MIDORIYA
5 years later
A lot has happened since middle school. I've learned and lost most of all. But today was the day to honor not only my accomplishments, but the accomplishments of my friends and all the people we've lost on the way. Today was Graduation Day.
"Deku!" Uraraka's voice made my head turn as I stared endlessly at the mirror in our changing room. "Your tie isn't done." I looked down at my suit; my tie hung undone on either side of my neck and the buttons of my tux didn't align with the holes.
I looked back at her with a nervous smile. I reached for the nape of my neck and scratched at it, embarrassed. "You mind tying it for me? I don't know how."
She just smiled, those rosy cheeks of hers puffing out. "You know you're just gonna wear your gown over it, right?" She walked over to me and I turned to face her.
"Yeah I know," I laughed. "It's for after." She hummed her approval before grabbing either end of the tie and wrapping the pieces together. I smiled down at her, realizing how much I had grown since I towered over her now.
"Hey, Uraraka!" Denki's call made both of our heads turn at once. He sat a few seats down from me, tugging on his undone tie. "Can you do mine as well? Mina's still mad at me and won't help a guy out!"
Uraraka chuckled before pulling my tie tight. She readjusted it so that it sat snug against my collar. "Sure thing, Kaminari!" Before leaving me, she rested both of her hands on my chest and gazed into my eyes. I reached to brush a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled before leaning down to kiss her forehead.
"Happy Graduation Day, Ochaco," I whispered, resting my chin on her head.
She melted into my arms and sighed happily. "I'm so proud of us." And just like that, she pulled away and left to help Denki with his tie.
I watched her leave, admiring the pink dress she had picked out almost a full year ago. She's been talking about this day since we first met when we were first years. But if I'm honest, I'm shocked to have lived to see it.
"Wipe the damn drool from your face, Deku," I turned my head to see Kacchan smirking at me. Kai, a girl with white hair and two different colored eyes stood behind him, fixing his spikes of hair so that they flowed without looking like he just rolled out of bed.
I chuckled and sat in the seat beside him. "You guys ready for this?"
"It's been a long three years," Kai replied, tugging at a tuft of hair. Kacchan jolted in pain, cursing in complaint. "Hold still, Katsuki!" She barked, positioning her hand on his forehead to hold him still. "I'm thankful for everything but I'm ready to move on."
I nodded, my eyes falling to the floor. Flashes from my memory corrupted my thoughts as I recalled the many hardships this group has endured over the last few years. "Yeah, me too."
"I'll finally be able to open my agency!" Kacchan laughed with a fiery spark in his eyes. "Longest goddamn years of my life," he groaned while scratching his eyebrow. "But we can finally move out and do our own thing," he said with a glance at Kai.
I smiled at the two before letting my eyes return to the mirror on the table. My smile disappeared when my reflection stared back at me. A sudden sense of sorrow swept over me. I couldn't pinpoint why or how, but it hit me like a bus.
"All right, everyone! Get your asses up!" Mina shouted from the front of the room. The few of us that were in there turned our attention. "We're starting in fifteen minutes!"
"Need to go put my dress and gown on," Kai announced while patting Kacchan's shoulders.
"Alright, see you," he said, gripping her hand before letting her go. Kacchan inhaled and sat up straight, readjusting his gown in the mirror. Exhaling, he turned to me. I could feel him studying me, taking in my dampened mood, and deciding how to approach me. He reached over and struck me on the bicep to gain my attention. "Hey—" I looked at him with a frown. "Let's take a walk."
"The ceremony's about to start—" I countered.
"Will you stop worrying?" He scoffed with a roll of his eyes. "We'll be back before round-face finishes that idiot's tie and before the raccoon knows we're missing."
"Okay," I sighed. I grabbed the armrests of the chair and pushed myself to stand. The two of us slipped out of the room and walked down the hallway. We walked in silence, letting the pictures on the walls tell stories of our high school career.
That was until—
"What the hell's wrong with you?" Kacchan asked. I looked at him. He strolled the hallway with his hands in his pockets, scrunching up his gown with his head tilted back. Some things never change.
"I don't know," I turned my eyes away and let them fall to my feet. "Today is supposed to be one of the best days of our life but it just doesn't—I don't—I don't know." My hand retreated to my face to massage my temples in frustration. I stopped walking and placed my hands on my hips. Kacchan stopped a few footsteps ahead, turning to me sideways with his eyes narrowed. I looked at him with a frown. "They should be here with us," I whispered.
Kacchan blinked several times, letting his eyes slip to one side as he tried to process what I meant. "Who?"
I stepped to the side and rolled my head back. "All Might. Ms. Midnight. Nighteye. Yuki."
Kacchan's face went pale and his eyes slowly rounded at the mention of Yuki. He clenched his jaw and swallowed hard. "They died for us, Deku."
"Yuki didn't."
Kacchan stood there, unmoving. I could tell that he didn't know what to say as the memory of Yuki's death crawled back to him. An angry smile flashed across my lips as it all came back to me. "You were so mean to her. To both of us."
Kacchan looked at me with furrowed brows. "Don't fucking start. That was a long time ago."
"So?" I shrugged my shoulders and narrowed my eyes.
"So? So I've changed. I know what I did was wrong. Don't beat me up over that shit fourteen years later."
