Let it Happen - Tame Impala recorded in 'Currents' (2015)
"If you are my anger,
Then I must change,
Allow me to rebirth myself in these hallowed waters,
Goodbye, anger,
But I'm ready to move on."
Izuku Midoriya POV
"So… Sora's not here."
It was an accurate statement as Izuku watched over the public crowd that was quickly filling up City Hall. Rows of chairs that easily totalled perhaps nearly five hundred people were nearly filled, with many more citizens having come to watch the proceedings while they stood at the back of the area. Even the reporters who were in a rush to set everything up were amazed by how quickly everything had been pulled together, their cameras set to the main stage.
"Why would he be here? He went off on his own to train, and he's probably sulking too," Sero replied with a frown. "...Do you think that Sora won't go public? I mean, it's not like I don't trust him somewhat, but he-, You know how he is. If he's convinced what he's doing is right, you can't dissuade him."
Tokage rolled her eyes at that.
"He won't. It's not my blind faith in him, but I just understand his mixed feelings on the matter. We all know that he is a kind person deep down, buried under the exterior and masks he puts on," Tokage said. "If it's between catching a villain, finding the truth or helping people, it's clear which option he'll pick. At least to me. The real question is if Sora will allow himself to choose the option he wants to choose deep down, or if his anger will get the best of him."
"Do you think Sora will save people?"
"I do," Tokage snapped. "I always have. I know he will. In fact, the one thing I can count on is Sora saving people. The day he stops doing that is the day I'll know that he's no longer my best friend, and I assume for you guys it's the same. That's when Sora Yamazaki becomes a villain, entirely motivated by greed and his selfish nature. But I'm sure that day will never come - Sora may be searching for the 'truth', but that doesn't mean he'll choose it over saving people."
"...I agree with you, Tokage," Yaoyorozu said. "It's just-, I can't help but think that maybe he was right. We're keeping a big secret to ourselves. Is that really justified? Who are we helping here? Our own reputation or the people? It just… it doesn't feel right."
Sero nodded at that.
"I agree. I just-, I wish there was something we could do, you know," Sero whispered. "But here we are, watching as a new interim mayor is appointed. Any thoughts on who it might be?"
"Maybe Tsukauchi?"
"He's but a mere detective. Plus, I'm pretty sure he's going to be the next Commissioner," Izuku replied. "Oh. Hey, that woman coming towards us-, Isn't she Sora's boss? Or, er, the person he works alongside."
Izuku watched as a familiar blue-haired detective waved at them as she approached them, standing just outside the main stage. Tokage was the first to warm up to her as they shared a brief hug.
"Nanao! Where have you been the entire time?"
"Well, you know. Suspended here, off duty there, but at the very least I can report that I'm back to doing my job," Nanao told them. "Suppose any of you guys don't know where Sora is, by any chance? I have some… news for him."
"Beats us, we haven't seen him in a few hours now," Tokage answered. "I was sort of hoping that he would be here with you, actually. He was all pissed off at us earlier, and well, yeah."
"Pissed off?"
"We had an argument, uhm," Yaoyorozu paused as she looked at Tokage who rolled her eyes, giggling at her. "What's so funny?"
"Nanao knows. Sora told her."
Izuku sighed at that.
"Of course, he told you. It seems like he trusts everyone but us nowadays," He lamented, shaking his head in disapproval. "...We had an argument over what to do with the information he gave us about Daguchi and the redevelopment plan. Sora wanted to go public with the information, but…"
Nanao nodded in response.
"I see. Well, it's funny in a sense. I wanted to speak to Sora specifically about that," Nanao responded. "Just earlier, right before this conference was announced, someone mailed a copy of mysterious files detailing Daguchi's corruption to us. All of it. From his dealings with Overhaul and the Shie Hassakai, funding them, to leaking where All Might's funeral was and even allowing Ryuji and the Osakan Yakuza to send shipments of men and weapons here to the city."
Izuku's eyes widened at that.
"What?! Do you know who sent it?"
Nanao nodded.
"See that's the thing, the person who sent it all was-,"
Nanao was interrupted as the lights suddenly focused all on the main stage, the crowd's hushes becoming loud enough to make their conversation drowned out in the noise. But it was when a single man came on stage, wearing a yellow pinstripe suit that Izuku felt his jaw become slack, and so did everyone else's jaws.
"Hello, hello!" Rikiya Yotsubashi, the CEO of Detrenat greeted everyone with a friendly smile. "Some of you may be confused, but you see I can clear everything up! It has been decided by the Deputy Prime Minister of this country, Daisuke Ryuichi, that I will fill in the role of interim mayor of this city, at the very least until elections in a month! Which, as some of you might have guessed already, I plan to fully run for mayor of this great city!"
Nanao's eyes hardened at that.
"What's wrong?" Izuku asked. "I mean, sure Detrenat was involved in the corruption… But there is no evidence suggesting that Rikiya was involved. He might have been friends with Daguchi, but it was the regional manager who was involved in all of it."
"That's not it, Deku," Nanao replied. "The person who sent a copy of Daguchi's corruption, practically all of it, was Rikiya Yotsubashi. He personally handed in all the evidence. And now here he is."
"Huh?!" Tokage yelled in surprise. "Wait, what?!"
"No… way…"
"And it's even more curious that he's now the interim mayor of this city," Nanao added, rubbing her chin in confusion. "I don't get it. What's the angle here? Is he the mystery benefactor? No, that's impossible. Then and again, it was Detrenat which was used as a way for Yakuza and weapons to be shipped into the city just two months ago. At this point, who knows what's really happening? I need to speak to Sora about this."
"Why?" Yaoyorozu asked in confusion. "What's so important about Sora here?"
Izuku watched as Nanao and Tokage shared a look.
Ah.
"It's to do with your secret, isn't it?" Izuku asked. "About your births at the hands of All For One. I assume that's why Sora trusts you, Nanao. Because you're the same as Tokage, the same as him. The same with Natsuki, Yozora, and from what I can tell, Zero."
Sero whistled at that.
"Yeah? How did you manage to get that information? Did he tell you?"
"Sora's secrets are entangled with a certain few people, I've picked up on that throughout knowing Sora," Izuku answered. "I also know that if he keeps a secret, chances are they know about it. However, in this case, I don't think it's about trust. Am I right in presuming that this has something to do with Sora's premonition Quirk?"
