Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Two
Midoriya felt an odd sort of energy, being back at U.A. after, after everything that happened two weeks ago. Everyone had started talking on the chatgroup Class 1-A and 1-B had made, and while a few of them had dropped out, that had helped.
Well, everyone except Kaminari, who hadn't even accepted the invitation.
That combined with what he'd said, well, Izuku had reached out to All Might, who'd reassured his apprentice that they had people looking out for his classmate, which had also helped. The man had, despite announcing his retirement, actually seemed better. Maybe retiring had lifted the weight from his shoulders? Though he'd warned the boy that his recovery was probably temporary, and that even being able to do this much was a blessing, as he'd needed to make a number of public appearances, telling people about All-for-One, and the shadow war that had been waged, decades ago, which had only now, truly, come to an end.
It was odd, everyone knowing, well, not everything, but a lot more, and, while a lot of people had been mad it'd been kept a secret, the Hero Commission had backed All Might completely, as they should've, formally thanking him for his service, which went above and beyond what was required of the Pro Hero System, the Prime Minister giving Midoriya's mentor several medals for his service a few days ago, and, being in his late fifties, his retirement, while also upsetting, was seen as understandable, if abrupt.
There was precedence, especially now that people knew of his unpowered form, and how that looked, which, if anything, made the Symbol of Peace's dedication to continue going, despite how bad he was, over the last few years, all the more inspiring!
And meant it was up to them to take up his mantle!
As soon as they graduated!
They'd need the training, too, because, as they'd learned, things were a lot worse than they thought, with All-for-One's followers in the police force, and, if the dirty cop was to believed, The Symbol of Evil had them even among Pros as well!
Talking to All Might about it, the Symbol of Peace had agreed that his enemy had had followers, but, without the Symbol of Evil to rally around, they would splinter, and fracture, just as other villainous organizations had, once the head of the snake had been removed.
Though Kaminari… wasn't so sure, and when Izuku had brought that up, All Might had reassured him that the boy was young, and scared, and inexperienced.
But Midoriya had his own worries, which listening to his mentor helped with, but which he still possessed.
Getting to their classroom, and running into Ochaco, he found himself smiling, and she did too, the two of them having been talking about stuff, about a lot of stuff, but they were just friends, like he was friends with Tsu!
"Ready for class, Deku?" she questioned, falling in step with him.
"Y-Yeah!" he agreed, blushing a little. "Really looking forward to things going back to normal! Or, well, as normal as they're gonna be, since, well, Koda's parents pulled him from the school, and…" For a moment, he remembered coming across Aoyama's body, his smile wilting, but he pushed on, "But we're back here now!" he finished. "And then there's the dorms!"
"Uh-huh! I was looking over the plans they shared with us, with my parents I mean, and it's gonna be, like, super-nice!" she agreed. "And it's gonna be weird, living in the same place but, like, cool?"
Oh god, I didn't even think of that! Midoriya panicked internally, as they'd hung out a bit, if only just to talk Quirks, which had been, well it'd been great, and, now, now, now she was looking at him and he realized he hadn't said anything for too long, and, uh… "Oh, right, your parents have their own construction company! Did they help with building the Heights Alliance?"
"Oh, no, U.A. handled that themselves!" the girl shook her head. "Less paperwork, and, well, my mom pointed out that they could've put some extra stuff in that wasn't on the blueprints, like Support Tech and other stuff to stop Villains, but, like, if they put it on the blueprints, that kinda defeats the purpose, ya know?" she shrugged.
"I hadn't even thought of that! You're so smart, Ochaco!" he exclaimed, not even having thought of that, but she was so great, of course she would've!
Waving away the praise, blushing a little she deferred, "It was really just my parents," which was so humble of her!
Reaching the door, they slid it open, then paused, staring, and Izuku slid it shut, checking, but, no, it did say 1-A. Reopening it, Itsuka Kendo waved them in with an expanded hand, a circular puncture scar in the center of her palm, calling over to them, "No, Midoriya, Uraraka, this is the right place."
