Hey folks! We're finally back with "Through the Rough" as we're close to concluding the World Heroes' Mission Arc. After how the last chapter went down, I'm really happy to be done and ready to take on the next arc. Of course, I will be taking a break from the story to reset myself for the Season 6 adaptation. I've got a lot of ideas running through my head for it.

But for now, I think it's time to close out this long overdue arc! Enjoy!

THROUGH THE ROUGH

"Agh…" Rebecca groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. She was lying in a hospital bed, bandages covering most of her face and arms. "Wha…?" she uttered out, managing to sit up after a moment. She looked around, somewhat bewildered. The last thing she remembered was her and Izuku arriving at the furthest level down of the Humarise base, seeing that Pino had managed to disarm the Trigger Bombs with milliseconds to spare. Before then… it was a bit of a blur.

'I think me and Izu beat that Flect Turn guy, but…' she started to say inwardly, putting her right hand up to her aching head, 'why can't I remember anything else?' she wondered on. At that moment, a door opened, getting her attention. Entering was Connor. He lightly gasped upon noticing the Cat Leaper Quirk user sitting up.

"You're awake!" he exclaimed as he made his way over.

"Mister Connor…" Rebecca uttered.

"Hold on just a moment…" the portly man said, quickly going over to the nearby water cooler and pouring out a cup. He brought it over. "Here," he offered.

"Thank you," the Cat Leaper Quirk user said gratefully, accepting the cup and taking a small sip, "We won, didn't we?" she presumed.

"That you did…" Connor confirmed in reply as he nodded, "The whole case has been taken care of, too," he mentioned, looking over to the news broadcast on the TV.

"The terrorist attacks that shook the world were successfully prevented thanks to the efforts of multiple hero teams working in tandem. Members of Humarise, the group behind the threat, are being taken into custody. Some from unexpected places," a local newscaster explained, with images being shown of the Otheon Police's commissioner general being taken into custody for his allegiance with the cultist group.

"Thank goodness…" Rebecca said, only to blink in realization, "What about Izu and Rody?!" she inquired with a panicked look upon her face.

"They're both fine," Connor assured as a response, setting the cup of water aside, "All your friends are resting up," he added. The Cat Leaper Quirk user sighed with relief.

"I feel like I should've known that…" she admitted aloud, "But… I can never help but worry about others…" she mentioned in confession, looking out the window, "I guess that's part of being a hero…" she affirmed with a shrug, letting off a bright smile. The portly man grinned under his mustache. He reached over and placed his hand atop Rebecca's head. "Mister Connor?" she uttered in confusion.

"I'm so proud of you," he said to her surprise as she blinked. At that moment, he gave off a look of realization before pulling his hand away. "Sorry…" he apologized with a chuckle, "I'm going to go let Rody and the others know you're up," he decided, walking off.

"Okay…" Rebecca uttered, somewhat befuddled by the odd interaction. Yet at the same time… it felt nice. Walking about the halls of the hospital, Connor came to a stop, lowering his head sadly.

FLASHBACK

"I've gone and altered their memories," Rachel confirmed as she returned to the foyer where her estranged husband was, "They won't remember that I was here," she affirmed on.

"Then… I suppose you'll need to change my memories?" Connor assumed, causing her to blink in surprise, "It would make things easier, wouldn't it?" he inquired out, "I won't know about you being here… nor that Rebecca's…" he continued, only to tense up and tremble.

"Connor…" his wife uttered out.

"I mean, why would I even want to know my own daughter's name?" Connor wondered sarcastically, "I've never gotten to know it for the past sixteen years…!" he whimpered out.

"…I'm not going to alter your memories, Connor," Rachel promised, "The Saintfires won't be as focused on you as they would be on her…" she pointed out, "And… you deserve to know that Rebecca's alive and well," she mentioned, exhaling a sigh, "I'm proud that she's taken a path to be a savior to people…" she added, "but I can't help worrying," she admitted, "That's the burden of every parent, isn't it?" she assumed of her estranged husband, who had tears pricking his eyes.

"Will I ever see you again…?" he asked as she walked past him.

"…That I don't know…" she replied without looking back. Connor sniffled, drying his eyes with his right arm.

END FLASHBACK

"Huh…" the portly man sighed before walking onward. He didn't know if knowing Rebecca was his daughter would be a blessing or a curse. Nevertheless… he was happy. Knowing that she was alive and well would be enough.

X

"You kids sure put in quite the work for us…" Sister commented after finishing a checkup on Homura in her hospital room.

"My apologies," she said, "Though given the situation we were in, I can't imagine that we could avoid injuries of some kind…" she pointed out.

