Over the Top

by papireaz

When I died, I expected a few manga volumes. Maybe to learn what the One Piece is. Instead, I found myself in a world that I recognised, a story I had read and what's worse was that it was a story I had no interest in wanting to involve myself in! Then and again, the offer to become a Hero is far too tempting...

52. Issue 50

Harukaze - SCANDAL.

Discord code = p6HcDQpxuk !

---

"True strength

It comes from an unchanging heart

No matter how much time passes."

---

Yui Kazuma POV

"W-where are we?"

"We," Molinete-, No, Gyro, replied. "Are waiting. I have no doubt that Aizawa's trying to scramble a plan to try and fight against me. Tsk. Just my luck I had to get such a skilled opponent trying to catch me."

'Huh?'

"Catch you?"

Gyro nodded.

"I'm a notorious hitman, Yui," Gyro told her. "I've killed upwards of a hundred men, women and children. Then he put me in the hole. I survived by being the strongest, but that comes with a price. Your dear friend knows that price-," As soon as Sora was mentioned, Yui couldn't help but scream and shout, kicking and punching the man as hard as she could.

But it was useless.

Gyro backhanded her as she fell to the floor, her cheek red as she spat out blood. He had knocked two of her teeth out with one slap. Gyro simply laughed at her. It was only then that Yui could see where they truly had landed.

Their school roof.

Even if it was covered fully with a blanket of snow, Yui recognised it immediately.

"As I was saying," Gyro continued as he leaned against the fence. "Being strong means being hated. Friends? Family? That's nothing. Responsibilities only tie you down, in the end, I paid that price. The entire time I was stringing Sora along because I knew that Aizawa wasn't going to make a move on me with Sora as my hostage, even if he didn't know it at the time."

"A-and what about me?"

"You," Gyro began. "You were the most important piece of my plan, Yui. A friend of Sora's - One that he would willingly get close to. I didn't plan on you appearing, nor your love for Aozora, but it was perfect. I befriended you, I learnt your goal, and I pushed you in the direction to find the truth," Gyro laughed once more. "I wanted you to share your theory a lot earlier. It would have distracted Sora's mind a lot more and it would have been easier for me to gain his trust, but in the end that wasn't needed. He's a hopeless fool after all."

"S-shut up! You don't know him!" Yui yelled at him. "He's going to come here. I know it."

"I shot him in the stomach," Gyro replied, his right hand balling into a fist as yellow energy surrounded it. "If he comes here, I'll kill him. I'll steal his life force, and I'll become even more powerful. Powerful enough to survive anything. But he won't come. Did you see the look on his face as we left? It was pathetic. It was pure despair."

Yui rubbed her shoulder as she stared at the snow.

'N-No… he has to come!' She thought to herself, calming her nerves down. 'He will come. Aozora-, Sora's not the type to give up. No matter what he's going through, I know him. He'll get back up and fight again because this isn't a fight he can't run away from. No. After this, he can't run away from the truth anymore.'

"Why did you take me?" Yui asked him.

"Because," Gyro sat on the railing. "I need another hostage. See, I'm a wanted man internationally, but there is one way to clear my name. If I hold you hostage, a friend of Sora Yamazaki's, word will go up the food chain. All the way up to the Prime Minister. And Hachi Yamaguchi owes Sora Yamazaki big time, after all she used Aozora's 'death' to get into office. So how else to pay off her debt to him by saving a dear friend of his, thus granting the madman what he wants?"

"...and what is it that you want?"

"An identity," Gyro replied. "I have no name. Gyro? That's a name given to me as a hitman. Molinete? That's a name given to me for surviving. My first memory was the letter five being carved into my skin because I was simply an experiment. You can't live in this world without an identity, and for the past thirty years, I've just been surviving. For my whole life, I've been used. I want to live too. My life was stolen from me at birth, and I want it back."

Yui couldn't help but laugh at him.

"You did all this for that?" She shook her head. "You're an idiot as well. If you had just been Sora's friend, if you truly cared, and if the Prime Minister does indeed owe Sora a favour, that would have been done without all this! You do realise that, right?"

Gyro shook his head.

"The same way Sora helped you with writing your book? No. The world doesn't work that way, Missy," Gyro raised his voice ever so slightly at her. "In this cruel world, we're all abandoned and alone. We can only help ourselves, and only ourselves. I know that better than most. I've survived on my own for so long, and I had to be powerful to do that. You say my plan was convoluted, but I disagree. I've called all the pieces to action by simply manipulating one boy who has an entire world that cares about him. The same world he abandoned."

"He didn't-,"

"If he didn't abandon the world as Aozora, then what exactly did he do?" Gyro asked her rhetorically. "Sora Yamazaki left U.A., left being a hero for a simple reason. Because he was weak and he couldn't stand it. Your friend has always craved power, whether you want to accept that fact or not - He loves fighting. He loves the thrill of it at the moment, the fact that you could die with a single wrong move. Sora just doesn't want to accept that. You can deny it if you want, but that's part of the truth. It's all in his eyes."

…

"You're wrong," Yui told him as she stood up from the ground. She wasn't afraid. Not after what he had just said. "Sora can and will accept that! And when he comes here, and best believe me he will, he's going to beat the shit out of you! Because the one who's denying the most here isn't either him or me, it's you! I don't know what happened to you in your life, but that doesn't matter. You're just running away from your responsibility. From what's really bothering you. You've trusted this plan of yours to an obsessive degree… the same way I looked at Aozora, and the same way Sora looked at the plan you made to get his Quirk back."

Gyro didn't say anything, nor did he need to.

He merely scoffed, turning around to ignore her.

Yui sat back down on the snow-covered roof of her school, staring at the sky. It was night. But… the snow was beginning to stop falling down in droves, and Yui could tell that a new day was starting to approach them. She knew that if she tried to escape, Gyro would likely kill her. The same would also happen if she mouthed off once more, but despite that Yui held a satisfied grin.

She had said what she wanted to say to him.

Now all she had to was wait for Sora to come -,

Because it was like Gyro said, she could read the future by just looking into his eyes. It wasn't hopeless despair like Gyro thought, no, Yui saw something deeper than that. The will to protect. Yui saw that in Sora's eyes, there was still a little bit of fight left within him, and he wasn't going to give that up.

Yui Kazuma was wrong.

Aozora wasn't a hero. He was just someone wearing a costume fighting for what they thought were selfish ideals. But protecting those closest to you - That wasn't selfish. It wasn't what a hero was either, but it wasn't selfish.

No.

The real hero all along was the man behind the mask.

Sora Yamazaki.

---

Chapter

Fifty

'The Unchanging Beating Heart'

---

"...Yukari…?"

Holding the end of the sword that was currently stuck inside of me, I began to panic slightly. Was I betrayed by her too? But it was her smile that wiped away those thoughts, especially as she reached out to cup my face gently. It was the way her bottom lip trembled, tears threatening to spill as she closed her eyes and muttered a small 'thank God' as she looked at me.

Yukari was glad to see me.

I tried to say something, anything, but words could not come out of my mouth as white light started to glow from the sword that pierced my chest. Aizawa began grinning before a world of white enveloped both Yukari and me.

…

"Where are we?" I asked her.

"This," Yukari pointed at all the empty, white space around us. "I don't know actually. I suppose this could be considered your heart, or a metaphorical heart. It's wonderful, isn't it? The inner scientist in me just wants to study it, but I suppose I don't have enough time for that."

…

"What are you doing here?" I asked her. "You shouldn't be here. This-, You-, Molinete could kill you-,"

"Worry about yourself for once," Yukari cut me off with a smile. "Caring and trying to protect others is an admirable goal, but it can easily be perceived as arrogance. Well, that's what I would say if I were your mother," Yukari shook her head at that. "But I'm not. I'm just some woman in her fifties who's nothing to you, and that's completely fair."

"Y-you! You have two kids! Mashiro and Tomoya! You-, Damn it, why are you here?" Yukari walked towards me, humming lightly as she looked up at me. I was a full head taller than her, even if I wasn't that tall which only showed how short Yukari actually was. But that didn't deter her as she flicked my nose, laughing at my reaction to it.

"You've grown," Yukari said. "Taller than me, wow, the years just fly by. And look at you trying to grow a beard, it suits you. And your ear piercing? Nice work, Sora. I reckon you'll be able to attract a lot of girls with your looks alone. Are your grades any good?"

I blinked at her in surprise.

"...Yeah. Top of the class for everything but science," I replied. "I suck at science though."

"Really? Just my luck that my son's lousy at science," Yukari muttered as she sat down on the floor. I followed after her and we sat in comfortable science. "Sora. I'm glad you know about Mashiro and Tomoya. Even if you didn't knock on that door, it still makes me glad that you wanted to visit. I've been a real lousy mother to you. I've been extremely unfair to you, and I have no right to even say that I'm your 'mother'. That right remains exclusive to Hinata Yamazaki only."

