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...

55. Issue 53

Discord code = p6HcDQpxuk !

---

Midnight Orchestra - Aqua Timez (Naruto Shippuden Ending 16).

Learning important lessons that you'll carry on your back for the rest of your life is something everyone has to do, but too many people are stuck in a moment of their past, unable to move on.

But we can move on, we can be better. This chapter is a big step for both Sora and myself ironically.

To overcome those barriers.

---

"Suffering can only last for a short while

After that, you must learn to pick yourself back up"

---

Training Ground Beta was big.

Really big.

I hadn't been in here since the second or third day at U.A. when Class A had the battle trial. Well, that was nearly two years ago now, it happened right at the start of my first year here and now I'm back in the twilight of my second year at U.A. It was funny how things went, especially as I carried my makeshift hero costume in my hands.

"Sora," I heard Monoma call out to me. "Are you ready?"

I shrugged my shoulders at him, the briefcase carrying my hero costume was resting on my shoulders as I walked into the changing room. I hadn't been here in a very long time, when did they re-do everything? Everyone now had their own booth to get changed in!

I never had this treatment!

"I'm about as ready as I'll ever be," I replied, whistling at how much everything had changed. "I mean I'm about to fight Class A. Pretty sure the sight of me is going to set them off, so it'll likely be an entire class against me. But hey, at least I have a hero costume. Somewhat."

"What do you mean by that?" Monoma asked me in confusion.

I pointed at the briefcase, throwing it down on the floor as Monoma peered over my shoulder, watching me open the damn thing to look inside. Mei wasn't kidding when she said that she had kept a lot of my old stuff, and since I went through two costume changes, it was pretty fun to mix and match to see what worked and what didn't. The result was a weird Frankenstein abomination of things which led to me getting a spray can and changing the colours of some items.

The first thing I picked out from the costume was the mask.

Much like my old mask, this one covered my entire face.

It was still white, although the thin blue lines across it had been changed to a thin black line and then went down my right eye.

"Classy."

I grinned at Monoma, putting the mask on.

"I know right? It's made of stronger materials as well. I put it to the test and not even I could cut it in half, or even drill it," I told him, taking off the mask and putting it to the side for now. "But that's really only a temporary solution for a new mask. If I even want to use one at all."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't have to necessarily hide my face. Aozora's dead and there isn't a way anyone can link me to Aozora, especially with my hair and Quirk being different inherently, alongside the fact that I do look a little different cuz' you know, I've grown up a bit," I replied. "Plus, it'll be easier to believe someone's similar to a dead hero than the dead hero faking his death the entire time. You get me?"

"Yeah," Monoma nodded. "What's next?"

I grinned at him.

"Do you know how much I used to hate my hair colour?" I asked him. "I was never able to look good wearing anything with it. I could only wear either white, silver, navy or black clothes. I could never wear things with my favourite colour, which always annoyed me. But now? Man, now I don't have to deal with that shit."

I picked up my next item.

My old white overcoat with blue swirls was completely changed.

I didn't even use it at all for this redesign. It was also the aspect of my new costume that I was the most happy with, the one thing that I actually had to go out of my way to buy and ask Mei to help me redesign. A long leather jacket that was red. It was modified to have tons of pouches and places for me to put only my support items, like my blaster and my stun grenades and most importantly, my Chokuto.

Inside of the jacket itself, I could only whistle as I felt them.

The magnets.

"Oi, watch this," I told Monoma as I unsheathed my Chokuto and stuck it to the back of my new jacket. And much to Monoma's surprise it stuck. "Cool, ain't it? Mei came up with the idea. The red's the most important part though, I mean it's stylish and it also serves a pretty cool function in hiding the magnets."

I smiled as below the jacket were some normal dark-coloured trousers, boots and of course my new weapons.

"Wait, what are you going to wear under the jacket?" Monoma asked me, pointing at the now empty briefcase. "There is no top you can wear under the jacket."

…

"Ah," I scratched my head in surprise. "You make a fair point. I don't think I thought of anything. Or rather, I think I forgot to get a top," Monoma bellowed in laughter loudly, clapping my back as he couldn't help himself. And I couldn't even blame him as I began to laugh as well over such a big blunder I had made.

"Well… fuck."

---

Chapter

Fifty

Three

'Azure Blood Splash'

---

"Nice costume."

"I always knew you were a pervert."

"That's… certainly bold."

I sighed at everyone in Class B as they surrounded me. I was wearing my jacket… with no top underneath. It was funny how I was basically going around with just my bare chest, and yet it wasn't that cold. The jacket wasn't even that thick, not to mention it was still early January.

"Oi, ease off the idiot," Tokage called, and wow. Her costume had been radically changed. A skirt? Thigh-high socks? Boots with spikes on them? "It's temporary, right? Please tell me it's temporary. I don't want to look at your chest when we are out on the field."

"What's wrong with my chest? And what the fuck is wrong with your costume?!"

Tokage rolled her eyes at me.

"You don't have a very big chest, for one. Personally, if I'm to see a man's chest, I'd want their percs' to look sexy, but you wouldn't understand," Tokage replied. "And there's nothing wrong with my costume. So what if I introduced a bit of punk into it, all it's done is help my popularity."

I shook my head at that.

"With who? The incels that have never seen a woman before in their life?" I teased. "Anyway, it still doesn't feel real, you know. That I'm back. But I am. And now here I am, fighting and winning against Class A."

Immediately, the reaction to what I said was immense. Quickly, I realised that most of the people in Class B weren't aiming to win. While Monoma and Tokage nodded at me, I could see that so many faces were simply too afraid.

They were so used to failure that they didn't dare dream of victory.

"...win? That's impossible," Shoda told me, rubbing his arm in fear at what I just said. "T- they're just too strong. What's the point in even trying to win? Plus, we're friends with Class A. We don't need to win-,"

Shoda's words caused a massive ripple in our Class to form, with many people taking sides. Tokage, Monoma, Tetsutetsu, Kaibara, Awase and a few more sided with me while Kendo, Kuroiro, Rin and the rest sided with Shoda.

Tch.

This wasn't going to be solved easily.

As the arguing continued to get louder and louder, my patience grew thinner to the point where I unsheathed my sword and stabbed it into the ground, getting everyone's attention rapidly.

"You're arguing whether you should try to win or not. What are you, stupid?" I shook my head at them. "It doesn't matter if you think you have a chance at winning or not. Even if it's a small chance at winning, you should grab it and don't let go! What's gonna happen if you fight against strong villains? Are you just going to let them go? Are you just going to roll over and die?!"

"That's different-,"

"Nah. It's not," I cut Shoda off. "If you want to be a coward, then go right ahead and be one. But I know exactly what happens when you don't train hard. When you don't fight against your friends you take things like this for granted. Winning? Losing? That's not what this exercise is about, if you can't give this your all then you can fuck off to general education. You're not a hero. You're just pretending to be one."

Watching Class B made me realise just how deep in the shadows of Class A they were in.

How overlooked they were.

And it wasn't just Vald King's incessant whining to beat Class A that killed their motivation to do so, it was also because of how fast they had grown - How they had faced obstacles and overcame them with ease. How couldn't they become fans of Class A, the real heroes?

But that wasn't true, not really.

Class B had just as much courage and heroism as Class A - No, they had even more.

Even as they were perceived as the 'lesser' class, they still gave their all to save others, and that was commendable in its own right. Never give up. Even if they thought it was futile, they still never gave up.

And I…

I could only smile at them all gratefully.

"He's right," Tokage added as she folded her arms and glared at the other side of the class that was looking more uncomfortable by the second. "I've been telling you all for ages that if you don't take this seriously, you'll regret it. We can't just give up cause we're fighting tough opponents. If we can persevere, if we can beat them, then we can beat anything. Together. As a team."

"..what's the plan?" Kendo asked. Or rather, as she stepped forward from her side and stared directly at me. "You know Class A better than us. How are we going to beat them? The class that's more powerful than us?"

I snorted at that.

"Firstly, you know them now better than I do," I replied. "But that's beside the point. They aren't the strongest class, they're the class with the strongest individual students. Class B's stronger overall because we can all work together a lot better than they can. Sure they have a Midoriya, but we can counter a Midoriya by throwing five people at him and watch as he struggles to fight back. Struggles to ask for help. Divide and conquer. It's a simple plan, but with Class A's strong personalities, it'll work."

"We don't have the manpower for a strategy like that," Kendo pointed out.

"True. But you have me," I grabbed my sword out from the ground, resting it on my shoulders as I grinned at her. "The fact is that me being on your team tips the scale to us. I have no doubt that the hotheads of the class will be gunning for me from the start. Especially if I act up. Listen up! The plan is easy to remember. Simple. I'm the bait, and they're the little fishes you'll capture. Do we even know what the objective is?"

"It's capture the flag. I told you last night," Tokage answered.

…

"Right. Well, I'll distract the main heavy hitters away from their base, so the rest of you go in and use teamwork and the element of surprise to get their flag," I told them all. "It's a good plan."

"Our flag is going to be left defenceless," Shoda said with a frown.

"The best defence is a strong offence," I replied, "Don't be a sour cunt cause you actually have to lift your fat arse up to do something. Bastard. This isn't KFC fatty, so I understand if you're not properly motivated-,"

"How dare you-,"

A glare from both Tokage and Monoma shut Shoda up for good.

"Is it a stupid plan? Sure, it's not exactly foolproof," I said to them, leaning against the wall behind me. "But simple plans have a higher chance of working. You attack and you win. Fight as hard as you can. This exercise isn't about winning one over Class A. It's not about getting even with them. It's about proving to yourself that you deserve to be in this class, to be a hero. Because if you can't fight your hardest against your friends, then what about your enemies?"

Surprisingly, it was Tetsutetsu who spoke up.

"We have no enemies. You're the one making this about Class A because of what happened between you two," He told me. "Don't try and lecture us when it's clear to see that this is just you being selfish."

…

"Tetsutetsu, shut the fuck up please," Tokage chipped in. "What happened to the guy that didn't want to lose to Class A even if it killed him?"

