

"We just have to wait. If Yukari is meeting with Aizawa, we have to wait for the right time to meet with her and force her to give you your powers back," Gyro explained to me. "Then, and only then, can we strike back against Molinete. And believe me, you better knock that fucker out."

I nodded at that.

"Oh don't worry," I cracked my knuckles as I stared at the sky. "I'm way ahead of you. That bastard won't even know what hit him once I'm done with him," Gyro smiled at me, looking up at the sky alongside me.

"Good, good. That means everything is going along to plan," He replied. "To be honest, I was worried you'd back out."

"Huh? Why?"

"Well, we're going after Yukari. Your mother. Sure, she's lied to you, but this time you'll be using her," Gyro explained. "I don't know. I just felt like you'd be more opposed to this part of the plan. But you don't have any responsibility to her, she left your life. Remember that. You're just trying to live your new life, right? You shouldn't let anyone get in the way of that. Not Yukari, or anyone else."

I shrugged my shoulders at him.

"Listen, I ain't going to force her, but I think I can convince her to help me. And yeah, I want to live my new life, but I refuse for it to be at the cost of other people's lives. No one else is going to die because of me. Even if it's just to settle the score between us, to make sure that the lies she's told herself can create true peace for the two of us…" I paused, taking a long drag from my cigarette. "Hey, Gyro. I got a question."

"Yeah?"

"If peace is built on lies, can it be considered true peace?" I asked him. After all, that was what I did with Class A. I lied to them. I lied to them and left, but it was for the better. Zero was looking out for them, someone who could protect them. But more than that, Class A was happier without someone like me stuck there with them, always dragging them down, and wasn't that peace?

Wasn't that a carefree tomorrow?

Gyro shrugged his shoulders at my question.

"I'm not a philosopher," He replied. "But if someone's truly strong, then whatever lies they tell must be strong as well. And so if those lies are the ones that hold peace up, ones that have created the 'true peace' you speak of, then surely that should be strong as well. At least, that's my opinion on the matter. And you can only get that strength from ditching your responsibility, the ideas of family and friends."

I nodded at that.

That made sense.

Ultimately, that's what I did.

Despite that, I couldn't help but think back to U.A. and everyone in Class A under this cold, unfeeling grey sky.

---

Chapter

Forty

Nine

'December Truth'

---

"Huh?"

"You heard me right," Hinata said, stirring the pot of food with a spatula. "Aizawa is coming over for dinner in an hour, so you better clean your room."

"Mum, he ain't coming into my room," I whined. "Anyways, it's the fourteenth of bloody December, who the hell visits on this day?! Wasn't he supposed to come for a Christmas Eve dinner? That's not for another ten days."

"Well, he called earlier and said he was going to be busy with a case, today was the only day that he was free and I told him he could come over," Hinata explained to me. "Now hurry up and clean your room. Get changed into nice clothes as well. Oh, and tell Miwa to wake up and help clean the living room. I'm making some spaghetti, alright? Do you want some dessert?"

I shook my head at her.

Tch.

"Alright, alright," I moaned, walking over to Miwa's door and knocking twice. "Oi. Get up. Mum wants you to help clean," I then walked to my room and shut the door, sitting on my chair with a sigh.

Why was he visiting now?

No, he had visited just last week.

But now?

Now I'd seen the picture.

Aizawa was a good hero, I knew that from firsthand experience. But that didn't mean that I wasn't familiar with his game, no especially from what Gyro showed me the fact that he was coming to dinner today meant that something was up. Maybe he knew I was involved? No, that's impossible. How would he have seen me? Even more, than that, I didn't even meet with Yukari or that Yakuza guy.

I was just with Gyro the entire time.

Tch.

I made my bed and got changed into nicer clothes, one that consisted of a pair of grey jeans and a dark green and white plaid shirt that I left unbuttoned, wearing a t-shirt underneath as I walked into the living room and watched as Hinata set the table up while Miwa was finishing up with the cleaning. Hell, even Gekko was doing his part as he helped Hinata prepare the starters before the doorbell rang.

"He's here! Sora, open the door for him!"

"Yeah, got it," I replied, walking to the door and opening it for him. Aizawa smiled as he greeted me, holding a bottle of wine for my parents in one hand as I welcomed him into our home. "Yo. It's a nice wine you got, did ya' get it for me and you to share?" I joked.

"If you wanted to drink wine, I'd have stolen one of Hizashi's expensive ones, not whatever brand this is," Aizawa replied with a smile. "Anyways, I thought we agreed that wine tastes like shit? Especially red. No, this is for your Mum and Dad. Didn't we also agree that whiskey tastes better? Don't tell me you've gone back on that statement."

"Me? Never," I said with a grin, leading him to the living room "I'm a whiskey guy through and through. Just like Oboro and you," Aizawa smirked at that as he ruffled my hair, much to my annoyance.

"Good, good," Aizawa walked forward as he greeted Hinata and Gekko, even giving Miwa a high-five. It wasn't long before we all sat at the dining table, eating our food and drinking away, even if it was only five p.m. "Merry Christmas everyone! Even if I'm a little early, it's because U.A.'s sending me away next week."

"Really? Where to?" Miwa asked him curiously.

"Well, my Class and I are going to Tokyo soon. Right after half the Class is finished with running that pop-up store they made at the nearby Mall. You know, for charity. But there is something we have to discuss with the Prime Minister," Aizawa answered. "It's not every day you are summoned by the National Diet."

Gekko nodded at that.

"Really? I read in the news that the new law preventing heroes from investigating crimes that happened without Quirks is going to be passed soon. I guess you and everyone else want that law not to be passed?" Gekko asked Aizawa, who nodded in response.

"It's a silly law that even our PM doesn't want to be passed. But the National Diet is convinced it's a good idea, I can see Nezu's eyes turning like gears in a clock as he's trying to think of plans around it," Aizawa told us. "We're to try and convince the Diet, more specifically the guy pushing for this law to pass to stop. Hopefully, my Class and I can present a good case to him."

"Well, I think that's great," Hinata chimed in, "I think it's a shame that over the past year, more people are getting critical of you heroes. Defund you guys? We'd be like headless chickens without all you heroes. It'd be chaos. Seriously, politicians always piss me off. Excuse my language."

"Mum," I rolled my eyes at her. "It's fine. I doubt Aizawa's going to report you for treason."

"You never know."

I glared at him.

"You won't put my Mum away. I dare you."

The table roared with laughter at that.

Hinata promptly gave us our main dishes, which consisted of spaghetti bolognese...

The only problem was that she replaced the salt with sugar…

"Mum," Miwa complained loudly. "Are you trying to create a new recipe? Seriously, this is near inedible!"

"Sorry, sorry," Hinata apologised. "I was rushing the meal and I guess I didn't read what I was throwing in. But you should still eat your food, Miwa. I won't have you throw away food that you can still eat."

"You should listen to her," Gekko added. "It's either that or she'll grab her slipper and start chasing you around the house telling you to eat it all," Hinata sighed as Gekko and Aizawa laughed, while Miwa could only stare in horror.

"As if, anyways not even Sora's enjoying the food!" Miwa pointed out.

I simply raised my hands up in the air in defence.

"Hey! I'm still eating all of my plate, I don't know about you," I replied. "And if you want, I'll even have your plate as well," Hinata smiled at me proudly, hugging me lightly as she turned to look at Miwa who rolled her eyes at us.

"See? My baby boy is still growing. Maybe then he'll reach a nice height like five foot ten."

"Yeah? Hear that, shorty?" Miwa mocked me with a smile on her face. "Even Mum thinks you're about as tall as a dwarf."

"Yeah, and I think you're fat," I replied with a smirk. "Lay off the sweets or else you'll become the President of Cow City. Makes sense considering you already look like one," Gekko laughed at that one while Hinata looked at me sternly. I could only shrug my shoulders at her, before turning back to my meal.

"So, Sora," Aizawa began, "Have you thought about your future? Last time we spoke about this, you still didn't have a clear vision of the future."

