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...

46. Issue 45

Welcome to the final chapter of Part 1. It's been a journey, so I won't take up too much of your time before the chapter starts. Compared to when I first started to write this story, that's a lesson I learnt pretty late. It breaks up the flow of the chapter and is annoying.

The song for this chapter is Sayonara Bye Bye by Matsuko Mawatari aka Yu Yu Hakusho ending 2.

As for my final unfunny quip of this part… Slightly baggy clothes clothes that fit you perfectly!

---

I dodged another one of Kurai-Shiro's attacks, sighing as I was bruised all over, and I even had a few cuts on my body. I didn't feel anything, and there wasn't blood coming out of any of my wounds which was a weird experience, to say the least. Then and again this was happening all in my mind so if I was hurt while I was 'dreaming' that would be a depressing thought.

I don't know how long it had been since I came here, but I gritted my teeth as I steeled myself for another bout with the two crazy bastards that lived in my mind. I didn't know what to call Shiro and Kurai as their fusion attacked me with even more ferocity compared to before, and all I could do was parry their attacks.

"Is this your true strength, Sora Yamazaki?" They asked me. "Because this is pitiful, there is no way in hell that you are going to get any power from either of us." I watched as the two of them eventually separated from their fused forms, Shiro going back to being the small kid with brown hair while Kurai become an exact mirror of me with yellow eyes. I was beaten.

"Please! I need your power to-,"

"Protect what you couldn't protect?"

I nodded.

"You ignore us for a while, act pretty rude whenever you speak to us and then demand us to help you? Come on, are you stupid or something? Why the hell should we help you? You don't even understand us-,

"Understand you?" I scoffed at that. "You are a trigger-happy psychopath that wants to murder everyone for fun!" I yelled at Kurai, before turning to the smaller boy. "And I don't know what your problem is, but it's like you hate me!"

"I don't hate you."

"Then why don't you want to help me?"

"Because it's as I said. What you want to protect and what I want to protect are two entirely different things. And they clash, just like how you want to protect those you care about and your duties as a hero clash." Shiro explained to me.

"So what?! Right now my friends are in danger! I can't lose anyone else! Please!" Even I heard the desperation in my voice as I bowed my head. I couldn't stay here for long, Nighteye and Midoriya were trying to stop Overhaul! I had to get up and fight! I couldn't lose another person I cared about. Not after Denji. Not after Eri. Not after what happened to Aizawa.

"I fail to see how that's my problem. It was your own weaknesses that dragged you here, not Kurai or me," Shiro replied coldly. "You hesitated, and because of that hesitation, you paid your price. Your decisions ever since you decided to attend U.A. put you on this path, and it's only your decisions that can change the future. Power from us won't help-,"

"Oi, oi," Kurai cut in, waving his sword around the air angrily. It looked like a katana and it reminded me of my old sword, the Kazekiri. "If he wants power, we can always give it to him. He knows that he has to exchange something in response-,"

"Kurai! Do you really think that will solve anything?" Shiro asked him.

"Maybe not. But he's desperate."

"..."

"Please!" I pleaded with them once again. "I need to protect everyone from Overhaul. I know I fucked up, I know it was my actions that caused all this. But I'm not asking for you to give me power so I can throw it all away for revenge, and I'm not asking you for power out of any guilt even if I do feel guilty. I'm asking for you to give me power so I can protect what I've always wanted to protect, not throw my life away! I'm asking you to allow me to clean up my mess."

"..."

"Shiro. I know how you feel, I really do," Kurai sneered at me, taking a few steps closer to the shorter boy. "I hate him too. But what's the best thing for us to do right now? I'd love to take control of his body and kill everyone I can find just to spite him, but that won't do anything. And I know what you want to do as well."

"If," Shiro began after a while. "And I truly mean it. If we decided to give you power, what would you give up in return? Not a broken bone or two, this time a permanent sacrifice is needed for the power you asking of us. If you want the power to protect, the power to clean up your mess - The power to beat Overhaul as he currently is, it won't come cheap. That's the nature of your Quirk, and there is nothing either of us can do to sidestep that price."

"Anything," I replied.

And I was truly prepared to sacrifice anything.

Kurai howled in laughter, but his back was still turned away from me.

"See ya' around, kid. If I ever see your ugly mug in here again, I'll tear you to pieces." Kurai waved as he went into the shadows and didn't return, leaving only Shiro and myself outside of my mental picture of U.A.

"Shiro-,"

"Shut up," Shiro told me. "Do you have any idea of what you are asking? DO YOU?!" He roared angrily.

"I do."

"So then why? Why on Earth would you choose to sacrifice everything? I know how much you care about others, how much you want to protect those you hold dear to you, but the idea that other people care about you just as much isn't getting in through that thick skull of yours is it?!" That shut me up as I saw Shiro's face twist into an unreadable emotion. It was a mix of so many that I couldn't begin to describe it. Anger, sorrow and… pain.

"Your powers."

"Huh?"

"The cost for you to get this power is your powers themself. Just your Nimbus Quirk, it'll be sealed off from you. For as long as that seal is up, you'll never able to use Nimbus ever again - And remember, Nimbus is the cornerstone of your three other Quirks as well. Without Nimbus, you'll be…"

Quirkless.

Shiro didn't need to say it for me to understand what he was trying to say.

I smiled at the boy.

"If that's my price, then I'll take it."

"You really are an idiot, aren't you?" Huh? I watched as Shiro wiped a few tears away from his face as my entire mind turned white. He was slowly fading away from me, everything was.

"It's who I am, Shiro. It's who I've always been. Just an idiot trying to live my life in a carefree way, trying to make it so everyone else around me can live in a carefree tomorrow with me," I told him, trying to lift the little boy's spirits. Even though he looked about twelve, he was still a kid. "I'm fine with losing Nimbus if it means I can keep that. Call me stupid all you want, but that's just who I am."

"I'm not talking about that, Sora," Shiro replied. Everything was slowly starting to go, probably a sign that my powers were starting to fade. I didn't know how to feel about the whole ordeal, Nimbus was something that had been with me forever. It was the reason why everyone in my life wanted me to initially become a hero because I had a good Quirk. Without it, what was I really?

That didn't matter, it was my decision.

"That's why you are an idiot," Shiro said once more. "Despite being apprehensive, you are still giving up your powers to fight. The ultimate sacrifice. You are signing away your life, and for what? You really don't understand what you are doing."

"Maybe," I shrugged my shoulders. "But I know that there is one thing in this world that's more important than anything - Protecting whatever it is you want. As Kirishima would say, it takes a real man to protect it. That's why it's my decision, and I know that deep down you understand that. Even if you are against me doing this trade for whatever reason. Don't you hate me?"

"Somewhat," Shiro answered. "Kurai too. Don't take his words to heart, he hates this decision and it's why he left. He's such a tsundere sometimes. But I don't hate you, not fully. You are insufferable, but I could never really hate you. I'll tell you what, the reason why I hate you is also the reason why I think you are stupid."

Huh?

"That doesn't narrow it down."

"You won't have a lot of time, Sora. Ten minutes max before your powers is completely gone. But because of what you are giving up you'll be stronger than you could possibly ever hope to be. No amount of training will ever make you as powerful as this," Shiro explained. "This really is your last ditch effort. If you fail, you can't ask us for more power. It doesn't work that way. After this, it'll be over."

"I know. Shiro… thanks."

Shiro's eyes widened at that before a small smile appeared on his face.

"For what?"

"You have to deal with me, right? That's no easy feat. Not even Kyoka or Aizawa can keep up with me without getting fed up, and that says something. I don't know what I've done to make you and Kurai hate me, but you aren't so bad. Of course, I'll fight that bastard Kurai as long as he keeps trying to kill others for the thrill of it and to annoy me. And I'll fight you so long as you keep on trying to tell me to do things I disagree with, and say things to annoy me."

"Hn. You assume we want to annoy you."

Shiro had nearly completely faded at this point. I guessed we only had a few more seconds left before I woke up and had to fight Overhaul. I steeled myself for that fight, it was going to take everything out of me.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked Shiro right before he disappeared. The small boy grinned at me, and his reply shattered my world.

"Haven't you realised it by now? The thing Kurai and I wanted to protect this entire time… it was you, Sora."

---

DECIDE

Ten

'Goodbye sky'

---

Kyoka Jiro POV

She didn't need to say it.

But she wanted to say it so badly.

It had been a week since the raid, but Sora Yamazaki was in a coma. He was stable at U.A.'s hospital ward and was taken care of by Recovery Girl every day. Jiro sat opposite her boyfriend, staring at him as he slept. None of them understood what he did to fight Overhaul that day, but the result was his hair colour turning to a dark brown and his coma that seemingly he would never wake up from. Kyoka had already cried her heart out when she found out.

She cried once again once Aizawa told her that Denji, her old friend from middle school, had also died. While he hadn't gone into any specifics, Kyola wasn't a fool. She already knew Sora was trying to save him, and that he probably failed. It made her want to scream and shout at how unfair it was for him to make them all worry like this, but Kyoka knew better. Sora was already aware, and he still went through with whatever it is he did. It was unfair that he had to pay the price, and Kyoka brushed his hair to the side.

It was funny.

Throughout the entire time she had known him, Sora hated his hair colour. Yet, she didn't mind it. But his hair was now brown. Dark brown. She hated to say it, but she preferred his blue hair compared to it now. Maybe that was because it was what she was used to for so long, but it felt wrong for his hair not to be blue. Almost like he lost something he couldn't get back, even if he tried his hardest. Recovery Girl wasn't at the hospital, something about Midoriya and Bakugo getting injured as they tested their ultimate moves.

More than anything in the world, she just wanted her best friend to wake up.