"Not everything is a competition-,"

"Then try your hardest and see how far you can go," I cut him off. "If you think you all can't win because they are Class A, then you don't understand what it means to have strength. Are they strong because they're Class A, or are they Class A because they're strong? Is that what you really ask yourselves? The answer doesn't matter because you're not Class A, you have your own merits and weaknesses - You don't have to beat them, you just have to be yourselves."

Tetsutetsu scoffed at that, but everyone could see that he begrudgingly admitted I had a point.

"Is that what you're doing?"

I didn't reply as I opened the doors to the gym and walked forward.

Shit…

Why am I so excited?

---

Izuku Midoriya POV

"What's our game plan?"

Izuku was sitting on the floor as he looked up at his girlfriend. Ochako looked distracted, and he knew why. It was the reason why he, along with the rest of his class, was also distracted.

"You mean how we're going to deal with Sora?" Just muttering his name made Ochako's face darken considerably, but Izuku smiled softly at her. He watched as she nodded her head hesitantly, after all, it weighed heavily on all of their minds. Izuku looked around and saw a few of his friends react negatively to his name. Sero scowled considerably while Mina growled.

"It would be silly if we didn't try to think of plans to fight against him," Momo addressed the class. "I mean, he is the only person in Class B that really could threaten us. We don't know anything about his skills."

"He quit U.A. a long time ago. We stayed. We've achieved so much, been in so many different situations that he doesn't even understand," Sero replied angrily. "We'll easily beat him! There is no chance that we'll lose!"

While a few of their friends agreed with Sero, Izuku shook his head at him.

"Sora is…" Izuku could still remember that day clearly, how the world seemed to come to a standstill as he held Nighteye's corpse in his hands. As Overhaul laughed. And at how calm Sora was, almost as if he didn't faze him despite only a few minutes before having been totally and utterly defeated mentally.

"You weren't there during the raid. Sora became someone else. If he can remain calm even when the situation has his back pressed against the wall, he could pose a challenge for us," Izuku eventually managed to get out. "It's not as simple as him not having trained with his Quirk for a year, you also forget he's great at using a sword. He can make good plans on the spot, ultimately he's probably our worst match-up."

"Why's that?"

"Because he's too damn smart," Kaminari answered. "Not like Yaomomo, but more like Deku. You know. The kind of smart that's constantly thinking of ways to defeat us even as his face is getting kicked in, why do you think he was able to be such a good hero in the first place? Defeating him isn't as simple as pummeling him in the ground, we're going to need to destroy his will to fight."

"Then we take him out quickly," Kacchan spoke up, punching his hand with a resounding clap. "We've never been beaten by Class B before. Them having Sora doesn't mean they'll win either. It just means we have to be careful-,"

Iida interrupted Kacchan as he wagged his finger at him.

"Sora is strong. Kaminari is right, if he's even marginally improved from how he was over a year ago, he could still take a large majority of this class out. He's someone that has no regard for his body if it means getting a win," Iida explained. "Sora's someone we can't just ignore. Remember summer camp? That was all Sora's plan. Even at the USJ, Sora was the reason we were able to pull through. He could easily have us chasing our tails for the entirety of the battle trial."

"This isn't a battle trial. It's capture the flag," Mineta pointed out. "But I agree. Sora's crafty, and because of that he's dangerous. That makes him still pretty cool in a sense."

While Mineta's words drew some ire out of the class, he didn't back down as he nodded at Kaminari who gave a small nod of appreciation back. Izuku didn't say anything, after all the three of them had a strong friendship - Evidently, one that still remained strong to this day, despite everything that happened.

"Which poses even more of a problem, because Sora's plans are bound to bring us disarray so Class B can capture our flag," Iida said. "We have the be vigilant. Cautious. We can't allow Sora's presence here to distract us from the fact that we can win! Just like always. No matter how strong he thinks he is, we are stronger! Smarter! All of us have proven him wrong. So all we need to do-,"

Kaminari's laugh stopped Iida in his tracks.

"What's so funny?" Ochako asked the blonde boy.

Kaminari merely pointed out of the window.

Walking towards them without a single care in the world, all by himself no less, was Sora Yamazaki. Izuku couldn't believe it. He was carrying a sword on his back, but what confused him the most was the red jacket he was wearing… and the fact that he didn't have a top underneath.

"So," Kaminari began. "How are we going to deal with this?"

---

I walked around the massive city, all alone.

C'mon.

Where are you?

I yawned, trying my hardest not to fall asleep. I had been walking around trying to find their bloody base for at least ten minutes. Sure, the fake city was quite big, but where the hell were they?! Class B was supposed to be shadowing me, at the very least I hoped they still were. It would be embarrassing if they lost track of me, or even worse if they found Class A's base before I did.

Eventually, I sat on top of a car and shrugged my shoulders.

I can take a break.

Pulling out my cigarettes, I lit one up and took a drag out of it as I stared into the sky. Huh. That's weird. I squinted my eyes, scouring the building right in front of me. I could have sworn I saw a few people staring down below me on the fifteenth floor. Nah. I was probably hallucinating.

I mean, what's the chances of me-,

Oh, fuck.

I dropped my cigarette on the floor as I stared up at the building in shock, watching as the glass shattered and five people came flying down below. Sero and Midoriya were swinging about using their respective Quirks, while Bakugo flew through the air using his blasts. It was Todoroki, who was holding Kaminari as well, who slid down the building using his ice.

Within seconds, all five of them stood before me.

Huh.

"Uh…" I laughed nervously, scratching the back of my head as I failed to think of a response to them. "Nice entrance. Seriously. I didn't expect you all to come flying down to fight me."

"Where is Class B?" Izuku asked me, not even giving a small hint of enjoying my jokes.

I shrugged my shoulders.

Ouch.

"No fuckin' clue mate," I answered honestly. "I sorta' just ditched them to try and find you guys, but I guess we each found each other. How'd you recognise me from that high up?"

"There's only one guy that would wear a red jacket like that without a top," Kaminari grinned at me. "Nice taste, it looks good on you especially now that you have dark brown hair."

I laughed at that as I looked at Kaminari's own costume. A long cloak, more support devices and a cool yellow visor that reached out beyond his face.

"You've got nice taste too," I replied. "Mind if after this we trade some notes? I think I want to go back to an overcoat, the red leather jacket is a bit too tacky, even for me. But the rest of you… I mean jeez, your costumes haven't changed a bit. Well, I'm struggling a bit to think of how much better your costume can become, Sero-,"

A wave of fire was sent my way from Todoroki, and I had to duck on the ground to avoid getting roasted alive.

"Do you think this is a joke?" Izuku asked me seriously. "Is that all you think this is? A big fat laugh? This isn't funny, Sora. Do you really think you can take us all on at the same time?"

Much to all of their surprise, apart from Kaminari's for some weird reason, I nodded as I cracked my knuckles, readying my hand to my sword. I was well aware of the problem Vlad King had pointed to me during our fight, that ever since my Nimbus was changed since it came back I was having a hard time dealing with the change.

But even still…

"I do think I win against you five, yeah."

Sero growled angrily at me as he was the first to step forward.

"We're stronger than you! While you were lounging about, doing fuck all, we were fighting villains! We're heroes! As if we are going to lose to you! Draw out your sword and I'll show you by myself the difference in skills between us!" Sero screamed at me.

I couldn't help but bellow over in laughter at him.

"S-sorry," I apologised, being unable to keep a straight face at him. "You're so dramatic. But there isn't a point in me drawing my sword out, especially for you, Sero. Didn't you ever learn? Don't tickle a sleeping tiger else I'll claw yer' fucking face away."

I watched as Sero grew more enraged as he dashed forward. I went to reach for my blaster, but I was surprised at how quickly Sero shot out his tape, wrapping up my left arm in it as he pulled me towards him.

However, he didn't expect me to use my right arm to grab the tape and slam him into the ground. Using my teeth, I ripped the tape to shreds as I approached Sero who got up angrily and went to punch me. I dodged his first punch, before tripping him up as he launched his second, and right before he hit the ground I summoned my Nimbus and made a massive hand construct, slamming him into the ground.

I watched as Sero spat out blood, trying to feebly get up.

But a swift kick to the face knocked him down.

"I'd try a quip, but I'm afraid it'll fall flat on its face just like Sero did," I told them with a smile. "You know I agreed with Sero for a while. Ain't you supposed to be heroes? If this is really how strong you are, then I'm not even disappointed. Just saddened."

Bakugo's fingers twitched at that.

"Sero's not a fighter," Izuku calmly replied. "We are. Let's see how well you'll fair against us four fighting you at the same time," I grinned at that, pulling out my sword from its sheath as I bent my knees and faced them, waiting for them to make the first move. It was what Megumi had drilled into me, a swordsman must always be quick to react because if they aren't.

Well...

They'd lose.

Todoroki looked the same as ever, but even I saw his eyes squinted.

Bakugo's fingers twitched rapidly, reminding me of a certain villain.

Izuku simply looked at me with a bored expression on his face.

…But Kaminari?

The pure excitement on his face couldn't help but be matched by my own grin.

"Do you know what it means to draw a blade in a fight?" I asked them. Izuku looked at me in confusion, as did the rest of them. "It means you're prepared to kill, but to also be killed. A sword is only used to kill others, you can't swing it to protect anyone. It doesn't work that way. To use a sword, you have to be prepared for what comes next when you swing it."

"Are you saying you saying you're ready to kill us?" Izuku asked me.

I shook my head at him.

"No, but you do have to understand the value of a life first," I replied, aiming my sword at them. "How much would you go to save a life? Can you sacrifice a life for the greater good? My answer is no. I'm still the same idiot swinging a blade around, I just understand the weight of the sword a lot better. Leaving U.A. helped me understand that a lot more-,"

"Shut up!" Izuku roared at me. "Stop speaking so pretentiously! You left because of your own selfishness, don't try and spin it in a positive way! You hurt so many people who cared for you, and for what? Because you can't endure losing? Because you can't endure the fact that not everyone lives? You knew what you signed up for, and it was your arrogance that cost you everything!"

…

"I see," I stopped smiling at them. "You haven't changed. Not one bit."

"Are you really going to fight us?" Bakugo asked me. "You're not stupid. You have a card up your sleeve, don't you? Where is everyone else in your class?" I didn't even have enough time to reply as an explosion from the floor which they had jumped off drew all of our attention. Bakugo's eyes widened as he realised what just happened and tried to blast himself upwards.

