Izuku, for what must have been the millionth time in his life, opened his eyes and found that he was in a hospital room. This time, however, something felt… different.

The heart monitor beeped rhythmically, letting Izuku know that his heartbeat was definitely still there. That seemed promising. His green eyes scanned the room, searching for clues as to what was going on. There was a TV in a corner of the room. The volume was turned down, so Izuku couldn’t hear much of what they said - just the gentle thrumming of the news. He could, however, read the date on the screen. That couldn’t be right. 

June 12, 2403.

He could have sworn the year was 2400. 

There was a sound to Izuku’s left. He turned to look. Inko snored gently from where she sat in her chair. She had bags under her eyes that looked as though she hadn’t slept in years. Her hair had occasional streaks of gray running through the green and her face held more lines than Izuku remembered.

“Mom?” Izuku whispered. His throat felt scratchy from disuse. Inko did not wake up.

Izuku tried moving his arms. There was a glass of water on the bedside table and he definitely needed a sip. He lifted his hand from the bed and it was as though he was lifting some sort of alien and sore extra appendage that had just sprouted out of his body. 

With an extreme amount of effort, Izuku sat himself up on the hospital bed and slowly grasped the glass. The cool water rushed down his throat, immediately soothing most of the raspiness in his throat. He felt a slight tug on his wrist and noticed he was connected to an IV. 

Maybe he could find out what’s going on if he went into the hallway. His mother looked like she needed the rest. Wincing slightly at the soreness of his muscles, Izuku moved his legs over to the side of the hospital bed and walked to the door, taking the IV drip with him.

The hallway was crowded, but not as bad as it usually was immediately after a large disaster. Izuku supposed that made sense considering nobody was actually hurt. Technically. But wouldn’t they still have to do a general check-up just in case? He stood in the doorway, watching nurses rush to and fro as they tried to complete all of their tasks. Izuku had a healthy respect for nurses. He still does, and so do I. In fact, Dear Reader, I hope you respect them as well. They definitely deserve it.

One of the nurses stopped and looked at Izuku as he loitered in the doorway. He was holding a tray that was, luckily, empty considering what happened next; he looked like he was a nurse in training. Izuku, feeling slightly awkward, did a small wave at the nurse. 

There was a loud crash! as the metal tray hit the ground.

Apparently, Izuku was in a coma for three years.

After the nurse-in-training freaked out and dropped the tray, a more experienced nurse spotted Izuku and promptly led him back into his room and promised him answers as long as he let her do a routine examination. The two had to whisper so as to not wake Inko who slept in the corner of the room as the nurse filled Izuku in on his situation.

He had been in a coma for three years. Nobody believed that Izuku was going to live.

“You were brought in covered in holes and ripped nearly to shreds. We couldn’t tell you had a pulse until we hooked you up to the machine. The doctors didn’t understand why you just kept bleeding because you had certainly lost more blood than most people have in their bodies. But your mom insisted we at least try and see if we could help you. Tilt your head back, please.” The nurse flashed a small light into Izuku’s eyes. “We were going to give you another week before we pulled the plug. You’re lucky you woke up when you did. I don’t blame you though, your body was barely healed until recently. I’d imagine if you woke up a year ago then you would probably have immediately fallen unconscious again just to escape the pain of having nearly every injury imaginable.” 

Izuku huffed a small laugh which the nurse did not appreciate. “No, don’t laugh. Your poor body has been through so much to keep you alive. It’s no laughing matter. You need to take better care of yourself. Why children these days are always so reckless I’ll never know…” She continued muttering as she stuck a tongue depressor inside of Izuku’s mouth. Izuku wisely did  not comment.

Eventually the nurse finished the evaluation. “Well, it looks like you’ve made a miraculous recovery.” She gave Izuku a stern look. “You be sure and take care of yourself this time. You won’t get another chance and your poor mother has been beside herself with worry. You get some rest now. I imagine you’re going to need it when all of your visitors find out you’re awake.”

Visitors?

Inko woke up to find her son sitting up in his hospital bed and she was thrilled. She couldn’t stop crying and she held her son as close to her as she could. 