The world had gone on without him, and that was what was terrifying. News articles were written within minutes featuring Sora in his hero costume, his blue hair looking longer than before as well as half of his face and torso being obscured by his Quirk. By his clouds. The headlines made her chuckle, and she was sure that Sora would call them cool.

'The Blue Devil saves the day in Musutafu!'

The Blue Devil: Aozora.

That was his new name, and it fit him surprisingly well. She wouldn't admit it, not while Sora wasn't awake, but even she thought it was sorta cool. The entire country was lauding 'Aozora' as a hero to look up to, and so much merchandise was already being made without Sora's consent. But Sora was getting a commission from them, and she doubted that the boy would mind since it would be another thing that he found 'cool.' November had ended, and December was here Kyoka looked at the snow falling outside of the window.

Sora liked snow.

And so did Kyoka.

To say that their dorm hadn't been a mess after what happened would be a lie. Mineta had become more withdrawn all of a sudden as he refused to believe what happened, and Kaminari had essentially tried to replace Sora. Not in a negative way, rather he tried to be the funny class clown and said things that Sora would normally say. She didn't know if it was working, but it definitely helped. On the other side of the spectrum, Momo had practically thrown herself at any work she could do.

It was concerning how she was staying up extremely late to do even more work compared to before, but that was just the way Momo coped with everything. And those reactions came from just her best friends.

Midoriya, Bakugo, Todoroki, Iida and Kirishima had thrown themselves into training. They spent more time at the gym either sparring against each other or trying to make up new moves for them to use in a fight. It was funny how Midoriya would sometimes walk into the dorm with an afro on his head because of the training session Bakugo had put him through. But neither seemed to mind. All of the girls became more outspoken in their class, and especially around the school.

Sora was a loud opinionated person, if someone did something that he didn't like he made it very clear. And all of the girls, not including her, took a page from his book as they told the boys in the general department that if they caught them staring at them again, all of them would get scissors and…

The fallout of that was funny to watch.

Tokoyami had taken to drawing tens of chapters of Bleach every day, to the point where he was even sleeping in class take to make up for staying up all night. Sero had asked everyone to teach him how to cook so he could cook food for Sora when they got back, promising everyone that he would make an extra large portion of calamari for both him and Sora so no one would still his food… even if it was Sero that stole his food in the first place.

Shoji had surprisingly started to go to the gym less and took more active roles in raising awareness for discrimination against mutation Quirks. Tusyu and Koda had joined him in that goal so far and were going to set up a fundraiser next week. Hagakure took to being the mother of the dorm surprisingly well, with Mina assisting as an 'aunt' of sorts. The number of arguments between everyone in the dorm had risen drastically since it happened, and Kyoka really wanted Sora to wake up just so he could stop them from throwing Kaminari's consoles out of the window.

Aoyama and Ojiro had joined forces to become the 'style police' as Kaminari called them, taking after all of the girls in the class as they loudly criticised everyone else's style. But more importantly, somehow, Ojiro had been convinced to dye his hair blue. Not the same colour of blue as Sora's old hair, but close enough. Surprisingly, it made Ojiro look even more plain which was something that no one dared bring up but was on their minds whenever they saw him.

But that was about it.

Within one week, Sora had been put in a coma, and it seemed like everything but nothing had changed. The only problem was that they hadn't seen Aizawa ever since he informed them of what happened, and it didn't help that the man was missing his left arm. Present Mic, who was covering for him, told the class that he was going to be coming back soon just that he had some business to take care of, but Kyoka doubted that. The last time she had seen him he reeked of cigarettes and cheap alcohol, not to mention his hair was more filthy compared to before and his stubble had grown uncontrollably.

But what could she do?

Kyoka sighed as she stretched her arms while sitting down.

"Sora…"

No response.

She wasn't expecting one, but she would have liked it if he had suddenly shot up and waved at her. Sora also probably would have said "Yo" as if nothing had happened, with the same carefree grin on his face as always. But Kyoka wasn't that lucky. It was unfortunate that Sora had missed Denji's funeral. They found his body buried under some rubble a day after he had died, but not all of him was found. The funeral was a sombre affair, but Kyoka hadn't attended.

No one from their old friend group attended.

Instead, they decided to visit Denji's grandpa, who also wasn't attending the funeral. Or rather, his restaurant as they ate there for the whole day. Even Shirou and Sakura had come down from Sendai to eat with everyone as they talked about Denji. And Sora. Naturally, they had all asked Kyoka for answers but she didn't have any. She didn't know what went down between them, as to how Denji died or how Sora was put in a coma.

"Jiro?"

Kyoka looked up as she saw Miwa sneak into the room, her parents trailing right behind her.

"Miwa? What are you doing here?"

"Looking at my brother," Miwa replied, poking Sora in the ribs as he slept. "Do you think if I punch him really hard he'll wake up?" Kyoka giggled at the girl's antics, but eventually, she sat down next to Kyoka as Sora's parents changed his flower pot and put a pack of his favourite sweets on the nightstand next to him.

"Kyoka, how long have you been here?"

"Since eight." That was when the hospital opened its doors, at least in U.A. That was the time Recovery Girl let anyone visit a patient if they were stuck there for more than a night. She yawned as she looked at Sora sleeping once more, he looked so innocent.

"It's been five hours since then," Gekko told her, resting his hand on her shoulder. "If you want, you can go and get some food. We don't mind."

"But-,"

"Kyoka-chan," Hinata chided her. "I understand that you care about Sora, but do you really think that he would be happy seeing you right now?" Kyoka didn't reply because she already knew the truth. "Here," Hinata gave her a few thousand Yen. "Go and buy something to eat. For you and everyone in your dorm. I promise you, it'll make you feel better."

"Hinata-, I couldn't possibly-,"

"Nonsense. It's the least we can do for you, especially when you visit Sora more often than we do." Hinata's voice broke at that, and Gekko hugged his wife as she sobbed into his chest. Kyoka turned to look at Miwa, who was trying her hardest not to cry. And to be honest, it made Kyoka want to cry as well. The fact was that despite everyone putting up appearances that they were all fine, the truth was that they didn't know how to really be fine.

Thus, she didn't want to say it.

Those words.

"Just wake up already, you idiot."

---

Izuku Midoriya POV

"Are you sure about this, Izu?"

"Yeah. Let's go, mum" Izuku's arm was still sore, even if it had been two weeks since the raid. If he were being honest, it was because he was training to the point of exhaustion every day. Recovery Girl claimed he would be fine so long as he didn't overdo it, but Izuku didn't share her opinions. If he wasn't overdoing it, then what exactly was he doing? But he shook that thought away as he made his offerings to the two graves in front of him.

Mirai Sasaki and Mirio Togota.

He had visited their graves along with his mother, partly because he didn't know where to actually go. Izuku hadn't really collected his thoughts on what had happened. Ever since he had come back to 1A, he had been bombarded with questions. But he hadn't answered a single one. He didn't have the heart to tell everyone the truth, about Sora's actions and what really went down. Even if Izuku had gotten an abridged version from Aizawa, he knew that Sora's friend had died because he had hesitated and couldn't save his friend in time.

That it was an accident.

Izuku believed their teacher, but that didn't mean it was his story to tell. No, Izuku didn't want any part in telling everyone the truth because it would shatter their perception of Sora, just like it did to him. Within the past two weeks, Izuku had done a lot of thinking about what went down during the raid. About his actions, Sora's actions and the results of those actions.

Fifty-nine dead.

And if Sora died, it would make the number nice and round. It made Izuku want to vomit just thinking about his friend not waking up from the coma, but as the weeks went by he couldn't but think of All Might. It had been nearly four months and he still hadn't woken up, but that didn't matter. Even if All Might did wake up, all he would be greeted with is news that his friend had died. But it wasn't all doom and gloom.

Videos of Izuku fighting Overhaul and giving civilians enough time to escape had gone viral alongside Sora's pictures of him fighting Overhaul. Both he and Sora were being used by the HPSC and the media as 'shining examples of the next generation of heroes.' What was even worse was Hachi Yamaguchi, who was set to win the election this week, had used both Sora and Izuku in one of her final campaign speeches telling the world how we were the next generation and how if she got into power, she would be supporting us as much as she could.

Izuku didn't blame her, not when Momo revealed that she had met and discussed this with Sora weeks ago. News of Sora being in a coma had been kept tight-lipped as U.A., or rather Nezu had refused to comment on anything telling the world that they had no information to currently share with the world at this current moment. Izuku knew that they were going to wait for Sora to wake up before they said anything substantial. But even still, as he looked at Nighteye and Mirio's graves - Tears weren't flowing.

He had mourned them.

Mirio had died tragically. There was nothing Izuku could have done to save Mirio, and he accepted that fact. Even if it made his stomach churn, he knew it wasn't healthy to blame himself for things he couldn't have prevented. Overhaul had murdered Mirio, along with fifty-four other innocent people due to his own arrogance. He had thought that just because he had taken Felix Felicis he wouldn't be stopped, but that was further from the truth.

Not when Sora showed up and beat him.

Izuku was still in shock that the boy had gotten so powerful. The fact was that Overhaul wasn't going to be beaten by anyone, even if the backup had come on time. It would have taken an entire battalion of heroes led by Endeavour and Best Jeanist to have taken him down, only the very best. And Izuku wasn't the very best. It made him ball his fists in anger, and Sora became strong because of Izuku's weakness. Izuku wasn't a fool, he knew that the power Sora had gained had come at a cost.

It was why he was in a coma.