"Well, the boys got in more trouble than you did…" the Shining Star Hero noted as she crossed her arms over her chest, "That's why the old hag's checkin' on 'em instead of me…" she mentioned out of annoyance.

'Old hag…?' Homura repeated inwardly as a drop of sweat rolled down the side of her head.

"What of Rebecca, by chance?" she inquired curiously.

"Oh, she's fine," Sister replied, "Mostly drained thanks to her Overdrive and that Reverse crap she does," she explained on, "Huh…" she exhaled, "You kids are getting in way more danger than you should be for first-years…" she pointed out, "Even so, you keep kickin' bad guy ass," she mentioned with a smirk, "That's somethin' not a lot of pros can say often…" she added. Homura let off a smile.

"I suppose you're right…" she said. Elsewhere in another room, Rody's siblings had arrived and were in the middle of tearfully embracing their older brother, who hugged them back and reassured them that things were okay. All the while, Izuku and Shoto watched on with smiles, with the former in his own hospital bed, while the latter was standing beside the window. In the meantime, Katsuki was receiving a healing kiss from Recovery Girl, grimacing in embarrassment all the while.

"Hey guys," a voice greeted, belonging to Rebecca as she entered alongside Connor.

"Rebecca!" her boyfriend exclaimed happily.

"Mister Connor!" Roro and Lala yelled, jogging over to embrace the portly man, who laughed.

"It's good to see you, too!" he noted, rubbing their heads. In the meantime, the Cat Leaper Quirk user walked over to Izuku.

"Hi," she greeted warmly with a tilt of her head.

"Hi," he greeted back, giving off a soft smile. His girlfriend leaned her head in, closing her eyes as he did before kissing him sweetly on the lips. However, she suddenly found herself hit on the back of the head.

"OW!" she yelped, looking down to see the wrapped protein bar lying upon the floor. She looked over to the obvious culprit, being none other than Katsuki.

"Save the PDA bullcrap for when we're actually out of the hospital, dammit…" he grumbled out, turning his head away.

"Oh, would you like if I interrupted a moment with you and your significant other?!" Rebecca shouted, grabbing the protein bar and chucking it back at him. He caught it easily, letting off a scoff.

"Whatever…" he muttered, unwrapping his food before eating it.

"Huh…" Recovery Girl sighed, "The four of you certainly took your tolls for invading Humarise's base," she pointed out, "But I suppose if it worked out in the end, I won't complain…" she decided as she started to walk off.

"Recovery Girl," Rebecca said, getting her attention, "It wasn't just us," she noted, looking over to Rody, who blinked in surprise.

"M-Me?" he stuttered out.

"You are the one who stopped the Trigger Bombs from going off," Izuku pointed out.

"And you helped us get to Humarise's main base in the first place," Shoto added.

"Hmph," Katsuki huffed, finishing his protein bar, "Don't go giving him too much credit…" he muttered out.

"Heh…" Rody chuckled, "Guess I was a hero in the end…" he assumed, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. Pino chirped atop his head, making him chuckle. Everyone laughed happily.

The case was resolved… and not a single Trigger Bomb exploded. In the end, the heroes protected this world. But… it wasn't just the pros and students. The one who really saved everybody… the one who gave his all… was him.

After a couple of days, it was finally time for everyone in Otheon to head out. Discharged from the hospital with bandages around their bodies, Izuku, Katsuki, Shoto, Rebecca and Homura arrived at the airport with Enji, Moe, and Chiyo. As the group went through airport security, the One For All inheritor looked over to his girlfriend and smiled.

"Huh…" he breathed out after a moment, picking up his case off of the security conveyor belt.

"Well… back to school for us," the Cat Leaper Quirk user remarked as her boyfriend approached, "Doing okay?" she inquired of him.

"Yeah…" he responded with a small grin, "Just feels like things have been a little too hectic for us the past few days…" he admitted.

"I get what you mean…" Rebecca agreed, "But now, we'll get some much needed time to ourselves," she pointed out.

"Yeah," the One For All inheritor replied, walking off with her as they held hands. Just then, the two of them overheard a familiar chirping from nearby. They turned around and smiled to see Rody there, with Pino flying alongside him. His right leg was casted as he had a crutch under his arm, helping him move along. "Ah! Rody!" Izuku greeted.

"Haha!" the Soul Quirk user laughed with a wave as he and his bird approached.

"We didn't think you'd be out so soon…" Blake noted as she and the freckled teen jogged up to him.

"Eh, they said I was good to head back home," Rody affirmed in response with a dismissive wave of his gloved left hand.

"Well, we're glad to hear it," Izuku said with a smile.