Nanao's face scrunched up in confusion, but Tokage quickly covered for her.
'Hm…'
"Yes! That's right, Midoriya. Sora told us a vision he saw about Rikiya being a… not-so-good guy, and so it's curious after all that here he is," Tokage answered. "That's why we need to talk to Sora about this. After all, he'll know what to make of this. I trust him and his knowledge the most, and so does Nanao."
However, their conversation was drowned out by Rikiya's passionate speech.
"You see, as of tonight, I will be stepping down as the CEO of Detrenat. I have been barely running the company as of late to facilitate a move to politics, and I thought that this glorious city has been through enough!" Rikiya announced. "You see I was born here, even if I was raised elsewhere,but believe me when I say that I care for everyone of you! About this city! And you see… There have been injustices taking place in this city. A city I was once born in."
Rikiya paused, allowing his words to settle in the minds of those listening to him.
"It has come to my attention that my company, Detrenat, under the control of the regional manager here in this city was appropriating funds to help out with the redevelopment plan outside of my approval. However, this became more insidious as I dug deeper and found a twisted truth," Rikiya continued. "You see, ex-mayor Daguchi and his redevelopment plan was not what I had signed up for. After all the tragedies this city has faced, something I recently faced with the city I currently reside in, Deika, I thought that efforts spent on redeveloping this city into something greater - an economic capital of Asia would be beneficial. Daguchi thought differently, however."
…
"You see, Daguchi had been using the funds from this plan to make this city worse, however. Displacing families onto the streets, paying Yakuza from different prefectures to come and start a gang war, and most importantly, it was Daguchi who told the terrorists of this nation the location of All Might's funeral not too long ago!" Rikiya yelled angrily, his hand covering his heart. "...When I found out earlier this morning, I could not believe it. I took a flight straight back to this city and handed in all evidence to the police, an investigation I will be working closely with to ensure that justice is dispersed to those who deserve it."
The crowd remained silently captivated as Rikiya continued his speech.
"It was despicable! The truth I learnt about the man whom I trusted deeply, and so I decided to make a change! I decided to come to this city, not to be its saviour, but to right the wrongs that someone who I called a friend and my own company committed!" Rikiya said, bowing his head down. "Even should I not be appointed as your mayor, citizens of Musutafu, allow me to rectify these mistakes at the very least! I will do my best to ensure that this city will be rebuilt into something more! Into something greater!"
Clap.
Izuku watched in shock as slowly, everyone in the crowd stood up to clap loudly for Rikiya. It was slightly haunting how effortlessly he managed to grab everyone's attention and goodwill as some in the crowd whistled at Rikiya. Izuku watched as the press had grins on their faces as they wrote down hit piece after hit piece, and all he could do was frown.
The HPSC wasn't going to like this.
He could already imagine Endeavour's face when told that this was what happened.
Hawks had gone back to the main HPSC office in Tokyo to inform the man-,
Tsk.
"But that is not all, citizens of Musutafu," Rikiya stated, a wide smirk on his face as he continued. "For you see, our city has been hurt for far too long! And our government has done nothing but stood by and done nothing but watch as this city has fallen! It's been far too long since the government even helped us believe them to be accidents… But we who come from this city know otherwise! Our city has been attacked by the government's incompetence and villains, and NO MORE SHALL WE TOLERATE IT!"
…
"W-what do you mean by that?" Someone from the crowd asked. "What are you suggesting?"
Rikiya grinned.
Almost like a predator who had caught his prey.
"You see, should I be elected as the next Mayor of Musutafu, I promise the very first thing I shall do is put in place a single referendum. One everyone from this city and the surrounding areas can participate in," Rikiya explained. "The most important referendum this country will ever see - I am of course talking about the independence of Musutafu City and its direct movement toward becoming a city-state with its own sovereignty and government separate from Japan!"
…
…
…
…!
"What the…" Sero drifted off.
"...Fuck," Yaoyorozu whispered, shaking her head in disbelief. "This… shouldn't be happening. Rikiya Yotsubashi as the mayor of Musutafu, no matter if it's for an interim period or not, is not a good sign. Shouldn't the deputy mayor have gotten this job? Unless they are now under investigation by the police too regarding Daguchi and his corruption, just what the hell is going on?! A city-state?! That's-,"
Nanao cleared her throat, clapping politely.
As did everyone in the auditorium who were stunned beyond belief.
"Isn't it clear? This is a power play of sorts. Politics is nasty like this, although you're still young so you might not get it," Nanao replied. "At the very least, this is a bold move from Yotsubashi. But if it pays off… Well, depending on his policies and if Musutafu becomes an economic powerhouse of a city now, it really could hold itself as a city-state. It'll technically become its own separate country with sovereignty separate from Japan…"
"What do you mean, Nanao?" Tokage asked in confusion. "I'm not a girl too heavily into politics. So long as this bastard doesn't fuck over the people at the bottom and doesn't push some right-wing shit, I'm happy with that."
Izuku shook his head at her.
"It's not about that at all. Think about it, if Rikiya single-handedly restarts the redevelopment project from the start, then he becomes the most powerful politician in this country," Izuku explained to her. "And if the referendum goes through… Well, he could very easily become the next Prime Minister in Musutafu as a city-state. Hell, if he gains enough support, he could try and pull a vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Yamaguchi, usurping the position of Prime Minister onto himself if things fell into his favour before merging Musutafu back into Japan if that's even possible."
Tokage's eyes widened at that.
"...Huh."
But before Izuku could reply, his phone rang.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
Izuku looked at his phone and sighed.
"Who is it?"
"Sora," Izuku answered, raising his phone to his ear as he accepted the call. "Hey. Where are you? Back at the dorm-,"
"MIDORIYA! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
"Er, City Hall."
"MIDORIYA! GET EVERYONE OUT OF THERE! NOW!"
Izuku frowned at that.
"Huh? You're not making sense. The interim mayor was announced, or were you not aware of that?" Izuku asked across the phone. "Everything is fine, although the crowd is a bit too happy considering the choice of interim mayor."
"Mid…Ri…Dan...Ger…Run…"
"Sora? You're breaking up, I can't hear you."
It was then that the line disconnected, and Izuku shrugged his shoulders as he pocketed his phone. Everyone looked at him curiously, but for once he didn't have an answer as he shook his head at them.
