When they least expected it, the internships came to an end. The four of them knew that, since that battle, things wouldn't be the same for them or for the world, especially after Stain's video and his ideology went viral on the internet. Midoriya and Sakura expressed their gratitude and bid farewell to Gran Torino, embarking on their journey back.
Once reunited with the others in the classroom, they listened to the stories of the internships they had experienced. Some stories seemed more interesting than others, and some even regretted going to certain places.
"Sakura-kun, thank you" Ilda whispered low enough for only her, Midoriya, and Todoroki to hear. "I owe you a lot; my brother was discharged."
"If you want to thank me, you can start by talking to us if you're not feeling well," she smiled. She almost wanted to laugh when she saw him move like a robot while explaining the rules of society and other things he didn't quite grasp.
Classes were a welcome change for Sakura after the battle in Hosu, although a part of her had hoped to return to action. Fortunately, when she entered All Might's class, they had a small race that allowed her to stretch her muscles. Although it would have been fun to see the others surprised that she could run on walls, she refrained; she had already revealed that ability to Ilda and Todoroki, and fortunately, neither mentioned it. A part of her felt like a proud mother when she saw Midoriya using his Quirk without injuring himself. She even smiled when she saw that, in secret, All Might congratulate Midoriya on his progress, but that changed when All Might told them that after class, he would meet with them to discuss One For All.
The two of them were curious but decided to wait. Finally, classes ended, and what they learned left them impressed, even Sakura hadn't seen it coming, even though it made sense.
"Izuku, I forgot something in the classroom," Sakura said suddenly, turning around. "You can go; I know how to get to the hospital."
Without giving him time to respond, Sakura re-entered the building, although she didn't go to the classroom as she had told Midoriya. Instead, she returned to the room where the three of them had been a moment ago. When she closed the door behind her, she saw All Might, surprised to see her, and even more surprised when she looked at him seriously. Just in case, she made some hand seals, creating a soundproof jutsu.
"You're dying."
It wasn't a question.
All Might was left speechless. It didn't surprise him that Sakura had deduced it, although he didn't expect it to happen so quickly.
"He doesn't suspect a thing, if that's what worries you" Sakura continued. "He idolizes you so much that he can't even think that you're hiding something like this. In contrast, I learned to look beneath the surface. I can see the signs; you're dying."
It had been a long time since All Might had felt so cornered by words as direct and harsh as Sakura's. She was right; he knew that Young Midoriya admired him as much as his great hero, and thinking about the death of his hero wasn't even in his remotest thoughts. Furthermore, the fact that he still had much to teach and help Young Midoriya with made it difficult to do the right thing.
"A few years ago, during a battle, I suffered injuries to my lungs and stomach, and despite surgeries, I lost and damaged some of my organs," he finally said. He still didn't dare to admit out loud, not even to Sakura, that his time was limited. "It won't be soon, but I fear for Young Midoriya's future."
"Then don't die."
All Might looked up at her, incredulous.
"The symbol of peace can't die until it has a successor, right?" Sakura gave him a challenging smile and approached him, stopping two paces away. "Medical technology in this world is good, but it doesn't compare to the teachings of my master, Lady Tsunade. Let me help you."
Sakura's words took him by surprise, and he felt a lump in his throat. Could he dare to hope to live beyond his expectations?
"Young Sakura," he began, struggling to contain his emotions unsuccessfully. "I'm supposed to be your mentor, and I'm here to help you in this world, but it seems like you've come to help us."
Taking her words as a response and feeling emotional, Sakura rushed to the emaciated All Might and hugged him. With her embrace, she wanted him to feel how grateful she truly was. In a world so different from hers, Midoriya, Recovery, and he were the first people to extend a helping hand, so she felt a special bond with them.
"I won't give up," she said, burying her face in All Might's ribs.
"Thank you," he replied.
From that promise, the correspondence between the pink-haired woman and her master, through Katsuyu, became more frequent, and her free time became more limited. Before dawn, she would rise with Midoriya to run, then they would return for breakfast before heading to the academy. When Midoriya left, she stayed and, in secret, alongside Recovery (with the director's authorization), studied and analyzed All Might's body until she had to rush to attend her medical classes or carry out her hospital rotations. In the evenings, after dispelling the clone she kept in the library, she would study and do homework with Midoriya, and finally, she would take a shower and go to sleep.