Entering the classroom, a lot of the students from 1-B were in there, standing around, leaning against desks, and Bradley, the General Studies student, was there too, giving both Izuku and Ochaco a respectful nod, before going back to his book.
Walking over to the orange-haired girl, who'd been talking to Yaoyorozu, which made sense, as they were both Class Presidents, seeing his confusion, Kendo smiled, "Yeah, there was a note on our door that said we should come here, and Bradley got reassigned here as well. Guess there weren't enough of us left for a full Class," she shrugged, trying to play it off, but he could tell she was upset by this fact, though, then again, so was he, even if he understood.
"Oh, then, welcome to 1-A!" Ochaco offered, a bit unsure. "Uh, are we gonna have both Aizawa and Vlad?"
"I'm not sure, but I trust that Principal Nezu will have considered everything with his plan," Yaoyorozu reassured him, waving a hand towards the man's office, and Midoriya couldn't help but notice the girl's cybernetic fingers, only her pointer and thumb remaining on her right hand. Catching his gaze, she paused, flexing them, "Oh, these? My parents made sure I received them, and U.A. helped fast-track the paperwork to allow the use of Support-grade prosthetics, as well as Shiozaki's leg. I'm still getting used to them, to be honest."
Izuku couldn't help but feel guilty, seeing so many of his classmates injured. He'd talked to All Might, he knew he couldn't stop everyone from getting hurt, but seeing how bad they were, while he'd barely been scratched… but his Mentor had told him that that's just how it was sometimes, that sometimes everyone couldn't be saved, but that every person you saved was a win, so it was best to help all you could, while keeping going, to make sure you could save even more in the future!
Looking over to the vine-haired girl who'd been his teammate in the forest, she was talking to Honenuki, Toru, and Pony, and seeing him looking, smiled in that almost sleepy way she did which was friendly, but impersonal, not like when Ochaco did it, so he waved back, continuing to look around. Mineta was sitting at his desk, tired looking, three long scars running down his face, one barely missing his eye, talking quietly with Yanagi, who had a red line across her throat, where it had been sliced, barely missing her vitals, and others were grouped together as well, no one excited, but there was still a kind of tension in the room.
The door opened again and Monoma stepped inside, took in the room, grimaced, and walked over to Shoda, greeting him.
"Oof," Kendo commented. "He's… not been taking this well. Is it bad that I kind of wanted him to make a big deal about this?"
"If that's what he's normally like, no, I get it," Midoriya told her, thinking of his own classmates, though he guessed they were all his classmates now. "I want things to go back to the way they were too, but…" he trailed off. "But they were bad before back then as well, we just didn't know about it."
Next in was Bakugo and Jiro, Kacchan taking in the room, nodding, and moving to go talk to Kirishima and Tetsutetsu, who were next to each other, discussing, based on one's gestures, exercise regimens, while Jiro walked over to them.
Before she crossed the room, though, the door opened once more, Asui stepping in, and Ochaco perked up, calling out "Tsu!" grabbing Midoriya and dragging him over, even though he didn't need prompting to see his other friend, though the feel of her hand in his was very nice.
"I'm glad you made it," Izuku smiled at the other vertette, as she'd been worried her family wouldn't let her come back, after what happened.
"I am too, ribbit," she answered, looking at both of them with tired relief. "Miss Midnight came and talked to my parents, and they finally agreed. It's good to see you two again. And now we'll be living together. That'll make… things easier."
"T-Things?" Ochaco froze, starting to turn red, glancing at Midoriya, asking, "W-What things?"
"You mean training and studying together, right?" the boy replied, smiling, and looking forward to hanging out with them both. "I was thinking the same thing!"
Asui looked at him, the girl's expression hard to read sometimes, before she confirmed, "…Yes, Izuku. That's what I meant."