"I think Sora's stuck outside or something. He seemed panicked, I don't know why though," Izuku told them. "His line cut off though. Probably bad service. So, what were we talking about again?"
"Rikiya and his potential political power," Yaoyorozu said. "Personally, from the reports and outlets I've read, sis-, Prime Minister Yamaguchi is doing just fine. She's quite popular across the country, even if she's fighting hard to dial back on the Heroic reforms that were passed not too long ago."
"Why were they passed if she didn't like them?" Sero huffed out.
"She tried vetoing it, Sero. But it didn't work, the national DIET brought those reforms back which only reduced our power to investigate crimes where the use of a Quirk was involved, something sis couldn't veto it again since she had already done so," Yaoyorozu explained. "Short of pissing off everyone in the national DIET, she passed the law and is trying her hardest to reverse it now. Rikiya is notoriously pro-Hero however, so maybe this could be a good thing?"
"A good thing? We replaced one rich asshole with another. How's that any good?" Sero bitterly spat out. "...Nothing's ever going to change. I think that's what I've learnt this past week, no matter how it may seem like things can become better, politicians will always fuck things up. Tsk. It's better to just be pissed at 'em and well, I certainly understand why Natsuki did everything he did. Isn't this the most change this city's been through, and wasn't that through anger?"
"I… I have to agree," Momo agreed, staring down at the floor. "I had trust in these people. In my family company - But they're just a part of the problem. And no one will hold them accountable, not when they have it far too easy. Whether it was right or wrong, what Natsuki did wasn't the worst thing in the world-,"
"That's wrong. You're wrong," Tokage said. "So long as we have hope for a better future, so long as each one of us strives for a better future, we'll get there eventually. We're the ones who hold those people in power accountable, every one of us with the power of our voice. Violence is just the easy answer, but it doesn't solve anything. It's just the same as lashing out at the world, and that doesn't solve a single thing. At least that's what I believe in."
"I certainly believe in that too," Nanao replied. "You're far too nihilistic, Sero. If you believe nothing will ever change, at the very least be the change you want to see happen in the law. You're a Hero after all. A public figure. And Yaoyorozu, it's your company, you are also someone who has a duty to yourself too. If anyone can push for change, it's you guys. The next generation, you are no longer kids where you can simply sit back and not try anymore - The world doesn't wait for anyone to be ready before it hits them down, you have to be ready yourself."
Sero and Momo looked down guiltily at that.
And Izuku couldn't help but smile softly at the two of them, it was clear that they felt bad for not doing enough. Just being members of Class A, simply being Heroes wasn't enough in this society - It was why they were in this mess to begin with. Because of the Heroes before them that had different priorities, that's why society was suffering as it did-,
Had any one of the Heroes inspired greater change in people, maybe they'd reach out to a crying and lonely child instead of leaving them alone on the street.
But that was when Izuku noticed it.
Up on the rafters.
There was a slight gleam of light, a moment where if Izuku had blinked he would have missed it. He squinted his eyes, trying his hardest to make out what was going on up there. Perhaps it was just workers-,
No.
Why would workers be up there now of all times?
Izuku's eyes widened as he realised who they were, as well as what Sora's call meant as One For All coated his body, improving his speed as he leapt on stage and pushed Rikiya aside with as much strength as possible to get him out of the way-,
Bang.
A sharp pain coarse throughout Izuku's right arm as a single shot was fired, a bullet piercing his arm as both he and Rikiya fell to the floor. Ultimately, silence descended upon the crowd before it started.
Chaos.
Panic.
And there was nothing Izuku could do as he and Rikiya were ushered backstage thanks to Nanao and Tokage's efforts, with the detective using her pistol to fire back at the assassins, even if it was futile.
Izuku watched as the front doors were locked.
Tsk.
There was no escape for them!
'Sora… if you're coming, hurry!'
Chapter
Seventy
Nine
'Kurai'
"Fuck! Why's the internet here so shit?!"
I zoomed across the city skyline as fast as I could, the cold bitter wind lashing out against my face, but I ignored it as I tried to get to City Hall as fast as possible. Pocketing my phone, I tried to focus everything on making my Nimbus construct move as fast as possible.
Fuck.
Fuck.
FUCK!
I couldn't manage a single thought other than anger at whoever planned this, they were going for the most amount of casualties! At the very least, there was some hope left in this city! If even a single person died tonight, that hope would be gone! There wouldn't be a shred of hope left in this city that things could turn out differently, the hope that things could change around and be better would be gone forever!
How many tragedies has this city endured?!
It couldn't last forever.
And whoever planned this knew that I could see exactly what test they had put forward. An experiment of sorts. Who would win in the end, this city or them? I clenched my teeth, praying that I wasn't too late. I couldn't be late. If I were late, then what would even be the point of this?
What would be the point of even wearing this badge?!
What the hell is the point of this entire investigation?!
Despite that, I couldn't shake him.
Flying on his own Nimbus, right beside him, I saw Kurai.
"...Where are you going, Sora?"
"To save everyone. To stop this. To find out the truth!"
"Why? What's in it for you?"
"Why does there have to be something in it for me?"
"You've never acted for anyone else's interests. You've never gone out of your way to go and save people before. Back then, you used saving people as a mask for your own goals - To fight back against villains you disagreed with to prove a point, to find out the truth about your birth because you wanted to ultimately fight and win. What's different this time?"
"You're wrong-,"
"How can I be wrong? You don't even know why you care so much, isn't that right?! Are you going there to save people? To stop this? To solve this case? For your pride? To figure out what to do next? For your curiosity? To take your anger out on something other than dummies? Just answer my question, why do you want to save people so much? Is it because you're so alone that it makes you feel loved? Or are you doing all this because you can't control those emotions inside you?"
…
"And now you are silent… did that last one hit a nerve?"
"Shut up."
"It seems like I hit the jackpot. Anger, huh? Is that what's driving you? So what's the plan, Sora? You'll rush in and beat all the villains, hurt them real bad, yell at them that they're doing things the wrong way, then what? What's the next step? Who's going to be the next recipient of your anger? The new interim mayor? The world? Or are you going to default to being angry at yourself and letting your friends take the full brunt of it?"