Drawing my blaster, a well-timed shot at his back caused him to tumble back down to the ground before anyone else could even react.

"Tch. You're really going to go through with this, aren't you?" Bakugo yelled, getting up from the ground as he sneered at me. "Do you think you're hot shit? You're going to be taking on the four of us for your stupid plan. You want to win that badly, enough for me to put you in a body bag?!"

"Go ahead and try," I tapped my sword against the floor, getting a rise out of him easily. Turning to Izuku, I watched as his mind tried to think of a plan to outmanoeuvre me. "It's no use. I ain't gonna let you get to the tower in time, you're here with me. It's a simple plan. You thought I would be too stupid to challenge you directly, and yet here we are."

"...Do you seriously think this is a good plan?" Todoroki asked me, coldly. "Class A isn't going to go down without a fight. And we aren't going to lose to you."

I rolled my eyes at him, and largely the four of them.

"When's this damn fight going to start!?"

"What are you talking about?" My eyes widened as I looked behind me to see Sero standing up from the ground, his left eye bleeding profoundly while Kaminari stood next to him. He must have shocked him awake when I wasn't looking, shit-, "Watch the hands, not the mouth."

Within seconds I fell face-first into the ground.

The tape was dragging me across the floor, and I didn't have enough time to react as Izuku pounced on me with enough power to not only shatter the ground but cause me to fly in the air where Bakugo was waiting for me, kicking me back into the ground. I didn't even see Todoroki's ice attack that froze the bottom half of my body, nor did I see Kaminari reach over and shock me.

"GAH-!"

I tried to escape, but the ice trapped my legs from moving, not to mention the threat of getting shocked by Kaminari still hung over me. Damn it. I watched as Sero and Bakugo looked so smug at me while Midoriya and Todoroki turned away from me. I wasn't even on the same planet as them.

I knew that they were stronger than me, but even still, it was like I had no chance of winning.

"I told you that's what would happen," Sero kicked me while I was down. "You're just as arrogant as always, Sora. You're the one that hasn't changed one bit, and now your entire plan's ruined. Why Class B decided to trust you is beyond-,"

"Actually, it ain't ruined at all," I cut him off. Closing my eyes, I focused a majority of my Nimbus on coating my legs that were currently trapped by Todoroki's ice. Even if I couldn't move my legs, I could still make my Nimbus vibrate! Sure, back then this wouldn't have been possible with my Quirk.

I had a set limit of Nimbus I could use.

But now?

Hah.

I didn't have to worry about drawing as much as possible.

Much to their shock, the ice shattered and I reached my blaster before they could react. Turning up the energy capacity to the maximum, I aimed it at Sero and winked at him as I pulled the trigger.

Sero was blasted backwards through the building.

Not before the blaster simply broke apart.

Kaminari was the first to attack me as he sent a wave of electricity towards me, and I fell on one knee due to it. Damn it. I winced at the pain as I tried to think of a way to get out of it - My sword was nowhere near me, and my Nimbus' short range wouldn't be able to fight back. Fuck. I groaned as I stared at the broken blaster on the ground.

How do I-,

Wait!

Gritting my teeth, I summoned a small ball of Nimbus and put it in front of the electricity. I grinned as instead of hitting me, it hit the ball. No, it didn't just hit my ball of Nimbus, it was absorbed by it. Just like that time a while back when Kaminari and I had a joint attack using his electricity and my Nimbus. The small silver cloud had specks of yellow and was rapidly expanding, becoming even bigger than my head before it bit back.

I made a handgun and pointed it at him, grinning.

"Bang."

White electricity was shot back out at Kaminari, and it even managed to hit Todoroki as well. That's it! I grinned as I faced my final two opponents, who looked at me in shock as I grabbed my sword off the ground, throwing my tattered jacket on the ground.

"How did you do that?" Midoriya asked me.

I didn't reply as dodged Bakugo's attempt to explode me into tiny pieces. More and more rubble was being created as I was barely able to keep up with Bakugo's ferocious attacks, and I was quickly being put on the back foot. Bakugo didn't give me enough time to catch my breath as I dodged to the side, watching him fly into a building. But Midoriya quickly used that as a chance to catch me off guard.

Summoning my Nimbus to create a shield, I felt a sharp pain as Midoriya shattered my shield to pieces. As Midoriya swung his fist at me once more, I couldn't help but smile as he fell for my plan.

He was now in my range.

Suddenly, the small pieces of Nimbus that were scattered on the floor because he had shattered my shield with his fist all shot up and slashed him. That was it, a way for me to use my Quirk!

Pull them into my small range of attacks and bombard them with Nimbus attacks!

That was what Vlad King wanted me to realise!

Tons of cuts were littered throughout Midoriya's body, and his costume looked even worse, but despite that Midoriya still continued to pursue me. I growled as I raised my sword and met his forearm as we clashed, the sparks from One For All and the whisps of Nimbus mixing and rejecting each other.

While I struggled to keep my sword upright, Midoriya struggled to keep his forearm in a position to stop my sword from slashing his chest.

"You're really going for it, aren't you?"

"If I wasn't, I'd be a hypocrite," I replied, letting go of my sword for a moment as I formed a Rasengan in my left hand and drilled it into Midoriya's stomach. As a response to my attack, using his Black Whip, I was reeled into Midoriya's range as he raised his left knee to smack against my head.

I tried to raise my hands up to block, but even my guard was broken by Deku's power.

He scowled as he got up from the ground and stood over me, wiping the blood away from his forearm. I couldn't help but groan as I clutched my head and realised that I was bleeding. Argh. Just like back then, in a one-on-one, he had far more power than me.

"You're strong, but you're not that strong," Midoriya told me. "I train every day without fail. I won the most recent Sports Festival, I'm the one helping to run All Might's hero agency! Did you really think that you could beat me with just a few tricks? Is that what you really think of us? That all we're worth is your silly tricks and plans, not even what you're fully capable of?"

I shook my head.

But Midoriya used that as a chance to slam his foot against my chest.

I couldn't find my sword anywhere, and I doubt he'd give me enough time to search for it…What was even worse was Bakugo's sadistic grin as he pulled up beside Midoriya and stared down at me, things got even more horrible as I felt a cool chill and saw Todoroki stand side-by-side with the other two.

Of course, I couldn't win, not against those three.

But I still hadn't given everyone in Class B enough time.

…Was that the broken blaster that Mei had given me nearby?

Hm…

"Let's just knock him out, then go take out Class B," Bakugo muttered. "Show them that they can't beat us by trying to trick us, that we are better than that."

"I agree. We can't waste any time-,"

Todoroki was cut off as Midoriya walked forward and studied me.

"What's next? How are you going to get out of this situation, Sora?" He asked me, stepping on my ankles. I groaned in pain. "You shouldn't have come back. You don't belong here. You haven't changed at all, you still fight the same way as before. Sora, you haven't grown at all. You're still weak-,"

"Are you going to shut up?" I cut him off, managing to stand up on one knee as I tried to 'run away'. But a well-timed kick from Deku made me fall right next to my broken blaster, just as I wanted. And thankfully they didn't see it. I sat on top of it, summoning a very small piece of my Nimbus as I tried to turn the damn thing on again. I just needed a small bit of electricity.

It was in my range.

"Are you trying to find a way out of this situation even now?" Todoroki asked me. "You've lost. Just admit it, trying to fight all of us at once by yourself was a stupid decision. Not only did you think coming back to U.A. to try and be a hero was a good idea, but you also tried to fight the three of us at once. Go home, Sora. Don't waste your life trying to be someone you can't be."

"You haven't changed at all. And now Class B is going to lose because they listened to you, does that make you feel good?" Bakugo asked me with a sneer. "No wonder you failed at saving anyone. You don't deserve to be here, let alone get your Quirk back! You're just a fake, Sora. Stop hurting the people that still care about you and let this go."

…Zap.

Heh.

I couldn't help but laugh at them.

"I'm tired of everyone trying to tell me how my story is supposed to go," I fully stood up, facing them. "Nah. I decide how it goes. Not you, or anyone else. And that's never going to change."

Raising my charged Nimbus, I ducked to the floor as a load of electrical current spewed out of my small Nimbus construct - Hitting all three for a good few seconds. I watched as surprise clouded their face as they were shocked.

They dropped to the floor, all three knocked out.

"You should have been watching my hands, not my mouth."

I turned to face the building which Class B and the rest of Class A were duking it out, but it was slow clapping from behind me that unnerved me to my core. It reminded me of Ze-, Kaminari?

"I'm surprised," Kaminari told me, walking over towards me as he wiped some blood away from his forehead. "You've learned how to fight smart instead of just relying on your Quirk to brute force your way to victory. Even if you can use your Quirk in a different matter, you just haven't had a long enough time to build new attacks. Still, using your environment and special aspects of your Quirk to your advantage, how cunning."

"...How'd you survive my blast?"

"Dude, did you really think I wouldn't have shocked myself ever since I got my Quirk? I'm gonna need a higher voltage than that to be knocked out. But that's beside the point, it's just you and me now," Denki's grin faltered as he studied me. "But don't think I'm going to let you just win Sora. That's not how this works."

I watched as Denki grabbed my sword from beneath him and threw it at me.

Catching it in mid-air, I twirled the sword around as I waited for him to attack.

But much to my surprise, Denki simply held out his hand.

And then the electricity around his body roared.

A sword made of his Quirk appeared in his hands, crackling wildly as Denki controlled it with ease. I couldn't help but grin at him, this fight with everyone else had proven just how rusty I was, but also how I still held an advantage over them.

How strong and how weak I currently was.

I narrowly managed to defeat them because of a trick.

"You copied me," I joked, swinging my sword around. "You bastard."

"I didn't copy you," Denki replied. "Swords are cool. But, I suppose, you and your old Nimbus swords did inspire me a bit. Now, are we going to settle this?"

I didn't even respond as I rushed forward, our blades about to meet-,

"THE BATTLE TRIAL IS OVER!" I groaned, pulling away right at the last second. Even Denki seemed annoyed. "CLASS B HAS WON! I REPEAT, CLASS B HAS WON SO PLEASE CEASE ANY FIGHTING! RECOVERY GIRL IS ON HER WAY SO STAY PUT!"