"Oh he does," Miwa cut in, "He's just too much of a pussy to go back to U.A."

"Miwa!" Hinata scolded her. "Language. And you're brother… listen, he left U.A. and he doesn't want to go back. That's it."

"Bullshit!" Miwa yelled angrily. "I know exactly how you feel! Both you and Gekko! Aizawa, please, tell me. If Sora were to apologise to everyone back in his class, could he go back to U.A.?" Aizawa didn't say anything as he turned to look at me. I could only sigh in response. Of course, this would happen.

Just my luck.

"If Sora apologised?" Aizawa drawled out slowly, and Miwa nodded her head. "Sure, maybe they'd forgive Sora. But Miwa, he… he doesn't have a Quirk anymore. He can't be a hero. I won't allow him to. No one in U.A. will. Aozora is dead. Why would he go back to U.A.? Surely you've realised that. For as long as Sora can't access his Quirks, he doesn't have a chance to be a hero."

I flinched at that.

"I don't want to be a hero, not anymore," I told them. "Can we just move on from this? Please?"

"B-but, can't he join the general department?" Miwa asked, ignoring my pleas. I turned to look at Hinata and Gekko who shrugged their shoulders, I was forced to accept this.

Sighing, I was forced to sit and listen to their conversation as I ate my food.

"And do what exactly?" Aizawa asked. "He has no Quirk. He's basically Quirkless, or in his case, powerless. Sora already goes to a prestigious school, there isn't a need for him at U.A. unless it's for the hero course. And you heard him. He just doesn't want to be a hero. You can't force him to be something he doesn't want to be."

"Yeah, but-,"

"Miwa. Drop it," Gekko told her.

An uncomfortable silence fell on the table as Miwa stood up angrily.

"I don't want to drop it! For a year now we can't tell Sora how we really feel because he'll just get angry and ignore us! I'm tired of having to be nice to someone who can't even admit he still wants to be friends with Kyoka and everyone else!" Miwa yelled. "You come home but it's like you're not here. You spend most of your time outside doing who knows what, or you're working yourself to death and not accepting any money that's owed to you."

"That's-,"

"I'm not done!" Miwa cut me off furiously. "Mum and Gekko might allow your temper tantrums whenever we bring it up, but just take a look at you. You either, smoke, or both to wind down after a day in your life. You don't reach out to anyone, you don't speak to any of us about your problems. You just bottle it up and ignore them like they don't exist, but they do! THEY DO!"

"...Miwa. I don't have any problems," I told her tiredly. "Can we not do this now?"

Miwa snarled at me.

"It's always the same with you, Sora," Miwa snapped back. "You say everything is fine, that you're better, and then you revert back to the twat you once were. No, the twat you've always been. You say you've changed, and you have. But you still treat everyone around you like shit, even if it's for a different reason. Why don't you want us to help you? What are you so afraid of?"

"Nothing! Jesus, absolutely nothing!" I said, slightly raising my voice as I threw my hands up in the air angrily. "Fuck. It's like you just don't understand."

"I don't understand?! What sort of sick joke is that, Sora? I'm worried about you. I'm worried you're going to start to do drugs, maybe you'll drink and drive and get in an accident, or maybe I'll one day open your room to find you hanging from the ceiling," Miwa told me. "I don't want to see you in trouble, okay? None of us do. But you've been so skittish recently. Just tell us, please."

I sighed.

"Miwa, there's nothing-,"

"We all know how Sora is, how he can't go one second without getting into trouble, so why should he go back to U.A.?" Aizawa cut me off. "Clearly, and I don't mean to offend you Sora, if you're capable of getting into trouble out of U.A., then why should you even bother to go back? Running around at night, skipping days of school. You know you're still a civilian. You should have kept out."

…

"Sora, what's he talking about?" Gekko asked me, in confusion.

…

"Aizawa, what do you mean by that? Is Sora mixed up in something he shouldn't be?" Hinata asked, concerned.

…

"Oi. Stop being an idiot and making Mum and Gekko worry," Miwa said, kicking me underneath the table. "Sora. Is something up? Dude? Stop making us worry about you for no reason."

…

"So that's why you came here, huh?" I put down my knife and fork as I glared at Aizawa, who didn't even flinch. "I wondered when this topic was going to be brought up, but I guess you couldn't wait, could you?"

"No, I couldn't," Aizawa replied. "See, you haven't told your family, so let me illuminate them on the truth," He then turned to face Hinata, Gekko and Miwa who all looked at me worried. "I'm hunting down a notorious criminal. He… well to put it bluntly he's an ex-hitman. A deadly one. He goes by the name of Molinete. And truth be told, I have reason to believe he wishes to kill Sora out of a desire for revenge for classified reasons."

Gekko's face turned serious while Hinata grew pale rapidly at that.

Miwa could only look at me in horror.

"And Sora's bright idea is to not come to me for help, instead he's snooping around an active investigation-,"

"You're the one saying I'm a civilian!" I shouted at him angrily. "You're the one meeting with Yukari, you're the one constantly telling me it's not my business when there is a madman after me and my family! I have to do something, Quirk or no Quirk! So stop being a hypocrite!"

"You're not a hero anymore," Aizawa howled. "You can barely defend yourself, let alone your family. Your friends. The last time you were in a fight, you nearly died. Don't you go off at me when you're trying to get yourself killed!"

"I ain't trying to get myself killed! I just… If Molinete is coming after me, I ain't going to take it lying down! And I'm not going to let you or anyone else fight for me! If he wants a fight, I'll give him one," I told them. "There's nothing wrong with that. That's just what I want. To fight-,"

"Sora!"

"WHAT?!" I yelled angrily at Hinata, raising my voice at her. And for a split second, I could see the fear in her eyes. And that woke me up immediately. "I-, You-, I'm-,"

"Save it," Hinata stood up from the table. "Sora, we all know you miss being a hero. Having your Quirk. You don't need to say anything for us to understand that, your actions speak louder than anything you'd ever say," Hinata told me. "We all know the reason why you haven't filled out your application to go to university wasn't that you had no idea of what you wanted to do, it was because you did."

Huh?

"Don't look at us as if you're confused," Gekko chimed in, "Sora, we've known the entire time how you've felt. Deep down, you still want to be a hero. To be in U.A. again. Even Miwa knows that, why do you think she keeps on trying to push you to go back? It's not because it's what we want, it's because it's what you want. If it were up to me and Hinata, I'd rather have you stay safe here than go back. But you can't seem to keep yourself out of trouble, can you?"

"T-that's…"

"Sora, please, don't run away," Miwa stared directly at me. "Please, don't do this. Are you really in trouble?"

"No," I replied. "I'm fine. Honestly."

"Liar," Aizawa said. "You're supposed to be better than this. Take some responsibility, won't you? Stop trying to live carefreely - Because being carefree isn't ignoring those around you. It isn't ditching your responsibility because you think you've washed your hands clean of people you swore you'd protect. Right now, you're acting for your own self-interests. Right now the boy who was Aozora-,"

"Aozora's dead!" I shouted at him. "I'm not a dead person. I'm still alive. I-, Fuck. Aozora's dead. I'm not him. I'm not a hero anymore, I don't even go to U.A. Responsibility? I don't even speak to anyone in Class A anymore-,"

"Just because you isolate yourself from them, doesn't mean that responsibility goes away," Aizawa cut me off. "No one man is an island. You've made a new friend. Yui, was it? Sora, you have a responsibility to her even when you graduate next year. You can't just break it off like that, life doesn't work that way. You can continue going down this path, but it's not going to make you any happier. You're not going to be as happy as you were in U.A.-,"

"Shut up!" I yelled, standing up from the table as I glared at them. "Just shut up. I-, I'm going out now. I've lost my appetite to eat. Mum, the food was good. Thanks. Don't bother trying to call me, I won't answer."

I didn't even let them get another word in as I grabbed my coat and car keys, not even tying up my shoelaces before I slammed the front door.

Ignoring the harsh and stinging cold air, I walked towards my car as snow fell lightly on me.