I sighed and brushed my hand through my hair. "You're right, you're right. I'm sorry."
Kacchan puffed air through his cheeks and sighed. "Whatever, man. Let's go, I wanna show you something."
We walked down the hallway of UA in silence. We passed our very first classroom—our homeroom from when we were first years. The door was wide open and the desks were still arranged into rows. As we passed, a flash memory of everyone sitting in their assigned seats filled the empty room. We passed the cafeteria where there were many food fights, the staircase where I confessed my feelings for Ochacho, and went up the stairs to where Principal Nezu resided. Only, he wasn't there anymore.
A few doors down, Kacchan stopped in front of a glass case. I came to stand beside him, my frown deepening when my eyes registered what I was looking at.
A shrine for All Might.
Before his prime, during, and after.
I clenched my throat, trapping air and saliva as his memory swept me in a wave of sadness. I still didn't want to believe he was gone—how could I? He's the only reason I am who I am.
His memorial was decorated with pictures; most of which were from my class. A smile pulled at my lips.
His hero suits; one from each of his eras.
Flowers; yellow, blue, and white.
And candles with flames that never ceased.
"We all wish he was here," Kacchan started, his eyes watching the flame of the candles. I looked down, noticing his hands pinched into fists as they bulged out of his pockets. "We wish they were all here."
"Yeah. They had a huge impact on everybody," I nodded, slicing my attention back to the shrine. My eyes fixed on the portrait in the middle; the smile on his face beaming at me like I was seeing it in real life.
"But today—" Kacchan glanced at me, an ambitious sparkle igniting a fire in his eyes, "—today we get to celebrate everything we were able to do because of their sacrifice."
He was right. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't have been able to save the world from All For One's reign. We wouldn't have been able to put an end to the suffering of innocent people being used for the biological engineering of Quirks. We, as a group, have given heros a new name and a new purpose.
For a second, I lost sight of that. But looking up at All Might, I remember it. All of it. Now, it was my time to rise to the occasion and fill the hole as the greatest hero of all time.
✩ ✩ ✩
"I might throw up," Mineta said while gripping his mouth with his eyes bulging from their sockets. We were lined up behind the stage according to our seating chart. I was in the back at eighteen with Kacchan in front and Mineta behind me. Looking back, Mineta's face was paler than usual and his eyes were bloodshot. I glanced at Yaoyorozu who just shrugged me off as she was in no mood to care.
"We're almost up," Kacchan grumbled over his shoulder. He did a double-take when he noticed that we were missing someone. I turned to track his gaze, understanding quickly why his expression changed from irritated to extremely irritated.
"That woman..." Kacchan exhaled through clenched teeth.
Yaoyorozu stepped to one side, looking back. "She was just here—"
At that moment, Kai tossed herself through the curtain that divided the stage from the dressing room. In one hand she carried a bottled water and in the other was a single scoop of strawberry ice cream in a taste-testing spoon. An amused smile spread across my face.
"Where were you?! We're about to go on!" Kacchan popped out of line and shoved Mineta out of the way.
"My boobs were starting to sweat and I needed water!" She tugged on the straps of her red dress in discomfort. "Besides, we've been standing here for an hour! The last thing I need after three years is to pop out from behind that curtain with sweat stains and for your mom to take a picture and frame it!"
No matter how hard he tried to be mad, Kacchan's face stretched out and he broke out in laughter.
"Next up... Katsuki Bakugo." Principal Nezu's voice echoed over the speakers to announce the next graduate.
"Good luck," I said, patting his back as he turned and passed me.
"I don't need luck!" He scoffed before disappearing behind the curtain, nearly knocking off his cap as he entered the stage. I watched him go, my lungs empty of air. Seeing him disappear was like watching our childhood flash by in a millisecond.
This was the beginning of the end.
"—Midoriya!" I must've zoned out as my mind returned to my body being shaken by Yaoyorozu. "Midoriya you're on!" She rattled me again, her cool gray eyes rounded with worry.
I gave her a quick 'thank you' glance before taking a step forward. I fidgeted with my gown, nervous before meeting my match: the final curtain. Taking one deep breath, I held it. Taking my hands, I parted it, revealing an ocean of people seated in the auditorium.
"Woah..."
The lights.
The voices.
The decorations.
It stole my breath to see everyone gathered together to celebrate us. I didn't have the strength to look away.
I eventually made my way to the stand in a dazed shuffle, taking my time across the stage before meeting Principal Nezu on the other side. He smiled at me, my diploma in both hands. He let the audience clap for me—
I could hear Mom screaming with joy from the first row.
I laughed and he smiled harder. "Congratulations, Midoriya," he whispered as he handed me my diploma.
I took it and nodded to him. "Thank you, sir."
As I walked off the stage, my eyes found their way back into the crowd. Recognizing just about everyone in the first four rows, my eyes stopped. I stopped. Everything stopped.
Four rows behind my mom, a pair of familiar blue eyes stared back at me.
A mysterious smile pulled at the lips I once knew so well.
Stitches scored her once flawless face.
I rubbed my eyes, blinking them several times.
But she was still there.
The longer I stared, the more I believed in what I saw in front of me. My heart began to shatter all over again. My legs going numb, I thought I'd collapse under my weight. I wanted to break down and cry, to run off the stage and take her in my arms.
Yuki was alive.