Which was why he vowed to become the strongest. Strong enough to make sure that a tragedy like the 'Musutafu incident' would never happen again. If he became the number one hero with that strength, he would ensure that it wouldn't happen again personally. He then turned to Nighteye's grave and watched as his mother placed a basket of flowers on his grave. Unlike Mirio's, Nighteye's was empty. Bubble Girl and Centipeder had been too busy running his agency to visit his grave yet, same with Mirio's, but they promised him that they would visit tomorrow.

Until then, Izuku sighed in relief knowing that Nighteye's grave wouldn't be depressing.

He was sure that if it was, the man would find it funny, but Izuku and everyone else would find it horrifying. Nighteye's death was something he could have prevented. He had died sacrificing himself for Izuku after all, he had taken the blade that was meant for himself. Izuku still sometimes woke up in the middle of the night in fear, but it was surprisingly Ochako that helped him calm down. He blushed as he thought of her.

Ever since the raid, she had been spending more of her time with Izuku. Every time Izuku went to train, she came with him and offered to help him. Whenever he went to the store to do the grocery shopping, she came with him and helped him shop for everyone in 1A. Even when he woke up in the middle of the night, scared that he still had Nighteye's blood all over him, she eat mochi with him in the living room as she gave him enough space to talk about what was bothering him.

'Nighteye would have liked her.'

He trusted Ochako with his secrets. No one else in 1A knew how he felt, apart from possibly Sora but he was still asleep. Izuku doubted that he would have told All Might, even if he was awake. It was funny, despite All Might and Sora being in a coma, Izuku was learning. He was learning more about the world around them, more about what it meant to be a hero, and what hero he wanted to be.

Izuku wasn't blind, he knew that Nighteye cared for the next generation of heroes. He spoke about them a lot of Izuku, believing they would surpass them all if they were good enough. Izuku also knew that Nighteye had died for him, believing that he would reach even higher heights than All Might. In that sense, Izuku promised himself that he wouldn't disappoint Nighteye.

'I promise you, I will make you proud. You and Mirio. Myself, and everyone else. Thank you so much, Nighteye!'

As Izuku turned around, he saw a familiar man standing a few metres away from him. Aizawa-sensei.

"Mum. Can you leave me here alone for a few minutes? There is something I need to do." Izuku watched as his mother smiled, before wrapping him up in a tight hug. Tight enough to make him stop breathing for a few seconds.

"I'll stay in the car, Izu," She replied. "I'm so proud of you. And I know they would be too." Izuku nodded at that and watched his mum walk away as he turned his attention to his homeroom teacher. No one in their class had seen him since the raid, despite Present Mic saying that he was coming back any day now. And as Izuku walked over to him, he could see why Present Mic was lying to their class.

Aizawa-sensei had never dressed particularly formally, but he wasn't that informal. Certainly not in just a jumper, jeans and coat with sandals. If it wasn't the stench of cigarettes that attacked him first, it was the dozens of beer can at his feet as he sat near a grave.

"Aizawa-sensei?"

Izuku watched as the man turned, and he could really see the extent of his injuries. His left arm was gone, leaving only a stump in its place. Despite that, his hair looked like it hadn't been washed for days and the bags under his eyes were more profound than ever. It looked like his teacher hadn't slept for days either.

"Midoriya. What are you doing here?"

"I was just checking Mirio and Nighteye's graves," Izuku replied as he read the gravestone that Aizawa sat in front of. Oboro Shirakumo. "Who's that?"

"Hm? Oh, Oboro. He's an old friend of mine. He died when I was about your age, maybe a little older. Freak accident. We had dealt with a group of villains, five of them to be precise until a secret sixth came out of hiding and stabbed him in the back. I was too busy trying to arrest the other members that I couldn't prevent it before it was too late. Was during our work studies."

Izuku didn't reply as he watched the man throw another can at the floor, not before taking another one out and starting to open it using his teeth.

"Please, sensei," Izuku offered his hand. "Allow me." Aizawa shrugged his shoulders as he gave Izuku the can. It was a cheap beer brand, Izuku knew that much as he opened the can and passed it back to his teacher. "When are you going to come back and teach our class?"

Aizawa snorted.

"Teach you what? To be a failure like me? Not only did I fail to help Sora, but I stood there without any power to prevent his friend from dying. Then I failed to restrain him properly, I had hoped that maybe he wouldn't turn out as I did. I didn't want him to. But I was wrong. I lost my arm, and now Sora might not even wake up. The only thing a teacher like me is good for is showing their students what not to end up like when they grow up." Aizawa took another chug from his can, a small bit of it spilling onto the floor.

"That's not true."

"If it's not true, then why is Sora still in a coma?!"

Izuku had no response to that. He couldn't respond to it, because his teacher was right in a sense. As a teacher, he had failed his student when he needed a teacher the most. But Izuku frowned as Aizawa chugged even more of his beer down, it was obvious to see that he was just getting drunk to cope. Izuku sighed, picking up the case filled with beer cans despite Aizawa's insistence for him to put it back down and held them away from Aizawa.

"I'm sorry sensei, but this isn't you."

"You don't know me."

"Perhaps," Izuku acknowledged that. "But I know for a fact that just because you failed one student, it doesn't mean you have to fail the rest of us. Sir, if I may, we need you. Everyone in our class is lost and confused, and I'm not sure how to answer their questions about what happened during the raid. I'm not sure if I know the answers myself. But everyone, including myself, needs you right now. Even if you think that you are a horrible teacher, we'd rather have that than not have a teacher at all."

Aizawa was stunned into silence, and Izuku smiled nervously.

'Is he going to scold me? Kick me out of U.A.? Beat me up?'

What Izuku didn't expect was for Aizawa to laugh so hard that tears started to spill. The man wiped them away, finishing the rest of his beer as he slammed it to the floor with such vigour it made Izuku jump up in surprise.

"Midoriya… what do you think is a hero?" Aizawa asked him.

"A hero?" Aizawa nodded. "At the start, when I first joined U.A., I would have said something along the lines of someone that's similar to All Might. But I don't agree with that statement anymore, since I've met tons of people who I think are just as heroic as All Might despite being very different."

"Oh?"

Izuku nodded as he carried on.

"But despite that, it wasn't until recently that I figured out an answer to your question," Izuku paused as he closed his eyes and thought of everyone that had impacted his life so far. Everyone in 1A. Gran Torino. Aizawa, and the staff at U.A. Mirio, Nejire and Tamaki. Nighteye. And even All Might himself. They all shared one quality. "In my opinion, being a hero is knowing that things won't always go as planned. And that's okay. It's a lot like faith, to keep believing in something. Being a hero is like that, to keep on trying until you've achieved what it is you set out to do."

Whether it was saving someone's life or defeating a villain.

Not just with a smile on your face.

But with the hopes and dreams of everyone around you urging you on. Helping you every step of the way, even if you fall. Relying on you as you rely on them. Coming to an understanding with them, and a bond that goes beyond blood itself. A bond that could only be forged because of the decisions that were made previously, because of the mistakes they had made and the will to improve. The will to grow and change, despite how it may be the harder path rather than the easy path.

"To put it simply, sensei, to endure. That's what it means to be a hero."

Izuku didn't wait for Aizawa to reply as he turned around and began to walk back to his mother's car, a bright smile having been plastered across his face. It was what he believed in. Everything that had ever happened to him had made him grow stronger. It deepened his bond with others. It showed him that to win a fight, you couldn't do it alone. Because for that power to ultimately be given, one had to forsake everything.

It was the easy path.

Izuku respected Sora's decision, he really did. Whatever Sora did to gain that power was something that Izuku would never do, because ultimately Sora made his decision to fight Overhaul not out of any sense of heroic duty, but because he had to. Because Sora didn't want to lose anyone else. And that was fine for Sora. But for Izuku? Taking the harder path had led him right here. Even if he had lost Nighteye and Mirio, Izuku understood now what it meant to be a hero.

And he would endure.

---

Momo Yaoyorozu POV

Momo hadn't really understood what had happened during the raid. But she did know what the fallout was. Momo was taking more work than usual, and while everyone in the class thought it was paperwork for the class, they couldn't be further from the truth. Momo was actually making highly detailed notes for all the classes that Sora was missing while he was in a coma.

But that was beside the point, the raid had affected other people outside of herself as well.

First of all, her sister in all but blood had used Sora's fight with Overhaul along with Izuku's videos to strengthen her political position. Using her voice to share the heroics of the two individuals in her class and praising the next generation was something that Hachi regularly did, for as far back as Momo could remember.

So it wasn't a surprise when Hachi won the election by a landslide.

What was a surprise was when Hachi appointed her political rival, Daisuke Ryuichi, to the position of vice prime minister. But that was who Hachi was, honest to a fault and ready to improve the world the best she could. Momo was happy for her sister as they celebrated. But what was even better was when she came back to school the following day to have seen Aizawa-sensei scolding Bakugo for his shirt being untucked. Even if he was missing his left arm, it was like he didn't leave in the first place.

But what was shocking was when Aizawa asked the class what they wanted to do when Sora woke up.

"Hire strippers!" Kaminari and Mineta suggested, but that idea was shot down quickly.

"An all-you-can-eat buffet?" Sero asked, but that idea was also rejected. More and more proposals and Momo sighed to herself. 'No, Bakugo, an all-out brawl is not a good idea! And Mina, do you really think Sora would accept being put in a makeup competition where all the boys in the class would dress up and do their hair?' It was a tough job, but Momo wasn't going to give up. She was going to plan the perfect event for Sora to wake up to, it was only fitting.

The only problem was that their Christmas Holidays were coming up.

"Sir!" Midoriya protested. "Is it possible for me to stay at the dorm over Christmas?"

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I want to be here when Sora wakes up." Momo smiled at the boy. She couldn't believe that just a few months ago he had been so meek and afraid of everything, but now she was proud to call him not just her friend, but a brilliant hero as well.