"Looking forward to it," he smiled, as they headed to the back of the room, where Ochaco's and Tsu's, desks were, and, once more looking around, seeing the extra column of desks that had been added, versus the people who were here, had to ask, "Is this everyone? We're missing Ashido and Kaminari, but…"
"Midoriya," Tsu said, "Those two might not-"
The door opened again, as the bell rang, and Kaminari stepped inside, wearing thick brass bracers that covered his arms from wrist to elbow, and he looked a lot better, even as he paused, the class going quiet, and, for a moment, his eyes darting from person to person, lingering on Yaoyorozu, Kendo, and Jiro, he winced, arms shaking a moment, fingers flickering into lighting for a moment, before, with another slow step, nodded to them all, and slowly made his way to his desk, Mina right behind him, who gave them all a smiling wave.
Midoriya moved to talk to him, but Aizawa entered right after, sliding the door closed behind him, the same pair of gloves from camp hooked into his belt, ordering, "Everyone, find a seat. It will be your new one."
Turning to go towards his old one, Ochaco whispered, "Izuku!" and, spinning about even more, she was pointing beside her, which was Sato's, but… right, he wasn't going to be using it anymore.
Nodding to her, and moving to it, his friend could tell what he was thinking, hesitating, before giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze which he appreciated as he took the seat, and turned his attention towards their homeroom teacher, who was not standing behind his podium before it.
Looking around at the assembled students, the exhausted looking man stood straighter, and declared, "Before anything else…"
And then he bowed, deeply, at the waist.
Spoiler: Music
"I apologize, as do the others here at U.A., for not being able to protect you," he stated, bent over a full ninety degrees, facing the floor. "The threat was more than we expected, but that does not matter, only our failure to do our duty does. We beg your forgiveness, promise that we will do everything we can to prepare you for what may come, and thank you for your continued trust in us."
Holding the position for long enough that Midoriya was starting to feel uncomfortable, Eraserhead stood up, turned slightly, and bowed to him- no, to Kaminari.
"Volt-aire, you were correct, and I was wrong to disarm you," the Pro stated, bent at forty-five degrees. "I falsely believed that your worries were, not unfounded, but unrealistic, but I-"
"Did they help?" the blond interrupted, voice uncharacteristically cold.
Pausing, Not standing back up, the dark-haired man slowly nodded. "They did."
"Then it's good you did, even if it was for the wrong reasons. With the heavy tree cover, and no way to communicate with the others, not being able to fly was not a detriment to the mission," Kaminari stated emotionlessly, hands flickering into electricity and back.
"That last night's planned event was an exercise in rampant suicidal stupidity, the likes of which I'd expect out of a Dionysian Familia…," the student snarled, suddenly incredibly angry, pausing to get himself back under control, "but you yourself advised against it, so you owe me no apology for that. I am well aware of the issues that come with being beholden to command structures. If you feel the need to make it right, Eraserhead, allow Mei and I to outfit you, along with the rest of the class, properly."
Standing, fully, the teacher questioned, "You'll have time to? Even with the Battle Club?"
The inventor paused, as Midoriya looked at Erasrhead, confused. 'Battle Club'? "You still want me to do that?" the blond boy checked.
"More than I did before," the dark-haired man agreed. "But will you have time? That'd be twenty-two separate projects."
"While I'm very much the Melzi to her da Vinci, the two of us normally make in a week of half-hour pre-school sessions what the other Support Students do in a Semester," Kaminari scoffed. "Hell, I'm somehow the second highest rated Support Course Freshman despite not attending any of their classes. We've already done preliminary work for Midoriya and Uraraka, I did a minor upgrade for Asui, oh, and Jiro, if you could come in an hour early on Thursday morning for some use-testing, we'll have the prototypes done by then."
"Wait, what?" Tokage questioned, her head popping off her neck to look at the inventor. "For real?"
"Oh, yeah, I sometimes help!" Mina agreed. "Though most of the time I'm just standin' around, looking pretty."
"To be fair, you do that very well," Kaminari noted teasingly, with a slight smile, the only real positive emotion he'd shown so far, as he glanced her way, his expression dropping to flat intensity as he looked back at Aizawa. "Do we have an accord?"
Sighing, a running a hand through his hair, the pro stated, "Sure. Just no disintegrators. Or nukes."
"The first are energy hogs, and not worth it, and for the second, if we need it, I'll just ask Momo for one; they're not that hard to make," the blond replied.