“You came back. You came back,” Inko sobbed into her son’s shoulder. “You are not allowed to do that again, Izuku Midoriya. Do you hear me? Never again.”

“I’m sorry, Mom, I’m so sorry. I won’t do it again.” Izuku couldn’t find it in himself to cry as he held his mom. All he could do was smile. He was home.

It turned out that the nurse didn’t lie when she said Izuku had many visitors. The day after he had woken up, he was immediately bombarded by a crowd of people. The first to visit are the young twins he babysat and their mother. The twins were older now. They were nearly nine years old, but they were still balls of energy. They gladly spent hours sitting with Izuku and recounting the last three years of their lives. 

It turns out that Hina was quite the popular kid at school, which made sense. He always made friends as easily as he breathed. Yuna was more shy, but she had recently joined a book club and it sounded like things were going well for her too. They had gotten much better at controlling their quirks now and they were quite eager to show it off. 

“When we grow up we want to be heroes just like you!” Hina yelled. 

His mother shushed him. “Remember to use your inside voice.”

Yuna turned to her brother. “Yeah, use your inside voice.” Hina stuck his tongue out at her. Yuna lunged at him but Hina darted behind Izuku faster than she could catch him.

Izuku laughed. It seemed like they did not change at all.

Eventually, Izuku Midoriya forced himself to look in the mirror. He could easily see that he had changed in the past three years. He was taller and his jaw was more defined, although there was still a small hint of the roundness of his baby face. Of course there were a few other small changes to his facial features - that is, of course, typical as one ages - but Izuku found he could not pay attention to any of those changes at all.

He found himself too busy staring at his scars spanning all across his face. Some were deeper than others. Some were long and jagged while others were deep and smoothed over. Izuku felt… strange.

The scars did not stop at his face; they stretched all across his body like it was a canvas - the scars slashes of paint violently thrown at him from all angles. They criss-crossed in abstract patterns everywhere he looked. His flesh was raised where his skin was discolored, providing Izuku’s body with a texture he never had before.

Izuku pulled down his shirt and walked out of the bathroom. He avoided looking in mirrors after that.

The moment the entire class of 1-A (excluding Todoroki and Mineta) walked into the room Izuku wanted to bolt. He quickly realized that would be a bad idea however, when he noticed that there was still an IV drip in his arm and they were blocking his only exit. The only other path of escape would be the window and Izuku knew if he didn’t die from jumping out of it then his nurse would certainly kill him anyways.

Instead Izuku apologized. 

He clambered out of his bed and lay on the floor, bowing to them. “I am so sorry. I’m sorry for hurting you and causing this whole mess and I’m sorry that I couldn’t end it fast enough. I never meant to hurt you and I wanted to leave but-”

A gentle hand was placed on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Izuku.” 

The green-haired boy’s eyes shot up. It was Uraraka. She was wearing her Uravity costume, but it was different. There had been obvious improvements on it, a sign of the years that had passed. Her face seemed older, but the kindness in her smile remained the same. There was a scar running from the right side of her forehead to her cheekbone. 

“You don’t need to apologize to any of us.” She gestured behind her where the majority of the class on 1-A stood, each of them having grown and changed. Even Bakugou was there. He stood next to Kirishima, looking very much as though he did not want to be there but was dragged anyways. 

“We may not understand everything, but we do know that you had no choice and you did your best because you are Izuku Midoriya and that’s what you always do.” Uraraka crouched down so she was face-to-face with her childhood friend. “We’re just glad to have you back.”

Then Uraraka threw herself at Izuku and hugged him tightly. Then Iida joined them on the floor. “Welcome back, Midoriya.”

Before long Kirishima, Sero, Mina, Momo, then everyone else in the room joined the hug pile on the floor (excluding Bakugou of course). There Izuku sat in a pile of nearly all of his closest friends while Bakugou scoffed in the background. The freckled boy was surrounded by people who cared about him and understood. 

A weight he hadn’t known he’d been carrying fell from his shoulders. Things were going to be okay. They would be okay.