Aizawa's voice could be heard through the speakers, and I could only shrug my shoulders as I collapsed to the floor, holding my sides.

Damn, that hurt.

Yet, it revealed a lot to me.

How I'd need to now use my Quirk in a fight, I couldn't just overpower my opponents from a range anymore. My Quirk wouldn't allow me to do so. But I had an unlimited amount of Nimbus I could pull from within my range, which meant I could set up traps.

Sure, my constructs wouldn't fight alongside me.

But I could plan my fights around them instead.

The fact was that my new short range of my Quirk didn't have to be a negative, I just had to change the way I looked at a fight. A one-on-one wasn't going to be about simply brute forcing my way to victory like I had done so previously, that just wouldn't work.

I had to make sure that the one-on-one was heavily stacked towards me.

Not only that, I also discovered that I could conduct electricity through my Quirk-, I could control it fully with enough. Mei would be so excited when I told her that, I couldn't wait to see the reaction on her face. Still, I need a better costume. This red jacket wasn't going to cut it.

I sighed, watching as Denki sat next to me collecting my tattered jacket and something else I couldn't see off the floor.

"Can't believe you won, eh?"

I nodded.

"It was a long shot man, a really risky gamble," I replied. "But it worked. Barely. You know, if only the three of them worked more together instead of trying to prove me wrong individually I would have lost. Anyways, why did you come to fight me?"

"I wanted to see how strong you've become," Denki replied honestly. "But that can wait until another time. I'm sure you'll be able to prove yourself soon anyway. Ah, everyone's coming down towards us now."

I looked up to see just exactly that, all of Class B, the rest of Class A and even a few teachers headed our way. And sure enough, it was Tokage who was clutching Class A's flag. Within seconds, Tokage and Monoma were celebrating with me while Tetsutetsu held the flag in the air and screamed at the top of his lungs about how they had won. How they were better. That was a far cry from the Tetsutetsu before the exam, and it only served to aggravate both Class A, but also myself.

But I didn't say anything to him as I turned to smirk at Tokage.

More specifically the fact that the right side of her hair was a little shorter than before.

"New haircut?"

"Your ex gave it to me," Tokage returned. "Said I'd look better in a skintight costume. Like Spider-Man. Can you imagine that? That's why I got rid of my old costume, it just wasn't comfortable to wear."

"And a skirt is?"

"Well, it certainly allows for more quickies on the job. If you catch my drift."

Leaving me to my thoughts, I watched as Tokage snatched the flag from Tetsutetsu's hands and shook her head at him. The atmosphere grew tense as Class A and Class B kept on shooting daggers at each other, and even Aizawa and Vlad King seemed to be ready for a fight to break out.

Tch.

"Hey, what did you do that for?!" Tetsutetsu complained.

"Don't be a dick about this," Tokage replied. "It's a friendly competition."

"We won fair and square-,"

"You cheated!" Suddenly, everyone's attention was on Uraraka. "You all cheated. Using Sora that way knowing that it would distract us is a low blow! I thought we were all friends! But no, you're all cowards!"

"...What did you just say?" Tetsutetsu fumed. "We beat you fair and square. Stop being a sore loser. Tch. Bitch."

His words started a chain reaction as soon everyone was arguing with each other. Monoma and Tokage stood by me, staring at the ground as they waited for this to die down. But even the teachers were failing to contain this…

I sighed, grabbing Class A's flag from Tokage I snapped it in half and threw it on the floor in front of everyone, growling at them all.

…This was all because of me.

"Are all we good now?" Everyone's attention was now on me as I shook my head at the flag. "This is over. There isn't a need to argue about this. It was never about winning or losing, it was about testing our skills-,"

"Shut up! You're the only reason they won in the first place!" Sero yelled out angrily. "If it wasn't for you, they would have lost just like always. Stop trying to be nice to us, we don't want your pity-,"

"Stop acting like a fucking child then," I screamed out at them. All of them. "You guys lost because you couldn't work together. That's the simple truth of it. And why the hell are you guys boasting about this? This is a training session; not a tournament. It's like Setsuna said, you're all friends here."

Sero clicked his tongue in annoyance while Tetsutetsu simply glared at me.

I guess none of them wanted to learn.

Sighing, I ripped away what remained off my jacket and heard everyone forget to breathe for a few moments. Surrounding my body weren't just fresh wounds - there were scars. Some were trying to fade away, while others looked a lot more recent. I caught Jiro's eyes as she frowned at me, but she ultimately said nothing.

And why would she?

What did she know?

"Each one of them has a story. A fight I've won or lost, people I've saved and people I… ones I couldn't save," I began. "Each one had a truth that was revealed to me, a lesson to be learned. A past that can't be changed. Bitter memories that rise to the surface by just staring at them. I live with these scars every day, but you? Instead of trying to make sure that none of you end up like me, the object of some of your hate, you're bickering like children. What are you, ten? U.A.'s finest, huh? What a joke."

…

"You got those scars trying to be someone you aren't," Kirishima spoke up. "You got those scars trying to be a hero. But you're not a hero. Everyone in this room is more of a hero than you'll ever be, so don't try and lecture us about your mistakes. We're all better than you-,"

"It's not about that!" I cut him off. I threw my sword at his feet, watching as he looked at me in confusion. "I'm not trying to be a hero. It's something none of you have really understood, I didn't come back here to be Aozora or another hero to stand next to you. I came here because I was running away from my responsibilities because I had promises to fulfil. I didn't come here to beat you guys and prove that I'm better, nor did I come here to try and change the 'loser class' around. I don't care about any of that."

Mina was the next person to step forward.

"You think coming back here is responsible? Do you? Hurting us again isn't your responsibility, it's no one's," Mina yelled at me, balling her fists as she glared daggers at me. "We don't want you here. Not after what you did. We don't want any half-assed apologies either, but from the way it looks, we aren't getting even that. So why are you here? Just to hurt us some more? Rub some more salt in our wounds that while you broke us, you went off to have a grand time and now you're back for some more fun?"

…

"Why isn't it hard to see that we don't want you here," Shoji added. "If you aren't going to be a hero, why even be here? What's the point in trying to pretend like everything is fine but then ignore us? Why are you going to help Class B win but then say right after that winning doesn't matter? Do you even understand how we feel? That you of all people are back and how your presence angers us? Or are you going to ignore that, just like how you ignored our pleas for you to stop that day?"

Tokage winced at that, but she still stood by my side.

I smiled at that.

Stepping forward, I faced Class A all alone.

Looking at them was uncanny, it hurt me. A class that was once tied together, bonded for life, now only had anger to fuel them when it came to dealing with me. How could I count this as a win when I was just losing? No. I still had time to try and change things, try and make their class learn and grow from their mistake.

A mistake I made them make.

That's how I could help them.

To make them learn from the very same mistake I once made.

"I know you still hold a grudge over what happened. Most of you do. And I know I'm not making things better, but just keep your anger only on me," I said. "Don't bring Class B into this, because then you'll be just like me. Punishing your friends away because you want to lash out towards the world that hurt you. If you really want to prove me wrong, to be better than me, then don't go down this path, because right now I don't see Class A, I don't even see my old friends - I just see mirrors of my old self."

Turning my back to them, I walked away despite their calls for me to face them.

Kaminari was waiting for me at the exit, his arms folded as I couldn't even read his face. He was frowning, yet his eyes were shut off from the world, even then I could tell that he wanted to say something to me.

I paused right at the door and saw that Kaminari slammed something into my chest.

It was-,

"You dropped it when you were fighting," Kaminari told me. It was a picture. No, to be more accurate it was a class-wide picture. The very same one we had taken as a class all together when we were happy, the same one that Kaminari had gotten me as a gift all framed up. The picture was a little torn, but even then, it was still unmistakable for what it was. "No one noticed it. The fact that you carried it in your jacket. But I have to ask, were you speaking to them, or yourself."

"...you know I once read something that I didn't really understand until now. With great power comes great responsibility," I quoted at him. "You were right, trying to teach them is going to be hard. Especially when most resent me for just trying to come back and do better. But running away, going back to living my life all alone isn't the best solution, Kaminari. And neither is going right back to Class A right away. I have to find a third way to deal with all this, and I will."

"Time's running out, Sora. No one waits forever."

Kaminari walked back to his class, and I could only smile sadly as I looked at the picture.

I'm gonna fix this.

I promise.

---

"You whaaaaaaaaat?!"

I winced at Yui's loud tone, especially as Monoma dropped his phone on my carpet. Tokage sniggered on my bed, eating a pack of crisps on it despite the fact that I told her I didn't want her to do that. I sighed, spinning on my chair as I kicked Tokage on the leg and helped Monoma pick his phone up from my floor.

"I said I'm trying to fix my relationship with Class A," I replied. "Sorta. I'm trying to help teach them a few important lessons first because I did mess them up a bit. Maybe a lot. The point is that I have a responsibility-,"

"No, you don't. Not in that way," Tokage cut me off, throwing a crisp at my head. "That's just your pride and ego talking. Fuck Class A. If they want to treat you horribly and make life a little more difficult for you, then I say you should fight back fully. Stop trying to be an upstanding, moral person - Kill them. Make them regret ever thinking they could treat you like this."

"I have to agree," Monoma added. "Not in Tokage's extreme way, but with the general message. It's not fair how Class A is treating you. Especially when you're trying to help them, and it's sad that they can't see that. You know after you left, Tokage and I-,"

"I appreciate it you guys," I smiled at them, leaning back on my chair as I stared out of my window. It was night. "I really do. You two think I've done nothing wrong since coming back, I've just tried to be true to myself - And you're not wrong there. But no one changes their bad habits immediately, I'm still not 'good'. I'm still not happy with myself. Yet I'm still trying to change, and I'm not giving up. On you two, anyone in Class B, and even everyone in Class A."

Monoma grinned at me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders as Tokage rolled her eyes.

"You know if they heard that, maybe they'd change their opinion of you," Yui said through the phone. I shook my head at her, closing my window as I grabbed the crisp packet Tokage was eating and threw it in the bin, much to her dismay.

"Doesn't work like that. With how they are now, which is still my fault, they won't accept me or my resolve," I replied. "I feel like… No, I need to prove to them that people can change. Not just me, but anyone in their lives."