It had been an exhausting and frustrating process to find a solution for Naruto and Sasuke's missing limbs, and healing All Might had been just as challenging. However, one day, while exchanging letters with her master, the idea of using Hashirama's cells came to them. For now, she was conducting tests to determine if the cells could be compatible with All Might.
With significant progress in helping her friends and All Might, Sakura indulged herself in a relaxing Sunday morning. She sat at the dining table, enjoying jasmine tea in the company of Mrs. Midoriya. Izuku was on the living room couch, using his weights while listening to their conversation and occasionally chiming in.
"I'm glad to see you're adapting to Japan," Mrs. Midoriya said after taking a sip of her tea. "I was a bit surprised when the academy asked if you could enter the student exchange program, and even more so when I found out that All Might would be your mentor."
Sakura toyed with her cup in her hands. "Yes... There are many differences here compared to Switzerland, and even more so compared to where I used to live," she thought nostalgically about Konoha. "Although there are also similarities, I used to live in a more conservative place where technology isn't as advanced as it is here."
"That's true, especially the culture," Mrs. Midoriya said as she placed a hand on her cheek and chuckled playfully. "I still remember when Izuku would turn red when you called him by his name."
"M-Mom," he stammered, leaving what he was doing to join the conversation, visibly embarrassed. "It's just that... Well, you know... It's not common to call someone by their name here... Unless you're close."
The two women laughed upon hearing his excuse, which made Izuku blush even more, like a ripe tomato.
"In my home, we address each other by our names unless you're the head of a family. I was very surprised when I came here" Sakura continued, laughing as she remembered her first day of classes. "I even remember that at school, everyone was surprised and blushing when I called them by their names and asked them to call me by mine. At least now, everyone seems to have gotten used to it."
Midoriya remembered that incident perfectly, which had left most, if not all, very surprised. Even the teachers were astonished, although she added the honorific "sensei" to address them. In the end, to adapt to Japanese culture, she only called her teachers and adults by their last names.
"I was surprised when Izuku brought you home; you're so beautiful and kind," Mrs. Midoriya said, smiling. She loved her son, but having another woman in the house was a pleasant change.
Sakura laughed, embarrassed by the compliment, and didn't know how to respond to those words. It wasn't every day that she was praised for her appearance, so she preferred to simply smile.
"This only gets me even more excited for when Izuku brings home his girlfriend, when he finally has one" Midoriya's mother said, placing both hands on her cheeks as she repressed her exuberant excitement at the thought.
The weight Midoriya was holding fell to the floor with a loud thud due to the surprise, and his head turned towards the two women with a jerky motion.
"M-Mom" Midoriya stammered, his face as red as a tomato and trembling from head to toe before he began to mumble in a hurried whisper about not having a girlfriend at the moment and being focused on becoming the number one hero.
Despite his explanations, his mother continued to talk about how lovely the girl he would bring home would be and fondly recalled the early dates with her husband.
Sakura couldn't help but laugh at Midoriya's reaction as he tried to hide his face, like an ostrich burying its head in the sand. She would certainly join the boy's mother in teasing him if he found a girl he liked. However, her thoughts were interrupted when she realized something surprising: she was thinking about her future here in Japan.
"Tomorrow is Valentine's Day" Mrs. Midoriya interrupted her thoughts, bringing her back to reality. "You should have thought of something for tomorrow. I'm sure you've already found the right guy; you just haven't realized it yet."
Sakura immediately thought of Sasuke. Since she was a child, she had dreamed of becoming Mrs. Uchiha and having many children. When she believed that fate had brought them together on the same team, she felt it was a sign that they were meant to be together, even when he left and attempted to kill her on more than one occasion. Despite everything, she never gave up the idea of marrying him. It wasn't uncommon in her world for people to marry and start a family at a young age, especially because those with long lives were scarce. The most experienced elders in Konoha were the ones who managed the Hokage's Council, so she understood the importance of early alliances and establishing strong families.