"I SAID SHUT UP!" I roared, momentarily losing control of my Nimbus. "You're not real! You're just a figment of my imagination, a stupid projection of my insecurities! You're nothing to me! Just go away-,"
"You can say that to anyone but me, after all, Sora, I know you. I know your heart. How do you feel on the inside, do you think that you can say that to me? Lashing out at me won't change the facts," Kurai replied. "The fact is that you have no idea what you're fighting for. Certainly not a vague idea such as a carefree tomorrow, but certainly not something as selfish as yourself and your pride. So what is driving you? Why can't you answer that simple question? Everyone has been asking you about it ever since you decided to focus on this case."
"I want to stop-,"
"Wrong. If you wanted to stop this case, you would have solved it long ago working with everyone," Kurai cut me off. "Yaoyorozu and her company along with Mei's skills would have cracked Daguchi's phone in a day. Hawks and the HPSC's backing would have saved lives such as Yukimura's and Kim's. Not to mention Nezu asking you to hand the phone over to him, but you were too suspicious of him. You still are even now. Just admit it, you were angry that just when things were looking up this whole event had to happen. You wanted to live in an illusion of peace to protect the illusion you have of yourself, but you didn't accept to become a detective to help people - You picked it because it was easier to become selfish and put yourself at risk again. At risk of helping people."
That's-,
"You are just afraid of becoming someone like Aozora again. Of putting others' needs in front of your own so you ignore everyone else and focus on yourself, but, ironically, the real you shows up now and then - You are angry at that side of you, are you not?"
…
"Just admit it, Sora. Admit how angry you are at everything around you, including yourself, and how you've always been angry. I cannot vanish from you, Sora. You will never scare me, I will never accept that it's you who deserves to be in control of this body," Kurai said. "I will never allow you to live a simple or free life when you can't even accept the truth when it's presented in front of you. When you blew up in front of your friends and ran away, that's what led to Kim's death. Your rashness in the situation combined with your poor control over your emotions."
"Are you done yet?"
"How can I be? You never wanted to reveal the truth about Daguchi and his corruption to the world for good reasons, you just wanted to lash out at finding out the ugly truth. You are predictable. You did the same thing when you found out about All For One and his role in your birth," Kurai responded, taunting me some more. "Oh, I'm a monster. Oh, I'm a bad person. I need to leave Class A, I don't deserve anyone's love, I need to be punished! Oh, oh, oh, woe is me. When will I be better? Oh, I can accept that I deserve love, but I still act like a child lashing out at everyone!"
"...What's your point?" I asked him, my voice becoming louder by the second. "What do you want from me?!"
"What do I want from you? Isn't that obvious? Or are you that stubborn that even now in the face of the truth you don't want to admit it?" Kurai asked me, raising his brow. "Answer my question, Sora. Why are we flying over to City Hall? What is in it for us? Do we get to fight a strong person-,"
"No."
"-Are we going to save a fair maiden and find love?"
"No."
"Are we going to get riches and fame?"
"NO!"
"THEN WHAT'S THE POINT?! TELL ME, SORA YAMAZAKI!" Kurai screamed at me as my Nimbus collapsed. I fell on top of a building heavily panting before I vomited a large amount of blood. My body felt weak as my vision started fading. W-what?! "...Right. Even if you were able to answer my questions properly, even if you were truthful to yourself and found a path, it doesn't matter in the end. We're dying, Sora. Or did you forget that?"
"I-, I know, alright-,"
"Do you?"
I stared at the night sky, trying to regain my breath.
"What do you mean?"
"...Soon, none of this is going to matter. How you live your life, the bonds you forged, it's all going to disappear. You'll disappear from it all thanks to Yukari," Kurai answered. "Deep down, that's a truth we know. Let's be real for each other for a second, there is no cure. Our body is failing us. The only cure we had was a girl that we inadvertently killed, and the only way we could have gotten a new body was to become a Nomu - Something only Garaki could have accomplished. But he's dead now."
…
Kurai peered down at me, and for the briefest of moments, sadness flashed behind his yellow eyes before anger quickly replaced them. I spat out another sliver of blood, wiping away the blood dripping from my mouth using my white jacket. I had to get up and go to City Hall!
I had to-,
"Just admit it, Sora. Admit the truth. Admit that you are angry."
Summoning my Nimbus, I got back on it.
"Yeah, whatever."
"...It's your funeral, man. This is why I hate you, why I want to ruin everything you love. Because you do the same thing to me," Kurai whispered, shrugging his shoulders. "You don't deserve to be in control. You don't deserve anything but a gravestone and a funeral attended by no one, because that's exactly what you'll get in your future. You will die, alone, with no one to mourn you… That's not what I want. That's not what anyone wants from you, so just drop the act and be more open about your feelings man! Please! If not for yourself, at least do it for the other people in your life!"
I scowled at Kurai, flying through him.
He was just a figment of my imagination.
He wasn't real.
I could see City Hall from here, and while I felt lightheaded, I pushed that to the side as I flew forward, no matter what. I didn't have any time to sit around and wait, I didn't have any time to relax or catch my breath.
I had to stop this.
Landing on top of the roof of City Hall, I looked down and saw them. A small group of people, around twenty people, standing on top of the rafters. Holding my sword tightly, I positioned myself directly on top of the glass roof before I buckled down on my knees, a wet cough escaped me as more blood escaped from my body. The cold glass soothed my skin as I kept on coughing, my vision slowly fading.
Fuck.
Fu...ck…
"Hey. Wakey, wakey sleepyhead."
Her incredibly soft voice was what woke me up. I was in an unfamiliar room, the dreamy sunlight blinding my eyes for a few moments before it vanished - And all I was left with was her. We were both in an unfamiliar bed, and I was shirtless as she wore one of my oversized tees, her grin reminding me of how much I loved her from the bottom of my heart.
"...Kyoka?"
"Why are you so surprised?" Kyoka asked me in surprise, running her hand through my hair. "You look sick. Are you okay? Want me to call your sister? I'm sure she can come and make you have a check up-,"
"I'm fine."
She sighed at that, rolling her eyes at me.
"I know, I know. I just want to make sure that my husband is okay-,"
"Husband?!" I asked in shock as I stared down at her ring finger. It was taken. More importantly, I had a ring wrapped around my neck. "...Huh. When did you get married? Wait, me?! Husband?!"
"Are you forgetting our celebration?!"
"N-no, just… Heh," I leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. It was a quick and sloppy kiss as Kyoka giggled after it, and I leaned back into our bed to stare at the ceiling. "...I've wanted to do that for so long. Can I… Can I hold you close to me? Can I play around with your hair, just like I used to do? I just want you to be in my arms, Kyoka."