"Me too, sensei! My parents said it was alright." Uraraka added.

"I asked my father and he… accepted." Todoroki paused slightly to finish writing down his notes, but his answer surprised Momo.

"Likewise, my family have accepted and supported my idea to remain in U.A. for the holidays!" Iida loudly proclaimed.

"The old hag might complain, but she'll come around to it," Bakugo said. "Probably."

"I was going to stay here anyways." Mineta shrugged his shoulders.

"Heh, do you really think I'm going to miss my best friend wake up and not throw him a surprise party? Come on, I'm his besto friendo!" Kaminari joked.

"I've already discussed this with my mum and dad, and they are alright with it. But I may go visit them for a day or two." Jiro told Aizawa.

One by one, everyone in 1A had told their teacher that they weren't going to go home for the holidays, just in case Sora woke up. It warmed her heart to see such class unity. And eventually, even Momo agreed that she would stay at the dorm during the holiday season to see her friend wake up. But that still didn't solve the issue of what to plan for Sora when he woke up.

"I got it," Jiro stood up so fast that it caused Kaminari, who was leaning back on his chair, to fall over and back his head against the ground. "We'll throw him a concert!"

…

"Eh? But who's going to sing?" Mina asked her.

"Me. Duh. Who else can actually sing?"

Point taken.

"I think," Momo stood up as she wrote concert down in her notepad. "That's the best idea we've had all morning. So as the class president, I think it's high time we start preparing for the best concert Sora's ever going to watch."

"...But we have class soon-,"

"Shut up you walking pair of glasses!"

---

Shota Aizawa POV

Endure.

Shota had forgotten all about enduring. It was one of the perks of being young, but as you grow older eventually you start to forget. That's why Shota sighed as he sat down next to his student. It was December the Sixteenth, and he was still in a coma with no signs of waking up. While he appreciated that his other student, Jiro, had been visiting the boy every day, she was simply overzealous to the point where it annoyed Recovery Girl.

Thus, here he was.

Watching over Sora.

Shota wanted to be anywhere other than here.

He could have been preparing class lessons, or he could be in the staff room discussing important dates for the next term. Or he could be marking the end-of-term tests for his class. He would rather be training to fight without his left arm rather than be here! He looked at the stump on his left arm and grimaced. Sometimes, he got pains there. Phantom pains. But it was a reminder to him, to endure.

He had to thank Midoriya for reminding him how he become a hero after Oboro's death.

Because he endured.

Luckily, the Yaoyorozu company and by extension, her mother, used her position as one of the chairmen of U.A. to offer Aizawa a replacement. Robotics had advanced considerably, and as such Aizawa was waiting any day now to get a replacement arm. It would never be the same, but as long as it worked and allowed him to continue fighting, continue being a hero and continue teaching the class that he had grown to love so much, he didn't really care.

Which was why he was secretly happy to be watching Sora as he slept.

'Perhaps he'll awake because I'm here.' Aizawa leaned in to stare at the boy, but he got no response. '...I knew that wouldn't work.'

Knock, knock.

"Come in," Shota said as the door opened to reveal Setsuna Tokage. Her blazer was stuffed in her back and her tie was loosely done as she wore an expensive coat and looked at Sora with a sad expression on her face. "Are you here to visit him?" He asked the girl, who nodded.

"Is it alright for me to see him?"

"I see no problem with it. And Recovery Girl is currently out, so I don't mind." Tokage thanked him as she sat down opposite him, to Sora's right. Shota had seen the girl interact with Sora multiple times throughout the many months, and it was clear to see that they both cared for each other very much. Even if they hadn't spoken to each other for the last month, for whatever reason, Shota could clearly see how much she cared.

"Is he alright?"

"For what it's worth, Recovery Girl says that he's healthy. It's just that he hasn't woken up yet ever since…" He trailed off, thinking about what Sora did to himself. To have gotten the power to beat Overhaul, as strong as he was with Felix Felicis, had to have done something to Sora. Shota knew that Sora had gambled for something, the entire staff at U.A. knew that, it was why instead of sending him to a hospital they had Recovery Girl look after him.

"It was his Gambling Quirk, wasn't it?" Tokage asked him.

"Yes."

"So you know, about Sora, I mean?"

Aizawa nodded once again.

Natsuki, the Angel of Death, had told him everything. That All For One, the famed legend of the underworld, had experimented on multiple children for an unknown reason. Well, unknown to Shota, since Natsuki seemed to know why. That two scientists experimented on children for a while, that was until one grew tired of the experiments and let all the other children go. Yukari Aotsuki, Sora's biological mother. And because of it, All For One punished her harshly. She was forced to carry Sora as they were both experimented on.

"I'm the same as him," Tokage revealed, causing Shota's eyes to widen. "My mother was the other scientist if you didn't know. But I looked up at her. So much. I desperately believed her to be a good mother, my mother, and even if she was murdered I wanted to find out why. But Sora found out and he didn't tell me. He lied to me. He said my mother was a victim when that was the furthest thing from the truth. She was an evil witch and experimented on me, her own daughter."

"Are you still angry at him?"

"To be honest, I don't know," Tokage answered truthfully. "The truth hurts. I broke him. And maybe it broke me too. I've dreamed of a close family ever since I was a little girl. He doesn't know this, but when I was younger I was sick. So sick to the point where I stayed in the hospital for weeks in a row. My 'parents' left me, but I still hoped for a close-knit family one day. I wanted to believe that my mother was a good person, an innocent person to justify my own dreams."

Tokage paused as she stared at Sora, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"I pushed Sora away, blaming him. I ignored him for a month, and now this is what happens. I'm a fool. I thought I had learned that family isn't the blood ties you have with them, it's what you make of it. I was so desperate for a family, so desperately clinging onto the image of my mother that I had created that I hurt Sora. Yet, I know that the bastard doesn't blame me one bit for my reaction."

"Do you wish for him to forgive you?"

Tokage snorted.

"I don't need to be forgiven. He's a bastard because he lied to me, trying to 'protect' me without realising I was a big girl. I got over the truth about my mother real quick, I couldn't get over what Sora did until…" Tokage deflated as she ran her hand through her hair. "I really want him to wake up. Just so I can sock him in the jaw for lying to me, doing something stupid and making me worried. Me! Did you know that worrying leads to wrinkles at an early age? How the hell am I supposed to marry a rich doctor if I get wrinkles by the time I turn twenty?!"

Shota chuckled at that.

"Lofy ambitions I see."

"The loftiest," She smirked at him. "I want a nice and easy life with my friends. And that includes this dumb blue haires-, I mean brown-haired imbecile. I still can't believe despite everything, he still stuck to the promise we made all those months ago."

"You two made a promise?"

Tokage nodded.

"That he wouldn't give up protecting those he wanted to protect, even if he stumbled along the way. And stumble he did, but the idiot actually did it," Tokage smiled as she cupped his face. "Bakazaki. Sorry for not being there to help you every step of the way. Guess I'm a piss-poor partner, but you already knew that. I don't need you to forgive me 'cause I already know you have, so just watch. I'll walk alongside you, and I'll do my job better next time so you don't have to do it all alone. Partner."

Shota smiled as he stared outside, the snow was falling even heavier.

But it was true.

Heroes do endure.

---

Naomasa Tsukauchi POV

"Nanao. You've been working on this case for nine hours straight. Please, just go to sleep." Naomasa Tsukauchi warned his 'adopted' daughter. Ever since he had first seen her along on the streets, he watched her grow into a fine woman. Someone to be proud of. But old habits die hard, and Nanao Iori was the worst for it. Taken after his sisters' last name, because Naomasa didn't want any of his enemies to learn of her, Nanao had always been a pain to deal with.

Especially when she was focused on doing something.

"Give me five minutes."

Naomasa frowned at that. Nanao's hair was done up in a loose bun, and she was still in her pyjamas. 'For God's sake, she's TWENTY-TWO!' Despite that, Naomasa laughed as he sat on his daughters' bed. He had known her for ten years, and within those ten years, she had become a fierce detective in her own right. But his biggest mistake was allowing her to join the League of Villains case. She worked on it day and night without even realising it.

"I'm nearly done, dad. Just give me a moment."

"You've been saying that for the last three hours. Is it the boy?" Naomasa forgot the name, but he'd recognise that blue hair on TV anywhere. Not to mention Toshinori's old messages talking about the boy. Sora Yamazaki, his mind supplied. The now famed 'Blue Devil' or as the criminals of Musatafu had begun to call him, the 'Devil of Musatafu.' Naomasa secretly wished that he got a nickname as cool as that.

"He's in a coma right now, I personally checked. Well, Aizawa invited me over to U.A. to see him, but I declined."

"Why?" It wasn't often that Naomasa was confused by his daughter. Most of the time, it was due to a difference in tradition. She preferred not to celebrate Thanksgiving. Apparently, she hadn't celebrated it before, and she wasn't going to start now. Furthermore, she insisted on 'Yorkshire puddings' to be served every Christmas dinner, even though Naomasa cooked them traditional Japanese food each year.

"Because I started this case for him," Nanao replied. "But now he's in a coma. He can't see for himself what the League of Villains is doing, so I will do it for him. Even if I have to crack the case myself, I will. It's the least I can do for him."

"And why do you say that?"

Nanao leaned back on her chair and sighed heavily.

"I hurt him, dad. I hurt him badly. My decisions caused him and a friend to have a massive fallout, and it was because I got defensive once he found out the truth. About what happened before you met me." Naomasa frowned at that. He had heard the story from her so many times throughout the past ten years, and yet he still couldn't fathom why she blamed herself for her friend's death.

"Nanao, you remember what I told you, right?"