…

"Fuck," I whispered, getting into my car. Damn it. I rested my head against the wheel, not even turning the engine on as I breathed in and out. That went horribly wrong. Responsibility? Leaving Class A was me being responsible, leaving U.A. and leaving everything in the hands of someone better than me, someone who didn't mess things up was responsible.

I wasn't ignoring or isolating myself from others…

It's just what someone like me deserves.

It was my punishment.

---

I didn't go back home.

I couldn't face my family or Aizawa after our argument, so I drove around aimlessly. Eventually, I found myself in front of Shigeo's restaurant. I parked the car outside, waiting in my car as I stared at the reflection of myself in the mirror. I could barely see my eyes as my messy dark brown hair covered most of the top half of my face. My mid-length stubble covered the bottom half of my face, not to mention my new piercing on my right ear which was filled with a small black stud.

Just looking at myself made me angry.

I sighed in frustration as I got out of my car and slammed the door shut, walking into the diner. Thankfully, it wasn't busy as Shigeo looked over at me once and smiled warmly at me. I didn't say anything as I sat down at the nearest table and stared at the cloth that was put on top.

White.

Innocent.

Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri. Eri-,

"Here, son," I blinked, snapping out of my thoughts as Shigeo sat opposite me, passing me a cold can of coke with a blue straw put in. "Drink it. You'll feel better."

"Thanks," I thanked him, taking the can and starting to sip it slowly. We didn't say anything to each other for a few minutes as I drank the can slowly, and I tried my hardest to avoid staring at the white, angelic cloth that made me think of her. I didn't want to think of her, or of anything. I just…

"Did you know that penguins can't fly?" Shigeo asked me.

"Huh?" I tilted my head, staring at him in confusion.

"Yeah. Penguins can't fly, even though they are birds and have wings. But for some reason, they can't fly," Shigeo explained, chuckling softly as he fiddled around with the salt shaker on the table. "It's a funny fact I think."

"Oh…"

"So, what brings you here?" Shigeo asked, pausing before he shook his head. "Actually, I meant to ask what's bothering you. Don't try to deny it, the fact is you hate this place. The only reason you work here isn't because you think you have a debt to pay off, sure you may think and say that, but the real reason runs deeper. You'd never visit this place when off duty, and that's perfectly fine. To be honest, I hate this place too. Brings back a lot of memories, some good, some not so good."

"I had an argument with my family," I told him. "A pretty nasty one."

Shigeo nodded in understanding.

"Fair enough. Did they try and push your buttons? About U.A.?" My silence was all the answer he needed as he chuckled once more, his brows furrowed in sadness. "Humour me, won't ya'? I'm an old man. I had a stroke once, I might have another one in the future. Who knows. But I've lived a long and fulfilling life. I had a wife, I had a kid and even a grandkid. Regrets are hard to come by, I believe. True regrets. Yet I only have one true regret."

"And what's that?"

"I wish I could have seen your performance live. Your school festival back in U.A. With the way Denji was talking about it, as well as the accounts I heard of your fight with that Shoto hero, apparently it was amazing. Denji's face really lit up whenever he talked about you. Both in excitement and worry. That boy didn't resent you one bit, even if he was frustrated - not with you - but with life in general. He seemed to think it was him versus the world with the way things were heading."

…

"Sora, the day before… Denji was happy. He thought that you took his advice, or rather he lied to himself thinking you took his advice. That you wouldn't show up. Now, I don't know the events leading to his death - You haven't told anyone what happened other than to say it was your fault, but I sincerely doubt that. See it's in your eyes, Sora. The undeniable guilt you feel, but I don't think a kid like you could kill Denji. After all, his death was ruled as an accident. An unfair casualty. The world is cruel."

…

Shigeo sighed, wiping away a tear that trailed down his cheek.

"I have no family left living. When I'm gone, so's my legacy. My family name. Even if it's not that rare and surprisingly common, I'll have no one left in this world to carry it on. But… that's an oddly calming thought. I have you for starters. I have all of Denji's friends, ones that come to visit the shop whenever you aren't looking. Your old friends. Jiro visits every Sunday when you aren't working with her new boyfriend. Brilliant lad I must say."

"What's your point?" I asked him.

"My point is that life moves on. Your family wants what's best for you, and surely you must understand that for them, your best was in U.A. When you were genuinely happy when you were surrounded by your friends that you laughed and goofed off with. Friends you bled for. When instead of trying to atone for something you clearly didn't do, you lived your life truly carefree with everyone else," Shigeo answered. "I may be wrong, and I do think I am. The truth is buried deep within yourself, and I think you don't want to search for it. Out of fear."

"What would you have me do?"

"Honestly?" Shigeo put on his bowler hat, standing up from the table as he greeted some more customers. "Nothing. I wouldn't know what to do if I were in your position. I'm aware that's why you've been stuck trying to decide what future you want because ultimately you think you'll cause another Denji situation. But being afraid of the future is the same as living in the past, it's mistakes that you learn from as you get older. Now, I have a restaurant to attend, but if you want to stay here that's perfectly fine by me-,"

"Nah, it's fine," I took my wallet out from my jeans, passing the old man a few notes. "Take them. It's for the coke and the talk."

Shigeo nodded in understanding, taking the notes I gave him as he waved goodbye to me. I walked out of the restaurant and back to my car, zipping up my coat as it was becoming quite chilly. It was only six p.m., but I didn't want to go back home.

I got back into my car and began to drive around aimlessly once more.

But this time…

This time I turned on the radio.

"Say, Junnosuke, what do you think of Deku?"

"Hm? Well, I personally find that he's a great hero. Even if he's only a second year, I can't help but think of all the tremendous things he's done ever since his big debut back last year during the Musutafu incident. I mean seriously, he defending civilians from that monster Overhaul at nearly the cost of his own life. It's no wonder he's so popular when he's so genuine in his desire to be a hero. Especially when he endures so much."

"Right. I do think that enduring is a primary staple of being a hero, after all, if you can't endure then how can you save?"

Tsk.

I turned the radio off, with the rest of my journey was filled with silence as I drove through the streets, eventually arriving at my next destination. The dojo. Megumi's car was parked outside, and I parked right next to it, shutting my door as I walked inside. She was practising her kendo loudly as I just stood and studied her for a few minutes in silence.

Megumi was really good.

Unlike me, she had been training in the way of the sword since her birth. With each furious strike, she had already backed off and was turning in a different direction as swiftly as a cat before she launched another string of attacks against the dummy. Up, down, left, left, down. It was impossible for a person to deflect all of her strikes, and with each smack against the dummy, I winced at the loud sound.

Unlike me, Megumi had a toned body built for this.

She could go spar for an hour straight and not feel the burn.

Unlike me, she had a Quirk.

"Oh, Sora," Megumi cheerfully waved at me. "Come to do some training?"

I shook my head.

"Nah. Do you… can we talk?"

"Of course," Megumi wiped the sweat off her face using her towel, before downing half a bottle of water as she walked towards me. "I take it something's gone wrong in your life? You look more down than usual."

"I-, I argued with my family," I told her honestly. "I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but I used to be a part of the hero track at U.A. I dropped out nearly a year ago, and ever since then I've been living a normal, mundane and boring life."

Megumi nodded at that, processing the information in her head as she smiled at me.

"I didn't know that, but I did guess you've been in fights before," Megumi replied. "It's the way you act in a spar. How your eyes constantly analyse each of my movements, how your body reacts before your mind can even comprehend what attack I've used on you - It's the reflexes of a fighter, not a second-year high-school student. Let me guess, your parents want you to go back?" I nodded. "Why don't you?"

"I wasn't right for it."

"Bullshit," Megumi said. "If you weren't right for it, you wouldn't have gotten the chance in the first place. U.A.'s notoriously meticulous when it comes to choosing who gets to pass the hero test or not, it's why they are the top-ranked school in the country for heroics. They only accept those who have the potential to be a hero. And frankly, after knowing you for nearly a year, I can see those qualities. You're kind and compassionate, but also very understanding and a hard worker when you put your mind to it."