Kyoka laughed softly at that, resting her head on my chest as I wrapped my arms around her body. The scent of strawberries from her hair, how smooth her skin was, how she playfully interlocked her hands with mine - I missed her entirely.
"You're never this open about your feelings, Sora."
"..."
"Sora?"
"Why…" I whispered, my voice shaking. "Why doesn't this feel real? I'm holding you in my hands, we're together, but it doesn't feel real. It feels like this can be ripped away from me at any time-, Life can tragically be cut short. I know this. I know this. How can I be open about my feelings when it can amount to nothing?"
Kyoka smiled at me, cupping my cheek at that.
"If you don't show your true emotions, won't you regret it?"
"B-b-but no one will care!" I yelled angrily. "...I'm alone. Even with you, I'm not a romantic. I don't like intimacy. I hate it! I've always never understood it! I hate seeing couples around me! I hate seeing people in love! I hate seeing it! I hate it all! I'm alone, Kyoka. I'm completely alone. It all means nothing because all it takes is a single truck to render my life meaningless-,"
"Like your old life?"
"..."
"What?"
"You're not supposed to know that," I whispered. "You're not supposed to be here. This isn't real, is it? I passed out. I remember now. This is just another dream, a life I could have with you. Is that what you're trying to show me? That I'm the one who is wrong here?"
"You can have this life."
"Can I?" I asked the fake Kyoka. "You're with Kaminari. You love him. You love him more than you ever loved me. You've been far closer with him than you ever were with me, you've been longer with him than you were with me-,"
"And does that make you jealous?" Fake-Kyoka stood up on the bed, pulling away from me. "Does it hurt? How does that make you feel, Sora? Angry? Answer the damn question for once that's been plaguing your heart for a long time, or are you going to run away from those feelings once more?"
"...I left you-,"
"That's not an answer," Fake-Kyoka cut me off. "Even in a dream like this, you still fight yourself on the inside. You can accept everything on the outside, but when it comes to matters of the heart, you can't do a single thing but reject it every time. How do you feel about me and Kaminari being together? Stop bottling how you feel, because it'll resurface one way or another."
"..."
"Answer me, Sora."
"...I am jealous," I admitted, looking away from her. "It hurts. It hurts so much that I can't even look at you most days. It hurts so much to see you with him. And I'm happy for you, I'm happy for him, but I wish I-, I-, Is it wrong for me to wish I could be with the woman that I love from the bottom of my heart? What do I have to do to become happy in my life? When do I get to be the one to be happy, or is it because I fucked everything up that I lost that chance forever?"
Fake-Kyoka stared at me blankly.
"Why aren't you happy, Sora?"
"Huh, n-no, I am happy-,"
"But you just admitted that you weren't. So, tell me, why aren't you happy?" Fake-Kyoka asked. "Because you don't have me? You never once told me that you loved me, only in a dream do you feel comfortable doing that. You never loved me, you loved the idea of me. You never once congratulated me or Kaminari, you just brushed it aside. Ignored it because of your jealousy. Do you think we haven't noticed? You've always been a jealous person, have you not?"
…It was true.
I was always jealous of others.
From my past life wanting to find love and friendships and even as Sora wanting to be admired and the 'Hero'. If there was one thing I was, it was jealous of everyone - Envious of them and how easy they had it, how perfect their lives were in comparison to mine even when I knew I had everything I ever wanted in the palm of my hands.
But it wasn't enough for me.
My ego always stood in the way.
"You understand now, do you not? This is what has become of you. Because you aren't friends with everyone in Class A? You have so many others, why do they matter? We can all see you, we can all see how you feel. So, why aren't you happy, Sora? You don't need to save the world to find meaning in life… Sometimes, all you need is something simple - Like someone to take care of. Like yourself."
I looked down at my shaking hands.
Full of blood.
My blood.
"Because… I'm dying," I told her. "Because there is no cure to save me. I can look and look for one, but the truth is that it won't change a thing. It's just a dumb hope I have, ultimately I'm going to die soon. Again. How can I be happy with everything if one day it won't mean a thing? You only get one shot at life, there aren't any retakes. I've lost my chance at happiness, so it's all meaningless, isn't it?"
"Who says it won't mean a thing?"
"I WON'T BE THERE!" I yelled angrily, my voice cracking as I tried to violently shake my head. "...I'll never see my sister get married. Any of them. I'll never see Mashiro and Tomoya grow up, I'll never see you or Kaminari get married and have kids. I'll never see Tokage find the love she deserves. I'll never find love myself. The future doesn't matter because I won't be there, so why the fuck do I have to still keep on saving people?! Saving and helping people put me in this position in the fucking first place!"
If I hadn't tried to save Denji, I never would have been a part of the Overhaul raid.
I'd never have had to sacrifice my powers.
And so, the illness would never have progressed because my healing Quirk would have kept on healing me. If only I hadn't tried to save anyone back then, I'd still be with Kyoka! I'd still be living! Everything would be fine-,
I-,
"And that makes you angry, doesn't it?"
I looked up to stare at Fake-Kyoka.
Huh?
"...You weren't loved unconditionally as a child. In your past life. In the moment, you were nothing but you thought that you only had worth in the future once you achieved your goals, once you made everyone proud," Fake-Kyoka explained to me. "You never once were able to think that you were good enough. And you died at seventeen, thinking that you weren't good enough, but you did the same thing as Sora Yamazaki too. You seem to think that the future is what matters most."
"Wh… What?"
"Sora, you always thought that when you became a Hero, everything would be fine. You excused your bad behaviour in the present for that reason alone, until you had your wake-up call," Fake-Kyoka pointed out. "But you didn't change. Everything repeated itself, you were too focused on some faraway goal and neglected what was in the present. For a carefree tomorrow, you destroyed your current day. You've always thought that you weren't good enough, so you always tried to make things better, and so you could never just settle down and accept the present."
"N-no!"
"Admit it, Sora," Kyoka pleaded with me. Whether she was fake or not, I didn't care anymore. "Admit it, you're just a kid with scars all over that haven't faded even after death. Solving this case? Finding out the truth? Reuniting with Raiden Aotsuki? After that, then what? After that, you'll die. After that, you'll allow yourself to die. You push your situation down, ignoring it, but you can't ignore it - All it does is result in anger towards yourself. You've been ignoring your emotions for far too long because in your eyes life is better as a tragedy."