"What do you mean?"

Naomasa sighed. Despite raising her, she wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

"As a detective, you will make quick decisions. Some will lead to good results, and some will lead to bad results. You have two options after this. The first is to wallow in self-pity and let life flash by right before your eyes," He paused as he made sure that his daughter was giving him her full attention. "And the second option is harder. It's to take those mistakes and accept them. To grow with them, to-,"

"Endure," Nanao finished his sentence off for him, rolling her eyes at him. "I know. You've said this to me a million times in the past ten years since I've known you. Could you be original even once?!"

Naomasa scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Sorry. It's the only piece of advice I can really give you," He paused to think. 'No, there is another.' He thought to himself. "There is also my advice that you should stay clear of bad boys. If you bring home a bad boy I will punish you, and I don't care how old you are."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say," She replied as she got up from her chair and hugged Naomasa. "...thanks for being my dad. I'll keep in mind that I don't need to give up just cause I hurt Sora, but that I have to endure that pain. I don't know if I'll stick to it for long, but I'll try."

Naomasa grinned as he hugged his daughter back.

"That's all I ask."

---

Chizome Akaguro POV

Stain wasn't happy.

How could he be when his partner was a clown?!

Dressed up in a Santa costume, with a fake belly, but missing the beard and the hat, Yozora paraded around their base as if it was a show. Not to mention he had somehow roped Spinner into wearing an Elf costume that simply looked silly. It made Stain want to sharpen his sword and impale the two idiots with it, but he refrained from doing so. It would be a pain to clean up.

"Stain-sama!" Spinner yelled, twirling around like some ballerina. "Did you like my performance? I did it because you requested it after all!"

"I didn't request anything!" Stain screamed as Yozora rode around on roller skates, singing to Christmas music as if it was perfectly reasonable to do so while they were trying to have a serious meeting.

"Yozora!" Stain barked, watching as the man paused the radio to tilt his head at him in confusion. It was like he didn't know what he was doing was annoying, but that was a lie. Yozora specifically did this because it did get on his nerves, and then he lied to Spinner to get him involved in the mess.

"Did you not appreciate my early Christmas gift?"

"NO!"

Yozora groaned at that.

"Then why didn't you tell me before I put gingerbread men in the oven?!"

"That's because you want to eat gingerbread men, not me!" What was most annoying, however, was that Yozora was like this constantly. For whatever reason, the man was allergic to taking things seriously even as he murdered someone in the most brutal way possible. Despite that, Stain was thankful that Yozora even was in his life in the first place. He would have either been captured by the police, very likely killed by those hero brats or failed to accomplish anything meaningful.

Yozora was the closest thing Stain would ever come close to admitting to being his best friend, even if he did make him want to commit murder multiple times in a day. And Spinner was a diligent worker, even if he followed Stain blindly and listened to whatever Yozoroa whispered in his ear and did it without saying no, he was a decent bloke that shared a similar duty as Stain. Even if Spinner did occasionally wear cat ears and add a 'nya' to the end of his sentences, much to Stain's horror.

"We were discussing the 'Devil of Musutafu'. He made a very public showing, and I'm thinking maybe we should target him-,"

"No need for that," Yozora cut him off as he sat down on his chair and whirled around the room like a child. "Sora made a big mess, but it was entertaining. We'll let the boy have his victory for now. Anyways, if I aimed for him just now the League of Villains would be breathing down our throats, well mostly Zero, but I don't want to deal with that just yet." On their table was a map of Japan with multiple chess pieces laid out across the country. Yozora picked up the rook and moved it closer to the south.

"We will move our operations down south," Yozora said. "Most heroes are going to be dealing with more gangs trying to replace the Shie Hassaiaki now that they are gone. Meaning more heroes are going to take bribes from groups to keep their activities hidden, especially in the south. If you are seriously planning on turning this society upside down, then be patient. You don't have to go for the big fish just yet."

"So what, we just target smaller time heroes and build a following?"

"Exactly!" Yozora clapped his hands, and Stain reached for his sword. "We will build our cult. More foot soldiers for us, and only then can we take down those at the top. " Stain nodded at that. Thanks to All Might, and now the Blue Devil himself, he was starting to see the bigger picture thanks to Yozora. All heroes were corrupt. Because society itself was corrupt. The idealism that drove kids to become heroes, the idealism that had driven Chizome once, was suffocating their society to death.

It was a slow and painful death.

But it didn't matter anymore.

And Stain was going to save society itself by killing every hero he could.

---

Tomura Shigaraki POV

"FUCK!" Tomura Shigaraki yelled as he threw the TV across the room. All of his plans had failed. Not only were the Shie Hasaikai completely gone, but the research and the girl he was trying to get had been destroyed. And it was thanks to that damned 'Blue Devil!' And Mr Compress, that traitor! Dabi and Zero told him all about it, how he had tried to steal the research for his own gain. Notoriety. And how Dabi and Zero had to fight him, resulting in his death and the subsequent loss of the documents.

But now this?!

That under the new government, led by Hachi Yamaguchi, the police were going to be funded even more? That the manhunt on the League of Villains was going to increase?! It made him furious. Tomura Shigaraki had made a bet with Zero, that he would show him who was the leader, but he utterly failed. His 'sensei' had failed to prepare him! He was starting to see how Zero was right.

All For One's shortsightedness was his weakness.

Instead of trusting Zero, the man tried to manipulate and use him. Always keeping him at arm's length, and it cost him everything. And Tomura tried to do the exact same thing, blaming everything on Zero, but the results were the same for him and his sensei. They had both lost. Tomura couldn't continue trying to emulate All For One, no matter how much he looked up to him, it wasn't the right decision. All For One had failed, and Tomura was supposed to be better!

Not worse!

"Tomura boy, please calm down-,"

Garaki squawked in fear, taking a few steps backwards as he glared hatefully at the man. The rest of the League really only consisted of Dabi, Toga, Twice, Kurogiri and Zero were watching him curiously. He couldn't make the same mistakes as All For One. Tomura wouldn't.

"Zero," Tomura began. "Will you help me destroy this society?"

"Without question."

Tomura turned to glare at Garaki, who realised what was about to happen. Tomura blamed him for everything. For All For One's defeat and for Tomura's plans failing. The man said that All For One's way was the only way, but if it was the only way to defeat then Tomura didn't care.

"Kill him."

It wasn't really an order, not when Tomura knew Zero wanted to kill Garaki for so long. Years even. And Zero did not disappoint as he used his sword to decapitate Garaki who was pleading for mercy.

It was disgusting.

"What do we do now?" Tomura asked Zero who stood in silence. The League of Villains was now down to only five members and that was including himself. If Tomura wanted to burn this society to the ground, he needed to rely on the members that were currently still loyal to him. It made Tomura smile. These weren't just his tools, they had stuck by his side even when his plans were failing because they were his friends. He had learned from All For One's mistake already - Tomura didn't have allies.

He had friends.

"Now, we wait," Zero eventually said to him. "While it's true that the heroes are weak, so are we. Tomura, if you want to win then listen to me carefully. We need to build out strength, we need the League of Villains to grow into something unstoppable. And if that takes years, then so be it." Tomura nodded at his plan. It made sense. If he rushed into attacking now, they would all be defeated. It didn't matter if it's what sensei would have done, because Tomura Shigaraki wasn't All For One.

He would be better.

---

Kyoka Jiro POV

December Twenty-Fifth.

Christmas Day.

Kyoka was happy because it was Christmas, but the true present she wanted still hadn't arrived yet. It was a month today since the raid had happened. A month since Sora was put in a coma. But she still held out hope that Sora was going to wake up today! She woke up early in the morning and snuck into the hospital wing. Luckily, Recovery Girl was out meaning that she could sit down next to Sora for a little longer.

Her parents were going to come to visit her later in the day, along with everyone else's parents. Or those that wanted to visit at least. Still, Kyoka thought she looked decent as she wore one of Sora's hoodies and cargo trousers. While it wasn't snowing anymore, it was still a white Christmas as the ground outside was covered in a thick blanket of snow. But Kyoka was used to that, after all, it snowed every year in Musutafu.

Yet she wished-,

She wished-,

Twitch.

Kyoka blinked in surprise. She must have not gotten enough sleep last night as she imagined-,

Twitch.

Sora's fingers twitched.

Within seconds, his left eye opened with his right following right after as he looked around the room in confusion. He even rubbed his neck, almost as if it hurt him for sleeping in such an uncomfortable position for a long time. Yet his eyes lit up when he saw her.

"Yo." Sora waved at her, and for a second Kyoka thought there was a hole in the roof as the rain trickled down her cheeks. But it wasn't raining. She couldn't control her emotions as she hugged him fiercely, wiping her tears all over his hospital gown. But she didn't care. Sora was alive! Kyoka heard him softly chuckle as he hugged her back, patting her on the back awkwardly like he always did.

"Y-you-," Kyoka was a mess. She couldn't even speak properly without her tears interrupting her, and it only served to make Sora laugh at her! How dare he?! Did he know how much he worried her?! How many hours did she spend by his side? And this was what she got in return?! "Why the hell did you have to go and fight? Huh? Why'd you do this to yourself, you bastard?"

Sora didn't reply.

But he didn't need to.

Kyoka already knew his answer.

"Go back to the dorm!" She threw her coat at him. It would be a tight fit, but she didn't mind as she wiped away her tears. "Everyone is still setting up the concert! God, I can't believe that Kaminari won the bet."

"What bet?" He asked her, his voice melting her heart. It had been an entire month since she had heard him speak, and she missed him. So much.