"That doesn't make a hero."

"It doesn't," Megumi agreed. "It makes you a good person. And in my opinion, a good hero is a good person. I'm not going to tell you to go back to U.A., I don't even know why you left in the first place. But if you think it's because you aren't a hero, that you're lacking something that makes you one, you're wrong. As your teacher, the only thing you're lacking in your swordsmanship is a goal. A tangible goal you can work towards. It's like your future's been blurry for such a long time, and that's been reflected by the fact that you haven't decided on what you want to do in the future, hasn't it?"

Huh?!

"Your parents messaged me months ago," Megumi explained to me. "But to be honest, I know that lost look intimately. I had one on my own face when I was about your age too. My parents had just died, I had a baby brother to take care of, and a dojo to run. I got by because I worked at an odd job place for a few years, and now here I am. Part-time dojo owner, part-time business manager. But for a while, I didn't know what I wanted to do either. Yet, I don't think it's the same for you."

"What do you mean?"

"Sora, you're a smart guy, if a bit dense. I think that's why I like you so much because you remind me of a male version of myself," Megumi giggled. "I was a bit of a tomboy back in the day, but never mind that. I think you know what you want in your future, deep down in that big heart of yours. But your mind - It's like you choose not to follow through with it, but now I think that's changed. You feel more complete because of whatever you're working towards, and I think that's a good thing. Sora, whatever happened to you before I met you isn't something that will define your life - It's something you can work through."

"Even if…" I trailed off near the end, and Megumi patted my shoulder reassuringly.

"It doesn't matter," Megumi told me. "You can work through anything if you have a goal that pushes you through even the worst of times. You have the power to overcome the barriers placed in front of you. For me, it was making sure my little brother grew up happy and loved, and I think I've done a good job at that. Perhaps too much of a good job. But whatever your goal is, I hope it can help you push past whatever's stopping you from planning your future. You're a good person and an even better student. I hope to see you flourish even ten years from now."

…

"Thanks," I replied, waving goodbye to Megumi as she went back to continue her training. As I walked outside, it began snowing heavily and I lamented the fact that I didn't bring a coat that had a hood. I walked back to my car, trying to make sure that I brushed away all the snowflakes that got in my hair. Despite the ground being filled with snow that was a few days old, I had a feeling that it was really going to ramp up the amount of snow in the next hour.

It was snowing about as much as it did last year.

On Christmas Day.

Once again, my thoughts were consumed by my actions last year. From going to U.A., fighting so many people to protect Class A, the entire raid and leaving U.A. entirely. Within a month all contact with anyone had been cut off, that was my choice. To ignore everything in my life and live a new life free from the past, but that's now how it worked. Either way, a year later all I was left with was wishes for a better year.

A year ago, I thought I'd have been in a better position than I was.

Happier - Not that I wasn't already happy - maybe I'd have found someone new to love, my own group of friends that were different from the ones I had before. At the very least I thought that I'd have figured out what I wanted to do in the future, but I wasn't even sure of that. If I had a future. It felt like I was being punished and I wasn't exactly averse to that, it's just...

I thought it would be different.

A year removed from U.A. and yet all I could really think about was U.A.

It was all anyone wanted to speak to me about, all I was forced to think about, all that really mattered. When I was going to go back to U.A. When I was going to be friends again with those I 'abandoned' at U.A. When I'd become a hero again... But no one ever stopped to think why I made those decisions, why my decision not to come back was so important to me.

Because I didn't want to go back.

That was me overcoming my barriers.

Me being better.

I cut myself off from everyone, from my responsibility to them, and that meant that they didn't have to worry about me. It meant that they could focus on being the best heroes that they could, and I could focus on living my new life the best I could too. That was being carefree. But all Aizawa or Miwa would talk to me about was how my absence only made things worse for 'the both of us.'

I didn't feel worse.

I just felt...

Emptier.

Hollow.

Like a weight had been taken off my back... but also as if a piece of my heart had been removed.

Tch.

It was just the weather trying to affect my feelings, I didn't mean that. I know I didn't, because if I really missed Class A I'd have crawled back and apologised to them. I wasn't being stubborn, I was just showing them that this was the better path for us. If I met anyone from Class A, I'm sure I'd be proven right. They'd just ignore me and pretend I didn't exist as they went on with their life.

Yeah.

That's what would happen because Class A knew that I was right.

As I approached my car, I thought about my next destination. Despite that, I still didn't want to go home. There was too much baggage there, plus I wanted to cool off for a little bit. I thought about calling Gyro, about maybe finding Yukari and getting my Quirk back, but it was getting quite late. Plus, Gyro hadn't seen my earlier message about meeting up for some drinks.

I looked at my phone and called Yui as I got in my car.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

"Sora! What's up?" I heard Yui say across the phone.

"Yo," I replied, staring at the engine of my car as I reversed out of the parking space and onto the main road. "Are you busy right now?"

"No, why?"

"You want to hang out for a bit? I was thinking of going to the shopping centre again, I'll even throw in a free salted caramel pretzel."

"Sure. Meet me at mine in ten?"

"Got it."

---

Even though I had been to the shopping centre just a little under a month ago, it certainly had a different vibe when it was closer to Christmas. The shopping centre was a lot busier for one, not to mention the amount of decoration and music being played on speakers created an atmosphere that was quite magical. I put on a smile as Yui dragged me by my hand to all the different stalls and shops.

Yui was the one that made me smile.

Watching her eyes crinkle as she tried on a new jacket before declaring that it didn't fit her, looking at the shoe section and giving her a short review on each shoe as she told me that this shop was rubbish as she left swiftly didn't just amuse me - It distracted me from my other thoughts.

I suppose it was funny how it started.

Yui was originally a distraction for me, one that wouldn't go away no matter how hard I tried. It was like she had grabbed my boring life by the horns and steered it in such a bizarre way that I didn't know how or why, but it was a life that I was starting to really enjoy. They were right. Before Yui had entered my life, I was simply going through the motions, I wasn't living.

Not really.

I didn't have a goal to live for.

But Yui - Yui's existence was annoying. At first, I tried to get rid of her, but slowly, I started to enjoy her company. I remember her promise to me on the first day we met, 'I refuse to see you waste your life away by just existing! Even if it'll take one hundred years, I swear to you that I'll help you!' They were words that I couldn't help but think about as Yui led me to try some foods at the stall.

I was wasting my life away.

I just didn't want to accept it.

"Yui," I said, surprising her as she bought a hot chocolate for herself. "Do you mind if we sit down and rest for a bit?"

"Aw," Yui pouted at me. "I wanted to go to one more stall. Please."

"Fine," I relented, rolling her eyes as she cheered loudly and led me to the final stall for the day. It was filled with hero merchandise, more specifically merchandise from Class A. I couldn't help but grin as I walked around and browsed what was on offer. There were Deku towels, DynaMight mugs, Shoto beanies and Uravity mitts. Yui couldn't help but smile as well as she picked up a pair of Froppy glasses and tried them on.

"How do I look?" She asked me, posing for myself.

"Like a star," I joked. I reached out to get the Earphone Jack keychain. I was going to buy it just before we left the store. "Anyways, do you mind if we talk for a bit?"

"Why would I mind?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"I just want to thank you," I told her truthfully. "You've helped me a lot these past few months. You've been a really good friend to me, even if I don't say it often, I do mean it," Yui snorted at that, taking a shirt and putting it in front of me.

"Mmh. It doesn't suit your eyes," She placed the shirt back as we walked through the large stall. "And really? I mean we are friends, but… I don't know, getting you to open up about anything is such a pain. I mean I get it, you're trying to be alone, but it's almost like you were pushing me away at times. Like you thought I was better off without you - No, like you thought that it was better for you to be alone."

"Really?"

Yui nodded.

"Yeah. I'm glad you think that way though, because we are friends no matter what!" Yui replied. "Not to mention when I finish my Aozora book, I'll have a section dedicated to you! The friend who helped me the most when writing the damn thing. Honestly, I think I have a pretty good idea as to what happened in his life."