“Now,” Uraraka pulled away from Izuku and gave him a big smile. “You know you look really hot all grown up like that, right?”

“Uraraka!”

Izuku was visited by All Might while he was still in the hospital. He was much quieter than normal, which was jarring. 

“All Might, are you okay?” 

The emaciated man who was standing silently in the doorway was startled from his train of uthought. He had been staring at Izuku, and it was starting to unnerve the poor kid. 

“.. All Might?”

Without warning, the man threw himself onto the ground in front of Izuku and began kowtowing. Izuku spied a few droplets of water hitting the ground, but felt too astonished by the groveling man in front of him to say anything. 

“I am so sorry, Young Midoriya. I am sorry for everything.” All Might’s voice was strained. “I did nothing when I should have known you would never have done anything villainous of your own free will. I was too hurt to see past myself and realize that you were in danger and for that- for that I can never be sorry enough. I failed you as a teacher and a hero and I understand if you refuse to ever forgive me.” 

The hero who Izuku always looked up to on the TV and inspired his whole life, the hero who always stood strong in the face of adversity with a smile on his face, was now kneeling at Izuku’s feet and weeping. His body shook with the strength of his grief and regret, but the hero paid it no mind.

He had failed this child through his actions and All Might knew that he would never forgive himself. This child had suffered hurt that he never should have had to deal with, both physically and mentally. All Might could see the scars all over Izuku’s face and body. They would be a constant reminder of Toshinori’s failure to save his brightest pupil.

Izuku did not hesitate to throw the covers off of himself and pull his mentor off the ground. 

“You did not fail me,” Izuku said. There was no doubt in his voice.

“Yes, I did. I-”

“No, you did not.” Izuku kept a hold of All Might’s bony arms and stared into his aging face. “All Might, you kept me alive. I almost lost hope so many times in that place. I came so close to giving up so many times, but then I remembered you. I remembered the hero who always won against all odds and never failed to smile and it helped me realize that I wasn’t done. If you could win against all odds then I could too.”

Izuku smiled at the look of surprise on All Might’s face and continued. “You inspired me to keep going. Thanks to you, I realized I wasn’t done helping people. So thank you, for keeping me going. You’re my hero, All Might.”

Toshinori couldn’t hold back his sobs as he delicately pulled Izuku in for a hug. “I’m happy you’re okay, Young Midoriya.”

“Me too. I’m not done with this world quite yet.”

Izuku told All Might about how he lost One for All, but the hero did not care. He told Izuku that his life was worth more than some Quirk and that Izuku did not need super strength to be a hero. 

“You already have everything you need,” said the hero. “All it takes is a generous heart and the instinct of your feet moving all on their own. You were always going to be a hero, Izuku.”

It took a number of months before Izuku felt completely healed and in control of his body again. He had changed drastically in the last few years. He grew half a foot and was now 6 feet tall. He continuously bumped into things until he had gotten the hang of his longer limbs and had resolved to start working out again as soon as he left. He had lost all of his muscle mass after sitting in a hospital bed for years. 

His friends and mother continued to visit him and Izuku was always happy when they came around. He loved listening to the twins’s stories about school and his friends complain about all the paperwork that came along with fighting villains. His mom was always sneaking in some small treats she made for him; Izuku missed her cooking. He gossiped with the nurses and pushed himself as hard as he could in physical therapy. Overall, things were going great.

But there was one thing bothering Izuku: Todoroki was not coming to visit him. 

Izuku knew that Todoroki probably wanted nothing to do with him anymore. It hurt, but Izuku understood. He had technically killed Todoroki’s father (Technically. Apparently, Endeavor was sitting in prison somewhere, but still.) then ran away and became a villain again. Todoroki was entitled to his anger. Still, Izuku at least wanted to explain everything to Todoroki and apologize. Todoroki at least deserved that.

Izuku had two more visitors throughout the duration of his hospital stay. 

The first of his visitors was UA’s very own Principal Nezu. 