She vaguely wondered what Midoriya and his mother would think if she told them that in her homeland, it was common for a couple to get engaged at sixteen and get married and start a family at eighteen.
Suddenly, her cellphone in her pocket started to ring. Upon seeing Uraraka's number on the screen, she decided to answer immediately.
"Sakura, you're so bad. You forgot, didn't you?" she heard Uraraka's voice on the other end of the line, with the voices of the other girls in the background.
Her mind immediately clicked as she remembered. She had agreed to meet up with the girls today!
"I'M ON MY WAY!" she shouted into the phone.
"Ouch, you don't need to shout for us to hear you," Uraraka said, moving the phone away from her ear, a sweatdrop on her forehead. "We'll send you the location."
She rushed to change her clothes and, before leaving, informed Izuku and his mother, who were still in the living room, confused by her haste.
"Sorry, I forgot that I was meeting up with the girls today. I have to go!" she shouted before leaving the house, slamming the door.
Fortunately, she had learned to use the map, so after a while, she managed to reach a large gate with the Yaoyorozu name printed on the front. She knew Yaoyorozu was rich, but she didn't expect this magnitude. Upon entering the house, she even saw some maids who attended to her and gave her an apron, which left her even more confused. The situation became even stranger when she saw the girls in the kitchen, all wearing aprons.
"What's going on?" she asked, even though she diligently put on the apron, despite her confusion.
"Sakura! I'm so glad you could make it" Yaoyorozu greeted her, brimming with happiness.
There were various kitchen utensils scattered across the large table, along with bags of chocolates and some other edibles.
"Eh?" Sakura was bewildered.
"Tomorrow is Valentine's Day! So we're going to make chocolates" Toru said, her clothes floating in the air as she spoke.
"Yes! Tomorrow we can give chocolates to the handsome boys" Ashido added excitedly.
"It doesn't have to be just for the ones we like; it can also be a gift of friendship" Jiro said as she toyed with her headphones.
"I want chocolate!" Ochaco exclaimed excitedly.
They all began to bombard her, talking about Valentine's Day. Some, like Toru and Ashido, were more excited about the boys than others.
"All right" Sakura said, getting caught up in the group's excitement.
She had forgotten when was the last time she could properly celebrate this holiday. With Sasuke gone and always denying Naruto's advances, it might have even been before turning twelve that she could relax with something like this, let alone with her friends.
"Perfect!" Yaoyorozu exclaimed, clapping her hands together excitedly. "We can use all the ingredients from the kitchen; our chef left some cookie, chocolate, and truffle recipes for us to cook."
The seven excited girls began to create their sweets for the next day. Tsuyu, Yaoyorozu, and Asui decided to make chocolate truffles, Ashido and Toru chose to make cookies, and finally, Ochako and Sakura opted to prepare chocolate truffles.
"That boy was really popular. I once dared to give him a chocolate, and he ate it right in front of me! I thought I was going to faint from excitement" Toru exclaimed, excitedly sharing her experiences with boys.
Listening to their stories about romantic relationships was entertaining for Sakura; some had more experience than others, and some were yet to experience it, but they all believed they would soon.
"Sakura-chan, you mentioned that you wanted to become a hero for a boy, right?" Asui suddenly asked, recalling their previous conversation. "Do you still feel the same?"
All of them, including Sakura, stopped mixing their ingredients to look at her curiously. Sakura thought of Sasuke; did she still love him? Yes, she had always thought of him despite everything. However, the pain of his indifference still gnawed at her chest. No one could be immune to that.
Faced with their curious gazes, Sakura had to carefully consider her response. Despite being the same age, she felt like the eldest and was willing to protect the innocence she had lost at an early age.
"Yes, I was a big fan of his from a young age, like one of those obsessed fans who follow their idol. I even shouted it from the rooftops" she laughed, embarrassed. The other girls cheered excitedly and surprised. The alarm sounded, prompting Sakura and Uraraka to take their trays of truffles out of the oven. "He knew it, although his interests were in becoming, uh, stronger, so he never thought about love. My fandom turned into true love when we became a team. In my country, we study in teams of three people, so I was very happy when we teamed up with someone else. In the end, he also left for another country to continue his training, but recently, we finally reunited."