"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"Well, for one, I think that Aozora's really alive."

I felt my lungs stop working as time crawled to a halt.

"I mean his death was fishy, but now that I'm starting to look into it, things aren't adding up. He doesn't have a grave. All heroes at least have one public memorial, but Aozora doesn't. Not to mention the specific hero festival he partook in is actively being deleted instead of archived, and the most damning evidence of all - No one in Class A even talks about him. As if they are trying to hide or cover for him."

"I-, That's-,"

"I know Aozora was your friend, but you have to tell me, do you know if he's alive?"

"He's dead. He's definitely dead."

"Are you sure?" Yui asked me, frowning a little. "Because I've been speaking to my friend online, Molinete, and he says that-,"

"Woah, woah, woah, hold on, did you just say Molinete?"

Yui looked at me in surprise.

"Uh, yeah? Do you know him too? I've only met with him a couple of times, but he's a really nice guy-," I grabbed her arm immediately and made a beeline for the exit.

Fuck.

I was looking at every corner warily, not to mention I balled my free hand into a fist.

Shit.

I shoulda brought a weapon with me, of course, Molinete would strike! Gyro and I were wrong, the bastard had already made his move!

"Hey. Uh, what seems to be the problem here?" I let go of Yui's hand as I turned around in surprise. That voice. Yui giggled as I turned around to face Mina Ashido. I turned back around, hoping that she would go away. "Oh, you're that girl we met? Monoma's girlfriend, right? Yui if I'm not mistaken?"

"Yup," Yui replied. "Nice to meet you again."

"And this is…?" Mina tried looking at me, but I still faced forward and showed her my back. Damnit. Not now!

"Dumbass," Yui hit my arm as she forcibly made me turn around. "This is my friend I was talking about. Say hi, don't be shy all of a sudden." I watched as Mina's eyes went through a variety of emotions, from surprise, sadness and-, "Mina, meet-,"

"Sora… Yamazaki."

Anger.

Mina's face twisted in anger as she looked at me for the first time in nearly a year.

"Listen, I'd love to stay and chat but-," I was cut off as I heard more familiar voices walking our way.

"Mina? Are you there? We need some help at the front, kero."

Tsuyu and Ojiro rapidly approached, and I could only sigh as they froze when they saw me. Even if it had been a year, how could they not recognise me? Yui could only look between us in confusion, and I couldn't blame her. Fuck.

"Sora?" Ojiro asked, his voice wavering between surprise and anger. "Is that you?"

FUCK!

"Yeah, it's me," I slowly nodded, nervously looking at the exits. "You've filled out a bit, Ojiro," I then turned to Tsuyu who took a step back just by me looking at her. "You look different too, Tsuyu. Is that a new hairband?" I then turned to Mina, whose bottom lip was quivering - in rage or fear I did not know. "You're looking good too, new haircut? While I'd love to stay and chat, genuinely, something came up so I really have to go-,"

"You haven't paid for that," Mina cut in coldly, pointing at the Earphone Jack keychain I had picked up. "I didn't expect you'd be buying that. Or just be here in general. That'll be five hundred Yen."

I thanked my lucky stars as I gave Mina the money and went to walk out of the stall, only for Yui not to move a muscle.

"You know people from Class A?" Yui asked. "I mean you said that they wouldn't recognise you."

"Now's not the time-,"

"I've been begging for you to message them for months, but you've been lying to me the entire time?!" Yui yelled at me. "You know how much this means to me, why would you lie about being friends with them? How much more have you been keeping from me?! No, I'm not going until you tell the truth, Sora. No more evasive answers."

"Friends?" Mina scoffed. "Friends? Is that what you thought? As if any of us would ever be friends again with a guy like him!" She bit back venomously, forcing Yui to take a step back in shock.

That was when I stood in front of her.

"Ease off on her, she didn't know any better," I said to Mina. "Listen, I ain't looking for trouble. I didn't know there was a pop-up store here, alright? I'm not trying to cause any trouble. Why can't we just ignore each other and walk the other way? Something important came up and we really need to get away-,"

"No," Yui interjected. "I want to understand why you lied about saying you weren't close to them or even that they would recognise you?! What else have you been lying about? Did you even know Aozora?!" Tsuyu and Ojiro winced at that final word while Mina began to laugh.

Fuck.

"Did he know Aozora?" Mina laughed. "Answer the question, Sora."

I grabbed Yui's arm, turned around to leave-,

"Answer the damn question or I will!" Mina shouted loudly.

"Do you really have to do this?" I turned around and stared at her. "Please. I don't want to do this. Why do you want this? I thought we just ignored each other peacefully. If it's about what I did, I'm-,"

"Don't you fucking dare!" Mina growled, and Ojiro had to physically restrict her. "Do you even have any idea how much it hurt? Do you?! You hurt us, ditch us and ignore us for a year. But I see now, once a liar always a liar. You can leave U.A., but you never change, do you? But instead of lying to us, now you're lying to your new 'friend'," Mina then pointed to Yui who looked at her confused. "And you then have the cheek to say we should ignore you?! What is this to you, just some sick joke?"

"I-, Mina, please, I'm begging you," I pleaded with her, but it fell upon death ears as she shook her head. "Don't do this. Why can't we just ignore each other?Please, don't do this-,"

"We pleaded with you too," Mina whispered, and I could feel the pain in her voice. Tsuyu hadn't looked in my direction since the start of this whole exchange, and Ojiro was trying his hardest to physically restrict himself. "We begged you to stop. But you didn't, did you? You just ignored our pleas as you went on to break our hearts. Some 'friend' you were. You tried to ruin our lives-,"

"God damn it Mina, this isn't the fucking time!" I snapped at her. And suddenly, all three of my old friends along with Yui stared at me in horror. I tried to calm myself down, but it wasn't working. Why weren't they listening to me? Why weren't they ignoring me? I left the way I did so that they could ignore me, why couldn't they do that?! Damn it. "Listen, I know you hold a grudge but this isn't a time or place. I promise if you want to rant at me, I'll give you the time and place, but please. Don't tell Yui."

"Don't tell me what?" Yui demanded as she glared at me. "Sora, what is she talking about? Sora. We're friends, right?"

I tore my eyes away from her as I stared at the ground.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck-,

My heart was pounding faster and faster, and my eyes kept darting around the area so I wouldn't stare at any of them. Yui stood in front of me, and I could see it in her eyes. The desperation.

"Sora, what is she-,"

"Did Sora ever tell you that he went to U.A.?" Mina asked her.

"Yeah. He said he was in general studies," Yui answered. "But that doesn't explain why he knows you. Or Aozora. Did he meet you all through him?" Mina shook her head, and I was unable to escape from the harsh reality. Mina only giggled in response while I stared at the floor once more.

I couldn't look Yui in the eyes.

"General ed, huh? Didn't know you could lie so easily to another one of your friends," Mina spat. "Yui, Sora wasn't in general ed. He did attend U.A. but for one course, and one course only. The Hero track. He was our," Mina paused to point at Tsuyu and Ojiro, "Classmate in Class A. I don't think I need to spell out who he is. But I suppose your dream of writing a book about Aozora would at least be accurate with him helping you out."

I tried to look at Yui.

"..."

I watched as her mind processed what Mina had just said.

"..."

Her eyes widened in shock as she stared at me. I opened my mouth to try and say something, anything, but the words just couldn't come out. Ojiro and Tsuyu began to feel sorry for me, or perhaps they thought that I had suffered enough as they led Mina to the front of the store without uttering another word, leaving Yui and me alone. She didn't say anything, and she didn't need to say anything.

"Do yo-,"

Smack.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

I turned to look at Mina who gleefully smirked at me. Tsuyu and Ojiro seemed more sympathetic, althought I didn't know if it was to me or Yui. Probably Yui. I didn't really deserve or want their sympathy, yet they couldn't help but stay around. I just didn't understand why. I had no responsibility to them anymore, and vice versa to me, so why did they stay?