Everyone turned to look at Yaoyorozu, who glanced around, the girl offering, "Well, they're not, but to make one without any fallout at all, that was impressive, Denki."
"I'll shoot you the specs," Kaminari told her. "The trick is making a starter mechanism that lets you skip the fission ignitor. It's technically a Support Item, but if you're using a nuke, you're beyond caring about that. So, no need to apologize, Aizawa. I understand. On an unrelated note… Where's Vlad?"
"Vlad King has decided to step away from teaching, and focus more on being a Pro Hero," Eraserhead stated without missing a beat. "U.A. Supports his decision, and wishes him well in his future endeavors."
Staring at the older man for a long moment, Kaminari sighed, moving to pinch the bridge of his nose with clawed electric fingers, pausing to stare at them, shifting them back, and continuing the motion. "He agreed with the Pussycats betraying us 'but not really' by drugging our food, didn't he?"
Aizawa very purposefully didn't say anything.
"Should've known when he tried to jump me like a coward when I came around the corner," Kaminari sighed. "Because when someone calls you an idiot, violently forcing them to shut up definitely proves them wrong."
"Vlad-Sensei wouldn't do that!" Monoma objected.
Mina winced, "Uh, Honey? He did. I was there. And Sparky shocked the shit out of him for it."
"Wish I'd shocked him more," Kaminari noted.
"If you had, he would've not been as effective when we were attacked," Eraserhead pointed out.
"… That's fair," the blond agreed, amending his statement to, "Wish I'd met him to shock the shit out of him after we were fighting, but, well, I was trapped in a faraday cage halfway across the country with a rusty butcher's hook in my guts."
Aizawa considered that. "Would've used my Quirk if you tried."
With a surprised snort, Kaminari smirked, giving the other man a slight nod at being told he'd be stopped. "Fair enough."
"How long do you need to set up the Club?" the teacher questioned.
"A week," the student answered, without hesitation.
Nodding, Aizawa stepped behind the podium, addressing them all. "As you can likely guess, Principal Nezu thought that, with the casualties involved, condensing both Classes into one would be for the best, as well as completing Mr. Bradley's transfer. As your parents have all agreed, you will be moving into the Heights Alliance Dormitory this weekend, with move-in hours starting Friday at six pm and lasting until ten pm, as well as Saturday, six in the morning to nine at night. Our syllabus for this upcoming semester is in the process of being updated. While English will remain, as it is the bridge language for international hero cooperation, Modern Literature will be replaced with a secondary Heroics course, and your other classes will have a far more practical bent. It is our hope that, when the Provisional Hero License Exams come, you'll all pass."
"But, aren't those in two weeks?" Yaoyorozu questioned, frowning.
"Normally, yes, and all we could do is help you make some Ultimate Moves, though some of you would likely still be out of luck," Eraserhead nodded. "Those of you from 1-B I mean, as Vlad was not going to enter you at all, waiting until the next one, in June of next year, before allowing you to try. Thankfully, the Heroes Public Safety Commission is scrambling after what happened to you, along with All Might's retirement, and is pushing it back a month as everyone rushes around to compensate. But I believe you all have the possibility of passing, if you are willing to try."
Leaning forward on his podium, eyes glinting red, Aizawa stated, voice hard, "But that's only if you give it your all, and if you hold nothing back. You did well during Camp, great even, but with how things are going, it's going to be sooner, rather than later, that you'll need to fight again, whether you want to or not, and I want you all to be legally allowed to use your Quirks to their fullest to defend yourself if need be. Push yourself, past your limits, and go Plus Ultra, and you will succeed. Are you willing to do that?"
There mutters of agreement, Kacchan calling out, "Already are, Eraser!"
Hair lifting, Aizawa repeated, "Are you willing to do that!?"
"Yes, Sensei!" the class responded.
"Good," he nodded. "Grab your bags and follow me. We are going to be working on those Ultimate Moves, techniques that take special advantage of your particular Quirks, but that's only this morning. Technically classes doesn't start for another week and a half, and we're going to run you into the ground until the ground gives way until then."