"It's Christmas. You were in a coma for a month, but everyone in our class stayed here for the holidays," She explained to him. "We all made a bet when you would wake up, and we set up a concert for you every day. And Kaminari said that you would wake up on the Twenty-Fifth, saying it would be a Christmas miracle! And he was right!" Sora chuckled once more, but Kyoka could see it.

His eyes told a completely different story.

"Why the long face?" She asked Sora.

"...Don't worry about it," He said as he got up from the bed. It took him a few seconds to learn how to walk again without relying on the bed, but eventually, he managed to get into a pair of slippers and put on Kyoka's coat. She couldn't wait to tell everyone that Sora was awake! "I'm going to go back to the dorm. Get changed and shit."

"No problem. I'll tell everyone to meet you downstairs, is that alright?"

Sora nodded.

Despite being happy that her boyfriend was back, there was still a weird gut feeling she had. Because even as she looked at him, while he was there physically, it looked like he wasn't there mentally. But Kyoka shrugged that feeling away, nothing could change the fact that she was over the moon. Her happiness wouldn't be ruined on this day because nothing could ruin it.

It was simply her mind playing tricks on her.

---

Izuku Midoriya POV

To say that everyone in 1A was excited as they awaited Sora to come down the stairs and greet them in their living room was a lie. They were ecstatic. Everyone had come barring Jiro, who was still setting up the concert for Sora. Izuku wondered what he would say as he greeted them all. They hadn't made any bets for that, purely because Sora could say anything and it would make sense from what they know of their friend.

Despite that, they waited and waited.

'It's taking a long time for Sora to come downstairs… is he alright?' Izuku asked himself in worry, but he didn't dare walk up the stairs to check. No one did. They had been waiting downstairs for half an hour. Surely it didn't take Sora that long to get changed? Eventually, they heard him come down the stairs. Along with another sound that they didn't recognise.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Something was banging against the stairs as Sora walked down them, and for a brief second, Izuku thought that Sora had fallen over and was flying down the stairs. But he quickly threw that thought out of his mind, if Sora had fallen over the entire world would have known by now with how loudly he swore, and of course the level of cursing he would use. It was bad enough that it would make any sailor blush. But despite that, Izuku and the rest of the class waited as the sounds grew closer and closer.

And eventually, Sora walked down the stairs. He wore a white and black checkered flannel shirt, undone with a white t-shirt underneath. Grey trousers and black trainers, which for once matched his hair. Even if it wasn't blue anymore, it didn't matter. Sora was back! Their friend was back! He was back for good-,

"Get out of my way," Sora said coldly. "I won't ask again."

'Huh?'

The reason for the banging became quite clear as Sora was dragging a suitcase behind him. It looked to be packed to the brim and Izuku swore that he could see Sora's TV poking out by the side. But despite that, Izuku (And really the rest of the class) stared at Sora in confusion. Why was he carrying a suitcase with him? And why was it packed to the full?

"What's wrong sleeping beauty," Kacchan joked. "Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?"

"Bakugo! Sora's just woken up, I'm sure he must be confused-," Yaoyorozu was cut off as Sora chuckled, but it wasn't a warm one like they were used to. No, it was as if he was dismissing what she had just said.

"I ain't confused or anything," Sora said calmly. "In fact, my mind had been clearer than it's ever been before."

"So then, why'd you pack that?" Sero asked, pointing at the suitcase behind him.

Sora smiled - and it wasn't the warm one they were used to either. It was cold and twisted. And everyone in the class knew as some members took a few steps back in shock because this wasn't the Sora that they remembered.

"Because I'm leaving."

"To go where?" Izuku found himself asking.

"I'm leaving 1A."

Izuku couldn't hear the words coming out of his friend's mouth. He was-, he had to be joking? Sora had already tried to leave before, but his demeanour this time was serious. Like there wasn't any room for negotiation. It made Izuku frown to think that Sora think that they would just allow him to say things like that. Any minute now Izuku was waiting for Sora to kneel over with laughter, saying that it was a joke.

But that never came.

"Guys, look at him," Mineta scoffed. "All of a sudden his hair changes colours and he thinks he can say whatever he wants."

"I can say whatever I want. Just like how your parents can do whatever they want and not raise their son," Izuku watched as Mineta's face fell as he stared at Sora in shock. They all did. "But to be fair to them, no one would want to raise you anyway. You're an unloveable piece of shit. A waste of space." Sora continued to say vile things to Mineta, and Izuku thought he was dreaming for a second.

'That's right! This has to be a dream!' Izuku tried telling himself."

"Sora! That was uncalled for-," Momo was interrupted as Sora glared at her.

"Uncalled for? Yeah, what you said at the gala was uncalled for. Do you think I care about your sob story? It's no wonder after your dad died your mum gave up on you. What a failure you are. You try to run away from your mother and become a hero to prove her wrong, but you can't even do that properly. Just shut your fucking mouth already, you pitiful excuse for a human." Sora spat at her hatefully.

'W-What?'

"Hey man," Kirishima butted in, an annoyed expression on his face. "If you are annoyed, that's fine. But don't take it out on us. We stayed here for our Christmas break for you, we didn't even visit our families nor can they really visit us because of how worried we were that you would wake up and no one would greet you."

"So what? Did I ask for this?" Kirishima's jaw dropped as Sora's expression changed to one that was annoyed. "Anyways, why are you speaking as if your parents were going to visit you anyways? Your dad can't walk so why the hell would he come over just to see his disappointment of a son?" It was then that all hell broke loose, with Shoji and Bakugo having to physically restrain Kirishima from lashing out while Sora kept on taunting him.

Over and over.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Iida asked him in confusion. "I don't understand, Sora why are you acting like this? Did we do something to offend you? Please, just help us understand."

"Like how you tried to murder Stain? No, I mean like how you ran past innocent civilians in your quest for revenge. How many people died because of your actions, Iida? What gives you the right to even look at me, murderer?" Suddenly, the temperature in the room dropped a few degrees as everyone stared at Sora in confusion.

"What? No one wants to say anything?"

"What is there to say?" Bakugo asked him. "You're just being a dickhead for no reason."

"No reason? As if," Sora scoffed at everyone. "I hate all of you. Every single one of you. You are all so pathetic. I've always hated you, but I pretended as if I cared to fit in. And now my little act is up. I don't care if I hurt your feelings anymore, because I will tell you exactly what I think of you." Izuku tried to open his mouth and say something, but he was too stunned to speak.

"Aoyama, you should be dead. I should have let Tokage kill your worthless life because there is no way a coward like you can become a hero. There is no way you can change," Sora then turned to face Mina. "You'll never be beautiful or attractive. You're an eyesore. You look like a freak, and you'd do better to become a villain and scare kids than try and be a hero." Both Aoyama and Mina's eyes darkened at the words he said, but they were all powerless as Sora continued his tirade.

"Tsuyu, why are you even trying to be a good role model for your siblings? What is there to look up to? Just give up already and kill yourself. That goes for you too Uraraka, perhaps if you kill yourself maybe your parents would have more money. Did you ever think that it's because of you that your family needs money? Children are needy. And expensive. But I bet you never thought you would be the reason why your family needs money, and that's simply the funniest thing ever."

"Ojiro, you'll never be a hero. You can try your hardest, but that hero that you look up to was a weak piece of shit that died. You look up to a failure. And that's all you will ever be, a failure," Izuku tried to stop what was going on. He really did. But it was like his lips were glued together. "Kaminari, I don't even need to say anything to you. You are just a waste of space, and I don't want to waste my time telling you how worthless you are. See the advice I gave to Tsuyu and Uraraka and please take it."

With each passing second, it was like the wind was being sucked out of Izuku as he could only watch in horror at what Sora was doing. At what he was saying. They were friends. Close friends. 1A was supposed to be a family! His family! Why was he ripping it apart? Why was he tearing it to shreds? Why was Sora doing this?!

"Koda, you know it's funny. You try to be quiet, but you are exactly like your grandfather. I only met him once as well. You think that you are better than him, but you aren't. You are exactly like him," Izuku watched as Koda started to tear up from what Sora said, and it made him grin even more. It was disgusting to watch. "Shoji. You are a monster. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, because it's a good thing you wear that mask. If I have to see you unmasked again I think I might jump off a bridge in disgust."

"Shut up already!" Sero yelled in frustration. "Why the hell are you saying this? Why are you spouting such bullshit?!" Sora merely laughed in response.

"Spouting? Well done, I'm surprised you know that word. Perhaps all those days while you were younger that you spent starved for food didn't addle your brains that badly. At least it took one of your parents away and left the other permanently hospitalised, sadly you're still alive, so there is that." Just like with Kirishima, Sero had to be pushed aside lest he starts a fight with Sora. But unlike with Kirishima, fewer people tried to restrain Sero.

"Tokoyami," Sora turned to face Tokoyami, whose face which was usually unreadable was scrunched up in anger and pain. "The accident that happened to your sister was your fault. And you can never escape the fact that you are a monster. It's not your Quirk, it's you. No wonder your parents didn't pay much attention to you. I bet they could already tell that they had birthed a monster." It took everything Izuku had not to scream and shout at Sora because this had to be a mistake.

It had to be!

Izuku was convinced that this had to be a dream!

"Todoroki, the more I see you the more I'm convinced that you had it coming," Todoroki looked like he was expecting what Sora was about to say, but even then he was still hurt by it. "And Bakugo, we both know that your attitude is just a mask. You can lie to yourself all you want, but I can see you for who you really are. Just a loser. You'll never surpass the 'Deku' that you want to beat so badly, you'll never be a hero. You are just a villain in disguise. I mean really, who says to someone that they should take a swan dive off the roof?"