Turning back to look at Yui, she looked like her world had just been turned upside down.

And I couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Yui. Please. Can we speak at mine?" I asked her, offering my hand out. She took a step back as I closed my eyes. Fuck. "I promise you I'll explain everything. Please. Don't do this to me."

…

Tentatively, she took my hand.

But I will never forget the look of betrayal that was on her face.

And just how similar it reminded me of Kyoka Jiro's back then.

When I broke up with her.

When I cut all ties with everyone.

---

Yui sat on my bed as I leaned against my desk. Neither of us had said anything ever since… it didn't matter. No one was home for me. I guess Hinata, Gekko, Miwa and even Aizawa went out to try and look for me. Not that it did them any good since I came back to an empty home, but I guess that was a fitting punishment for a bastard like me. I reached out to the back of my desk and got the frame that was facing down.

The same frame Yui once tried to reach.

"Here," I gave the frame to Yui. "It was taken in August of last year. As a class, we went on a school trip together, camping. It's the entire class, and if you haven't already guessed, I'm the guy with the blue hair. A… friend of mine gifted me this as a late birthday present. Charge Bolt. The blue-haired kid, that's me. Aozora. Now you know why there are tons of pictures of me with blue hair around this house."

"..."

"I know you have a bunch of questions, but I'll-,"

"Why?" Yui cut me off, staring at the frame I had given her. "Why'd you leave?"

"Because I couldn't be there anymore," I answered her honestly. "I lost my Quirk. I couldn't be a hero even if I wanted to. I betrayed everything that I was supposed to stand up for, everything I had previously fought for because I just wanted to save everyone. I didn't die fighting Overhaul, I gave up my powers to kill him. Couldn't even do that. That's just how strong the bastard was."

"I see," Yui huffed out. "So you faked your death out of guilt. So you could live a life outside of U.A., which I assume U.A. was in on and even helped you, to try and live a life of normalcy? A carefree life?" I nodded.

"That was the plan, yeah," I sighed, running a hand through my hair as ignored the itch to start smoking. "It worked. Until you came along, you and your investigative dreams. At first, I was just humouring you. I mean what were the odds? But as I got to know you, as you started to pop up more frequently in my life, I slowly started to-,"

"Cut the shit, Sora," Yui cut me off once more. "Did you ever take me seriously?"

"Of course! I-, I wouldn't have helped as much as I did if I didn't," I told her. "Why do you think I was so critical of Aozora? Constantly telling you to not get your hopes up about him. I was trying to tell you the truth. Class A do view me negatively, and yeah, that's because of my own actions toward them. But it's the truth. I never once lied to you so long as it didn't mean it jeopardised the lie U.A. and our Prime Minister, Hachi Yamaguchi who owes me a favour or two, set up for me."

"The Prime Minister owes you a favour?"

"I used to be best friends with her adoptive younger sister," I answered. "And Hachi and I's births are related. In a sense. My biological mother helped to create her, but that's not the point."

"...why do you view yourself as a bastard?" Yui asked me.

I-,

Huh?

"W-what?"

"I asked," Yui put the frame down, and for a split second I stared at it. My happy past self. "Why do you view Aozora with such contempt? What happened to make you hate yourself so much?"

"I failed, I failed so badly that day," I replied honestly. "I was the furthest thing from a hero you could ever imagine. I told you, didn't I? I tried to kill Overhaul. Well, kill isn't exactly the right word. But that was after so much had already happened, all of which was my fault. I'm not lying here."

"Tell me-,"

"No."

"You owe me," Yui yelled loudly. "You owe me! Months I've been led on by you. Months. And then you had the cheek to say you valued me as a friend? What kind of bullshit do you expect me to swallow? What happened or I swear to God I'm walking out the door and never coming back."

…

"I fucked up," I whispered. "It was supposed to be a simple raid. But things weren't simple, not for me. Shigeo's grandson, Denji, my old friend - He was also a part of the raid. But not as a hero. He was one of the people that I fought against, a Yakuza," Yui turned still at that. "I couldn't take that. I tried so hard to convince him to give up, to help me stop the raid. But he was trying to stop me from being involved as a hero too, we were just both stubborn idiots trying to protect each other."

"..."

I took Yui's silence as a chance to carry on explaining.

"He knew that the Shie Hassakai had something planned. And they did. They perfected a drug for Overhaul that made his Quirk the strongest. Undoubtedly so in the wake of All Might's disappearance and Endeavour being so busy and spread thin. Overhaul's Quirk allowed him to absorb other people, and make himself stronger. But only one at a time. This drug made him fuse with as many people as he wanted, even if it slowly killed him, his Quirk also healed him. Or, he healed himself using his Quirk."

"He sounds monstrous."

"He was," I admitted. "Denji knew about this plan, and he didn't want me to get hurt. But he was so stuck in his ways, he too was selfish. He had his own friends in the Shie Hassakai, ones he wanted to protect. Ultimately, I wanted to protect him and he wanted to protect me, we were just trapped in the decisions we made that day. I fought my Uncle, a hero, to try and give Denji the chance to escape. I'd look the other way at everything he'd done, the crimes he committed because he was my friend."

"But you were conflicted, weren't you?"

I sharply jerked my head at that.

"Yeah. On one hand, I wanted to protect him. On the other hand, I was a hero and had to keep appearances up," I told her. "By the time I came to a conclusion of what to do with Denji, he was dead. Instead of arresting him and his friends, instead of doing the heroic thing, I let them go. I couldn't put my own friend in a jail cell."

"What?"

I nodded.

"The reason he died was because I let him go. If I had just been a hero, maybe he would have lived. He was crushed to death by rubble caused by another fight while trying to escape from the raid, an escape I helped him with. He died because of my decisions. I decided I would turn my back against what it means to be a hero to help him, I decided to aid a wanted criminal instead of arresting him. And I don't regret that decision, not even now. I just wished he could have lived."

"..."

"His death broke me," I told her, looking up and meeting her eyes. "We had captured Overhaul at the time, but I was… angry. Too angry. Overhaul taunted me, and so I beat him hard enough that he managed to get free and that's how he went on the rampage, taking the lives of many innocents. Me coming to ultimately take care of him wasn't a glorious sacrifice, it was my own selfishness that led to the situation. My own inability to move on. To be a hero and endure. I-, I couldn't. I let my emotions get the best of me, and I'm ashamed of it even now."

"..."

"You wanted the truth, here it is," I raised my hands up in the air as I forced out a smile. "Not even my family or anyone apart from Deku and my teacher in Class A knows the truth. Everyone else is dead. And Aozora? When I woke up in that hospital bed on Christmas Day, I was surrounded by Jiro. My girlfriend at the time. She cried tears of joy as I woke up, but all I could think about was how much hatred I had for myself. I didn't deserve that. To wake up with love."

"That's-,"

"I'm not wrong, Yui. I promised I'd never kill anyone because I didn't understand what death truly meant, but that was a small lie I told myself so I'd sound more heroic. The truth is all I've ever wanted to do is kill those I came up against," I told her bitterly. "Tear their throat out. Stab them in the heart. Crush 'em to death. That's the hero you want to worship, a murderer."

"..."

I sighed.

"Aren't you going to say something?"

Yui scoffed as she stood up and walked over to me. I wondered what she was going to do. Slap me? Hit me? Spit on me? But she decided on neither as she hugged me, tears running freely down her cheeks as she sobbed into my chest. I could only stare in shock as tears kept falling on my top, and I had to awkwardly pat her back as she nestled her head in my chest.

Huh?

"You're an idiot," Yui told me. "You've been running away from that the entire time? And you didn't tell anyone? Dumbass, you should have known better. As if anyone would blame you for this."

"Huh?"

"You're just a kid," Yui told me. "And you were put in a difficult situation. You had to go through so much, and you still blame yourself. You push everyone away not because you think you're a bastard, but because you think no one punished you for failing. But it isn't your fault, not really. How could you have prevented any of it? If Overhaul was going to go on a rampage anyway, you were going to sacrifice your powers to beat him anyway, that's just who you are," I shook my head, pushing her away.