Toru, Ashido, and Uraraka sighed with excitement at her love story, the one they had created from the little information Sakura had given them.
"You'll see how they finally reunite!" Uraraka said, trying to cheer her up as she started decorating her truffles.
Sakura smiled gratefully and followed Uraraka's example, decorating the truffles. However, Jiro, who had been observing their chocolates, asked:
"Setting the story aside... Ochako, Sakura, what did you make?"
Everyone, including the two involved, stopped decorating and looked at Jiro, puzzled. Ochako's chocolate truffles were as black as coal, and it even looked like a little black smoke was coming out of them. They doubted they were edible. On the other hand, Sakura's truffles looked like strange chocolate blocks, especially after they noticed she had added ingredients that had nothing to do with the recipe.
"Truffle, why?" both blinked, not understanding what Jiro meant.
The other girls collectively decided to remain silent, swallowing nervously, as they seemed so innocent decorating their chocolates.
"I think Jiro didn't hear when we found out we were making truffles" Yaoyorozu said, saving her friend from having to give an explanation.
Both girls nodded and continued decorating, unaware of the nervous glances around them.
Finally, at the end of the day, everyone had fun, chatted, and even some danced while cooking. It was a great day, but unfortunately, it had to come to an end.
When she got home, very late already, Sakura sneaked in, changed her clothes, and finally lay down on Midoriya's bed, in her designated spot.
The next morning, when Sakura and Midoriya arrived at school, they went straight to their lockers to change their shoes. At that moment, they ran into Iida and Todoroki, who were at their respective lockers. The two approached to greet them when they came to a sudden stop upon seeing that many letters and chocolates had fallen from their lockers. This caught the four of them off guard.
Sakura had to cover her mouth to stifle a laugh when she saw their stunned faces. Upon closer inspection, it was surprising to see the amount of letters and chocolates, but not unexpected since both Iida and Todoroki were attractive. If she had known them when she was twelve, she would have probably melted just by looking at them.
"Wow, that's a lot of chocolates!" Midoriya exclaimed in surprise.
In Sakura's opinion, Midoriya also had his own charm, even though he didn't receive any chocolates.
"Invading someone's space to secretly sneak in gifts isn't heroic behavior" Iida said diligently, as he and Todoroki collected the letters and chocolates.
Sakura pouted.
"I actually did this for you all."
She then handed the three boys a heart-shaped box, carefully decorated with silver paper and a red ribbon. Inside, there was a large heart-shaped chocolate. The three of them stared at the boxes in silence, which concerned Sakura. Midoriya was visibly blushing, Iida's cheeks were slightly tinted with red, and Todoroki examined the box carefully.
"Sakura, I respectfully accept your box of chocolates, but as a friend, I must tell you that giving a box of chocolates to three guys and confessing is an inappropriate gesture," he said firmly, leaving Sakura surprised.
"I didn't think you were so liberal," Todoroki commented, giving her a sidelong glance.
"Th-thank you, Sakura," stammered Midoriya, not knowing what else to say.
Seeing them open their boxes, Sakura snapped out of her stupor and nervously waved her hands in front of her face.
"No, you're mistaken! These are friendship chocolates!" she almost shouted in embarrassment, then muttered quietly, intertwining her fingers, feeling like Hinata for the first time in her life. "They're the first chocolates I've ever made here, so I wanted to give them to you because I appreciate you as friends."
When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she turned her gaze to the front, where Iida was smiling as always, and by his side, Midoriya and Todoroki looked equally pleased.
"I think I speak for all three of us when I say we should be the ones to thank you," Iida whispered, giving her a gentle shoulder squeeze, and the other two nodded in agreement. "As a sign of respect and friendship, I'll eat the chocolate right now, even though it's too early in the morning to eat sweets."
"Now? It's not necessary; you're right. It's too early for sweets, and I'm sure you'll receive more chocolates" Sakura stammered, taken aback and embarrassed. She expected them to eat the chocolates but not in front of her and the others passing by them.