I caught Tokage's gaze as she slowly nodded at me, she knew what I was talking about. Ultimately, Class A were a bunch of heroes that defied the odds that were stacked against them.

In canon.

But canon didn't exist anymore, despite that I still had a duty to make sure that they didn't just squander the opportunities for growth that they could have. Todoroki saves his brother, Uraraka saves Toga and everything surrounding Izuku Midoriya and Tomura Shigaraki.

There were lessons that they would carry for the rest of their life.

But if they gave up now because of me, it wasn't that I was ruining their lives, I was stopping them from being adults. Of taking the easy path instead of risking it all for a friend, for someone who needs to be saved. Looking at Class A really was a mirror of myself before Yukari sacrificed her life for my own - And that wasn't hyperbole.

The fact is that they tried once with me, and it blew up in their faces. I, their friend, hurt them deeply. I scarred them. I had all the proof I needed, and no amount of apologies or going back would make them heal, not the way which was right for them. That's why I needed to prove Class A wrong, I needed to prove to them that people can change and that they shouldn't give up on it.

And some hadn't.

Kaminari for one was still rooting for me, despite everything that had happened. Mineta was too according to him, and at the very least Yaoyorozu wasn't on their side as much as they wanted it to seem.

While some of Class A resented me, I had no idea about the others.

Tokage, Yui, Monoma, even Aizawa and my family also supported me here, and I wasn't going to take that for granted. I was going to teach them a lesson from the depths of my heart, I was going to make them understand.

"Sora," Setsuna got up from lying down on my bed as she hugged me from behind. "Before the raid, you didn't have this much resolve. Even back at the start of our first year, you were just doing things that came up. You never had a real plan. You still don't know, but we can both see the resolve in your eyes. You don't have to convince us to try and help you on this."

"Yeah! Of course, we'll help, we are your friends!" Monoma added.

"Even if I'm in Hokkaido, I can still show my support!" Yui told me through the phone.

…

"I know," I smiled gratefully at the three of them. "I'm gonna' rely on you guys a lot. Also, a lot of others too, because I can't do everything alone. I don't want to do it all alone. You're right, Setsuna. I didn't have any resolve back then. But fighting Class A today, deciding to prove them wrong and help them after everything, that's me proving that I've changed. That I'm still changing. That's enough resolve to see this till the end."

Monoma grinned at that as he took his phone and left the room, leaving only Tokage and me in my room. We said nothing to each other for a few seconds, and I looked at my pack of cigarettes and sighed.

"Sora," Tokage fiddled around with the corner of my pillowcase as she refused to meet my eyes. "Nice work today. I know you think that you didn't beat them, but you gave us enough time to beat them, so that counts as a win in my book."

"...Of course you know exactly how I'm feeling," I smiled at her. "It just doesn't feel like a win. It doesn't feel like they'll learn their lesson. Like I'm going around in circles trying to convince myself this is the right thing. It is the right thing. But…"

Tokage nodded, kicking my chair.

"You know we don't belong here," Tokage told me truthfully. "Neither you nor me. We're anomalies. I told you this all back at the Sports Festival, maybe there are some things that aren't supposed to be changed. Changing canon isn't something for the weak-hearted because suffering is going to happen either way. But Class A have taken it to a major extreme, they think that suffering is what they need to grow. That fighting and rejecting you is how they can be better."

I scoffed at that.

"Yeah. I did do that to them though, didn't I?"

"Maybe so. Or maybe they were always like this and after everything that's happened, even some of the best people can be turned into cynics," Tokage mused. "Point is that they are damn good heroes, but piss poor friends. Not very well-rounded and adjusted individuals. Most throw themself at their work while others barely smile anymore. I tried to help, and so did Jiro you know."

"...She didn't really speak up at my speech," I thought back to where she was, standing near the back and tending to her wounds. "I guess it doesn't really apply to her, does it? She's got a boyfriend and has moved on with her life. Same thing with Kaminari. Hell, he already said he wanted to be my friend no matter what. That he even agreed with what I was trying to do."

"That counts for something, doesn't it? Listen we're almost the third-year students we once looked up to, we've nearly graduated. In a year we'll be two months off leaving school forever with only a diploma and the memories of the school to guide us in our lives. It'll be the first time either of us graduated from school. I guess what I'm trying to say is… well… it'll be hard, but not impossible."

I shrugged my shoulders at that.

Maybe.

Maybe not.

"I'm still gonna' go for it. I'm still going to overcome this barrier," I told her proudly. "I know I'm repeating the same things over and over again, and maybe it's boring you, but I want to do this. I've never felt so sure about something in my life. Even if I'm scared, that's just another reason why I have to do it. And I'm not alone in doing it. I have you, don't I?" I raised my hand up high and saw Tokage grin.

"Of course, partner."

---

"MUUUUUUUUUUUM!" Miwa shrieked.

I winced at how loud she was, covering my ears as I shook my head.

"Don't tell her!" I whispered furiously. "Jeez. Are you trying to get me killed? You know what, don't even answer that." Miwa hummed in response as she sat next to me on the couch and poked my sides.

"You're injured."

"Because I beat up a few idiots," I returned. "Don't make it such a big deal."

Miwa squinted her eyes as she simply sighed.

"Yeah right, you're hurt! Did you even get medical treatment? I thought you said your fight was yesterday," Miwa complained, grabbing a few bandages as she looked at me expectantly. "Take off your top."

"No."

"Muuuuum!"

I clicked my tongue in annoyance, reluctantly taking my top off as I looked at my ribs. Ouch. They… weren't healing as fast as my injuries used to. Tch. Another Quirk that's different for me.

"Fine, fine," I leaned back and rested my head on the end of the couch. "Can ya' hurry it up? I don't want it to take nine hours."

Miwa rolled her eyes at me as she began to wrap my wound, despite me clenching my teeth and trying my hardest not to groan at the pain.

Fucking hell.

"Stop being dramatic."

"Shut up! You ain't the one that's injured!"

"Because I'm not stupid enough to get injured and shrug it off!" Miwa retorted, tightening the bandages which made me grip the sofa in pain. AH. "Serves you right, dumbass. What if you had gotten an infection? Don't try and hide injuries like these unless you want to wake up in a pool of your own blood."

"...Alright, alright," I lowered my top back down and smiled at her. "Thanks."

"Thank me for getting medical treatment next time you need it," Miwa replied, leaning her head on my shoulder. "Idiot. You know if you had croaked because of that, I would probably have laughed."

"Oi. Your brother would have died, and you would laugh?"

---

January the Eleventh.

I couldn't escape this day even if I tried, not to say that I didn't try. But it was tough trying not to skip school and stay in my room for the whole day, even if I didn't want to do that. Parading the school with hats and singing songs was Class A, all the more ready to try and show me how 'wrong' I was.

It was Todoroki's birthday and even he looked uncomfortable at what was going on.

I stared down at them from the school roof, a frown on my face.

Were they celebrating his birthday? Or were they trying to desperately show off to me?

I hoped that I was just overthinking things, but I could feel their smug looks centred on me as I walked past. I didn't think that they would fall this far, but then again it's been an entire year since I last spoke to any of them so it's not like I really know them anyway.

The Class A I knew and the Class A in front of me right now are two very distinct groups… One was able to overcome any barrier thrown their way, and the other didn't even feel like a functional group.

Jiro and Kaminari weren't even there.

Mineta, Midoriya and Yaoyorozu were out for the day.

The rest were split between doing this to show me how 'wrong' I was and genuinely celebrating their friends' birthday which created awkward tension within the class let alone outside of it. I sighed, fiddling around with my lighter as I ate my lunch in peace.

"Sora," Tokage's voice pulled me out of my thoughts, as well as the fact that she had changed her hair colour. What was once pink had now changed to a scarlet red, something that definitely suited her. "You busy tonight?"

"Nah. Why?"

"A certain detective wants to meet up with you. She says it's been a year and a few months since you two last really talked, but I doubt you could forget a stud like her," Tokage winked at me. "Really though, Nanao wants to meet with you. More of a business meeting than a social meeting, but that doesn't matter to you, does it?"

"Huh. Sweet. Why didn't she message me?"

"She doesn't have your new number."

I nodded slowly at that.

"Ah. Right, I forgot that most people don't have my new number," I pulled out my phone and handed it over to Tokage, who imputed Nanao's number. "Cheers. I'll be sure to call her and arrange something. You're welcome to come along as well you know, I'm sure she'd be pleased to speak to you."

She shrugged her shoulders in response, leaning on the railing alongside me.

"I'll see. Anyways, do you like my hair?" Tokage asked me, cupping her hair. After Jiro had cut some of it off during the Class A versus B session, she had gotten it trimmed a little. "I think it looks pretty sexy myself."

"It's great, yeah," I agreed with her. "But I do prefer your old hair. Not the pink, I mean the green. I think it suits you a lot more."

"Jeez, just when I thought you couldn't get any more boring," Tokage rolled her eyes at me. "Maybe one day I'll go back to my original hair colour. Until then get used to me dying it frequently."

"Isn't that going to ruin your hair?"

"Maybe in our old world, but here they've developed a one-hundred per cent safe dye to change your hair in whatever colours your heart desires without any damage," Tokage explained to me excitedly. "I want to blue next, but that might look a little weird. Do you think you can help me find the right colour?"

"I'll see. Do you… Nevermind."

Tokage's hand reached for mine as she patted it reassuringly.

"Speak your mind."

"I was going to ask if you'd ever think of going blonde?" I asked her, refusing to meet her eyes. "I-, ur… I have a thing for blondes. Not to say that I'll like you if you turn blonde, just that…"

Tokage chuckled at that.

"Yeah, don't worry I get it. You know if you ever dyed your hair purple I think you'd be a lot hotter. Especially if you change the colour of your jacket for your hero costume but keep your chest open for the world to see," Tokage teased me. "I bet you'd even draw in a sizable fanbase."

"...I don't want fans that lust over me, that's just weird," I replied annoyed, swatting her hand away. "And no touching! I thought I told you that I don't appreciate your teasing when we are at school, it just makes things weird for everyone around us."

"No one is around us."