"We?" Midoriya asked.
The door slammed open, Kaminari surged to his feet, arm turning to lightning, half the Class flinching and activating their Quirks as-
"I AM HERE! TO… AH, RIGHT." All Might announced, and, in a puff of smoke, shrank, not to the way he normally looked, but somewhere in-between, almost looking like he could've been Eraserhead's brother.
"Sorry about that," The Symbol of Peace nodded. "Though good reaction speed, everyone. Now, if you'll follow Midnight, Cementoss, Ectoplasm, and I, we're going to Gym Gamma." From the doorway, Midnight leaned in, smiling and waving to the rest of them. "Move swiftly, Class, for Evil never waits!"
MHA
"Young Man, a word," All Might requested, after everyone had gotten started. In some ways, this was what we'd done at Camp, only targeted into specific uses instead of broad-spectrum improvements.
"Sure," I agreed, following him off to the side, Cementoss having turned the open, almost warehouse-like structure into a sprawling, mountainous mess of concrete structures, allowing people to try without hitting each other, and train themselves on a variety of terrain types.
"Your hand?" he requested, when we were out of sight, and, for a moment, I froze, but, no, I'd seen him use his Quirk, so he couldn't be Toga, his features melting away after I got another hook in my guts for my stupidity.
Taking the offered limb, keeping my Defenses up but my powers low, I waited, as the man concentrated, taking a deep breath, and, while, faintly, his hand glowed… that was it. I didn't so much feel a Defense ping, before, with an explosive exhalation, he sagged, reverting back to his true form, emaciated, coughing a bit, but not spitting up blood like he used to.
"Ah, dammnit, that's what I was afraid of," Toshinori sighed. "Sorry, Kid."
"What were you trying to do?" I questioned, unsure, but… but I trusted this man, and, while part of me was pushing me to leave, to grab Mina, step out, and come back in a week or so, I could keep that bit of my brain quiet, or at least shoved to the back of my head.
The gaunt-looking man picked his words carefully. "Do you remember, were you aware of what happened when…"
"When I took a back seat and let your Quirk take over?" I checked, the man nodding. "No. It promised I'd live, knocking against my mental defenses, and you were losing, so I… let them in. Burned itself out, whatever it did, and strained the rest of my copied Quirks." Calling a bit of Flame into existence from my left palm, I gingerly pulled on it with my Firebending, and started passing it hand to hand.
"I think I'm getting better, but it's not been long enough, but I try and pull on One-for-All and, well, I start bleeding from the eyes and suffer debilitating muscle cramps," I informed him. "You're… actually probably aware of what it's like. So what'd they do?"
Smiling sadly, All Might poofed back up to his midway form. "They REKINDLED One-for-All."
Freezing, my Defenses blaring, the source internal, I stared at him, the fire in my hand dying out. "They what!?"
"Said they 'took some of your mojo', and gave it to me," Toshinori stated. "Young Man, what does that mean?"
Something about that, it tickled the back of my mind, like I should know what it was, but, but I didn't, did I?
The same feeling as before, a feeling that had been growing all throughout camp, the one that wasn't my mounting worry that the other shoe was going to drop, which it did, from orbit, was there, almost palpable, but, like soap in a prison shower, it kept escaping my grasp, with the feeling that, if I didn't catch it, something terrible was going to happen.
"I, it, I," I sputtered, the information there, right There, but, but, why couldn't I Remember!?
Spoiler: Music
"Kaminari?" All Might questioned, resting a hand on my shoulder. "Are you alright?"
No. No I wasn't! I screamed internally, and, yes, pressing it, just like at Camp, where I had something, I knew something, my Defenses working at a fever pitch, as, "I, it, I, they…"
And something gave.
My eyes were open, but I couldn't see, my memories were there, but I couldn't hear, a flash of something, a classroom, or was it something else, and tiredness, above all else, as I felt my muscles tense, but, but it was there, and my Quirks flared, muscles tightening, I just needed to-
"Young Kaminari!"