"Although…" the brunette-haired young man started to say as the others were heading up the escalator to the flight gate, "if I had died stopping those bombs, I would've become a total legend!" he proclaimed.

"That's a morbid thing to say…" Rebecca pointed out.

"Ha!" Katsuki loudly scoffed upon overhearing, while the others smiled. The trio down by the windows chuckled amongst themselves for a moment.

"You come up with any big plans for the future?" the Cat Leaper Quirk user wondered curiously with a raised eyebrow, causing Rody to perk up.

"Just going back to my normal life for now…" he answered, turning toward the windows and looking outside, "Though I suppose with all I've been through…" he noted as he glanced back at his friends, "who knows what's in store for me?" he inferred, while Pino hopped up onto his right shoulder, huffing proudly. Izuku and Rebecca smiled.

"Right," they both said.

"We will now begin boarding Flight NNY-Two-Two-Four to Japan," a voice over the intercom announced.

"We gotta run and catch our flight," Izuku pointed out as Rody was turned off to the side away from him and Rebecca.

"Do me a solid and stick to Japan, 'kay?" he requested in response, "Nothing good happens when you're around," he mentioned with a shake of his head, "Probably best for you to stay in your own lane," he added seriously. Though as he said this, Pino was tearing up on his shoulder, trembling with sadness. The One For All inheritor and the Cat Leaper Quirk user knew how their friend truly felt. They both set down their suitcases, going over to hug him gently.

"I'll come back and visit for sure," he promised.

"Same here," his girlfriend affirmed. Rody's eyes glimmered as he was struggling to find the words. Even after all this time, he couldn't seem to really convey how he felt. But he hugged his friends back, letting his crutch drop onto the floor.

"…Yeah, like I care…" he muttered out. With that, both Izuku and Rebecca headed off to the flight gate, while Rody headed back toward the slums. He could overhear the plane propellers overhead, seeing the aircraft soaring above. Whereas he wouldn't take a second look mere days ago, he now looked up and smiled. He was ready to pursue his dreams for certain.

But to start, he needed to do some work. And not the same kind he had been doing for days on end. It was dusk by the time he arrived at Stanley's bar.

"Got a job for me, old man?" he asked of the barkeep, "Like a real gig, something more respectable," he added in his request as he winked. Needless to say, Stanley was surprised by how straightforward Rody was being, especially after all that had happened.

"One of my employees did quit on me…" he noted in remembrance as he finished drying the glass in his hands, "Guess you could help…" he muttered uncaringly. The brunette-haired young man was seemingly surprised by the quick offer for earnest work. He sighed a little, turning around and leaning back against the counter while putting his right pointer finger to his head.

"That is one possibility…" he admitted. At that moment though, Pino popped out from his hair, happily chirping as she spread her wings. Rody was elated about getting a job, no matter how small.

X

"THEY'RE BACK!" Mina exclaimed excitedly upon seeing her many classmates enter the Heights Alliance dorm, having all returned from their assignments around the world.

"Hey, don't go making too much of a fuss…" Shota advised as those that had stayed behind greeted their classmates, reconvening and sharing their stories about their missions overseas. In the midst of the conversing, Izuku found himself laughing with Ochaco, Shiki, and Tenya. At that moment, Rebecca grabbed him by his right arm.

"Uh, Rebecca?" he uttered in surprise, looking over to see the blush building upon her cheeks. She leaned up and whispered into his ear. And his eyes widened as his face went red.

"Midoriya, are you alright?" Tenya asked upon noticing, "Your face is…" he started to say.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine!" the One For All inheritor stammered out, watching as his girlfriend left, heading upstairs, "But… uh…" he stuttered on, coughing to clear his throat, "I… gotta go…" he said, jogging off.

"What was that about?" Shiki wondered aloud, arching an eyebrow.

"I haven't the foggiest idea…" Tenya replied as he folded his arms over his chest. Ochaco was practically red as a tomato herself, having somewhat of an idea as to what was going to happen…

And thus concludes this little calm before the storm…

Oh? Were you not expecting me to narrate this story? There is a time and place for everything, you know. And now just happens to be that time.

While Izuku and Rebecca can rest and relax for now, a threat looms over the horizon that even they may not be able to stop… And we'll see that threat's power in due course…

Until then, I'll be taking over the story from here.

END

And that wraps up the last chapter of the World Heroes' Mission Arc! I'm feeling as if this wasn't my best work, mainly because I didn't go too deeply into the alternate stories with Connor and Rachel. I'm hoping to change that in the future.

But for now, Season 6 is on the horizon. And with Xiaomei narrating for this story as well, I think things are gonna be just fine. Thanks for reading, everyone!