"I guess. But. Hinata's a strong woman. Honestly, I think you two would be really good friends," I told Yukari, who smiled in response. "She's a primary school teacher, but the way she commands the room is just… Oh, and even though her cooking isn't all that good, it tastes great 'cause I know she made it with a lot of love, right? And whenever I get in trouble she always sighs heavily before berating me, finishing it off by hugging me tightly."

"That sounds like a normal mother."

"I-, I didn't have a normal mother. Not in my past life at least, she was always busy as a professor at university and expected me to be a lawyer or something," I returned. "She was super strict at the very least and demanded perfection from me. I had to cook my own meals around the house since I was a kid. I didn't even mention the fact that she always berated me for the littlest of things, like the fact that I used my left foot to take a first step and kick a ball, or the fact that I was a slow reader so I could appreciate the story and characters a lot more."

"She sounded like a nightmare."

"I barely knew her," I thought back to her. "I called her by her first name more than I called her 'Mum'. With my Dad it was a bit different, he always pushed me for sports even when I had no talent. I had all the passion in the world, but I realised that you can work as hard as you want - If you don't have talent, you can't make it anywhere. Or maybe I gave up and those were lies I fed myself, the point was that I annoyed my Dad but I also became afraid of failure."

"Do you remember their names?"

I shook my head.

"I don't remember their names or faces. I don't remember what my name was or even what I looked like. Ever since coming here I've been trying to move forwards, to live in the future and not be tied down by my past, but that's impossible," I explained to her. "I didn't want to experience death from those around me, not when I had already died once and could only imagine how awful my family felt. I tried to avoid it. But I failed, and I'm sure Aizawa filled you in on what happened…"

"He didn't need to," Yukari replied. "I was watching the news that day with Mashiro and Tomoya. While Mashiro was cheering for you, and Tomoya wanted to practise your cool moves - I recognised who you were right away. The small baby I had abandoned to the cruel world had grown up to be a hero and then it was announced that you died. I-, I couldn't accept that. So I searched, I met with political leaders with shady contacts, I just wanted to find you."

"...and you did it no matter the cost?"

Yukari nodded, showing me a few scars.

"It was simple. Heal a small girl's life, mend someone's broken bones. And I slowly got the information, but I also became a target," Yukari told me. "Molinete. Or Gyro as you and I know him. He was one of the experiments that happened before my work on the project that led to you and many others, a flawed experiment. But he wanted to survive. He became a hitman for All For One at such a young age too, he simply wanted to prove his worth and not die like numbers one through four. But he was abused and thrown away by All For One. In the end, Gyro wanted revenge and he helped me - That's why everyone was set free. Why you were born."

"So, your punishment was me, and his punishment was going in the hole?"

"Yes."

I laughed at that.

"So then, he gets out of the hole and plans on getting one back at All For One? But then All For One dies unexpectedly, and Gyro's rage can only be taken out on you, is that right?" Yukari nodded at that. "So all of this is just an elaborate game of torture?" Yukari shook her head at that.

"Gyro… His memories are defective. Missing. I don't know about his past, but he always clung to power, because ultimately power was what decided whether he lived or not - If he was able to survive," Yukari explained. "Ultimately, he's a broken man. He just wants to live, much like you wanted a carefree tomorrow. And the two of you reached the same conclusion, to lose all your bonds-, No, to leave the responsibility of them behind. But neither of you is happy."

…

"I want to kill him," I said, staring at the white abyss surrounding us. "The rage inside me, the hurt, it's not going away. I haven't felt something like this since… since Overhaul. But back onto your story, I guess since Aizawa was tasked with bringing Molinete down, as soon as he saw you were involved he came rushing to your aid, right?"

Yukari shook her head.

"No. I came to him in aid. I saw your stunt with Gyro from a distance, and when Snipe came to investigate, I became even more worried," She said. "The only reason Gyro would manipulate you was to further his own goals, sure, but also because deep down he wants to get back at me. He just doesn't want to accept that. Sora, I'm sorry. I know you wanted to reach out, that you came to visit me but stopped last second. I just want to ask, why?"

"...because of Mashiro and Tomoya," I responded truthfully. "Because they need you more than I needed my answers from you. But, I think it's also because of the fact that I… whether you think of it or not, I was your punishment. All For One forced you to have me, forced you to give up your first child made from love because of your actions. I didn't want to rip away another mother from a child."

Yukari opened her mouth, but no sound came out as she began to cry.

Just the two of us, in this empty void, called a heart.

I suppose it made sense.

I was a monster.

I had no heart.

"Sora, I came here to help you," Yukari told me, wiping away her last remaining tears. "But I'm not going to help you so you can become a cold-blooded murderer. Or so you can throw away the second chance I want to give you. Maybe you're my punishment, but that doesn't define you! Your family… your friends… They view you as something different, and that matters more. Not me, some silly woman who left your life eighteen years ago."

…

"You're telling me to move on?" I laughed, and for once, I felt my anger boiling. "You left me!" I roared at her. "I-, I woke up in a new world and you left me. I went to an orphanage and they died. My second orphanage called me a devil, fitting for what I am, right? I started to hate this world and everyone in it because of you! Don't you dare lecture me on who I am, you've been absent for my entire life! I don't need your help, just go back to your-,"

"I did leave you," Yukari cut me off. "I hurt you. And my apologising won't do you any good, so I beg you to just ignore me. Forget about me and the past. Don't live only for the future either tomorrow comes either way - Live for the now. That's all I ask you-,"

"Shut up!" I shouted at her. "Just shut up! Mashiro and Tomoya need their mother, please, just go back to them," My pleas fell on deaf ears as Yukari shook her head, wrapping her arms around me and buried my head in her chest.

"Shh, shh," Yukari calmed me down. "You may be seventeen, but I still have a responsibility to you. A responsibility I've been ignoring for so long. You're just like me in all the ways I wish you weren't. Stubborn, unwilling to accept help, but brave when it counts. You know what I'm doing, right?"

"You're giving my powers back to me. Just stop, I don't-,"

"You do want them," Yukari cut me off. "You begged for them. There wasn't anything you wanted more in both of your lives. Right now… you're afraid of what the toll of getting your powers back will do to me, aren't you? That's why you hesitated in trying to find me. This entire time even though you wanted your powers back more than anything, you didn't hurt me more than you already think you have."

My eyes widened at that.

"How did you-,"

"Even if you don't think it, even if you try to ignore it, it's easy to see," Yukari giggled. "I call it a mother's intuition. But you should know that you never hurt me. I never planned on having you, and yes, All For One used you as a form of punishment for me. But I never once viewed you as a punishment. I didn't leave you because I hated you, I left you because I couldn't have raised you."

"Sh...Shut...Up..."

"Because I was just a lost woman. It took years for me to recover. I wouldn't have been able to provide you the love and warmth of a family that you needed, that's the truth, not a statement," Yukari told me. "You may have stumbled a little, but you're on your way. I don't deserve to call you my son, I know, but looking at you now really puts a smile on my face. I wish Mashiro and Tomoya could have grown up with their older brother. I wish I wasn't so weak that I had to throw you away-,"

"Shut up! Just go, go back to them! Go back to your kids! They need you more than me!" I yelled at her angrily. "Please. I don't deserve your wishes or dreams. I'm just a loser who lost everything, I'm just stuck in a cycle I can't break. I'm not worth saving so just let me be, just let me rot. Don't sacrifice anything for someone like me-,"

Smack.

"You can't tell me who I can or cannot help. I may be a scientist, but I'm now a Doctor. I took that hypocritical oath to save people," Yukari said confidently. "And I will help you whether you want my help or not because it doesn't matter to me. Because the fact is even you can see that you've hit rock bottom. Your eyes reveal everything, how much hatred you have for yourself and this world."

"Then why help me?"

"Because you deserve to be helped," Yukari answered. "...No one helped me. I picked myself back up after losing my first son, Raiden. After abandoning you. After being tortured for so long by that mad man. And I found love again, I managed to give birth to two amazing kids. But my new life - That doesn't erase the past or my responsibility to you or Raiden. I'm not helping you because I'm forced to do it, because out of any guilt. I'm helping you because right now you need my help more than anything in this world."

"But... what if you..."

"I don't care about the backlash for this action, it's my decision," Yukari smiled at me. "And you're sweet, did I tell you that? Really sweet. You're a good kid, even if I didn't raise you. No, you're a good kid because I didn't raise you. Because you grew into your own, and I hope that never changes. You'll become an amazing adult one day, I know it, so don't give up here. I'm not saying you should give up your responsibility, I'm saying you should embrace it."

Huh?

"You have a good heart, Sora. That's not something you're born with, it's something that's forged over a long life," Yukari said with wisdom beyond her years, "And even throughout all this time where you've been punishing yourself, that heart's remained unchanged. But don't avert your eyes, Sora. Don't avert your eyes from the life you've been running away from, the life you want. You trusted Gyro so much because you wanted your future back, the future you fought for, so don't let it end here. Don't let my sacrifice be something that ties you down. Don't be the barrier preventing yourself from that life you always wanted."