The pain spiked, my head feeling like it was full of Barbed Wire, but I fought through it, shoving mental hands into that rats-nest, trying to grab anything, and, getting something, I yanked it out, even as I hit the ground, bleeding, and-
"Oh, oh, shit!" It was Mina, holding me, as I focused on the squirming, slicing piece of knowledge, seeing it, understanding it, before I let it go, and it was pulled away, back into the darkness of wherever that other time, that other me was from, not like Denki either, but something, something Else, something OlDeR.
And then I was back, I was me, I was, I was Kaminari, even though I wasn't, not really, and, hesitantly, I stood, Mina there, using her acid to clean my face, as, yep, bleeding from the eyes again.
But I hadn't channeled One-for-All.
…had I?
"Young Kaminari, are, what happened?" All Might questioned, concerned.
"Pulled on a string, and got some answers," I laughed, though, god that hurt. But I was already regenerating, even as I worked my hands, feeling as if they should've just been so much rent meat, but, no, no that was just a visualization. One I'd practiced for weeks until it became second nature.
"You know, in some cultures, we'd be considered married?" I couldn't help but quip, feeling almost delirious on natural painkillers that released as… as whatever had happened ripped into me, but my Regeneration was taking care of it now.
The large, musclebound, elderly Japanese man blinked. "I… beg pardon?"
I shrugged, the pain fading, but, the fact that I'd gotten an answer?
Worth it.
Smiling at the man, I grinned.
"Well, you've got a part of my Soul in you. Don't get much closer than that."
MHA
Unfortunately, while I got the answer of what had happened, I didn't get anything else.
Could whatever this was be healed?
Would it heal on my own?
Was I stuck like this?
I had no fucking clue.
Though, given how Quirks worked, with OfA being special, and this being weird even for it, it almost certainly wasn't going to be fixed by copying a local power, and probably not in Avatar either, but, if things changed enough there, then I'd get another roll of the dice, and another, and another, and, well, the Multiverse was infinite, so there had to be somewhere that I could get this fixed.
Hell, I wasn't even sure why Toshinori hadn't been able to give it back, considering he had the same power that I'd given him after copying it, unless it wasn't a function of OfA, but of my Psychic Talent, or maybe of another Quirk that I'd picked up, and just didn't realize it, or…
I just didn't know what I didn't know.
But I now had a place to fuckin' start.
Mina cleaned me up, and I apologized for worrying her, but she just reassured me that it was fine, and, clearly changing the subject, excitedly told me she'd figure out how to 'freeze' her Acid, which had confused the fuck out of Ectoplasm, but, as it was still, at its core, her Acid, it was just like moving it with her Quirk, only it was apparently also like trying to walk on a leg that had fallen completely asleep, but it was more than she had been able to do before, so progress!
Well, she kinda sucked with it now, according to her, and it was really her Waterbending doing a bit of the heavy lifting to make it function even that much, but even being able to flash-form it into a solid mass, just for a moment, itself was both a game-changer and something new.
And giving her extra capabilities was why I'd agreed to go to Avatar in the first place.
I'd, meanwhile, rested for the most part. When Miss Midnight pressed me a little, saying I needed to do something new, I'd just gone, 'Like this?' turned my hand to lightning, and created a lick of flame, which I momentarily ramped into plasma, the woman blinking her eyes free of spots after being surprisingly flashbanged and informing me that was, indeed, enough.
Wandering about, I'd mostly just asked people about their Quirks, their limits, and how they knew that that was their limits. Like asking Kendo if it was just her hands that could grow, which she was fairly certain it was, with one-off testing inconclusive. Then asking if she could just grow a single finger, she could, though only for a moment, at which point I'd reminded her that, for a one-off surprise attack, you only needed it to work for a single moment.
Working my Firebending in a kind of walking meditation, Todoroki had given me a really odd look at that, even though he knew I'd copied his Qurik, though hadn't said anything, so I just kept doing so, getting my own practice in until, finally, it was time for lunch.
And, being around the others, I… I knew them, at least a little, and, with them all using their Quirks, they clearly weren't Toga. Well, Miss Midnight didn't use hers, but if that Yandere Vampire could keep that shit in her pants while playfully flirting, while also clearly worried for me, but trying not to say anything, for half an hour, well, she had a lot more self-control than I thought she did.