The other two nodded and took the large chocolate truffle from their boxes.
"We want to do it" Todoroki replied.
"Todoroki is right. Our friend Sakura put a lot of effort into making her first chocolates. We won't let her effort go to waste, for our honor as friends," Iida added.
The three of them took a bite of their chocolates. Sakura waited a few seconds before glancing at them.
"How are they?" she mustered the courage to ask.
The three of them appeared petrified with their first bites still in their mouths. Can this even be considered a sweet?
"I-It's good" Midoriya managed to gather his courage to respond, even with a mouthful, holding back the tears that threatened to spill. They tasted like chocolate and the mud balls Sakura called "soldier pills."
Seeing their blue faces as they struggled to chew the first piece, Sakura felt like fainting.
"It's terrible, isn't it?" the color drained from her face as she remembered Naruto's face when he ate the "soldier pills." That's why the girls were asking about it yesterday! How foolish! "I'm sorry; I added other things to the chocolates to make them good for your health and provide energy since you're still growing. I should buy you chocolates instead."
She approached the three, ready to take the chocolates from them. To her horror, Iida shoved the entire truffle into his mouth and swallowed it whole, and Midoriya did the same. When she tried to take Todoroki's, he evaded her.
"It's rude to take back a gift that's already been given" Todoroki told her, lifting the chocolate box out of Sakura's reach.
"But it tastes bad" she pouted, embarrassed in front of the three.
"Sakura, you made it for us with all your effort, and we won't waste your effort. We're friends" Iida waved his hand to emphasize his words.
Resigned, she followed the others into the classroom, still watching Todoroki as the only one of the three who continued to eat his chocolate calmly, as if it were any other candy.
"Iida is right. Your intention was to give us a chocolate, even if you can't cook and it tastes horrible, you wanted to do it" Todoroki said before taking another bite of the chocolate.
Sakura didn't know whether to feel offended or flattered by Shoto's sincere comment. Even from the corner of her eye, she saw Midoriya take a step back in case it exploded and hit Shoto with his fist. Instead, she decided to step forward a few paces, turned on her heels, and smiled at the three of them.
"Happy Valentine's Day, thank you" a slight blush colored her cheeks.
Despite the resounding failure, she felt happy about how sincere the boys were. They resumed their path to the classroom, and once they opened the large door, they witnessed a scene that stopped them in their tracks.
"Bakugo, you jerk! How dare you accept chocolates from the girls!" Mineta shouted, bloody tears rolling down his cheeks as he pointed at Bakugo. Mineta was being held back by Sero to prevent him from attacking the blonde.
Of course, Bakugo ignored him while looking at the chocolates on his desk with a furrowed brow.
"Mineta!" Iida rushed to join them. "Such behavior is unworthy of a student at Japan's number one academy."
When they both saw Iida approaching, Mineta's eyes burned with anger. This time, Sero had to intervene again to prevent him from attacking.
"You and you!" Mineta also pointed at Todoroki. "You're traitors! How dare you accept chocolates? Your tables are full! Ah!" he cried when he saw the empty box in Midoriya's hand. "Even you! I'm surrounded by traitors!"
Sakura rolled her eyes at Mineta's drama. She pulled out some small chocolates wrapped in golden paper from her backpack and handed them out one by one to everyone, including the girls.
"You're too dramatic" she muttered as she handed hers to Mineta.
Shocked, this time Mineta cried with joy, and jumped to hug her, but she hit him with her fist and threw him against the wall, anticipating the perverted hug he was trying to give her. Sakura snorted in annoyance before stepping in front of Bakugo, who simply frowned.
"You wanna fight, Gum?" Bakugo raised his hand, letting out small explosions.
"Here," Sakura handed him a chocolate without fear of his threat. "Happy Valentine's Day."
Bakugo looked at the chocolate in his hand suspiciously. A muffled scream distracted them. Mineta was lying on the floor with foam coming out of his mouth, and only the chocolate wrapper remained beside him. No one said anything as they silently watched Mineta writhing like a poisoned cockroach. In silence, Iida, Midoriya, Todoroki, and the girls felt sympathy for him.