"But I-, I still…" I quieted down, standing up as I faced the white space around me. If this was my heart, it was pathetic. It was empty. It was the heart of a devil, one that had no bonds because he severed them. It was the heart of someone who had been living a lie for so long, convincing themself that they deserved nothing because they didn't have the power to protect anyone, this was my heart.

But within the emptiness, I could see something in the distance.

It was a girl I recognised.

"Yui. Yui's in danger," I turned back to stare at Yukari. Even if this was my punishment… "Yui doesn't deserve to be punished, not in the same way as me. There's a part of me - a big part - that still wants to be punished for what I've done."

"But?"

"But," I continued. "I'm not alone here. In the hell, I've created so I could be punished. The fact is Yui got dragged into this mess, and believe me, that changes everything. I have been running away from my responsibilities - For so many different reasons. Everyone was right… but they were also wrong. It's hard to disagree with Gyro telling me I was weak. It's a fact that I need to be stronger than I currently am,"

A bright light.

It appeared in front of us, and I knew what to do.

I didn't hesitate as I reached out to it - The entire white space changed as Yukari held on to me, but that didn't matter. Even as Yukari's grip weakened, I continued to search - to reach out for what lay beyond my heart.

"It was my own weakness and cowardice that led me to cause the raid to turn out the way it did," No matter what anyone said, that was the truth. It wasn't me being stubborn, it was how I felt - How I would always feel. The blame, no matter how small, still fell on me for the events that happened that day. "It was also my weakness and cowardice that made me leave U.A. the way I did. I wanted to forget about the responsibilities I had to the bonds I'd forged, the bonds I still care about,"

Slowly, the world came crawling to a halt as what was once white turned black.

In front of me was a golden light.

"And it's those two same qualities that have led to this mess. That's led to other people I care about suffering. All of those things are on me. All of them…"

"Go.. on…" I heard Yukari whisper to me feebly. "I...Believe...In...You..."

If this was my heart, then it just proved that I was a loser.

Because even now I still can't forget the taste of it. The taste of that day in April as I walked into an unfamiliar class with people I didn't know, but people I vaguely recognised. I couldn't forget the feeling of happiness as I grew closer and began to love that class, the sense of camaraderie we had, and the jokes we all shared. The nights spent huddled together in our dorm as we discussed whatever came to mind.

Kyoka Jiro.

The first girl I loved from the bottom of my heart.

Denki Kaminari.

My best friend who was more like my brother.

Minoru Mineta. Momo Yaoyorozu. Izuku Midoriya. Shoto Todoroki. Katsuki Bakugo. Ochako Uraraka. Mina Ashido. Eijiro Kirishima. Yuga Aoyama. Tsuyu Asui. Tenya Iida. Koji Koda. Mezo Shoji. Hanta Sero. Fumikage Tokoyami. Mashirao Ojiro. Toru Hagakure. And even…

Even me.

Sora Yamazaki.

If this was my heart, then I knew I would lose to Gyro with how the man I currently was. But I'm not that man anymore. Even as Yukari's grip on my shoulders weakened, I didn't dare look back at the man I once was. That didn't matter anymore. Because this time - I could feel each and every one of them push me forward, this time I wasn't fighting my own heart all alone.

I reached towards the gold light without hesitation.

Both my hands grabbed something tangible in the gold light, the familiar shape of two swords. One was a sleek long katana, a tachi, the first sword I ever held. The other was the scimitar-like sword I used during the raid. But more than that, one was coloured completely black while the other was coloured completely white. They both were tangible, held in my hands.

Kurai and Shiro.

And slowly, I watched as they melded into one.

By the time I opened my eyes, I was standing in the snow once more. The wound from the bullet that had cleanly gone through my stomach was beginning to heal, but that didn't matter as I turned to catch Yukari in the air.

She looked pale.

"What did you sacrifice?" I asked, but I already knew the answer.

But I wasn't going to turn away from it…

The price was right.

That was her Quirk, a similar Quirk to mine.

One I had once used to sacrifice everything just to beat Overhaul, a Quirk I had abused constantly throughout my first year in U.A. just to keep up with everyone - A sign of my laziness. It wasn't my power, it was burrowed power. And that arrogance was what led to me making the worst decision of my life, even if I would never regret it. But, as I looked at Yukari, I felt sad.

What did she sacrifice?

"M-my life," Yukari managed to get out. "And I don't regret it one bit. Has… have your-," I nodded at her, cutting her off as I summoned my Nimbus. But it wasn't tinted blue anymore, no, it had gone fully silver. Not white, but not blue either. A mix of the two. Yukari let out a satisfied smirk as she cupped my cheek one more time.

"That's wonderful. I'm so glad for you, Sora…"

"Did you…" I trailed off near the end, regaining my composure as I looked directly at her golden eyes. "I didn't want anyone else to die. Not because of me."

"I didn't die because of you, I died for you," Yukari smiled at me. And it was her smile that made me understand. "Death comes to us all. From those you care about to those, you don't know. Sora, don't be afraid of it. Protect what you want to protect and make sure that if someone goes, it's with a smile on their face… that's the responsibility you have. Responsibility as a scientist - No, as a doctor, I once shared. I'm now passing it down to you."

She was right.

Yukari was right.

I wasn't strong enough, nor did I have enough confidence to protect people before. That's why despite everything I had achieved, it all came tumbling down during the raid. I thought I was a monster, and I became one. But once you're a loser, once you've hit rock bottom, it doesn't always have to be that way. I can overcome this. I will. Not just for my sake, but for everyone around me as well.

"...Sora. I have a few things to tell you before I…"

"Save it-,"

"No. Listen," Yukari pulled a small photo out of her pocket. It was a blonde boy that looked exactly like her, they even had the same eyes. "Raiden… your brother, he's still alive. I know he is."

…What!?

"Please. Save him. I know it's selfish of me to ask, especially when I tell you something after this, but please… I want him to be happy. Please, save him wherever he is."

I nodded.

"I will."

That was a promise.

"You're also… dying," My eyes widened in surprise as Yukari stared at me, her brows closely knit together as a guilty look appeared on her face. "Genetic failure. I made sure of it before you were born… I'm so sorry. I-, He tried to stop me but…"

"It's fine," I cut her off. "We all die one day, but I'll make sure that I die with a smile on my face, just like you said. I think I knew it deep down anyway.," I closed my eyes, feeling my beating heart as I smiled.

All the times I had coughed up blood wasn't just an illness, it was a sign. Yukari made her sacrifice knowing this-, No, she did it because of it. Because like me, she thought this was her punishment for what she had done to me. Her punishment wasn't having me - It was being forced to give me up and have her doubts eat away at her new life. Had she gone against what All For One had predicted-,

Maybe she would have been happier.

Maybe, Raiden, Mashiro, Tomoya and myself we could have all been a happy family.

And so, in order for that dream to live on, I smiled warmly at the dying Yukari Aotsuki.

"I forgive you, Yukari Aotsuki. Don't worry about Mashiro and Tomoya, I'll look after them too. Please, just rest in peace now. I promise that I'll find Raiden. I'll make sure we're brothers. So just sleep peacefully."

…

I laid her body gently on the ground, closing her eyes as the snow fell around us. But despite that, the serene smile that was on her face didn't fade away. Even as I stared at her for what seemed like minutes.

It…

It reminded me of Eri.

Of Mirio.

And maybe... Maybe even Denji too.

I turned to face Aizawa, whose face was unrecognisable. But he clearly knew something like this would happen as he had a grim look on his face, but despite that, I didn't raise my voice, nor did I begin trying to fight him. I merely stood up and walked over to him, placing my hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," I told him. "I've been a fool for such a long time.

"...are you going to run away now?"

I shook my head.

"Nah. Not anymore," I replied, jumping on my Nimbus. It was a lot larger compared to how I remember it being. Slowly, I was raised into the air as everything came back to me. "I owe it to the remembrance of my past self to not turn away now. I suppose this is the real encore for Aozora! The real final act of Aozora, the hero who never gave up. But never mind that…"

"Gyro's at your school roof. I confirmed it with my other sources," Aizawa told me. "You do know if you fight him, I can arrest you for being a vigilante."

"I have a provisional hero licence," I countered.

"Which isn't valid if you're not currently in a hero track," Aizawa replied. "Which you aren't."

…

I began to laugh.

Aizawa looked at me in confusion, and even warily. No doubt he was confused whether I was in the right state of mind or not. Hell, Aizawa had a run-in with Kurai, I knew that, so naturally if I laughed like a lunatic he would be worried. But I was in control. Me. And that meant something, so there wasn't anything to be worried about. I clapped Aizawa's back with a grin on my face.

And muttered words I never thought I'd ever say again.