"It's my fault-,"
"It's not your fault," Kyoka intervened, resting my head on her chest. "It's not your fault. It's okay to blame Yukari, even if she suffered greatly, she brought this upon you. Even if she's dead, you can be both grateful for her sacrifice and angry at her actions. It doesn't make you a hypocrite, it doesn't make you a bad person, all it does is make you human. You're not angry at yourself, you're angry at your life. At the world. At never being good enough, but that is where you are wrong. You've always been good enough."
…
"How… This is just a dream. How do I know that you're telling the truth?"
Kyoka smiled at me.
"It's because this is a dream that I'm telling the truth. Because deep down, this is how you feel," Kyoka told me. "...You just don't want to admit it. You have a hard time discerning your emotions, from accepting that things are fine. You always want to push forwards, onto the next 'mission', the next case that needs to be solved - But they don't need that. They just want you. They've told you this, their actions speak louder than any words, but you are still so stubborn. You may not make up with everyone, but those like Kyoka and Denki? Midoriya? Mineta? They won't ever reject you. Because they do love you, not because of what you can achieve but because of what you have achieved despite everything. Because they believe you can achieve far more than you ever thought you could."
…
I see.
This entire time, I was just using the fact that I had a shitty first life to ignore the issues it caused within me - To just be a kid with potential. But here I was, wasting that potential anyway-,
Because of the anger inside of me.
I nodded at Kyoka, taking off the ring around my neck.
"You aren't going to keep it?"
Peering down at the ring, my fingers traced over it as I tried to remember every detail of it. But it was worthless. Even if it wasn't real, this ring would never be joined up with Kyoka's, that ship had sailed.
Kyoka Jiro was in love with someone else.
Yet, I still loved her.
That was paradoxical in itself.
"...I don't need it," I answered, throwing the ring on the bed. "I don't need validation of the future to keep going. To keep on fighting. Whatever happens isn't because it just happens, it's because of me. Because I wanted it to happen. Because of those scars, I can't move on, the longer I keep this ring, the angrier I become. It's a scar on my heart. I don't know what I'm fighting for if I hold on to it - I won't have a future. I'm going to die soon, and that's okay. It hurts me to know that's how I feel, but it's the truth."
Fake-Kyoka didn't say anything as she hugged me from behind.
It was nice.
"What will you do now?"
I shrugged my shoulders as the blinding light from the sun returned.
"I don't know. But, maybe-, Maybe something to do with learning to love myself."
Kyoka laughed at that.
"I thought you were doing that already."
But that's not true.
The lessons I had learnt ever since coming back where to accept everyone else, to learn how to not hate myself and forgive myself - To learn to let go of that guilt. That was the first step, but now I could see that there were more steps I had to take if I ever wanted to achieve anything. Learning to understand and love myself was something I had never done before, but-,
I had to try.
For me.
I woke up with a jolt.
My bones were aching.
But I didn't have enough time to worry about my body as I used my sword to get up from the floor, staring down below at the rafters where the assassins were still situated. I breathed in a sigh of relief, readying myself for combat as I summoned my Nimbus and smashed the glass roof, jumping down.
"Huh?!"
"Above us-,"
I landed on one of the assassins, slashing them across their chest as one aimed a pistol at me and pulled the trigger. The bullet penetrated my left shoulder, with blood spurting out of the wound, but I slowly stood up, gritting my teeth as I ran forward and barged the man off the rafters as I dived after him, cutting the safety rope tied around his body before I summoned my Nimbus to slow both of our falls.
I couldn't see Tokage or Midoriya anywhere.
"What the hell-,"
"Who's that fighting them?"
My Nimbus came as close to the crowd as possible as I kicked the assassin I had jumped off the rafters with into the crowd. Groaning, I flew back up to the rafters to find the rest of the men and women confused as to what happened. Two of their friends had been taken out, and I wasn't stopping until they were all gone.
"There he is! Shoot him!"
Gritting my teeth, I moulded my Nimbus into a shield construct as it blocked the hellfire of bullets sent my way. Slowly creeping forward, bashing my construct against one of the men nearby, watching as he fell off the rafters only for his safety rope to kick in.
There was no time to think of my next step as one of the assassins with a machete came running towards me, hacking away while he tried to kill me. I skillfully dodged his easy-to-read attacks, minding myself off my footwork as the rafters above were narrow, and one small step could lead to falling below.
Thankfully, one of his assassins accidentally shot him in the back, and I used that precious distraction to run and leap to another rafter, rolling on the ground to topple two more assassins over. Ignoring the throbbing pain coming from my left shoulder, I got up and started to punch one of the assassins, turning around to throw my sword with all my might at the other one who had got up.
A barrage of fire forced me to hide behind a pillar, resting my head against the cold metal of it. Think, Sora, think! There were maybe fifteen of the assassins left, there was no way I could just rush them and expect to win!
Not with my injury!
Tsk.
"Come out, Hero! We'll kill you, then we'll finish killing off that interim mayor!" One of the men shouted, more bullets penetrating the pillar that shielded me from certain death. "Nothing is ever going to change! This city will never get better! They just replaced one liar with another!"
…
"Where did you get those weapons?"
"Why does it matter to you?"
I grinned at that.
"Cause' it'll depend on how much that'll hurt."
I turned around the corner and leapt off the rafters, using one of the men I had thrown off with a safety rope to swing over to a rafter where I kicked two men off, landing cleanly as I pierced one of the women with my sword, their gun dropping to the floor as I dove for it.
Click.
A bullet missed me narrowly as I aimed the gun right at someone's foot and shot at them, watching as they hopped around before falling off the rafters, their safety rope kicking in to ensure that they didn't fall below. But that action cost me time as three men came running over to me and began to punch and kick me, adding pressure to the wound on my left shoulder as I tried to defend myself. I yelled, anger flowing through my body as I grabbed one of the enemy's legs and bent it at an unnatural angle.
Crack.
"AGHHH!
Using that small window of opportunity, I summoned my Nimbus and launched spikes everywhere as I got up from the ground and tried to regain my bearings. How many were left?!
Ten?
Eight?!
Where were they?!
WHERE WERE THEY?!