"That's not the point," I told her, lighting up a cigarette as I offered for her to smoke with me. Tokage accepted as she took my cigarette and took a long drag out of it before passing it back to me. "I need to find you a boyfriend."

"Yeah, preferably a rich doctor in his twenties."

I rolled my eyes at her.

"I'll try. But a fat, balding man in his forties with crippling depression and close to bankruptcy while owning a ramen store seems more suited for you," I joked causing her to glare at me. "Kidding. Or am I?"

"If you aren't I swear I'll push you off this roof and watch as you slowly fall," Tokage lightly shoved me, a frown on her face. "Kidding. Or am I?"

"No, you'd definitely push me off but not for that. I'd probably be pushed off because I said I don't like your favourite artist or something insane like that," I replied, inhaling some smoke. "Hey Setsuna, thanks. I thought you'd be a lot more pissed at me for coming back and… doing all this."

She shook her head at that, chuckling softly at me.

"Sora, I don't know how many times you need to hear this - I ain't gonna leave you. I did that once and you nearly killed yourself," Tokage rolled her eyes at me, lightly tapping my shoulder. "Even if you think that the person in front of me is an irredeemable piece of shit, that doesn't mean that I think that. And I don't think that Class A really thinks that either, and you know it."

"I-, Yeah. I know. It's my guilt to carry, it's also something I know that you, Monoma, my family, Aizawa and so many others also forgive me for," I replied with a big smile on my face. "It's just… not everything is smooth sailing. Sometimes I forget that I need to forgive myself, it feels like like I'm finally free from my burden when I know I'm not. It's funny ya' know, ever since coming back to U.A. I feel happier. I guess everyone in my life does know what's best for me."

Tokage snorted at that, lighting up her pipe as she began to smoke next to me.

"That tends to happen when you constantly worry about your own mind. We all feel that way, Sora. It's a part of growing up I think, realising that you can't do it all alone. That asking for help doesn't make you weak, admitting you aren't strong enough to do a single thing doesn't prove that you don't deserve power - It shows that you do. And Class A… they are proving that everything you said to them is true. They haven't gotten over their barriers…"

Chuckling at that, I reached for my cigarettes but paused at the last moment as I peered down below.

It was Jiro.

She was walking around all alone with her headphones on her ears, presumably listening to music as she made her way around the campus, smiling and greeting the people who walked by.

"Do you still love her?"

That was the question which lingered in the air.

…

"Yeah," I admitted honestly, shaking my head as I sighed heavily. "I still love her, even if I know I ain't got a chance in hell to get back with her. Even if I had the chance… I probably wouldn't take it cause she's happy with someone else. I'm happy that she's happy. But…"

"Heartbreak's a helluva' thing to go through. I don't envy you one bit," Tokage joked, leaning over the railings as she kicked my left leg lightly. "You know, I can always be your little 'sex doll' if you want-,"

"Shut up. God, do you ever hear the words that come out of your mouth?!" I groaned, slapping my forehead as I heard her chortle at me. "It's like you say these things just to annoy me-, You fucking bitch."

"Hehe. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

I rolled my eyes as I raised my middle finger at her.

"Whatever-,"

Before I could finish my sentence, both of our attention was stolen by a loud crash across the city. This high up, while we couldn't see the whole of Musutafu, Tokage and I saw that a villain had gone barreling through a building even at a distance. Smoke filled the air, dark and thick, even if the two of us were far away from the action.

It was…

Jumping through the smoke, chasing after the villain was a small figure that was undoubtedly a hero.

"Attacks that big at midday? I was either in school or training at the dojo, so I didn't see things like that ever. Are things really as bad as they seem?" I asked Tokage, my eyes being unable to look away from the scene happening across the city. "What are the heroes doing."

"You weren't here for the aftermath of the Shie Hassaikai, Sora. You have no idea how bad things have gotten. You came back to U.A., but you haven't gone on patrol yet or even decided to work at a hero agency - The worst is yet to truly come," Tokage replied. "No one's been on patrol here since we've come back. You should really wear a mask Sora, I'm saying this-,"

"No masks. I know full well what I've gotten into," I told her, turning away from the villain's attack across the city, I sat down on the floor of the roof and began to stare at the sky. "It's not easy being a hero. I know that. Truth is I thought I could handle it by choosing who to save… but that doesn't work. It was just a defence I used to not take responsibility for what I should have."

"You should call Nanao," Tokage reminded me, walking towards the exit of the roof. "Sora, with how heroes are now… I get why you would still want to stick to your philosophy of saving only those you care about. It's one I adhere to myself. There is no shame in knowing your limits."

"Setsuna. Knowing your limits is fine, but if there are people you can save that you're not because of those limits…" I trailed off near the end. I knew what she was trying to say, and I would have agreed with her once upon a time ago. But I changed. I'm not the same person I once was. "These are all just barriers to get over. I know what I want, I know what I need to do to achieve it and I'm not settling for anything less."

And for once, Tokage had the biggest grin on her face.

"Then do it. Get over the barrier, Sora."

---

Shota Aizawa POV

The meeting room was in disarray.

Sat at the corner of the table, with Hizashi on his left and Nemuri on his right, Shota Aizawa sighed as he took a small sip from his coffee - black, with four small sugar cubes inside. Despite the common belief that Shota hated all things sweet, the truth was that Shota had a massive sweet tooth no thanks to his friends, both alive and…

'Whatever state Shirakumo is in.'

But the staff at U.A. weren't in disarray over Shota's choice in coffee, perhaps this meeting would have been resolved sooner had that been the topic at hand, it was instead focused on the current second years in the hero track.

"Yamazaki's arrival has thrown a wrench in our plans, you can't deny that," Ectoplasm addressed everyone sitting around the table. "Furthermore the fact that he and Class A aren't getting along well can bode negatively for the future of our project. None of you can deny that fact - Nor can you even begin to answer what we can even do for the kid. While his main Quirk has changed, and thankfully so has his appearance, the main inquiries will be done by the HPSC."

"What's your point? That we should drop the kid because he's too much of a hassle to deal with?" Hizashi asked. "If we did that for every kid that walked these halls, we'd have no students by the end of the day."

Ectoplasm shook his head.

"I'm saying that we are trying to play nice with the HPSC. Our new Prime Minister's links towards the HPSC have made it harder for our graduates to get out there and start their own agency. More and more graduates from across the country are signing up with the commission, not only that but we have to now adhere to their strict data policy!" Ectoplasm explained. "I'm saying if Yamazaki's status as Aozora were to ever leak, especially now that he's back, the political ramifications could be intense."

"We know that, so what's the point of tellin' us?" Snipe asked his colleague in confusion. "Sure, the kid was rough around the edges last time he was here, but he's changed. The boy came to me and asked for a few lessons on learning how to shoot a gun. Mind you he's using a stun gun, although a lot fancier than I remember it being, his mentality is a lot different. I don't think we have to worry about his status being leaked or anything."

Murmurs across the table broke out all at once.

"I agree with Snipe, I've had a spar with him and have had the opportunity to see how he acts in lessons. This Sora Yamazaki is a lot different than the Sora Yamazaki that once walked these halls," Vlad King added. "Regarding our project, I think he'll fit nicely in them once he's sorted out all his hero details. The only issue that remains is who he'll mentor under, as well as his relationship with Class A."

Shota raised his hand at that.

"I'll take him."

"You can't," Nemuri shook her head at him. "New HPSC rules, you're only allowed one mentee currently in training. While it's not legislation yet, it'll be passed by the end of the month. Not only that but don't you think it'll raise a lot of flags in the HPSC? After Aozora 'died' it took you nearly five months to get Shinso to be your mentee. Think of all the rigorous checks. And think about the fact that some in the HPSC know who Aozora is, not to mention our Prime Minister herself has ties to the boy. Do you really think journalists will be able to not add everything up?"

"Who said anything about journalists? Listen, it doesn't matter what the law says - I can handle it. Sora doesn't have to be my mentee, I can hire him part-time and use that loophole to-,"

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that, Shota," Nezu interjected from the top of the table. "Your relationship with the boy has to be called into question. Can you do your duties as a hero and keep him safe? The answer is plain to see considering what went wrong with the Shie Hassaikai raid, you forgot your oath as a hero to protect what you cared about most. Don't forget that Aozora's 'sacrifice' is what put the red tape around the entire mess, keeping you out of prison and with your job still intact."

Shota clicked his tongue in annoyance.

It was true.

If Sora had not chosen to 'kill' Aozora, the multiple enquiries launched after the Shie Hassaikai rad to understand the events leading up to it would have delved deeper than they did. The fact is that Shota Aizawa, under the current law, would be classed as a criminal for not only allowing corruption to happen as seen in the events leading up to Sora's friend, Denji, and his death but also choosing to lie about the events.

That in of itself would have stripped his hero license away from Shota and would give him a three-year sentence minimum. He was thankful that Sora was blissfully unaware of this fact because he knew what the boy would probably do if he found out.

"Still, is there nothing any of us can do to help Sora?" Shota pleaded. "Endeavour's moved his agency near Tokyo, he's practically abandoned this city. Even all of us are so swamped by our work with Class A and B and ensuring that they are marketed as the next generation of heroes, along with our own duties to fulfil regarding our new Prime Minister and her new laws that this city has fallen to the wayside."

"Death Arms is handling this city far too well to take him on," Hizashi replied. "Haven't you heard what they call him in the streets these days? 'Your friendly neighbourhood Strong-Man!' Musutafu's effectively become his city to save."

"My point is that if we're to make sure that all these kids become the best heroes we've ever seen, then we need to help them all!" Shota ignored his friend, pressing onwards with his speech. "Sora's a kid that needs a lot of support. He doesn't need a mentor, he needs someone he can trust. Can any of you around this table confidently say that the boy in question trusts you? The answer is no, he sees me as his family. I'm the one who can guide him-,"

"Shota, it won't be you," Nezu cut him off. "And that's final. Our project calls for Sora to be a hero, not comfortable. Didn't you say it yourself when he enrolled here again? He has separate goals that he wants to accomplish, and U.A. is how he'll accomplish them. You haven't divulged what these goals are. From my point of view, how can I trust you to do what's best for this school and society when that boy is in the picture?"

"I-," Shota growled, sitting back down in his chair as he didn't utter a single additional word.