"Is there any way U.A. will have me back?" Aizawa's eyes widened as he realised what I had said. I was sticking to my promise, to both Yukari and myself. I didn't get my powers back to screw everything up once again, I didn't get them back just to continue running away from my responsibilities. I still wanted to be punished. That wasn't going away, because I wasn't going to U.A. for fun.

I was going to find Raiden.

I was going to fulfil that one promise.

Aizawa nodded at me as I rose in the air and flew in the direction of the school.

…

…

…

"Thanks… Mum."

---

Yui Kazuma POV

"See?!" Gyro gloated. "Where is your saviour now?! He didn't even show up, you were wrong." Yui stared at the snow on the ground.

'No… he's still-,'

"He's not coming. You put your faith in the wrong man. At the end of the day, he's just weak," Gyro's voice snapped Yui out of her thoughts. "He's just another loser born out of this rotten world!"

But on the horizon…

Someone was flying towards them.

"That's-!"

Yui heard Gyro click his tongue in anger. "Damn it. Yukari, you dumb whore. Even in the end, you were screwing me over. Oh well, if it's a fight he wants, it's a fight he's going to get." Yui couldn't help but stare at the small dot that grew closer and closer by the second, and she couldn't help but get her hopes up.

"Aozora?" She whispered into the night sky.

No.

Aozora was dead. A hero who inspired her to try and change her fate, but that was wrong. Yui's fate was never tied down. But she knew that now, she knew the mistakes she had made, and she was going to correct them. The remembrance of her small town filled her with warmth despite the chilly weather, and so she stood up and ran to the fence, leaning over as she ignored Gyro.

"Sora!" Yui yelled at the top of her lungs. "Sora… it's really you, isn't it?" In a flash of silver-, No, in motion it looked azure, Sora jumped off a cloud and landed on the school roof. Yui was overjoyed as she ran towards him, embracing him in a tight hug as tears ran freely down her cheeks. He was alright.

Sora was fine.

"Yui…" Sora began. "I need you to step back."

"Huh?" Yui shook her head as Gyro stepped forward. "No. You can't. He's powerful, you can't fight him without a plan-,"

"Shut up, won't ya?" Sora stepped in front of her, and for once Yui took a step back. Not in fear, but in awe. Sora didn't even hesitate as he materialised a sword made from clouds out of thin air. "I know that. But there isn't a need for a plan."

"Oh?" Gyro raised his brow. "You didn't come up with a plan? You shouldn't underestimate me."

"I'm not," Sora replied, bending his knees. "Yukari told me all I needed to know about you. I won't hesitate. I'm not going to pull back my blade on you, Gyro! But at the same time, you aren't going to die either."

Gyro laughed at that, a cold cruel smile preyed on his lips that made Yui feel scared.

"You'll be swinging your sword with the intent to kill, but you won't kill me?" Gyro asked, smacking his hand against his forehead. "That's an ironic statement. After everything I've done for you, everything I've done to you, this is really how you're going to repay me? By sparing my life? What else, are you going to throw me in jail too?"

"No," Yui couldn't even keep up with Sora's speed as he dashed forward, his sword colliding with Gyro's arm that had yellow energy glowing around it as sparks flew in the air. "I'm going to prove that you're wrong. Because there's only one person I'll ever kill. And there is a zero per cent chance that you're him."

…

Yui smiled as she heard the resolution in his voice.

Without even thinking for another second, she ran to the stairs and started to make her way down to the ground floor. This wasn't her fight. It was Sora's, and it was a fight against someone who was like him in every way. But Yui could see with her own eyes that Sora wasn't running away anymore, not from the remembrance of his old life. No.

He was just like her.

Once again they were on the same boat.

And Yui Kazuma knew that Sora was going to win.

---

"You could not live with your own weakness, could you?" Gyro asked me as we circled each other. "And where did that bring you? Back to fighting. So, tell me, why are you really fighting me? I let Yui go. It's just me and you here now, and I promise I won't go after her again."

"...You became All For One's hitman because you didn't want to be disposed of, am I right?" Gyro froze for a split second, and that was the answer I needed. "You gave your all to a villain who tossed you aside without any remorse. So you tried to get back at him by helping Yukari free all the experiments like you, didn't you? That was your one good deed. Which is why I don't understand why you went after Yukari… unless she wasn't your goal, was she?"

"Of course, she was-,"

"Yukari seemed to think so as well. But… now she's dead," Gyro's face fell at that. He even lowered his fists as his brows curled in confusion. "Just like how there was more to me, there's more to you. Right now, I'm not seeing the man who betrayed - I'm seeing someone who's just as lost as me in this cruel world."

"Shut up!" Gyro spat out.

"It's a hard truth to accept. I know. That we weren't as simple as we thought, that we barely even understand ourselves," I opened my left hand and watched as a snowflake landed on my palm. "But crying for eternity doesn't help anyone. I'm fighting you so I can open your eyes too. Because the one good deed you ever did is going to be paid back to you in full force, and I'm overseeing this debt!"

I yelled, charging Gyro with my sword made of Nimbus.

I slashed at his side, before following up with an upwards slash to his shoulder. Gyro gritted his teeth as he swiftly dodged my first strike, but my follow-up left him with a deep gash on his right shoulder, blood splurting out onto the ground, colouring the once-white snow deep red.

"You really aren't holding back, are you?" Gyro said as he jumped in the air and maintained his position. "I suppose since I know all about your Quirk, I might as well describe mine. I have an energy source that I can control, much like your Nimbus. But mine runs on life force. Either I can use my own, or I can steal others and use theirs as fuel for my Quirk. And that energy? I can manipulate it, however, I'd like."

A yellow flash made me aware that he had flung projectiles at me.

I used my Nimbus sword to bat away the first two to the ground, which caused large craters to appear on the roof of the building. Tch. I deftly dodged to the right, avoiding more of his projectiles as I thought of a way to get him down. If he was in the air, what could I-,

Right!

I had projectiles of my own.

Moulding my big Nimbus cloud into eight smaller spherical shapes, I launched them at Gyro. My Truth Seeking Orbs. But they didn't even go past a single metre before they dissolved into nothingness.

Huh?

I didn't have time to lament that failure as Gyro flew into me, the impact causing me to fly off the roof of the school building. Damn it. I summoned my Nimbus to catch me in the air as I used the momentum to jump through one of the school windows and hide from him. I had a small cut on my cheek from that last attack, but thankfully he hadn't realised I was inside the building yet.

Tch.

What the hell happened to my Truth Seeking Orbs? They had the longest range out of any attack in my arsenal. I made a familiar hand sign, moulding my Nimbus into a wolf as I tested the range once more. But even using my special moves that were made for the purpose of increasing my range, after only a single metre the wolf made of Nimbus completely disappeared as well.

That was-,

Damn.

All my Quirks had come back.

I knew that.

I could feel my healing Quirk passively working to heal me back up, and I was currently using my Nimbus to hold the sword in my right hand. Despite not having used it just yet, I could feel the Gambler's Quirk I had inherited from Yukari itching to be used, and even if my Foresight Quirk didn't work the same way as Nighteye's, I still could feel it in my system. But Nimbus felt…

Different.

Firstly, the colour was completely different. It had a light blue tint before, which matched my old hair, but now it was silver. Yet my hair colour was still dark brown. Not to mention the sword in my hands wasn't made of silver Nimbus, it was a dark blue. Almost azure-looking colour.

Secondly, the main cloud was a lot bigger than what I remember. As well as that, it seemed like the amount of Nimbus necessary to build things like a sword or a wolf cost far less than my memory. Creating another test, I created a ballon-shaped ball made of Nimbus in my hand and spun it as fast as I could. I sighed in relief. I at least still had access to my Rasengan.

But the range issue…

"Tick tock, Sora Yamazaki." I looked up in surprise to see a mirror image of me, only with my old blue hair and yellow eyes. "You haven't forgotten about me, have you?" I couldn't believe my eyes.

Kurai?!

"I'm glad you remembered who I am," Kurai said, stepping forward as I crawled backwards. "Easy now. I don't want to harm you. You are right however, your Quirk Nimbus has changed. After all, you sacrificed your original Quirk. Yukari Aotsuki's death gave you this in return. Do you understand?"

…

"Do you still want to take control of my body?"

"Of course," Kurai laughed as he mocked me. "But not now. No, I'll take control so I can destroy you properly. I'll make sure you wake up to the cold bodies of everyone you've ever loved-,"

"Try your hardest," I cut him off as I walked through him. "You're just a phantom of my mind after all. I'll defeat you every time," I paused, staring at the corner in the far left. "I know you're there, Gyro. I heard you."

Zap.

I rolled to the side to avoid a beam of yellow light that would have carved a hole in my chest. Tsk. As I got up from the floor, Gyro walked towards me, clapping slowly as he observed the destruction he had caused. No. This was good. If I couldn't use my Quirk at a range anymore, keeping Gyro entrapped in an enclosed space where he couldn't fly away was the most important thing for me.