“Oh-! Principal Nezu! I wasn’t expecting to see you today, uh-” Midoriya stammered when he saw the mouse (bear?) appear in the doorway of his hospital room. Izuku was begining to realize that even now at 19 years old, he was still terrified of the look in Nezu’s eyes. Come to think of it, he didn’t know anyone that wasn’t afraid of that look regardless of their age. 

Nezu hummed. “Yes, I didn’t warn you in advance, I apologize. But I would like to talk with you, Midoriya, if you wouldn’t mind.” The bear’s (mouse’s?) tone remained warm and inviting, but Izuku still felt nervous. 

The teen gulped. “Yeah, uh, sure.”

“Very well. Take a seat then, Midoriya. We have a lot to cover and I imagine we’ll be here awhile.”

It turns out that Nezu was right. There was a lot to talk about. 

Nezu needed Izuku to give a detailed account of everything that happened since he left UA and was captured despite the fact that Izuku had already given his story to the police.

“I know what the police report says, Midoriya, but I wanted to hear straight from you.”

So Izuku told his old principal nearly everything. He talked about his abduction of himself and his mom, about how he realized he had a Quirk, and about every other gruesome detail of his training and crimes. He talked about his plan for escape and how Todoroki had taken him and helped him get on his feet until Izuku’s Quirk overpowered him and forced the teen to run away from the Todoroki household.

He talked about the even more grueling training he dealt with as a punishment for running away and how he had to pretend to give in to the villains in order to siphon secret information away to the heroes in the hopes that they could stop the attacks.

Izuku did not tell Nezu about how close the relationship between Izuku and Todoroki had gotten before it ripped apart, but it looked like he didn’t even need to. Something about the glint in the principal’s eyes told Midoriya that he already knew.

When Izuku had finished his story, Nezu took a moment to think before he spoke.

“You’ve suffered a great deal, Midoriya, but you still persevered to live up to the hero name and helped us when you had no reason to. So, thank you.”

“That’s not true.”

“What do you mean?” Nezu did not seem surprised, but he did look curious.

“I mean,” Izuku says, “I didn’t help for no reason. I did it because the people I care about were in danger. I would do it all over again if I had to.”

Nezu’s mouth quirked into a smile. He appeared satisfied with something, although Izuku could not say what it was. “Well, thank you nonetheless. Braver and stronger people than you have given up in the face of such adversity. You are more impressive than you give yourself credit for.”

“Anyone else would have done the same.”

“Hmm. Maybe. Maybe not.” Nezu remained cryptic as he always did. “Now we should move on to the subject of your employment at UA.”
 

The second of Izuku’s visitors was Mr. Sato. 

“...”

“...”

“... You alright, kid?” The old man broke the uncomfortable silence.

“I… yeah, actually.” Izuku gave a small laugh. “I didn’t know if I would ever be alright again for a while, but now I am.” He directed a smile at Mr. Sato. “Thank you for visiting me.”

Looking distinctly uncomfortable with this sign of positive emotion, Mr. Sato shifted in his chair. “Whatever, don’t mention it.”

“And thank you, for what you did at the trial.”

It turns out that while Izuku was in his coma, there was a trial to determine whether or not he should be punished for the crimes he had committed when he was ‘involved’ with the villains, but it never went very far. Practically every person who knew Izuku testified against his punishment. The entire class of UA, all of Izuku’s teachers, friends of the family, his apartment’s landlord for some reason, the twins’ mother Mei, every person who he had helped during his time with Todoroki, and an extremely disgruntled old man. The old man was apparently the most convincing argument there - if you excluded his eternal irritation, that is - and essentially scolded the court. 

Of course the fact that Izuku had been kidnapped and literally saved the world swayed the case in his favor, but everyone who saw Mr. Sato’s testimony swore that it was the most worthwhile part of the whole trial.

“Like I said, don’t mention it.” 

The two sat in silence for a while, occasionally interjecting with some random comment or another. Mr. Sato was clearly uncomfortable with the change in scenery, preferring the background of his own home. It made Izuku feel honored that the man was willing to leave the comfort of his home just to see Izuku. 