I narrowed my eyes, watching as one of the assassins pressed a button on one of their devices. For a second, nothing happened. But a low rumble beneath City Hall made everything shake violently as I chased after the man, spearing him to the ground.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
"Haha… Why do you care?" The assassin asked me, laughing maniacally. "I was homeless. And for what? Because some rich bastard wanted more money? My son died because I couldn't pay for his healthcare. I couldn't afford some treatment that could have saved his life. Why do you care if I kill some other rich fuck's life? They're getting what they deserve."
"What about everyone else here?"
"They didn't care about me or my son… Why should I care about them?"
Suddenly, the smell of sewage water filled my nostrils. Down below, I watched as City Hall began to be flooded. Right! One of the main parts of the redevelopment plan was improving the city's sewage system! They must have burst the main pipe connecting it to City Hall.
Shit.
"Everyone in this building is going to die. Just like my son-,"
I knocked him out, sighing as I got back on my feet.
This wasn't over yet-,
Slam.
Immediately, I fell to the ground as someone snuck up behind me and slammed the back of their gun against my head. I groaned in pain, trying to crawl forward but I was mistaken. I couldn't concentrate as my head felt lightheaded, the man was pushing me over the edge of the rafters.
From this height, it would be over.
"Goodbye, Hero-,"
It was ironic that a small punch from a floating hand led him to fall over the rafters, as well as another hand cutting his safety rope as I watched the man fall to the rapidly rising flood of water.
"Need a hand?" I heard Tokage ask me as her hands went to rejoin her main body. "Saw that you were fighting up here, and I couldn't leave you to do this all alone. I have my pride as your partner and a Hero too, you know."
"I didn't see you guys…" I whispered, allowing Tokage to help me get back up on my feet. Across the other rafters, I could see Yaoyorozu and Sero taking care of the final few assassins. "...So it's over. No. Not yet, we have to stop the water from rising. Shit. Shit."
"Don't worry, Midoriya's got that covered."
"He does?"
Tokage grinned at me.
"He does. You look… worse for wear. But you also look a bit, I don't know, content with everything," Tokage replied. "Anything happened recently? Minus the murder, conspiracies and corruption we've had to deal with. Or are you still trying to process everything?"
"It's not that… I just… I'm gonna die one way or another, Setsuna. You know that. I know that. We keep on talking about a cure as if it'll magically appear, but that's not how this works," I told her honestly. "This whole thing is just about hope ultimately. Hope for a better tomorrow. Do I even have a tomorrow? I don't know, but I want to stop pretending like it matters."
"..."
"What?"
"N-nothing," Setsuna said, turning away from me. "It's just, at least in my opinion, for the first time you've accepted it. The fact that one day, you're going to die. We only have one life to make it count, and even if we technically had two, it doesn't count. All of us died with regrets. Not being able to live a full life. I don't waste my life as Setsuna Tokage, and you shouldn't waste yours as Sora Yamazaki either."
I nodded at her.
She was right.
This entire time, from the moment I could remember my life as Sora Yamazaki starting, who exactly was I living for? What was my purpose in entering this life? Maybe it was because All For One I arrived here, but it was by chance that the billions of people who have died that I was the one who was reincarnated in this life. Me, not anyone else, and what had I done with that life?
Nothing.
I was wasting the chance given by whoever decided it was me who got to live as Sora.
Bang.
My eyes widened as a single bullet was fired, Tokage's eyes widened as she looked down at her stomach. Blood smudged her fingers as she stared at it as if it were a startling discovery she had just made before turning back to look at me.
"..."
Tokage fell to the floor quietly, her eyes widened with shock.
…Huh?
"Heroes! I got rid of the Heroes!" I turned around to stare at one of the assassins holding a pistol in confusion, watching as he danced around as if he had done something worth being proud of. "I did it! I got one of them corrupt bastards! Haha! We've won-,"
I leapt at the man, making a construct of a knife as I stabbed him in the stomach.
"ARGH-,!"
He spat out blood, falling on the floor, but I didn't care.
I jumped on the man, punching him over and over again. Crack. Crack. Crack. I didn't care if my fingers broke, I didn't care if I felt numb doing this. I was angry, I just wanted him to understand how I felt-,
"Finish… the… job…" The man replied, a wet smile appearing on his face. "You… are… angry. So… am… I… So… kill… me…Prove… your… anger…Make…everything… right…"
I stared at the man, pausing.
Right.
Right.
These men and women weren't assassins. They were just angry people put in a difficult place by the people sworn to protect them. They just wanted to lash out at the world that couldn't understand them, those scars burnt brightly even now - And in a sense, I was the same.
Lashing out at my world, the people I loved and cherished, because of my scars.
Because of everything I had gone through, repressing my emotions and never dealing with them all because I couldn't-, I didn't know how. I never learnt how to healthily deal with my emotions, those were my scars.
Either I loved too brightly, or I hated too fiercely.
There was no in-between.
Bang.
An explosion nearby made me aware of the fact that the lights were hanging by a single wire. One of the men must have accidentally shot the lights down while fighting Sero or Yaoyorozu as I walked up to the edge of the rafters and peered down below.
It was what could be described as a pool of water.
The citizens were locked in as they desperately tried to swim to safety.
They, too, were scarred. From the multiple tragic events that this city had endured over the past two years, things were starting to boil over - People just wanted a Hero to come and save them. Whether that was the mayor, the government, or even a vigilante killing corrupt people in positions of power.
Ultimately, for once, I could understand everyone's heart as I leapt over to the lights that were about to fall. I was too numb to notice being shocked as I brought my hand up and summoned my Nimbus.
…If I died, at least it would be saving people.
Deep down, I finally understood why I came here.
Why I wanted to solve this case so badly, who I truly was underneath all the anger I held. I was just a kid who wanted to help other people, I was just a kid who wanted to be a Hero in a world where Heroes didn't exist, where Quirks didn't exist.
I just wanted to appreciate life.
I could see Kurai from the edge of my vision.
…
…
I grinned at him in acknowledgement.
He was just the anger I held within me this entire time.
I didn't accept him, nor did he accept me, but at least we came to understand each other at that specific moment. He was the darkness within me, those repressed emotions I never wanted to reveal to the world, and consequently, I was the mask he put on to those around him.
It was weird.