I could take the fight to him.

I wasted no time as I rushed him once more with a jumping overhead swing, and thankfully, he took the bait as he took a step backwards. As soon as my feet landed on the ground, I dashed forward and crouched low, grabbing the jacket of his that I hated as I swept his legs off the floor. The look of surprise on his face only made me grin as I reversed the position on him, his back on the floor as I placed my sword by his neck.

"You've lost," I told him. "Just admit it, the strength you've gained in your life was for nothing. You can't use it for anyone else's sake, just your own."

"That's why I'm strong!" Gyro yelled, the yellow energy building up around his chest as I jumped to the floor to avoid the massive surge of energy that would have destroyed my arm completely. I looked at the ceiling and saw that it had created a hole in most of the floors above us.

Tch.

"You mind not using your Quirk? It's pretty overpowered," I quipped, getting back up as I changed my stance. Before I held my sword with both hands, but now I held it using only my right. To compensate, I shortened the length of my sword to match a chokuto, a shorter, straight sword with only one edge.

"Not a chance."

Gyro flew towards me once more, but this time I anticipated it as I ducked below him, swirling a sphere of Nimbus in my free left hand as I extended my hand to his chest. His eyes widened as he was flung through the floors, although I didn't know if that was because of my attacks or the fact that he could fly. Gyro grinned as he flew out of the window, he had a plan.

Not soon after, almost as if a minigun was firing, he shot projectiles at the building. I tried hiding behind a pillar, but I yelled in pain as one projectile scratched the back of my right leg. Fuck. Eventually, the barrage of projectiles stopped and I realised I had to change the floor I was on. Making my way to the elevator, I pressed the buttons to the ground floor before making a beeline to the stairs.

Hopefully, he would think I was taking the elevator.

That would give me a few minutes to make a plan.

Gyro's Quirk was like mine in many ways. However, unlike mine, it had no limit to its range - That meant that his limits must be elsewhere. He couldn't make constructs like I did, which meant his projectiles were him pooling his energy and shooting them out, making his body a conductor almost like a gun. However, from what I had seen, I could only coat specific parts of his body with his Quirk.

If he wanted to punch me, he'd coat his fist with that energy which left the rest of his body defenceless. The only problem with that plan was the risk it posed to me. Not to mention if I counter-attacked, it could be lethal. A small part of me wanted to kill him, hell I was trying to kill him when our fight first started.

But…

I couldn't try to kill him anymore.

Even after everything he did to me, I owed it to Yukari to see the debt through to the end. It was thanks to him after all that people like Nanao and Hachi were able to escape and live good lives. Even Tokage as well, and for that, I couldn't kill him. But I had to make him see reason. That being said, I still didn't know what he really wanted, but it was not like I could stop and have a chat with him.

The time for talking was long gone.

Think Sora, think!

There has to be a way I can use my skills to overpower him, at least for a few moments so I could try and talk to him. But what skills? In terms of hand-to-hand combat, I didn't know how good he was nor did I want to try and test it. While in close range I won most of our skirmishes so far, it was easy for him to escape. And even in an enclosed space where I was supposed to have the advantage, he was still able to escape.

Tch.

If only he had limits-,

Wait!

That's it!

I had to bait his limits out, only then would I be able to strike and talk to him!

Grinning, I walked to the roof where I saw Gyro floating mid-air as he gently lowered himself to the ground. I looked at his fur-coated jacket and laughed at the poor state it was in, what once looked like an expensive coat was now in tatters.

"Nice jacket you got."

"...I wonder, are you enjoying our fight?" Gyro asked me. "Because that grin on your face only confirms to me the following. That you love fighting to the death. This isn't just a means to an end, for you this is what you enjoy. Getting your powers back was precisely for this-,"

"Can ya' shut up already?" I asked him, scratching the back of my head. "...You're right. I do love fighting," I admitted to him. "I think I've always loved fighting. I just never wanted to accept it, I was afraid that I'd lose control. Sometimes I wonder about myself. Even in the worst moments, I feel strangely calm even when I should be terrified. My wounds don't feel painful, even though I'm on the verge of death. And even then, I don't have a trace of fear in my system. I think it's because I realised that I do love I don't fight just to survive. I don't fight for the sake of fighting. I want to win to protect my friends!I'm nothing like you, Gyro!"

Gyro gritted his teeth as his fingers twitched.

I had got to him.

His arm glowed yellow as he sent a blast of his Quirk at me with full force. I let go of my blade, placing my right hand in front of me and took a page from his book. Coating my arm with Nimbus, I caught his attack head-on.

Even with my protection, my arm still got badly burnt.

The right-hand sleeve of my hoodie was destroyed.

But it was Gyro's pure shock that gave me the opportunity I needed.

Got it.

After using his Quirk to unleash a certain amount of energy, he couldn't use it again for a few seconds after! Ignoring the burning sensation on my arm, I ran up to Gyro, making another sword as I stabbed him in the knee before making a Rasengan and shoving it in his chest, pushing him to the rails. I didn't give him enough time to breathe, punching him in the face before throwing him to the floor.

Gyro growled, pulling out a switchblade from his pocket as he charged me.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

I moulded another sword as I faced him down.

Gyro made the first move as he lunged at me, and just like the dummy I practised on, it was easy to take him down. I stepped to the side as I avoided his attack easily, and I made sure to pay attention to my footwork.

"Hiten Rishin-Ryu: Arcane Gale!" I yelled, smirking at the name.

A swift strike to Gyro's hand disarmed him as I pivoted on my left foot almost like it was a dance, attacking the back of his legs before I stepped forward to hit Gyro across the face with the bottom of my hilt. He recoiled backwards, but I didn't let him breathe for even one second, crouching my knees as I leaned forward I applied some Nimbus to my feet and dashed forward as fast as I could.

I slashed his torso twice as I moved past him, landing one metre away from him I turned around to see Gyro fall to the ground slowly.

Blood spurted from his chest as it flew in all directions.

"Gah-!"

As Gyro fell on the floor, I only raised my sword to rest just above his neck.

This fight was over.

"Yield."

Gyro coughed out blood as he turned to grin at me, his teeth all bloody.

"You really don't pull your punches, do you?" He joked. "I suppose you're the one with the combat advantage here. All For One never trained me to fight. Just to kill. Even in the hole, I overwhelmed people with my Quirk, I never fought real fighters. Not people like you. You overwhelmed me, but…" Yellow energy started to burst from his chest as my eyes widened. "You lose."

-,!

---

"...or…a…."

I woke up to see dust and ash everywhere. My head was throbbing as I realised that the crater I was in wasn't just some random place, it was my school. Tears fell on my cheeks as I realised Yui was shaking me awake, and slowly I came to my senses as I sat up, clutching my head in agony.

"S-Sora!" Yui cried out in happiness as she hugged me tightly. "You-, you're hurt, but your body just-,"

"I know," I replied, using her as a crutch as I got up from the ground. Despite the snow, I didn't feel all that cold as the entire top half of my outfit was torn and tattered. I thanked Yui as I realised I had a broken leg. Oh, my car keys are on the floor. I grabbed them, putting them in my trouser pockets as we walked through the ruins. "Damn. Gyro really did a number on this place."

"That's not funny!" Yui snapped at me. "I-, I thought I was going to die. I don't know how you survived that."

"I jumped off the roof and coated myself with my Nimbus," I explained to her. "It's not perfect protection, but it works. Do you know where-,"

"No. I don't know where Gyro is, and frankly, why should I care?! He tried to kill both you and me. Just give up on him, hopefully, he's somewhere dead," Yui told me. "I'll never forgive him. If this is the type of shit you heroes have to deal with, no wonder you wanted a quiet life with normalcy…"

I opened my mouth to say something, but I closed it just as quickly as I began laughing.

I laughed so hard that tears began to spill as Yui helped to carry me out of the rubble of the school building. That's right. I was used to this craziness, that was just the life I had lived up until now. This was the life I was trying to run away from, the life I tried to convince myself wasn't something I could live in.

But I wasn't weak anymore.

Yui was safe, and that was the most important thing.

"SOOOOOOOOORAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Yui froze at the voice. I instinctively stepped in front of her, facing the place where the sound came from. Standing in front of a mountain of rubble, with his once-slicked-back hair falling over his face, Gyro glared hatefully at me. "This isn't over. I will live my life. Even if I have to step over your corpse to do so."

Live my life…

"So that's it, huh?" I cracked up, sighing as I stepped forward. "You just want to live. So do I. I want to live too, you bastard! I'm saying goodbye to my old life so I can live! And you want to do the exact same thing."

"I don't want to be Gyro anymore," He told me as he slid down the mountain of rubble to face me. He looked much worse than I did, with multiple bruises and cuts across his body and face. "I don't want to be Molinete. I want the life that I was promised! A life free from All For One, free from everyone!"