That's not it!

"N-no! It is! I killed them! It's all my fault! Denji died because of me, what part of that don't you understand?!" I sighed, staring at my ceiling. "I betrayed Class A's trust. The real reason they don't like me is simple. I lied to them. And I think they know it, but I've ignored every attempt they've made to try and make things better. I-, Yui, I can't be their friend."

"Why?"

"I-, I don't-,"

"You do," Yui told me. "You do, Sora. I'm not saying you're not in the wrong with what happened, some fault does lie with you and your decisions, but you can't blame yourself for every little thing that happened. No one's death is because of you. And you're wrong. About your final sacrifice against Overhaul? Perhaps it came from a place of selfishness, but it was because you were a hero that you made that sacrifice. I-, Damn… why did I run away from home?"

My eyes widened at that as Yui began to cry once again.

"I-, I thought that-," She said in between sobs. "I thought I was defying my fate. But, we were both running away from our responsibilities, weren't we?"

Huh?

"There's nothing wrong with running away from the responsibilities that tie you down," I replied. "Somethings aren't things you can face. Some things make your life worse, and harder to deal with. Life is meant to be lives, not survived. You can't win every battle-,"

"We didn't even try," Yui cut in. "You ran away from U.A. and your responsibilities there as soon as you woke up for some reason only you know. And I ran away from my responsibilities because I-, I can't face the truth, can I? I used you - Aozora - as an excuse for my own selfishness too. I ran away to the big city to try and escape, to try and be my own person, but the entire time I was wrong. Running away from your responsibilities isn't right. Sora, you're wrong. That's why everyone doesn't want to ignore you, why they keep calling you out."

"Calm down, what do you-,"

"I said you're wrong!" Yui screeched at me. "Running away from your responsibilities only benefits our own selfishness. My family inn, it's more than just a job. I grew up there. I-, I thought I was trapped in my small town full of people trying to support me. I thought I was suffocating, but I was only suffocating myself. I-, I have a responsibility to them. Because it's a place I miss dearly. My family and friends are still there, waiting for me. Even the customers. Even now. It's not about winning or losing, that's stupid. Life isn't an uphill battle."

…

I laughed.

A belly-rumbling laugh escaped from me, in fact, I laughed so hard I fell to the floor and clutched my stomach. And Yui could only look at me in confusion, almost as if I had grown a second head. I couldn't blame her, I'd never once acted like this in front of her. It was just so funny. Yui was the one to try and tell me something that personally made no sense, I gave up my responsibilities and I lost?

How?!

I was happier, better, stronger than I once was.

How was that losing?

"Alright, alright," I told her, getting up from the floor. "I get it. You're a weirdo. It's ironic you're family name means Kazuma, especially since it's written with the kanji that also means harmony. You're a strong person. I'll drive you home."

"Sora, I'm being for real-,"

"Yeah, yeah," I cut her off, grabbing my keys as I walked towards the front door. "You've had a long day. I'm sure your brain is fried. We'll have this conversation another time, alright? Right now words are just coming out of your mouth and they aren't making sense."

Sora-,"

"Not another word," I smiled at her, ushering her out of the front door before I closed it shut. No one had come yet. Weird. "C'mon, we don't have much time. Let's get you home so you can rest," I ignored her attempts at trying to start a conversation as we walked to my car.

I was wrong for running away from my responsibilities?

Who says I was running away from them?

All of this - Everything, from not having a Quirk anymore to leaving U.A. Even abandoning my friends, entrusting their protection to a villain. To someone stronger than me. That's me being responsible, realising I couldn't do it myself.

So I left it to him.

It was all my punishment.

A fitting one.

I failed, after all.

It's not that I didn't deserve all those things, rather, I couldn't be trusted with them. I failed, and this was a fitting punishment for me. The protector that couldn't protect anymore - The caring friend that had none. Everyone was wrong. Happiness? For someone like me? That couldn't happen.

I wouldn't allow it to.

I didn't deserve it.

I wasn't trying to absolve myself of my sins, I wasn't trying to overcome the emptiness inside. I wasn't running away from my responsibilities, or anything anyone else said that I was doing - This was my punishment.

That's the real reason everything turned out this way.

That's the truth.

And this punishment can't end, it's my eternal punishment for the lives I took. All sixty of them. Denji. Eri. Nighteye. Mirio. And so many others. I killed them all, and that fact was never going to change. Going back to U.A. is just ignoring that punishment I desperately needed, being loved again unconditionally isn't how I'll become better. It just makes the guilt worse.

And no one could understand that.

"Sora."

Standing in front of my car with his slicked-back hair and gaudy jacket was Gyro. He had a serious look on his face as we approached him, likely because he had seen my messages. I turned to look at Yui, who seemed shocked at Gyro. Huh. Maybe she was just shocked that I had other friends outside of her, and wasn't that sorta funny in a sense.

"Gyro," I nodded at him. "What do you want?"

"I need to talk to you about Molinete."

Huh?

"Oh yeah, speaking of Molinete, Yui here said he's been messaging her," I told him, pointing at Yui. "Listen, if Molinete's going to come here ready to kill me, I need to fight. Don't be afraid Yui, I won't let this Molinete guy hurt you. Or anyone."

"Sora," I heard Yui say behind me. I turned around to look at her, and for the second time that day, she had a shocked expression on her face. Huh? "Sora, come behind me. Now."

"What do you mean? This is Gyro, he's my friend. Molinete's the guy trying to hurt me.""

Yui shook her head.

"No Sora. Don't you understand? The Molinete you were talking about, and the Molinete I met, is him."

What?!

I turned around to face Gyro, but all I could see was the barrel of a-,

Bang.

Yui's loud shriek pierced the air, but the gunshot was even louder as my ears rang loudly. I coughed up blood as I fell to my knees, blood dripping on the floor as I turned my head in confusion. A sly, cruel smirk formed on Gyro's lips as he laughed manically. And in his hand was held the smoking barrel of a pistol. My eyes widened in shock as I coughed up my blood and clutched my stomach where a pool of blood was beginning to be formed around me.

"You can't make this up," Gyro laughed. "You really had me going there, Yamazaki. Ahahahaha."

"G-Gyro… why?" I managed to get out as he grabbed Yui by the neck before she could run away, pointing the gun directly at her head. Damn it. I tried to get up, but I fell to the floor, my body failing me as blood poured out of my body by the gallons it felt like. "I thought... you were..."

"Why? Don't get it twisted, I never once said we were allies," Gyro replied. "No, you didn't even ask if I was your ally. You just believed me right away. You think that you were suspicious of me, but as soon as I said I could get your Quirks back you blindly believed and trusted me. And what luck I had that you spoke to no one about me. I don't even know if you can get your powers back, I was just fucking with you the entire time."

…

"Man, you really saved my ass," Gyro told me as he kicked me whilst I lay on the floor. "Even when we visited that Yakuza hideout, I'm surprised you didn't recognise your old teacher. Snipe, was it? Who else could have shot a pistol bullet from six hundred metres away? Do you think an assassin All For One hired could do the impossible? In this world of Quirks, that is the impossible. The truth was staring right at you, and you refused to look at it. You were so focused on the idea of getting your powers back that you didn't even see me as an enemy. I almost feel sorry for you."

"W-what?" I spat out more blood.

I tried to stand up.

No.

He's lying.

I-,

I wanted to regain my strength. To hell with my punishment. After a year of soldiering on, weak and helpless, I just wanted them back. I thought… I thought this was it. I thought there wasn't a path to power, but I thought I had found a way. I tried to get up, but my blood coloured the white, angelic snow red. The snow was falling heavier compared to before, and my entire body felt numb as Gyro laughed at my effort.

No.

I thought-,

I thought-,

I could finally-,

Protect-,

With my strength-,

Only…

I howled out in anger.