"Gum, this is definitely poison!" Bakugo yelled at Sakura as he threw the chocolate against the wall.
A large vein stood out on Sakura's forehead due to her anger. She knew her chocolates didn't taste good, but Mineta and Bakugo were exaggerating. She would never poison a gift! Even Iida, Midoriya, and Todoroki had eaten the chocolate even though they knew it wasn't delicious.
"Poison? I'll show you it's not poison" without giving him time to react, Sakura grabbed a handful of chocolates and forcibly stuffed them into Bakugo's mouth.
In retaliation, Bakugo grabbed chocolates and forcefully stuffed them into Sakura's mouth.
"Damn it, these taste horrible, die!" Bakugo shouted. Sakura continued to stuff more chocolates into his mouth.
Everyone around them refrained from intervening in the fight. The only one who tried to do something was Midoriya, who tried in vain to reason with them until Ochaco approached him with Iida and gave him her burned truffles, like charcoal. Both of them thanked her happily, although inside, they cried at the thought of how their stomachs would feel.
The main door suddenly swung open.
"Are you making so much noise this early?" Aizawa appeared with crimson eyes and floating hair.
Almost like magic, everyone sat in their seats.
"Aizawa-sensei," Sakura smiled, feeling relieved to see him and approached with a small box, "Happy Valentine's Day."
Deactivating his peculiar quirk, Aizawa examined the box and Sakura's smile several times.
"Do you know how to cook?" Aizawa asked as he took the box.
"Of course, I just made these chocolates especially for health" Sakura smiled confidently, unaware that everyone behind her was vehemently shaking their heads.
Even Aizawa noticed Mineta lying there like a cockroach and Bakugo with a blue face, chocolate smeared all over his face like Sakura.
"Thank you..." Aizawa left the chocolates on the table. "Take a seat."
Sakura gave chocolates to all the teachers, including Recovery and All Might. Unfortunately for them, they were not warned like Aizawa that, with that innocent smile, she had actually gifted them a deadly weapon that almost landed them straight in the infirmary.
The other teachers and All Might, who weren't present when the students tasted Sakura's chocolates, had to visit Recovery Girl because of the deadly chocolates.
Once the classes were over, they packed up their things to head home or make plans. Kaminari was the first to get up and went straight to Sakura's seat.
"Would you like to go out?" Kaminari asked, trying to sound flirtatious.
Surprised, Sakura stashed her books and then stood up in front of him. She hadn't expected to be asked out and felt nostalgic as she remembered the days when they used to go out with all the newcomers for barbecue, having fun chatting, eating, and drinking.
"Yes, it would be great if we all went out together" she smiled, thinking about the usual places they used to visit on their group outings.
She didn't notice when Sero and Kirishima patted Kaminari on the back after he got rejected in front of everyone. The girls, feeling a bit sorry for him, approached and started recommending places they could go to, eventually getting everyone, even Bakugo, to join the first group outing.
Finally, they decided to go to a karaoke, where Sakura had fun eating, laughing, and singing with the rest of the class. This would definitely be a cherished memory to hold onto.
Omake:
Night fell as everyone dispersed to their homes, some of them with hoarse throats from all the shouting and laughing. Kirishima and Bakugo walked back home together, as they shared the same route. Kirishima had his hands full of chocolates Bakugo had received on Valentine's Day. Since Bakugo preferred spicy food over sweet, he didn't hesitate to give them to his friend. So Kirishima began to enjoy the chocolates with relish.
As he took a new piece of chocolate, he noticed something that caught his attention. He grabbed a small box wrapped in golden paper that seemed familiar to him, but he realized it was empty. Then he remembered the chocolates Sakura had given him. He watched Bakugo walk a few steps ahead of him, with his usual bad mood and both hands in his pockets.
"If you don't walk faster, I'll leave you behind," Bakugo snorted when he realized his friend had fallen behind.
Kirishima couldn't help but smile, thinking that sometimes Bakugo could be more sincere than he appeared. Nevertheless, he decided not to say anything because he knew the other would only shout.