"Step back, Yui," I told her, ripping what remained of my left sleeves off from my tattered hoodie as I wrapped it around my broken right leg. There. "Gyro- Whatever you want me to call you - You gotta give up, man. You're just running away from your problems. I get it, life fucked you over too. But I was wrong. We're the only ones who can give ourselves a second chance at this shit."

"Fuck you," Gyro spat blood on the floor in front of me. "Fuck you and whatever bullshit you're trying to feed me. Friends? A life worth living? Fighting for others? I did that when I was in my gang, and look at how that turned out. Gunned down at eighteen. I barely remember the fuckers I sacrificed my life for, I wonder if they're even grateful? But then I came here and what did I get? To survive means you have to be strong. And to be strong, you have to have power for yourself. All For One would have killed me like he did one through four if I didn't prove my worth to him. Protecting people? What does that accomplish?!"

"...it accomplishes nothing," I replied honestly. "I'm aware that I'm a loser. I enjoy fighting, but I also fight for other people's sake. But I… I can be more truthful to myself. No one man is an island, Gyro. You helped Yukari out of the kindness of your own heart, even if you don't want to admit it deep down, you just didn't want more people to turn out like you did. You did a good thing and you were punished by this cruel world. I don't blame you."

I took a step forward.

"But I won't let you kill anyone else," I told him, raising my fist up to him. "I'll show you that you're wrong. You're new life's already started, dumbass, so stop running away and face it!"

Enraged, Gyro howled as he rushed me, his fists raised high.

We met each other in the middle, both of our fists crashing against each other's faces as we both fell to the floor. I got up before him and jumped on him and began throwing punches at his face. Crunch. His nose became bloody, but I didn't relent. Smack. I spat out blood as Gyro headbutted me in the face, and quickly the tables were reversed as I lay on the floor.

I tried to keep my hands up to guard my face, but he wasn't aiming for that.

"AH-,!" I yelled in pain as Gyro stepped on my broken leg.

"How do you like that, you stubborn prick?!" Gyro yelled at me. "How do you like that? Do you want me to gloat in your face? Do you want me to say how the way you've lived your life for the past thirty years was wrong? That I shouldn't have abandoned people like the Sixth, like Yukari, like my family?! Is that what you want Sora Yamazaki? Because I'm happy living my life the way I've lived it! A carefree life!"

…

"I… I see," I slowly sat up from the ground, using nearby rubble to boost myself back up to my feet as I wiped a slither of blood away from my mouth. "I said those exact same things once. Damn, I must have sounded like such a whiny little bitch."

Gyro's entire body went still as I said those words.

"I mean seriously, yapping on about what I've been through… saying I was happy when I was alone. No, I was an idiot for ever thinking I could sever my bonds that way. That I could abandon my responsibilities. Because that's not living a carefree life," Gyro still hadn't moved as he went deathly silent. "That's being a whiny bitch and running away from your problems. I-, I still need to be punished. But it won't be from me, nor will it be from you - An, even more, whinier version of me."

…

"You dare?" Gyro's voice broke. "You… after all this… you're still telling me to just give up? To give up on my own existence? To just let things go?"

"No," I shook my head. "You can't let go of the past. It'll always haunt you no matter where you go. You'll always see people that remind you of a life you can't have. You're probably jealous of me, aren't you?"

Gyro's eyes widened as I said that.

"I didn't go to the hole. I have a loving family. Friends. And despite that, I'm strong. But you never had any of that, you abandoned your humanity to become strong but in front of me, you feel weak, right?"

Gyro's silence was the only answer I needed.

I wasn't fighting a villain. Not like Overhaul, who had a twisted goal he achieved through contemptible means, or Yozora, who enjoyed toying with people on a base instinct. I wasn't fighting an emotionless tool of All For One's either, one who enjoyed killing. I wasn't fighting someone who wanted to genuinely hurt others, someone who didn't care about the other humans around them.

No.

The boy standing in front of me reminded me much of myself, someone who was a loser. Someone who had lost particularly badly in the cruel world, someone who isolated themselves from their responsibilities because it was easier to do that than to open their heart and accept the pain. Someone who didn't want to feel weak so they ran away from what made them strong.

Something that couldn't overcome the wall they had built up within themselves.

While I sought to punish myself for my sins in order to have a new life, Gyro chose to scheme away to try and have a new life.

One where he could have what I was fortunate to have.

Fortunate to throw away.

It was impossible for me to not see the similarities between us, and it was uncanny to see what I could have become in the future. If I had continued to ignore everyone, to ignore myself, wouldn't I have turned out just like Gyro? Obsessing over a new life so I could live for once. It was an endless cycle that only ended with our deaths... Or the acceptance that we were wrong.

This entire time, I was living the same life I had always lived.

My new life had started when I first came into this world.

And that had never once changed.

My family, Aizawa, Yui, my old friends from middle school, old man Shigeo, Megumi and her annoying younger brother, everyone at U.A. - Even Gyro himself. They were all proof that my heart wasn't an empty white space. They were proof that I lived, that I still had a life.

The future I dreamed of…

The future Gyro dreamed of…

They were right in front of us, we were just too caught up in our own worlds to see it. We were too busy running from our responsibilities, from the people who cared about us, that we failed. The person in front of me was a murderer, someone who had tried to kill me and my friend. Someone who threatened to kill my family. But Yukari was right. Gyro was just like me. If I killed him, like I wanted, I'd be running away once again. I wouldn't be facing myself, not really.

If I handed him over to the police, to Aizawa, he'd be punished by Gyro and would never learn.

And neither would I.

…

"Here," I reached deep into my pockets, pulling out my car keys as I threw them at Gyro who caught them with ease. "Take 'em and leave. And don't look back."

"Huh?"

"You deserve a shot at a new life. I can't promise it's gonna be easy because mine wasn't," I fell to the floor, clutching my leg in pain, but Yui was there. A sad, watery smile, but she was there as she helped to lift me back up. "I've failed to protect people I swore I would. And then I failed at my responsibilities to them, but I can change that. You can too. Just don't give into despair, Gyro. Don't avert your eyes away from yourself, from how you really feel deep down."

"..." Gyro looked at me in shock as tears trailed silently down his face. "Why?"

Why?

I smiled and looked up at the sky.

It wasn't grey anymore.

It wasn't even snowing.

"Why indeed," I replied, slowly turning away from him. "I guess I just wanted to save someone for once. That's all."

I didn't need to see Gyro clench his fists and run away to reach my car before the police and Aizawa arrived to arrest him. Because I didn't really care. I guess that was my gamble in all this, and truth be told I was helping another criminal escape.

But it wasn't because I was so weak that I couldn't make up my mind.

It was because I had made up my mind.

The same way the 'truth' All For One revealed to me ruined me, it was the same way Gyro had his life ruined by that madman. I couldn't blame Gyro one bit, even if he did frustrate me because of how similar he really was to me. But I was letting him go free. I was saving him from the cycle of hurt we were both unable to escape from, from the pain of isolation. I didn't know if he was going to take my words seriously or not.

I did all I could.

I stared at the sky.

Are you proud of me… Yukari?

I shuddered as Yui led me out of the school premises entirely. We sat on a curb, her arms wrapped around me as she took her coat off and gave it to me. Even if it was a little tight, I graciously accepted it as we both listened to the sirens of the police coming closer and closer. Yet the two of us just sat there in silence, facing away from the ruins of our once proud school.

"So," Yui began. "Your Quirk came back."

"Quirks," I corrected her with a smile. "I have four."

"You have… four?" I nodded at that. "But, how?"

"It's a long story," I replied. "But I might tell you some other time if you get me drunk enough, does that sound good?" Yui giggled at that, shuffling her feet awkwardly before she stared directly at me. She looked conflicted. As if she wanted to say something, but she was unsure of how I would react. Either way, Yui made her mind up as she cleared her throat and stared at me with a burning determination in her eyes.

"That's not gonna happen for a while then. I'm going back home, Sora," Yui told me. "There's no such thing as a painless lesson, I feel so stupid for ever trying to think I could run away and never go back. That I could abandon the loving parents who raised me all because I didn't want to run my family inn. You were right, Aozora is an asshole. And by that, I mean you."

I laughed at that.

"So I suppose you're going to abandon your book, then?" I asked her.

Surprisingly, Yui shook her head.

"No. I'm still going to write about Aozora. But not the way he made me think I could change my fate, I'm not going to write about his sacrifice, because I was wrong about that," Yui said. "Aozora is an inspiration. My inspiration. To make me go back home, to remember the past and not shy away from it. I don't want to write about his death, instead, I want to write and celebrate his life. Not just the way he impacted me, but how he impacted everyone."

"And you're going to do that from your small family inn in Hokkaido?"

Yui nodded.

"Yep. Who says I can't do both? Sure it might be tricky to balance both out, and with my relationship with Neito it's going to be even more difficult, but I will make it work. I'm never going to run away from my problems ever again," Yui explained to me with a bright smile on her face. "What about you, Sora? What are you going to do now?"