To finally view him as something more than just an obstacle I had to overcome. Kurai knew what was going to happen as he helped to put his hands on mine as I created the knife construct and placed it right next to the wires-,
If this was the end of my life, I was content with my final decisions. Because my life wasn't a tragedy, nor was it a comedy - It was a mess of totally different genres that I couldn't accurately describe, and that was okay with me because for even the briefest of moments I could forget about it all and focus on one small thing. Something I always wanted to do.
To help people.
So, I cut.
Bzzt.
I could finally feel the voltage reach my body as my limbs shut down, but so did the danger of the lights falling into the water as we both plunged deep into the pool. I couldn't breathe or move as I slowly sank, deeper and deeper…
Was this it?
The end… Death.
It was different from my first time dying, all alone in the middle of the road outside of my school. No one who cared about me was nearby as I died that day. I died due to no fault of my own, a mere accident - And the truth was I probably wasn't mourned all that much. I didn't have many friends, and my relationship with my family was strained at best, so… It's no wonder it never really hit me that I died.
But this time?
As I sunk deeper into the water, I hated it.
Knowing that I was dying.
That I'd be leaving so many people behind, even if some were across the country and others were close by, I hated it. I hated it. But ultimately, I would have died to save everyone. I went against that anger I held inside me, I'm allowing my scars to heal… Yet, what was supposed to be oddly comforting only made my skin itch.
I didn't want to die.
I never wanted to die.
Not from my body failing, not from saving people, and not from a fight either.
Right.
I wanted to die on my terms, pleased with everything I had ever accomplished in life. It was that small burst of strength that propelled me forward, away from the light. I was wrong thinking that I couldn't live for a specific purpose, I had my purpose all along, a dream of sorts.
A carefree tomorrow.
How could I die when I hadn't done what I set out to do?
…
To make this world a better and kinder place.
For everyone.
And that was when two hands reached out and grabbed me, pulling me up. I gulped a fresh breath of air as my head broke through the surface, and I could finally see again. I was somehow alive. I spat out the dirty sewage water, feeling like I was going to vomit as I stared up at the rafters where I fell from.
And there they were. Every single one of them scoured the place to try and find me.
Setsuna, Izuku, Momo and Hanta.
Even with everything, they couldn't deny how they felt.
Not like I did.
But as I looked at my saviours, I blinked in surprise to see Katsumi and Sai.
"Heh, we managed to get you in time!" Sai said, grinning at me. "Thank God! I thought you were a goner for a second."
"...You guys…"
"If we're meant to be Heroes, then just think of it as saving someone who needed help," Katsumi told me. "...Consider us even. For being kind to me and introducing me to your family, for trying to help me even now. You were sinking, so I helped to lift you up."
"..."
"Sora!" I heard Tokage cry out, pointing at me. "You're alive!"
…I was alive.
In these muddy waters that reborn me, I finally realised what I wanted to do.
Before I died.
I wanted my life to mean something.
Not just solve a case or keep any promises.
Not just find out the truth.
There was something more important to me, something I had always wanted to do from my previous life reading about these heroes doing the one thing I wanted someone to do to me - Something born from a dark desire inside me.
'Would you rather live a good life or a happy life, Sora?'
Aizawa's question from way back entered my mind. For so long, I thought that living a good life was what I wanted and that it would lead me to happiness. But I was wrong. How many times had that 'good life' knocked me down, and how many times did I chase after it not understanding who I was?
Nah.
I wanted a happy life more than anything.
One that I wouldn't mind dying soon for so long as I lived happily until then.
I gave everyone a thumbs up as I swam to the entrance where dozens of citizens were trapped, trying to open the doors. Every one of them looked at me with distrust. I was a Hero, a detective, someone working for the very people who betrayed their trust and scarred them over and over again.
And I reached out.
In these muddy waters, I became the shining light that briefly illuminated the darkness.
That was who I wanted to be.
No, who I was.
The man I always was.
Summoning my Nimbus, I forcefully opened the doors of City Hall to the rest of the city. There were tons of ambulances already waiting outside as the water from the pipes faded out, every one of us slowly descended safely to the ground. Even as the first responders rushed in to try and help the injured, I safely rested myself against a wall and reached for my cigarettes.
Oh, right.
They were wet.
And so, all I could do was laugh.
"Er… are you okay, mister?"
A small child's voice interrupted me as I wiped away my tears and turned to look at the small girl. She was covered in dirt, her red sundress was clinging to her filthy body as I leaned over and ruffled her hair fondly.
"I'm fine. Do you need help finding your Mum and Dad?"
She nodded at that, snuggling her teddy bear tightly.
"Mmh. But the ambulance people aren't helping me. Meanies."
"They have to tend to injured people, but I can help. I'm a detective after all," I replied, pointing at my badge. "Come on. Finding your parents is now my case, and I always solve my cases."
"Hehe."
The child giggled at that as I reached out for her.
And she grabbed my hand back.
Hope.
Hope for a better tomorrow, that's what I wanted to fight for. Even if momentarily, even if it was to open a path for everyone in Class A and B, the real Heroes, to come in and truly make a change - I would illuminate the darkness around us so that they could walk that path, and I would follow along with them.
Like a real Hero.
"Now, what do Mummy and Daddy look like?"
And so, the arc has (nearly) come to an end.
Sora letting go of his anger and accepting his scars has been an arc coming for a long time. We're not talking about trauma from U.A., we're talking about experiences from both of his lives that have shaped the man he is as of right now in this story.
Shaped, well, a part of him.
Kurai.
They may not have accepted each other yet, but Sora understands who Kurai is and why he exists. Sora has always repressed his emotions, while he wears his heart on his sleeve it doesn't mean that he isn't always truthful when it comes to how he is feeling - He's been always focused too much on the future.
That's another one of his flaws.
But more importantly, Sora can finally understand how similar he and the world around him truly are. He CAN keep doing what he's been doing, it's not the wrong approach of sorts - He's not so stubborn that he needs to change his ways, but it's not as if repressing his emotions and constantly being angry was helping him either.
Ultimately, Sora changed his function in the world.
From a participant in its misery to someone trying to change it.
Reaching out and getting involved.
In trying to change it.
It's not a carefree tomorrow for those he cares about, that's Jiro's goal in all this. She picked up his old dream that he had twisted due to his repressed emotions, due to his inherent anger.
But now, well, Sora can truly begin to make the world a better place.
Not just himself.
The next chapter is the conclusion to all this!
See you then!