The only other hiccup was All Might talking to me again, not in a 'have another minor seizure' way, but he'd quietly advised me that, whatever Quirk I was using to keep myself mentally stable, it wasn't the same as actually healing. When I'd, not defensively, but honestly asked how he could tell, he told me of a couple of Pros he'd worked with before who had Quirks that let them either hyperfocus or otherwise keep themselves on task, and, when they overstressed themselves, they'd started to act as I did, having moments of instability, but able to keep pressing forward.
I'd thought I was doing better, but being here, being in this world, was… uncomfortable. Going Home, it'd be safe, and Avatar had its own problems, but at least I didn't have that world's version of Satan breathing down my fucking neck.
But… but I could do a day.
Probably.
Right up until our class broke for lunch and went to the cafeteria, which was, while not full of students, seeing Hero Course students from other years, as well as others, all going quiet, at once, staring at us.
My Defenses FLARED to life, a dozen Quirks all slamming into it, and I took a few unconscious steps back, thankfully at the back of the Class, not hitting anyone as I unconsciously arced lightning, which just drew more attention, and more Quirks, and, and no.
Spoiler: Music
I bolted, taking off down a hallway, then another, the only other option in my mind to go on the offensive, but, no, they were probably just kids, so I ran, like a coward, finally forcing myself to stop, shaking, Defenses still working, and, summoning my phone, I opened the Portal, which locked onto a nearby doorway, and, opening it, the other side of my Gateroom was there, but I stopped, even as I had to fight myself to do so, turning and-
Ohthankgod.
Mina came skating around the corner on her Acid, saw me locked up, and came right for me, stopping to hug me, and, seeing what now lay the other side of the doorway, frowned.
"Oh, Sparky," she cooed, reaching out and slowly prying my fingers from where they were clutching the door-handle so tightly my knuckles had turned white. For a moment, that small part of me, which wasn't so small anymore, was worried she'd try and make me go back, but, no, no this was Mina, and, gently, she guided me through the doorway, back Home.
Taking my phone, it took her a bit, but she closed the Gate, opening the one for Avatar, freezing time in her dimension, and, finally, I was Safe, the hum of my active Defenses finally lessening, as I took a deep breath, and relaxed.
"I, I'm sorry," I started to apologize, but couldn't continue, as my lover put her hand over my mouth.
"You did fine, Sparky," she reassured me. "How 'bout we get some lunch, relax a bit, and see what Zuko, or Aang, or whoever it is this time is doing?"
Spoiler: Music
Nodding, I followed her to the stairs, heading up into our house proper. "That sounds nice."
Getting up, early-afternoon light was shining through our windows, the worlds not quite aligned, time wise. She sat me down at the breakfast nook, and let me regather myself, and finally glancing my way, she teased, "So, All Might got part of your soul? Makes a girl jealous."
Rolling my eyes, compartmentalizing a bit, but, honestly feeling better now, I grabbed her arm, spun her about, stepping close, and kissed her soundly. "He might've gotten part, but you have the rest."
Giggling, and grinning, Mina replied, "Oh gawd, Sparky. You're such a cheesball sometimes!"
"But I'm your cheeseball," I reminded her.
Leaning back towards me, and kissing me back, I took comfort in her presence, before we broke apart, both of us flushed. "And don't you forget it!"
God, it was good to be Home.
Music –
And then he bowed - 04 Jiko Bunseki - MY HERO ACADEMIA 2nd OST 2
Remember!? - Boku No Hero Academia [Original Soundtrack] - "Hirogaru fuan" (Spread Anxiety)
FLARED - Boku No Hero Academia [Original Soundtrack] - "De hisa no pinchi" (Threat Incoming)
You did fine, Sparky, - Boku No Hero Academia [Original Soundtrack] - "Ohiru yasumi-tekina kyoku" (Lunch Song)
AN: Going back to MHA is a... work in progress. As usual, the next four chapters are up on and Subscribestar!