"Give them back," I screamed at Gyro, my eyes burning as something fell down my cheeks. "Give my powers back! All of them! Give them back to me! GIVE THEM BACK!" Gyro could only laugh as he threw the pistol down in front of me, grabbing Yui by the neck as he began floating. A yellow energy surrounded him as he laughed harder and harder, floating in the air.

"Give it back? Take that gun and shoot yourself, that's the only power you have left," Gyro told me with a smirk. "I told you. You'd never win against me. Friendships? Family? I was able to beat you because I don't care about any of that. Now you're going to bleed out on the floor. I wonder who'll find you first, Aizawa or your family? Maybe it'll be both at the same time."

Gyro-,!

Give...

..Them...

Back.

"Just look at how pathetic you look, Sora. If only you hadn't kept it all to yourself. I was so close to being caught so many times, but you helped me. Now I can get what I want because no one can ignore your death at my hands," Gyro grinned. "Bye, Sora. You were a good pawn while it lasted. But you've served your purpose. So now I'm sacrificing you, alright? This is for my life."

Gyro then flew off in the air with Yui, leaving me all alone… Just like then. J

ust like the raid.

…

"Damn it," I grit my teeth, trying to get up as I crawled across the floor. Blood kept on pooling out of me, but I couldn't get up. "I need to-,"

I coughed up more blood.

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.

"No," I whispered, tossing the gun aside as I kept on trying to get up. Eventually, using a curb to support me, I got up and began walking towards the direction Gyro flew in. Come on. Walk damn it, walk! Yui's in-, Denji's in-, Izuku's in-, Jiro's in-, danger damn it! Walk! I yelled loudly as I tripped up over my foot and fell on the floor, rolling over as I was in even more pain.

Red.

My hands were covered in my blood.

And I could see behind me a trail of red in the snow.

No.

No.

N…

"N…o?" My eyes felt prickly as I grabbed a fistful of snow, trying to crawl forward. But my body couldn't move. Was this it? After everything, was I still so weak? Damn it. Damn it. DAMN IT-,

I can-,

I can-,

This isn't-,

Why can't I-,

This wasn't-,

...

I just wanted to protect everyone again.

Deep down, I just didn't want to feel weak ever again. Because ever since the raid, even now, I'd felt so weak. Watching as everyone in Class A was able to protect each other, protect everyone I ever wanted to protect, I felt so weak. So useless. I felt like I didn't deserve to be there with them because ultimately I was just a weak little boy who couldn't protect anyone.

"NoooOooooOooOOOoOOOOOooooooOOOOOOooooOoooo….!" I howled until my voice cracked and no sound came out. I managed to get to my knees as I slammed my fist against the ground repeatedly in frustration and helplessness. This was supposed to be it. This was supposed to be my chance to get out of the hell I'd created for myself, but I wasn't able to.

It was my punishment.

Fuck…

Fuck…

Tears spilt down my cheek, and they didn't stop.

I didn't want them to stop.

They were the only warm comfort I had in this cold.

This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment.

This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment.

This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment.

This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment. This was my punishment.

I tried to push forward, but eventually, my body gave out as I rolled around to stare at it.

The cold, grey unfeeling sky…

I stared up at it.

Why.

Why was I chosen? Why did I have to be reincarnated? Why couldn't I have just died a normal death? Why was I born hated? Why was I chosen for a cruel experiment? Why did I have to go to U.A.? Why did so many people love me?

WHY?!

"Why did you adopt me?" I whispered to the snow, thinking back to Gekko and Hinata at the orphanage that one day. Why did they pick me? Of all the bastards they could have picked, why did they pick the one that caused them so much hurt and pain?!

Why did Miwa still view me as her brother despite the hell I've put her through for years on end? Why did Jiro and everyone else become friends with me when they knew it was futile? Eventually, I'd hurt them…

Why did they all love me?

I'm just…

Weak.

I couldn't protect them from anything.

So I gave up that responsibility because it hurt me so much. It hurt to know that I couldn't protect anyone I cared about, so I left. I left it all behind and thought I'd be stronger because of it, but everyone was still trying to protect me. From myself. And I didn't even listen to them. I didn't want to listen to them because I was so stuck in my own punishment.

Yui and everyone else were in danger. From Gyro. I placed my trust in the wrong man, and now everyone I ever cared about could die. I was going to die. Why did it come to this? If only I had told Aizawa the truth… If only I had told him about Gyro.

If only I had been more truthful to Yui, maybe she wouldn't have been taken.

In my first life, I died with no regrets because I didn't have a life that allowed me to have any regrets…

I don't want to die.

Not in this life.

Not with all these regrets.

"I… I want to…" I coughed up blood.

My vision was getting blurry, but I could see the lone man approaching from the front. I don't care if this is my punishment, Yui didn't deserve to be punished. None of this was her fault. I-, It was-, I didn't care if I didn't have the power to protect, every part of me was screaming the same song-,

"I want to fight," I screamed through my tears as I tried to crawl forward once more. I wanted to fight even without my Quirk. Not to beat Gyro, to prove him wrong or out of the anger I held toward the man. It wasn't because of that. "I WANT TO FIGHT!" I screamed, crawling forward to try and catch up to Gyro. I wanted to fight, not because I wanted to beat Gyro-,

But so I could save Yui.

So I could protect her.

So I could protect someone.

Because that's who I was.

A protector.

Slash.

Coming out of my chest was a sword.

I looked up to see him.

Aizawa.

"...So that's it's it, then? This is how it is," I whispered, tears streaming down my face. Not even my family were on my side now, I guess that's how far I've fallen. "You too? I really have no one, huh…"

Aizawa shook his head at me.

"If you want to fight, then fight," Aizawa told me. "But don't turn your back on your responsibility. Not to Yui. And not to anyone else. You may have been punishing yourself, Sora, but you can't avert your eyes from the truth now. You've been running away from your responsibility to so many othersbecause of a lot of reasons, but that's no way to live."

I-,

"I know," I whispered. "I-, Does the pain ever stop?"

…

"Look at the other side and see for yourself," Aizawa replied.

Blinking my tears away, I turned around and couldn't believe what I was seeing. Perhaps it was the fact that this was the closest I had ever been to her in years, or perhaps it was the sad, almost watery, smile she had on her face. Her blonde locks had snow in them, but her eyes remained firm in resolution. The blade that had pierced my chest had no blood.

It was pure white.

Linking our two souls together, I had no idea who it was.

Who would do something like this for me.

But the person holding it was none other than Yukari Aotsuki.

"...Yukari…?"

Boom.

My world flashed white - And that was that.

---

Chapter end.

The next chapter will clear everything up. From Sora, Yukari, Aizawa, Yui and even Gyro's roles in this arc. The arc is finally coming to a close in an explosive finish, and I have to thank you all for sticking with this arc for as long as you have!

I knew this first arc back was going to leave some readers scratching their heads, and that's deliberate. It's a slower arc that focuses on Sora and his emotions, his true feelings.

Living with trauma is a pain, and it makes your life a living hell.

Sora's trapped himself inside that hell.

But he doesn't want to be there, it's just what he thinks is right. He's punishing himself because that's what he thinks should happen, but that doesn't mean he's right and I hope that's made abundantly clear.

He thinks he's punishing himself, and he is, but no one wants to see him punished. Lest of all his family and friends that do care for him, and that's a real depression, not many people can break. That's a real depression I think many people have had in their lives.

They feel like they aren't good enough for the people around them.

That they are a parasite or a curse.

I alluded to the fact that Sora was depressed after the Kamino Ward incident, but I hope that right now you understand that Sora is depressed. He doesn't have his powers, his identity.

That's why he's punishing himself.

In a sense, it's sorta like Sora's arc in the first chapter of this story, but far more personal. Back then he was just an arrogant child, now he's a depressed teenager. That's growth, even if he still needs to be taught a lesson or two.

Responsibility isn't something you can just ditch, because even child Sora still kept his responsibility to his family. This Sora doesn't even do that. Because U.A. is his family.

As I said, this next chapter is important.

Everything will be cleared up and tied up neatly.

Until then, I guess this is it!