Bakugo didn't visibly react as his face remained calm, something that Izuku didn't foresee, but despite that Izuku could see that Bakugo's fists balled and he was ready to fight. Izuku stepped forward, Sora had gone too far. Izuku didn't think that Sora even understood what he had said-,

"Oh right, Hagakure," The girl whose name had been called out sighed as she accepted what was coming to her. "I forgot about you. Just like everyone else. I would say more, but if I'm being honest I totally forgot what I was about to say-,"

"Are you done?" Izuku interrupted.

"Yeah. I think I am." Sora answered proudly. It made Izuku want to throw up as Sora-, As his friend-, As-, "Midoriya. Stop staring. Why are you shocked? I've always been like this. The 'Devil from Class E.' That was what they called me in middle school, and you know I quite like the name. None of you should be shocked, I mean really, do you know anyone that would willingly sacrifice their life for their friends? I was pretending the entire time. But somehow you idiots thought I was being genuine."

"Shut… up," Izuku whispered, barely being able to control his anger. Just what the hell was he saying? Was he trying to say that everything was a lie? It can't have been! It can't be! What about all the smiles Sora had on his face? The memories they had? That couldn't be a lie, it simply couldn't. So then why. Why was Sora saying all this? Why was he making Izuku mad? "Just shut up already!" Izuku shouted at him.

At Sora.

Their fake friend.

A liar.

Someone they trusted, evidently the wrong person to have trusted the entire time.

But Sora merely shrugged, unfazed by Izuku.

"Or what? What will you do? You couldn't even save Nighteye. You couldn't even fight Overhaul without nearly dying. You know, I was the one who saved you. Why don't you be more grateful to the hero who saved your shitty life!" Sora yelled right back at him, laughing at his jokes but no one was laughing with him. "It doesn't matter anyway. You can say I was a liar the entire time, which I was, but what about you? When are you going to tell everyone the truth? The truth about One For A-,"

Smack.

Sora was sent tumbling to the floor as Kirishima stepped forwards and decked him in the face as hard as he could. He went to try and kick Sora while he was on the floor, but Izuku got involved as he dragged Kirishima away from Sora alongside Bakugo. Despite all that, Sora simply spat out some blood on the floor as he stood up as if nothing had happened and grabbed his suitcase.

"Goodbye. I hope I never see you again." And with that they watched as Sora Yamazaki walked out of their dorm, slamming the dorm shut. No one said anything as they were either too stunned to say anything, too angry to mutter words or too sad to speak. But Izuku was a mixture of all three as he balled his fists. How could things go so wrong? How could they have not seen the signs?

How did they not realise that Sora Yamazaki was never their friend?

---

Kyoka Jiro POV

'Why is everyone taking so long?' Kyoka thought to herself. Aizawa-sensei for some reason had mysteriously vanished, leaving Kyoka all alone in the hall where the concert was going to be performed for Sora. Everyone had tried their best to make it as spectacular as popular, to try and surprise Sora. To lift his spirits. She didn't doubt the fact that Sora was going to love the concert, so why was it taking ages for them to come to the hall?

Fed up, Kyoka left the hall and started to make her way to their dorm herself.

If they wanted to greet Sora and have a tearful reunion with him, then that was fine, but they weren't going to do it without her. Kyoka was his girlfriend. Why the hell was she the one that was left waiting?! She angrily walked along the pathway to the dorm, only to find Sora walking towards her. 'Huh? Where is everyone else? Did I just miss them as they walked past me to go to the hall?'

It was then that Kyoka noticed his suitcase.

"Sora!" She yelled, getting his attention. It was freezing. She really regretted not going back to the dorm with Sora to get at least get a jacket. Kyoka watched as Sora trudged through the snow, his suitcase trailing behind him. Why was Sora carrying a suitcase? That was the single question on her mind. "Sora! Over here!" Kyoka yelled once more and smiled as Sora looked over at her.

But what Kyoka noticed was the sad expression on his face.

"Sora? Are you alright? Did something happen? Sora?" He merely walked up to her, and Kyoka could really see his face. Was he-,

Oof.

Sora let go of his suitcase as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in. It shocked Kyoka as Sora never showed affection like this, it was always her. Sora wasn't a 'touchy' person, as Kyoka had read online. He didn't need to show his love to his partner by constantly being wrapped around them, unlike Kyoka. So it surprised her to see Sora take the initiative. But still, she smiled to herself as she hugged Sora back. It was a welcome surprise.

"Sora, is everything alright? Where is everyone?"

"I… can't go to your concert. Sorry."

Kyoka shook her head as she ran her hand through his hair.

"You don't need to apologise. I get it, you just woke up. You packed your suitcase to go back home, right?" Sora slowly nodded. "Then don't worry about it. Your family missed you. We can always hold the concert another day when you feel like it, honestly, I don't mind. So long as you are happy, that's all I care about. But are you sure you are alright?"

"...Yeah. I'm fine. I just had to say goodbye."

Kyoka laughed at him.

"Why do you say it so dramatically? 'I just had to say goodbye.' What does that even mean?"

No response.

Kyoka frowned as she pulled away from Sora.

"Sora, what did you mean by that?"

"Nothing." He replied.

But Kyoka knew him better than that.

"You are going to come back, right?" She asked him. Why else would Sora say goodbye? But she shook that feeling away. Sora had just woken up. He missed his family, it was only natural. She was just looking into things, seeing things that simply weren't there. And anyway, why would Sora leave 1A? What would be the point? Just thinking about it made Kyoka want to laugh.

Sora had just come back to them, how could he just leave?

Even an idiot like himself would know how much that would hurt.

"Jiro, I need to say something to you."

"Go ahead and say it," Kyoka replied, punching him in the shoulder lightly. She missed this. She missed him. "I'm all ears." Sora sighed, and for a brief moment, Kyoka saw even more sadness pass over his eyes. But once again, she must have been seeing things. Kyoka yawned as she felt so tired. All the sleepless nights thinking about Sora and what they would do together when Sora woke up.

"Thank you. For everything."

Kyoka sighed at that.

'Leave it to Sora to say something as lame as that.'

"Dude, you don't have to thank me. Like ever!" Why couldn't Sora understand that? It wasn't a hard concept to grasp. Just like how Sora had helped her when she needed it, Kyoka would be there to help Sora when he needed it. "I've told you a million times that helping you is what I do. I'm your girlfriend. If I didn't help you it would be because I stopped being your friend altogether. And tell me, does that seem like a likely thing to happen?"

Sora actually smiled at that.

"No. Not really." Why did he sound so bitter at that?

"You couldn't get rid of me even if you tried." She added, making Sora softly pat her on the head. It was only then that Kyoka realised how tall Sora had actually grown. Well, it wasn't like Sora was a head taller than her or anything. But he was taller than her. Her nose barely reached his shoulders, and that was something she wasn't entirely used to as Sora had been short for the longest time she had known him. To be fair, she doubted that he was taller than Ojiro, but still.

Kyoka watched as Sora gave her back the coat he had used, and she put it on right away, warming her up instantly. Sora grabbed his suitcase once more as he walked past her, trudging through the snow all alone.

It left a sour taste in Kyoka's mouth.

Why wasn't everyone here to see him off?

Despite her fast heartbeat, and the blush on her face, Kyoka steeled herself as she cleared her throat and spoke as loud as he could.

"I love you."

It wasn't something either of them had ever said before. She knew that he had thought of it, and obviously she had thought of saying it before. But now was the time. Sora paused for what seemed like an eternity, and Kyoka sighed as she realised it was starting to snow again. She put her hood up as she waited for Sora to respond. Kyoka giggled to herself, Sora had probably short-circuited himself.

"I'm sorry."

That was his only reply as he continued to walk through the snow, but this time at a quicker pace. Kyoka was confused, but she shrugged her shoulders. He was apologising because he couldn't say it back, but she was fine with that. Because she knew that deep down in his heart, he loved her. It didn't matter if he couldn't bring himself to say it, and he didn't need to apologise for that fact - Because Kyoka Jiro would always love him. She would always love Sora Yamazaki.

And why wouldn't she?

She whistled to herself as she turned her back to him and made her way back to the dorm. The snow was starting to get heavier as it fell on her, but she continued to walk anyways. She wasn't that far from the dorm. And eventually, she made her way inside but instead of being greeted by a cheerful class, the room was a mess. All of the girls were crying, and even Kodai and Mineta had to be consoled by Shoji and Aoyama.

Kirishima and Sero were punching the walls in anger while everyone else was simply too stunned to speak.

"What happened?" Kyoka asked in concern as everyone looked at her in confusion, and then understanding.

It was then that Kyoka Jiro was shocked for the second time that day.

---

I didn't need to look back to know that the damage had already been done. And I hated myself for it. But it had to be done. I wasn't that far off from the school gates where my partner in all this greeted me. Despite missing an arm, Aizawa looked the same as ever as he leaned against the school gate holding the keys to my bike out. And it was my motorbike that he had taken out of the school parking lot and put in front of the gate for me to use.

To be frank, I didn't even know how the man did it.

"Here," Aizawa said as he lobbed the keys at me. "Your bike. I assume you know the stopping distance for motor vehicles when it's snowing?"

"Ten seconds." I instantly replied, remembering the road safety rules. After all, I had passed my exam and gotten my license to drive my motorbike. And in a year's time, I was going to do it again but this time to get a car. Aizawa nodded in approval and I fitted my suitcase on the back of my motorbike, securely fastening it so nothing would fall out. It was funny. I came into the dorm with one suitcase that had packed everything, and I left the dorm with that same suitcase with everything still packed in it.

My room was empty.

"Are you sure about this?" Aizawa asked me. "Just because you lost your Quirk that doesn't mean you have to leave 1A. The support and business departments are some of the best in the entire country. You don't have to withdraw from U.A. completely if you want to leave 1A." I thanked him for the offer, but I shook my head.