“... Well, it was alright seeing you, I guess,” Mr. Sato grumbles as he stands from his chair. “My sink is leaking again, so you’d better make sure you come back soon and fix it. Just because you’ve been in a coma doesn’t excuse you missing out on your duties, you know.”

Izuku laughed. “I get released next week. I’ll come right over.”

“Hm. Good.” The old man turned towards the door, ready to leave.

“Wait! Hold on,” Izuku calls out as soon as he realizes. 

Mr. Sato turned around. “What is it? Speak up, kid.”

“Suzu said he loves you, and he’s sorry.”

Mr. Sato had no clue about what happened with Izuku’s Quirk. He would have had every right to be suspicious and fly into a rage at the mention of his dead son. Instead, the old man froze for just a moment. Then he looked Izuku right in the eyes and smiled.

“He never needed to apologize for anything but, thank you.”

And then he left.

Just like that, a week flew by and Izuku found himself being discharged from the hospital. Inko took him home and that night they had their first true family dinner in years. Life was alright.

The deal Izuku struck with Nezu turned out to be pretty easy. Izuku could take a specialized accelerated program online for the next year and work a part-time job working at the UA office. By the time he would graduate the course, he would be fully equipped to become a member of the UA teaching staff. Dear Reader, this opportunity is for once in a lifetime. I’ve never heard of such a special deal before, but then again, these were special circumstances.

The course was not particularly difficult for Izuku. It allowed for a lot of flexibility in his schedule which gave him plenty of time to stay on top of his coursework, work at the school office, work out, and visit all his friends (And yes, he did eventually fix the sink in Mr. Sato’s kitchen). 

With the help of his earnings from his office job and the donations from Inko, Mr. Sato, Mei, and a few others, Izuku had enought money to rent a small apartment (And I mean small, Dear Reader. Miniscule, even) near UA. He was able to afford the bare minimum: a futon for sleeping, plenty of rice and other cheap foods to go with it, a small tv, a few pots and pans for cooking, and a run-down couch.

Independence is a lot less exciting than Izuku thought it was.

Nonetheless, it was his home and he was happy with it. He had brought a few things from home as well. His hero posters were plastered on the walls and a shelf holding his hero figurines sat next to the tv. 

It was thanks to that tv that Izuku was able to keep tabs on a certain part of his life that he had been missing dearly for the past while.

It all began while Izuku cooked his fourth meal of rice and curry of the week. The tv was on in the background and what he heard made him promptly drop his pan. Well, there goes dinner.

“The hero Shoto was seen today de-escalating a bank robbery gone wrong. Witnesses say that…”

“Shoto…” Izuku whispered as he stared at the tv in awe. They were playing back a clip of the robbery and all Izuku could focus on was the dual-haired boy shooting ice from his palms. 

He looked beautiful. That was the first thought that came to Izuku’s mind. Clearly, the last three years had treated Todoroki well. The hero had grown his hair out so that now it reached somewhere around his upper back. He had it tied into a ponytail for the fight and you could easily see his shifting muscles through the sleeves of his hero costume. His face was more defined but still held that air of cold determination that made him look untouchable. Izuku couldn’t look away.

After that, Izuku made sure to keep tabs on Shoto. He kept the news channel on in case they ever did a report on him and made sure to read every article where he was mentioned. Izuku just wanted to make sure his friend was safe, even if it does seem a little creepy in hindsight. 

I told him it seemed creepy, but he still does not think so. He told me he was just keeping track of one of his favorite heroes, which he’d been doing for forever so why is this any different? I did not deign that response with an answer.

But no matter how much he kept track of Todoroki, he did not contact him.

Izuku was trying to give Todoroki his space. He did not want to make Todoroki uncomfortable after everything by trying to step over a line he was not allowed to cross. If Todoroki wanted to talk with Izuku then he would. And if he didn’t, well…

Izuku understood why.

Months passed, seasons changed, and the year since Izuku had woken was halfway over. Todoroki was rising through the ranks quickly and Izuku happily watched on from the sidelines. In the meantime, when he wasn’t working or catching up on his schoolwork, Izuku visited his mother, babysat the kids, or visited Mr. Sato. 