"Me?" I sighed, rubbing the back of my head in embarrassment. "I guess I'm just gonna go home."

…

"Ow!" I yelled, clutching my left arm in pain as Yui punched me as hard as she could, her eyes narrowing as she glared at me and pouted. "Alright, alright. Jeez. No need to be so violent. I have my powers back, and I don't want to run away either. I still think I deserve to be punished for everything I've done, and that's not going to go away. Not until I forgive myself, but letting Gyro go is the start of that."

Yui nodded, smiling warmly at me.

"Is that it?"

I shook my head.

"Nah. I guess I have to go back to U.A. now, I can't really run away from it any longer," I told her, finding a pack of cigarettes in my pocket. I only had one left. I shrugged my shoulders, lighting it up using my cracked lighter. "I always wanted to go back. I just thought I didn't deserve to. But there are things I have to do now, promises I made that I can't go back on. Responsibilities I can't abandon again."

"...Will you go back to Class A?"

There it was.

The million Yen question.

"They don't want me," I replied, taking a long drag from my cigarette. "But to be honest… I don't need them. They're strong enough that I don't have to protect them. Any deal I made with him might be invalid now, but oh well. I'm not going back to U.A. to protect my friends, Yui. I'm going back to, well, I'm going to find my brother. And I'm going to bring him back to Yukari's grave. And I will patch things up with Class A, make sure that the lives I once ruined get back on track, I promised myself that too."

And I'm going to find a cure and save my life.

I wasn't going to die.

"I see," Yui nodded as the cars approached us, parking right outside of the burnt-down school. "I guess we're both moving on then. Huh. Looks like we won't be spending our lunch times on our school roof anymore."

"Not that we have a school roof anymore," I joked, causing her to snort loudly.

"Yeah."

Getting out of the first car with Aizawa was Yui's aunt and uncle. I watched as she ran towards them, embracing them in a tight hug. Aizawa sat down next to me, clapping my shoulders as he pulled out his own cigarette and began smoking alongside me. We sat in silence for a while, watching as firefighters arrived and began to put out the fire while the police searched the local area to try and find Gyro to no avail.

"So," Aizawa eventually began. "You let him go?"

"Yep," I answered. "And I don't regret a single thing. I let him live his new life, I even gave him my car so he could drive off into the sunset or some shit. Did you tell Yukari's family that she's… dead?"

Aizawa nodded, tapping his cigarette as the ash fell on the snowy floor, his eyes pointed upwards at the sky.

"You know, school doesn't start again at U.A. until January the Second. That's the earliest day you can come in," Aizawa told me. "Don't worry, there's a position in the hero course for you. I made sure to reserve it, just in case."

I nodded at that, throwing the butt of my cigarette away as I turned to look at him. Aizawa sighed, but he relented as he passed over his cigarette pack to me, and lit another one for me, the two of us smoking as we watched everyone run around us. Unlike the two of us, they were busy. It was sorta funny, especially as the policeman tripped over a rock hidden in the snow right in front of us.

"Yukari, right before she met you," Aizawa said, turning to look at me. "She told me you were dying. A slow and painful death, one that would have already started to affect you by now. Is it-,"

"Yeah," I cut him off. He closed his eyes but ultimately said nothing. "It's fine. To be honest, I don't blame her. She sacrificed her life as punishment for doing that to me, or that's what I think at the very least. But I'll always view her actions as a mother that gave a shit. Someone who reminded me to open my eyes again. Even if she fucked up along the way, she tried her hardest to make up for it."

"You seem oddly at peace," I snorted at that. "I mean your school burnt down, a villain is on the run and your car is stolen. Your expensive sports car that's brand new, one you did not get insurance on because it cost far too much."

I laughed painfully at that.

"Yeah… well, I still have my bike, right? That's better than nothing," I shrugged my shoulders. "I guess I can finally see my future. For a while, I always had my vague goal of a carefree tomorrow, but that was a stupid goal. Nah. Deep down I think I still want to achieve something that resembles that old dream of mine. But I think it's stupid and naive. Yet, I can finally begin to understand myself, not Aozora the hero, or Sora, the Class A clown. But me. Maybe, in the not-so-distant future, I can forgive myself."

Aizawa sighed at that.

"You really are exactly like me," Aizawa laughed bitterly, wrapping his arm around me as he pulled me closer. "I'm only going to say this once, but you're the most annoying nephew in the entire world."

I grinned, elbowing him in the ribs.

"Oi, I'm also the best nephew in the world," I corrected him. "And don't you bloody forget it."

---

I couldn't describe the feeling as I stood in front of my family door.

The lights were on.

I had given Yui back her coat, which meant I was still dressed in my torn-up hoodie. I guess the coat I had brought with me was lost in the blast, but oh well. I had a few spares, plus I didn't even like it all that much…

What would I even say to them?

Sighing, I plugged my key in, twisting the handle as the door opened. I kicked off my shoes, shutting the door as I dragged myself to the kitchen, ignoring my family who sat on the couch deathly still. They were probably horrified by how I looked, I had dried-up blood and some fading bruises across my body after all. I hummed to myself, shrugging my shoulders as I reached out to open the freezer and brought the six-pack of beer out with me.

I sat down next to Miwa on the couch, cracking a beer can open as I started to drink it.

"I'm tired," I told them. "Can you put on an Adam Sandler comedy? I feel like hitting the haystack."

"Y-you!?" Miwa's fingers twitched in anger as I couldn't help myself by drinking some more of my beer. "You come here after an argument looking like you were in a fight, then you have the gall to sit on the couch, drink beer and ask that we watch a comedy movie? Have you lost your mind?!"

I snorted at her.

"It's been a long day," I replied. Ugh. The TV remote was on the table. Without even thinking, I summoned Nimbus much to the both visible and vocal shock of my family, moulding it into a hand that reached for the remote that was just a metre away from me, and brought it over to where I sat. "I just want to drink some beer and watch a comedy movie."

"Y-your-,"

"I know," I cut my Mum off. She was crying, great. "I'm sorry I've been a terrible son, once again. I can't promise I'll be any better, but I'll try not to make you worry-, Actually, knowing what's going to be happening to me soon, I doubt I'll be able to make that promise either. I shouldn't make promises that I can't keep."

"Huh?" Miwa tilted her head in confusion. Gekko seemingly accepted this for what it was as he reached over and took a beer can, cracking it open as he bumped his can against mine before drinking some. "What's happening to you?"

"I'm going back to U.A.," The beer Gekko had just put in his mouth was spat back out all over the floor. Hinata's jaw fell comically to the floor, while Miwa simply just squealed like a little girl. "Hero track too. I'm getting the full treatment, I think. I swear, I leave only just to come back a year later… isn't that going to look tacky on me? Like 'Oh, this cunt left but came back.' Tch. Now I'm going to have to prepare a bunch of funny excuses."

"Son," Gekko interrupted me, "I don't want to sound rude… but how?"

"It's a long story."

"We're your family," Hinata countered.

"I know," I replied, smiling at her as I put on a random comedy movie. "And I'll explain it all to you, tomorrow. Right now I want to spend the present watching a comedy with my family. Is that all right?"

They didn't say anything as the movie began, and I couldn't hide the grin on my face even if I wanted to.

The remembrance of the past can hurt.

But that hurt - If you can get over it, well that's something to be proud of.

---

Yui Kazuma POV

January the Second.

This was Yui Kazuma's final day in Musutafu. It felt weird. Their school, after being burnt down, gave all the third years their predicated grades to apply to university with. While first years like herself were strongly encouraged to find another school in the area. Thankfully, since Yui was going back home, she didn't have to worry about that.

It was tough saying goodbye to her aunt and uncle.

Even old man Shigeo made her shed a small tear.

Neito promised to call her every day, which made her happy. At least their relationship wouldn't end just because she was moving back up north, not to mention Neito promised he would try to visit her once a month.

She was saying goodbye to a chapter in her life, out with the old and in with the new. But despite that, she couldn't help but smile as she reached the train station. Especially at the person she was most anxious about saying goodbye to, but that idiot couldn't be more stupid even if he tried.

Despite it being the start of a new turn, Sora Yamazaki was halfway across town, grinning as he leaned against the wall to the entrance of her train.

"Yo," Sora waved. He was wearing U.A.'s uniform, even if his laces were undone, his top button unbuttoned, his shirt untucked and his tie lazily done up. But at least this time, he brought his schoolbag with him. He was even carrying a sword around with him, although it was sheathed and held safely in his arm. It reminded her of the first day they met, all those months back. "You kept me waiting."

"I didn't know you were going to show up," Yui told him honestly. "And aren't you late? U.A. is on the other side of this city, and doesn't school start in twenty minutes?" Sora shrugged his shoulders, yawning as he walked alongside Yui to her train.

"Oh well. I've been late before, so it's not like it bothers me," He replied. "Plus it's the first day of a new term. Nothing really happens. Dad took to the day off to transfer my shit into my new dorm though. So I can just lie and say I was helping him."