They had got him there.

"The question of how we'll deal with him is still in the air," Ectoplasm said. "Not to mention the fact that we have two more students to deal with in a similar boat as him. Midoriya and Kaminari. Without an agency to take them under their wing our last option is the HPSC, and we all know how disastrous that will be."

Nezu smiled at that.

"You're right of course. If any of our students were to join the HPSC, especially with how different they are now, our little project with the Prime Minister would fail completely. Despite her links with the HPSC, it is clear that the age of how things used to be run is over. Thus, I've devised my own plan for this situation," Nezu explained to everyone around the table, throwing a bunch of files on the table. "It's not perfect, but it's the only way out for us."

Shota's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"The… Special Reinforcement Group?" He read aloud. "A partnership with the-, Hold on Nezu, what are you trying to propose? You know as much as I do that something like this has the potential to go horribly wrong for all parties involved. How does this even fit with our project?!"

Nezu simply smiled in response.

"It's simple, Shota. The S.R.G is as the name implies, a group of students whose task is to reinforce special problems that heroes can't solve. Do things that we can't do, because as I'm sure you're all aware, there are many barriers in our way to protecting society," Nezu told them all. "Our project aims to ensure that the public is able to believe and identify the next generation of heroes. The S.R.G will make sure that this is able to happen, and that's how we'll get past the HPSC. Even the faction of the government that wants to limit our powers."

Shota growled.

"This is an experiment. Nezu, I swear, if Sora gets hurt because of the game you're trying to play-,"

Nezu simply chuckled in response.

"Oh, I understand perfectly what will happen. But that's why this is important, this is an opportunity someone like Sora can't pass up," Nezu told him. "This is how even someone like Sora Yamazaki can be a hero, even if he'll be the furthest thing from one possible. And with his new 'goals' don't you think this is the best chance Sora will get to achieve them?"

Shota Aizawa grunted in response.

The only issue was that… If this went through.

If Sora accepted his proposal.

'Is he really going to be willing to fight the world?'

---

The café was in utter chaos. The teens were loud and rowdy, as if trying to make up for their exhaustion when in reality their 'exhaustion' came from partying way too hard during the day. I clicked my tongue in annoyance as I watched Class A from across the café with a scowl on my face.

"Do it you fucking coward!" Bakugo goaded, pushing the soy sauce bottle across the table "You did it once, so you might as well do it again."

"Yeah, on accident and because of that you call me soy sauce at every opportunity." Sero whined "I'm not drinking it. "Not unless you give me free food for a week-,

"Do it! Do it! Do it!" Mina began chanting. Izuku joined in right after, teasing Sero whose face began to turn red. "Do it! Do it! Do it!" They began shouting together, and soon enough nearly all of Class A were chanting the same thing.

"Don't do it," Shinso snapped good-naturedly, taking the soy sauce bottle and putting it on the empty table behind him. "As funny as that would be, I'm the one who ends up refilling those sons of bitches. And do you know how long that takes? Plus you all complain every time that I'm 'too slow'. I don't even work here and I feel like a waiter."

"DO IT DO IT DO IT!" Bakugo, Midoriya, Kirishima, Uraraka and Mina chanted louder, pounding on the table, ignoring Shinso entirely. Kaminari and Jiro were shaking Sero's shoulders, while Tsuyu, Mineta and Hakagure were making chicken noises. Todoroki had a smile on his face as he ate his yakisoba in peace, next to him Koda and Ojiro were doing the same.

Iida and Tokoyami were trying to calm everyone down as Yaoyorozu simply sighed in response. Even she knew it was a lost cause.

"Don't do it!" Shinso shouted frustrated. "I swear to God, I'll use my Quirk-,"

"DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!" The whole table chanted and much to Shinso's dismay, Sero caved and chugged the whole thing down, gagging while doing so as his gripped the table for support. It was disgusting, even though I was sitting a few tables away from them, I still wanted to vomit.

Most of them were already drunk.

Then and again, they were celebrating Todoroki's birthday.

"I hate all of you," Sero coughed out, trying to wash his mouth out with his drink, the soda which he had ordered. "You owe me free food for a week, no two weeks! And I want the Lunch Rush special, none of that cheap bullshit! It better come with some milk and everything!"

"You're a fucking weirdo," Katsuki cackled "Who drinks an entire bottle of soy sauce? And we never agreed to buy you food, isn't that right guys?" Everyone nodded at that, even Iida who was doing his best to go with the flow, having given up on trying to calm his classmates down a while ago.

"OH MY FUCKING GOD!" Sero screeched angrily and threw the empty bottle at him "YOU PRICK! I swear Bakugo, I'm going to fuck your mother-,"

"WHAT DID YOU FUCKING SAY?!" The blonde howled and hurled the bottle back at Sero's face, smacking him on the forehead. The booth exploded into loud arguing and laughter as both sides began to throw bits of trash at each other. Once calmed down, they spent the rest of their time talking and eating and breaking into the occasional squabble every now and then.

I turned back to Tokage, who had a sad expression on her face as she shrugged her shoulders at me. We both knew that this was embarrassing. Even without looking at the other customers who looked at Class A with annoyance written all over their faces, or even the owner of the place who was too afraid to talk to Class A about their behaviour - It all painted an ugly picture.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think they'd be here," I apologised to Tokage. "Not to mention Nanao's supposed to come soon… I don't think she'll appreciate this, will she?"

"Knowing Nanao, she'll likely flash her detective badge at them and get them to sober up quickly," Tokage replied, "That or she'll laugh it off. Anyways, I'm sorry too. I shoulda told you that they were gonna be in this café tonight, but it totally slipped my mind. Honestly."

"It's fine," I waved her off, sipping my own drink a PG tips tea with a dash of whisky thrown in. My doing of course. Unlike Class A who drank at their dorms and then came over to the place, I brought a tiny bottle of whisky with me that Aizawa had given me for Christmas. It came in a set of ten. "Though if things get too rowdy, I might have to cut in. Ruin their fun and remind them not to be total assholes to everyone around them."

"Pot calling kettle?"

"Hey, I had my character development," I joked. "And I was never this obnoxious. I was a bully, not a public nuisance."

"Right, you were off breaking kid's arms instead of snorting soy sauce up your nose. What a fucking Saint," Tokage kicked me playfully underneath the table. "Odds on you go and speak to them now?"

"And say what? Not to be assholes? I thought that's obvious."

"Clearly not. Plus, you did sorta say that you were going to teach them a lesson, did you not? Don't wuss out now."

I sighed.

"Can I finish my cuppa first?"

Tokage rolled her eyes at me.

"I'll make you tea myself back at our dorm. I'll even throw in a free sandwich, how does that sound?"

"Like an oddly sexist joke," I replied, taking another sip of my tea. "I don't want you in the kitchen making me a sandwich. I like sandwiches, but you'll probably fuck it up and put Nutella and ham together."

"Is that not a sandwich?"

"Fuck no. Honestly, this is why women can't-, Oh you craft bitch!" She smirked at that as I shook my head. "You nearly made me say something sexist. Is that what you really wanted? For me to say that your natural position is in the kitchen?"

"I'd rather my natural position be in your bed," Tokage replied, wrapping her legs around mine. "How about it? You and me, a few rounds without a condom."

"You wanna' do it raw? Listen, I'm not trying to pay child support."

"I'll say I was raped and don't know the father."

"You're such a horrible person, you know that right? There is a special place in hell for someone like you," I muttered, finishing my cup of tea. "Like I know you're joking, but there is a small part of me that actually believes you would do it. And isn't that a scary thought, you being a mother?"

"I'd be a great mother," Tokage huffed out.

I snorted at that.

"Yeah right. Oh, you're being serious, my bad," I stood up from our table and messaged Nanao, telling her that I had to cancel. Within a few seconds, she replied, telling me that she was going to have to cancel anyway because something came up at work and I could only sigh in response as Tokage looked at me pleadingly. "Fine. I'll do it. But I don't want anything you said you'd do for me, understand?"

"So you don't want me to lick your skinny arse clean?"

I winced at that.

"Fuck off you sexual deviant," I replied despite Tokage's manic laughter. "Sorry, I want my first time to be special. Not taking advantage of a terminally ill person in a hospital and making them pity fuck me."

"Hey! Don't knock it till you tried it!" Tokage countered.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll see you at the dorm."

Throwing half of the bill on the table, I walked towards Class A, playing around with my lighter in my pocket. Even as I walked up to their massive table, which was four tables that they had grouped all together, barely any even decided to acknowledge my presence. Midoriya and Uraraka were all over each other, while nearly everyone else was enthralled by Kaminari trying to chug a quarter of a bottle of vodka.

Everyone but Jiro.

In fact, she was the only one that stared directly at me.

"What do you want?"

It was her voice that alerted everyone to the fact that I was standing right in front of their table, and rather quickly the mood soured. Well, Kaminari was still chugging his vodka, but no one was looking sadly.

"Yo. Guess you guys drank a bunch? And are still drinking, fair enough. But don't ya think you're being a bit too loud?" I asked them. I tried to be as polite as possible, ignoring the sneers sent my way as soon as I opened my mouth, and even the glares of utter contempt shot my way - But it wasn't working.

"I don't think we're being too loud," Kirishima replied.

"Sorry, sorry. I meant fucking annoying, is that better?" I snapped at him. "Listen, it's good to see you celebrating Todoroki's birthday, but right now you're being a nuisance. Do you understand me? Or are you all so fucking pissed out of your mind that you can't even comprehend what I'm saying?"

"We can hear you just fine," Sero told me. "But it's like Kirishima said, no one's complaining, so what's the problem? Why don't you just fuck off, you're the one annoying us."

I chuckled at that, nodding my head slowly.

"S'that so? The reason why no one's told you anything is because they're scared shitless of a group of twenty teenagers all drunk and acting like idiots. I don't blame them. C'mon, I ain't asking you to end the party, I'm telling you all not to be twats," I responded, asking for their bill. "I'll even pay your bill, free of charge. Just go back to campus and enjoy the rest of your night there. Trust me, you won't regret it in the morning."

"Shut up! Why are you telling us what we have to do?" Mina slurred out.