"No point in doing that. I don't think that any of them would take it if I suddenly moved courses, and when they find out that I'm Quirkless they would want to help me be a hero even more. Knowing those bunch of idiots, they'd convince me to become the first Quirkless hero."

"And is there anything wrong with that?"

"I'm no hero," I replied, smiling sadly at my now ex-teacher. I couldn't call him sensei even if I wanted to, but then and again I hadn't called him Aizawa-sensei in ages. It had been just Aizawa for a long time now. "And after what I've done to them, I can't even be called a good friend. But it was necessary." Aizawa clicked his tongue in frustration, but he ultimately didn't say anything. It was clear that he disagreed with my decision but said nothing because the damage was already done.

"Are you sure that Zero is going to hold up to his promise?"

"Positive. He may be a villain, but he takes his promises very seriously. So long as I leave 1A, he'll leave them alone. He'll even make sure that the other League members don't touch anyone in 1A," I laughed at that. "Funny, isn't it? The only way I can protect them is to trust what a villain said to me. I'm sure that if All Might could hear about this, he'd be laughing his arse off as well."

"But is the really the only way to protect them?"

I nodded at him.

"Yeah. Knowing Zero, he's going to go above and beyond in protecting 1A. Even from people like Azrael and Yozora. Not to mention Tokage's going to look out for them as well, she promised me that. I've had this all planned out. I always thought that I'd never leave U.A., but now that I've left it feels weird," I paused, before shrugging my shoulders. "I can't really describe the feeling. But oh well, it doesn't matter. This was also the only way I could make them strong."

"By betraying their trust?"

I nodded at Aizawa once more.

"Telling everyone their darkest secrets. I crossed a line today, one that they will all never forgive me for doing. And they'll work hard, harder than I ever did and harder than they ever did to prove me wrong. Is it twisted? Definitely. But I've certainly motivated them. Don't you think that makes me a good teacher, Aizawa?" He snorted at me as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and put one in his mouth. Even with one arm, he could still do so much.

"I think your technique is the worst I've ever seen. And I had a teacher that genuinely tried to kill us and called it 'training.' That says something."

"Yeah! That my technique is amazing!" I joked.

"Do you really think that they'll grow strong enough to not be protected by you anymore? What if this plan horribly backfires on you and it ruins them?" We both knew that the chances of that happening were impossible. No one in 1A was a quitter, but Aizawa was simply making conversation. He didn't want me to go. As soon as I realised that, I smiled softly at the man.

"They'll be fine. If they do somehow get lost and stumble, I'll give them a good kick in the arse to wake them up," I replied. "Of course, they'll rely on their loveable teacher first, right?"

Aizawa simply shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm not used to this 'superior' teaching technique so maybe I don't know how to help them," The man joked, cracking a small smile as he reached into his pockets and handed me something. "You forgot this while you were packing up in your room."

It was the class photo we had all taken.

Kaminari's present.

It felt like the air around me was sucked away from me as I reached out to take the picture from Aizawa, thanking him for it. How could I have forgotten this? I grinned as I looked down at the photo, a nostalgic one for sure. How was this only four months ago? It felt a lot longer than that. I managed to find some space in my suitcase I carefully placed the picture inside and turned to face Aizawa. His cigarette was nearly finished.

"Nezu had the press conference ready for tomorrow. Soon every single news outlet in the nation is going to be reporting a new breaking story. 'The Blue Devil dies a tragic death!' Having succumbed to his injuries, U.A. announces that their currently unknown hero, Aozora who is also known as the hero that beat Overhaul has died. This brings the total death count for the 'Musutafu incident' to sixty lives."

I nodded at that.

"Perfect. Tell Nezu I said thanks for doing all this for little old me. I really don't deserve it, but everyone is willing to lie for my sake. Thanks. I really mean it." Aizawa shook his head, however.

"No need to thank me. I'm merely repaying the debt that we owe you. Sora, you sacrificed your powers, ever becoming a hero to defeat Overhaul. And no one can ever know. Aozora will be lauded as a hero to be remembered while Sora Yamazaki will enjoy his life. Are you really okay with that? It's not too late to still be at U.A. Even if everyone in 1A might hate you now, you still have more friends than that."

That might be true, but it didn't matter.

I had already made my decision.

"I appreciate the offer Aizawa, I really do, but I can't," It wouldn't be fair if I did. "I killed Denji and Eri. It was my own actions that caused their deaths, even if you might try to say otherwise. Perhaps I wasn't the reason why they died, but I certainly played a part in their deaths. And for that, I can never be forgiven. Someone like me doesn't deserve another chance, especially when I've fucked up this badly. But to be honest, leaving U.A. is what's best for me too."

Leaving 1A behind.

Leaving my life as a hero behind.

I wasn't going to be admired anymore. Compared to before, it didn't feel like I was drowning. I still felt numb, but that was more because of the cold compared to my feelings. I finally understood what I was going through. I was depressed. The entire time, the truth that I had learnt from All For One had changed my entire worldview. But Yukari didn't blame me. I wasn't the monster that I thought I was.

Even if Denji and Eri died partly because of me, that didn't make me a monster.

If I stayed in U.A., trying to endure everything, this tragedy would only happen again. And again. It would happen over and over until I finally learnt that leaving was for the best. U.A. had given me memories that I would cherish for the rest of my life. I'd be able to finally accept responsibility for the pain I had caused, and I'd be able to finally live my life. In a way, leaving U.A. was the only way I could achieve my goal without even more bloodshed.

I created a carefree tomorrow for everyone I cared about.

Even if I wasn't in it.

Aizawa threw his cigarette on the floor, stepping on it.

"It's been an honour watching you grow, Sora," Aizawa told me, extending his remaining arm out for me to grab. "But I supposed this is where our journey's part ways. I'll continue to mentor and help everyone in 1A grow into fine adults, but you already went and matured without my help. Even to the bitter end, you were the most troubling student I ever had. Also, the most promising student I ever had. Thank you."

I shook his hand and grinned at him.

"Thanks for being the best teacher I ever had," I replied. "Without you, I would have been lost. I probably wouldn't have made it this far, but it was thanks to you that I'm still alive. Even if you aren't my teacher anymore, I'd love it if you could come over for dinner at mine every now and then. I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind since you are already a family friend. Plus, you haven't told me all the stories about Oboro yet."

Aizawa laughed at that.

"I'll see what I can do."

And with that, I watched as the school gates opened for me, with Aizawa walking back to the 1A dorm. Eventually, I couldn't even see him as I got on my bike and turned it on. Right, ten-second stopping gap. I had to remember that. I turned around to look at U.A. for the final time. I wasn't a student of the esteemed school anymore, but even still I couldn't help but smile at what was just a building. It was thanks to U.A. that I managed to meet everyone and that I learnt more about myself.

But nothing could last forever.

So, goodbye?

No.

That didn't sound right at all!

Talk to you later.

I groaned at that.

Why was I so awful at saying goodbye? Perhaps it was because I had never had to say goodbye before in either my previous life or my current one. Until now that was. I never realised how hard it was to be the one leaving. I tried not to get emotional, I mean it was just a damn building, but somehow I was failing even at that. I sighed as I started the engine, there was no point in saying goodbye. I lived in the city after all, not to mention I lived in a world filled with heroes and villains.

There was no way I could escape U.A.

I revved my engine as I started to drive on the road.

See ya!

---

Part 1

END

---

Wow.

Over 700k words just to write this. I'm not emotional, but I do feel immense pride in what I just accomplished. Even if it's only a third of the way through the story I want to write, at the end of the day, it's an impressive feat.

Part 1 ends with Sora leaving U.A.

Part 1 always was going to end like this.

Sora's decisions finally catch up to him and he has to make the hardest choice of them all. Whether you think Sora is right or wrong is entirely up to you. It's why I framed that scene from everyone else's POV instead of Sora's.

Sora thinks he's right, and everyone else thinks he is in the wrong.

If you agree with Sora, then good! And if you disagree with his actions, then good! That's what I wanted. For the reader to scrutinise Sora's decisions. Did he make the right or wrong call? I mean this arc is called DECIDE for a reason!

Still, Part 2 of this story won't start for a long time.

Purely because there are a few things I need to do first!

1)Read through the entire story as a reader and pick up on things I had originally written/what I wanted to cover originally.

2)Edit every chapter to a high enough standard that I'm happy with. If it means adding and deleting scenes then so be it. But I will specifically improve the early chapters as it's where I made a lot of mistakes.

3) Cross-post this story on AO3. As much as I love FFN, it's latest policies aren't encouraging for the platform's future health. My account on AO3 has exactly the same as I do on here, 'papireaz.'

4)I want to write out the first 10-15 chapters of Part 2 before I start to publish anything. That's because the worst thing for me I discovered while writing Part 1 of this was that it was tough to maintain a schedule with life being as hectic as is.

I need to achieve these four goals before Part 2 even begins to be published. But I don't have a time frame for this. My rough estimate is April-ish, but I genuinely do not know yet. Therefore, I have created a temporary solution.

Discord!

I have created a discord server. And the code is kJRaVPe8nn !

You'll be able to talk and me, and I'll be able to provide you with updates whenever any of you ask, as well as other questions you may have. I know that this solution might not make everyone happy, but it's the only thing I could think of.

But you don't have to join, so don't worry about it.

I'll post an update on this.

Eventually.

Also, I'll be uploading an intermission chapter next week. It's just me talking about why I made certain decisions, and what influenced me (Outside of music) and answering all of your reviews! I repeat, if you want a review (or PM) to be answered don't hesitate! Please. I don't want another intermission chapter with only 3 reviews that I could answer.

See ya then!