Yui rolled her eyes at him.

"You're incorrigible."

"You still love me either way," Sora replied. "So, you gonna get on your train or what?"

"You're not going to say goodbye?" Yui asked him in confusion. She wasn't going to cry. Yui had cried enough. Sora thankfully shook his head, walking over to her as he pushed her onto the train.

"Nope," Sora said with an annoying grin on his face. "I don't believe in goodbyes. I'm still going to message you every day, not to mention I'll call you when I have free time. We'll see each other again, we're bound to. You couldn't get rid of me even if you tried, and you're like a bug. A pathetic bug that I can't squash."

"Why you-," Yui was cut off as the doors for the train shut right in front of her.

'Huh,' She thought to herself. 'I guess this is it.'

Yui walked across the train to find a free seat, but for some reason, Sora followed her. She tried not to sigh, but Sora didn't care as he pressed his face against the window of the train.

Yui couldn't help but laugh at him.

The train began to move, and Yui watched as Sora waved at her, throwing a note into the open window. Yui opened it as fast as she could and stared at the note in shock. It was a small gesture, but it meant everything.

'Thanks. Thanks for everything, best friend. I can finally rest in peace now. - Signed, Aozora'

Yui didn't have to hear his voice to know how he would say it, with his signature grin plastered across his face as she burst out into tears. It was amazing. Yui used her Quirk, the ability to capture a moment and be able to replay it forever to make sure she would never forget this moment for the rest of her life.

"No… Thank you, Sora Yamazaki!"

---

Neito Monoma POV

"Oi, Tokage," Neito began. "It's the first day of term, can you not try and start another fight?" It was homeroom, and Neito was bored. While he sat at the back, Tokage took the corner seat on his left. But on his right… well, ever since Manga Fukidashi left Class B to attend Shiketsu, the seat on Neito's right hadn't been occupied.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Tokage replied, throwing a piece of scrunched-up paper at Tetsutetsu's head. "It's not my fault Vlad-sensei hasn't shown up yet and I'm getting bored. Seriously, something must be wrong for him to get this worked up and not show up to homeroom."

Neito agreed.

"Yeah. Maybe someone died?"

Tokage threw a scrunched-up paper ball at him.

"Don't joke about that, unless you want to be the next one to die!" Tokage said, causing the two of them to laugh. However, in Neito's case, it was because he knew that his best friend would actually murder someone. Setsuna Tokage was scary. Even if she had changed her dark green hair to bubblegum pink, pierced her nose, and shortened her hair to a wolf cut.

She was still the same Setsuna Tokage who would cut your tongue out while reciting a song and look happy while doing so. Eventually, their homeroom teacher rolled up late to the lesson, looking stressed out and miserable.

'Maybe he lost our end-of-term exam results?' Neito thought to himself.

"Hey teach," Testutetsu began. "What's the hold-up?"

Vlad King sighed.

"The hold-up is that he's late!"

"Who's late?" Tokage asked.

"Your new transfer student." Vlad King replied, muttering something under his breath. Immediately, the entirety of Class B broke out into an exciting discussion. A transfer student. At the end of their second year? Who would be brave and dumb enough to try that? Especially in the hero track, that was a recipe for disaster no matter what way you would look at it.

Neito turned to Tokage, who was brushing her nails.

"So, are you excited?"

"Excited to bully the new kid? Of course," Tokage replied with a sadistic smirk. "Considering they will be sitting next to you, I'll have them carry my bags and be my personal assistant by the end of the day. Thinking of the amount of foot rubs I can leverage is making me happy, when will this bastard show up?! My feet are getting tired."

Neito laughed.

"Haha. You won't actually do that, right?" No response. "Right?"

Before Tokage could reply, a loud banging sound could be heard at their window. The entire class, including Vlad King, turned to stare at the disturbance. Hanging by the side of the window was a messy brown-haired boy with brown eyes. He had medium-length stubble which suited him, not to mention his right ear was pierced and he wore a small black stud there.

Tapping the window with the hilt of his sword, the boy winced as Vlad King opened the window for him, dragging the boy inside.

"Why would you try and come through the window?!"

Neito had never seen his homeroom teacher so furious before in his entire time at U.A. Neito couldn't help but laugh, their new classmate was bold that was for sure. Tokage agreed with his assessment as she couldn't help but nod at him in respect.

"Ah, I was already late so I thought why not take a shortcut," The boy said with a grin. 'Wait, he sounds familiar…' Neito wracked his brain as he tried to think of everyone he knew, Neito had to know him!

'Wait, that's-,'

Vlad King sighed, slapping his hand against his forehead as she shook his head. The boy's grin didn't falter as he turned around to face the entirety of Class B and whistled.

"Wow, you guys all grew up," The boy said. "Oh right, many of you don't recognise me. Well, Monoma and Kendo should, but the last time I saw them they were drunk. "Yo. Nice to meet you all again after a year, it's me. Sora Yamazaki."

And that's when their class descended into chaos.

---

End of Arc I.

I'm pleased with how it turned out. In Part 1, I always made it a mission for me to point out how hypocritical Sora is. Ultimately, his character progression is circular rather than growth. It's because Sora as a character has never had to really analyse himself, or rather, if he did change it was because he was forced to do so. He was forced to change in Chapter 1 or else he wouldn't get into U.A.

He was forced to change after the USJ arc, or else he wouldn't have been able to save others.

Simply put, the change wasn't organic.

It was because of external pressures that forced his hand.

Sora's decisions in this arc were his and his alone. He didn't avert his eyes like before, he accepted his responsibility and who he was - A loser. It's a different Sora attending U.A. now, not someone fighting only to protect but someone who has a lot of things he wants to protect, but also promises to fulfil.

A life to live.

It's similar to how Sora entered U.A. originally, only a lot wiser, less sarcastic and just… better. You can see for yourselves how Sora's matured over time, and of course, he would go back to U.A. Of course he would get his powers back, because, at the end of the day, Sora deserved them. Even if he believes he deserves to be punished, you have to remember he's a mentally damaged and tired seventeen-year-old boy. He's lived longer as Sora than whoever he was in his past life, and isn't that a sobering and sad thought?

Sora has never been an adult, just a kid thrust into wildly insane situations where he and those he cared about were in constant danger, and how could he deal with that?

How could he deal with failure?

Well… he didn't.

Not until the Shie Hassaikai raid, and even after that Sora tried to brush everything away like he usually did - But he couldn't. And he understands, accepts and is working to fix that.

To fix him.

I've made mention of it before, but Sora is an unreliable narrator to some extent.

Everyone is.

Sora's way too harsh on himself, because that's just who he is.

Letting Gyro go was always the plan, and I think it serves the arc's themes wonderfully as well as truly showing how different Sora is. This is real growth for him, and while he's not fully accepted everything yet, that's why this is just the first arc of Part 2.

Sora's real growth is just beginning.

I'm building him back up from the bottom, and this time I'm making him power through even the darkest of times. Because that's who Sora Yamazaki is now, someone who doesn't just 'endure' but someone who overcomes the barriers in front of him, someone who is a real hero. And that's a core theme of Part 2 - Overcoming the barriers in front of you. This Arc changed a lot conceptually from what I first envisioned it as an entire drug plot instead culminating with the same ending only a fight featuring Midoriya, Bakugo and Todoroki. Naturally, this would mean that the ending of Part 1 was going to be different - And it once was.

It was originally going to end with Sora simply without his Quirks leaving U.A. This arc would have been the same with Yui, but instead of Gyro it would be her trying to be a journalist and looking into a new set of drugs which would interest Sora who felt largely abandoned by his busy hero friends, and since he had no Quirk he wanted to feel 'danger' again thus his lesson being a completely different but similar lesson of responsibility.

But this arc changed as Part 1 changed, in the sense that the basics remained the same.

Sora is alone.

Yui comes along and shines a bright in his life.

Sora starts to live again.

Yui is told who Sora is.

Big bad comes.

Sora is at his lowest when Yukari comes and sacrifices her life to get his powers back.

Sora saves the day.

Yui goes back home, Sora goes back to U.A.

But the characters themselves - Specifically Gyro - changed immensely. Gyro was such a fun character to write for me because I really feel sorry for him. I tried my hand at sprinkling his backstory throughout the past few chapters, and I hope I did a good job at that. Anyway, I've talked a lot so I'll leave it at this.

Thanks for reading!

Netapel:

It will be interesting to see Sora try to be a hero now, especially after his growth I think. Finally breaking the cycle that made him fail in Part 1, a cycle that now no longer defines him. Along with his impending death, his promise to find Raiden and fix things up with Class A as well as the villains looming over in the background, who knows what will happen.

And the NEW UPDATE SCHEDULE will be the same exact old one.

Which is a chapter every two weeks on Saturday.

I want to really be ahead with these chapters so that there is a point where I can do weekly updates from Chapter 40 onwards.