"Because I'm not the one drunk on a Wednesday night," I pointed out. "Really, I thought you were all better than this. Funny that I assumed the illustrious Class A to be more than a bunch of annoying drunks, but I guess that's all you'll ever amount to."

"...I agree with him," Jiro spoke up. "We're being kinda annoying."

"We can have just as much fun back home," Kaminari added, putting the vodka bottle away in his bag. "Plus we still have Todoroki's cake to eat. I don't want to get arrested for being a public nuisance you know, I think if I get another warning I might actually be arrested this time."

"I've been recommending we do this for an hour," Yaoyorozu shrugged her shoulders, looking at me gratefully. "Sora's right. It's time to go."

I sighed in relief, at least this didn't end up in a fight-,

Kirishima stood up from his chair and stomped his way over to me and grabbed my collar.

"Why are you judging us?! Maybe we've been annoying, but you have no right to judge us! Do you really want me to yell out all your mistakes right here and now?!" I could smell the alcohol on his breath the most. "Do you, Sora? Because there's a long list of shit that we should judge you for, but you don't see us holding shit that we already forgave you for years ago! So why don't you do what you did to us a year ago and fuck off already!"

"Judging you? None of you idiots have any idea what I'm doing," I whispered furiously. "I'm trying to help you all. Not out of pity or me being sorry, because looking at you all makes me sick with myself. This is your coping mechanism? This isn't the first time you've gotten drunk like this, I don't need you to tell me that you do this often because I can see it all in your eyes. Drinkings a helluva' thing to do with friends."

"Yeah, I bet you have a ton of experience doing that," Hagakure said sarcastically.

"I don't. Usually, I'll have a drink by myself or with Aizawa, but I have my own vices," I pointed to the packet of cigarettes that could be visibly seen in my breast pocket. "I know a thing or two about not being able to cope with life in a healthy way. I also know that it's time for you all to go home, so pack up your shit and leave."

"Like you did with us? Like with what happened during the raid? Think of all the dangerous things you did - You're not a hero, you're not a professional, you're not even someone who was ready to kill. Yet you never even cared as you went through each dangerous situation without a single care in the world," Kirishima yelled at me, lifting me slightly off the ground as he held my collar even tighter. "Where the hell do you get off calling yourself a friend after pulling this shit? Helping us? Since when did you ever help us? What in God's name were you thinking when you came back here?"

"You don't know what you're talking about…"

I stepped forward, watching as Kirishima let go of my collar as he stumbled backwards, only for me to grab his collar and lift him up in the air slightly, much to the dismay and panic of everyone not only sitting around the table but Tokage as well who had snuck up behind me.

"I never went into those dangerous situations because I wanted to! I never did it without a single care in the world! I always did it to SAVE one friend! I get it, I thought that by being an asshole I could leave your lives forever and here I am a year later," I shouted at him angrily. "Yeah, for a while I thought that my hands were drenched with blood. I still do. I still think that I'm an irredeemable piece of shit that needs to be punished, but that's why I'm here!"

Kirishima gulped as I let him go.

"...You all want to make everything about yourself. About how me leaving you affects you so much that none of you ever wanted to accept that maybe I left you guys because I thought that I didn't deserve a place in Class A," I watched as Midoriya flinched at that. "I hurt you, nothing is going to change that. But acting like spoiled brats isn't going to change that either. You say I've changed in a year, but you guys haven't. Stop living in a moment of time that happened a year ago, it's gone and it's not coming back."

All of them bar Kaminari and Jiro looked down at the floor, refusing to meet my eyes as I said that.

"Move on. It's tough, it's something I need to do as well but you guys are just like me. You don't want to move on because to let go of this is to let go of the pain that's holding you together - But you have to do it. Or else you'll end up like me. I'm not asking for your forgiveness, I'm not asking for you to be friends with me again or anything like that. If it's an apology from me that you want, then you're not getting one from me with the way you currently are."

"...Why…?" Kirishima whispered. "Why the hell are you still talking? Just go away!" I wasn't able to dodge in time as he hardened his fist and punched me, sending me flying backwards as I went through the door and landed outside in the cold snow.

Chuckling to myself, I greeted the bitter cold with a grin on my face.

I failed.

Despite that, I watched as everyone in Class A quickly left the café without uttering another word to each other, let alone to me. Despite that, it was Jiro and Todoroki who helped me up.

"I'm sorry for ruining your birthday," I told Todoroki sincerely. "I would say happy birthday and all that, but I don't think I have that right."

It was Todoroki who laughed at that, something which was odd for the guy even when we were friends.

"Don't worry about it. And really, I think your words were the best gift I could have gotten from you anyway," He replied. "You're right though. I'm sorry as well, Sora. I should have-,"

"Todoroki. Let it go," Jiro cut him off. He nodded at that, waving at us as he joined the rest of his class, leaving only Jiro and me alone on the street. "Big words. You finally said what you've been trying to say to us the entire time. Words that none of us really wanted to hear but were the truth nonetheless."

I scoffed at that.

"You're all so stubborn. It's good, don't get me wrong, but jeez. Sometimes it's like arguing against a brick wall," I laughed. "When I left that day… and when you visited my house… our argument… Just know that-,"

"You didn't mean it?" Jiro cut me off with a sad smile. "I know. I've always known, Sora. It's why even now I'm happy for you, that you've finally reached a stage in your life where you can actually grow and change. Not for us, but for you. I agree with everything you've said, and I just want to make sure that you know that you'll always have a place in Class A. Even if most of them don't want to admit it… you'll always be our friend. And that's because you've always been real with us."

"You know the more you say that, the more I'm thinking that maybe I should go back," I joked. "But I can't. I'm sorry for our argument the other day, I shouldn't have shouted and scared you."

Jiro nodded at me.

"I'm sorry too. I was just-, I missed you so much, Sora. I was just getting angry because we couldn't be friends again because you didn't want to let me in just like before. But you've changed, you are letting everyone in," Jiro whispered happily. "Even if it's in small increments. I still think you should tell everyone the truth about that day. So, why not come back? Sure, it'll be tough at first, but it'll get better, won't it?"

I shook my head at her.

"I'll never be able to forgive myself if I go back now, Kyoka. That's all there is to it," I answered truthfully. "We both need to move on and for that, I have to forgive myself and you all need to accept that you weren't the only ones hurt by what happened. That you weren't the only victims in our friendship. I'm teaching you all a lesson, one I had to learn myself the hard way."

"Is that the lesson that made you get your powers back? That made you come back to U.A.?" Jiro asked me.

"Yeah," I nodded. "It is. Responsibility goes both ways, you can't just ignore it."

Jiro smiled at me.

"Well Instructor Sora, I guess we'll just have to see how far your teachings are really going to go," She said, reaching into my pockets as she plucked a cigarette out of the box and placed it in my mouth, lighting it up using my lighter. "Good night, Sora."

I watched as she waved goodbye to me and joined the rest of her friends.

Huh.

…

"Man, if she didn't have a boyfriend you definitely should have made your move," Tokage said from behind me, a sly grin on her face. "Doesn't change the fact that you love a girl in a committed relationship. Then and again, you could always be a homewrecker-,"

I picked up some snow and threw it at her.

"Way to ruin a moment. Bitch."

---

Sorry for the delay, some personal issues got in the way but they are (largely) fixed!

I think this is an important chapter.

Sora's cyclical nature is broken. This could have been drawn out for chapters, even arcs, and it would still fit Sora's character. But I do want to show that he's not the same person he once was, and he's breaking that cycle. He is taking responsibility, he is being more open, and he's not afraid to speak his mind.

I'm not trying to paint Class A in a negative light even if it seems like it, because none of them are assholes. They just can't accept the fact that Sora was also hurt by their friendship, and Sora told them what they didn't want to hear the most.

Again, they aren't going to magically be friends again.

Minor spoiler alert: Some will never rekindle their friendship with Sora.

But that's not the arc I'm trying to convey here, ultimately it all links back to a different set of ideologies at play. Izuku (And Class A) learnt from the Shie Hassaikai raid and what Sora did to them to endure, to take that pain and hold on to it.

This is the culmination of 'enduring', what they think it means to be a hero.

Sora represents the opposite of enduring, as mentioned tons of times in this chapter, getting over the metaphorical barrier that stands in front of them. Barriers they all face.

It's not about enduring the pain and holding on to it, it's about getting over it.

This arc is called 'Reflection' for a reason and it's because I'm trying to show the reflections of what Class A represents, what Sora represents and the adults/heroes they'll eventually become.

And of course, the U.A. staff scene is mildly important… :)

See ya' soon!

The-Tobi:

Kaminari and Sora's friendship is something that has carried the story for a long time and will continue to do so. While Sora has strong friendships with the females in his life, I also think it's important to highlight the fact that his friendship with Kaminari is just as strong if not stronger.

JorGames Reborn:

See, if Denki was Raiden then I'd say that's either really good or really bad foreshadowing because he and Sora call each other brothers. Now what's more tragic, having Raiden be in front of him the entire time or-,

The point is that Denki's not Raiden.

They call each other brothers like... metaphorically? I call my friends brothers but I know they're not my actual brothers.

Guest 1:

Sora died at 17. Do you know any 17-year-olds that are mature and listen to other people? I'm sorry if you were such a mature 17-year-old that you didn't need to grow and develop as a person and adult first, I'm sure being a loner must have been a traumatic experience but my (And many others) experience as an immature 17-year-old was one of growth into adulthood.

And that's the main theme of this story and Sora's main character arc.

YeTinashi and Guest 2:

'If I were Miwa I would not forgive her', 'how dare she betray Sora like that in Chapter 1?! You ruined her character!'

Miwa was twelve in chapter 1.

If you would disown and cut off your 12-year-old sister because she was a prick in school one day after you used her as a justifiable excuse to bully people for years on end, then be my guest - It just means that you're a bit of a loser that doesn't know any basic empathy. And as I said, she's 12. Twelve. A literal child. Absolute retards, and I do mean it.

Of course, a twelve-year-old is going to challenge what Sora is doing publically, why is she going to do it at home where her parents will shout at her for causing an argument? Have you ever been around twelve-year-olds? They're obnoxious, it's because they are twelve. I was obnoxious like that at twelve. It's called being a dumb kid and if you hold it against Miwa then I truly don't know what to say.