Izuku was just returning from a visit with a certain elderly man when he saw Shoto Todoroki patiently standing at his door.

Then Izuku tripped and landed painfully onto his face.

“Would you, um… do you want some tea?”

Todoroki nodded his head. He looked even more beautiful in person.

Izuku’s hands shook as he made the tea. The tension in the air was palpable. It felt like there was a wall between them that would not go away no matter how hard Izuku pounded or kicked at it. 

With the tea finished, Izuku sat down across from Todoroki at his small table and slid the second cup towards his guest. 

“Thank you.” Todoroki nods formally at Izuku and drinks it, paying no mind to the heat.

Izuku’s fingers fidgeted with the handle of his own mug. “Ah, you’re, um, you’re welcome.”

Izuku could have sworn they sat there in silence for hours. I insisted it was only a couple of minutes.

Then Todoroki spoke. “Izu- Midoriya. I know that when we were teenagers, a lot was going on and it was a stressful time for the both of us. There are a lot of things that I have questions about and I would appreciate some clarification.” 

The name slip-up hurt, but Izuku didn’t let it show. Todoroki wanted answers, so he would give them.

“Alright,” Izuku tries to give Todoroki his best imitation of a smile, but he’s not so sure that it worked, “where would you like me to start?”

“The beginning would be nice.”
“Okay, um, yeah. I can do that.” Izuku cleared his throat. “It started in class three and a half years ago when I realized I couldn’t breathe…”

And for the third time in his life, Izuku explained the whole story. But this time, he did not leave anything out. He left in every detail, including how his feelings for Todoroki began to evolve during their time together until they were torn apart because, if there was one thing Izuku knew with his whole heart, it was that Todoroki deserved the truth. The complete truth - utterly unfiltered. It was the only way to show just how much Izuku appreciated Todoroki’s help and that Izuku had never meant to hurt him. 

They sat there for hours, Todoroki listening silently as Izuku recounted his tale. He did not interrupt a single time. He just sat there, looking at Izuku contemplatively as he spoke.

“... and then I woke up. And now we’re here.” Izuku bit his lip and fiddled with the sleeves of his shirt. He tried to prepare himself, sure that Todoroki would nod politely in thanks and then leave his life for good.

But Todoroki just sat, staring at Izuku. The green-haired boy found his eyes flying around the room, trying desperately to avoid connecting with Todoroki’s own and making the situation all the more awkward.

Todoroki’s nod was a surprise. He looked as though he had come to a conclusion. 

“Soba misses you.”

It took a moment for Izuku’s brain to reboot. Soba? The cat Izuku and Shoto had taken in?

“I- she does?”

“Yes. She doesn’t think I pet her right and she doesn’t like that I’m gone for so long everyday. You spoiled her.”

Izuku puffed up in indignation. “I did not! You just don’t spoil her enough! And you do pet her completely wrong! You’re supposed to stroke down, not up!” Izuku cried out in outrage.

Todoroki’s mouth quirked into a whisper of a smile. “If you insist.”

Izuku felt puzzled by this change in atmosphere. Why wasn’t Todoroki mad? He had every right to walk out the door and never talk to Izuku again so why was he still here?

“I forgive you.”

What?

“What?”

“I forgive you, and I’m sorry for not visiting you sooner.” Todoroki shot Izuku a regretful look. “I had a lot to think about. You were one of the first people to make me feel wanted in a while. I didn’t really have a connection with anyone after Natsuo left and Fuyumi died. 

“After what happened and you left, I felt used. It took a while for me to come to terms with what happened. I refused to even think about it until you saved my life and I thought maybe I had things wrong after all. But then you were in a coma and I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how I was supposed to continue on without your answers but then you were awake and it felt like I had whiplash. I kind of didn’t believe it until I saw you.”

Todoroki cleared his throat and Izuku found gray and blue eyes staring at him intently. “I know it might be difficult, and it probaly will not be the same as it was before, but I would like to have my friend back, if you don’t mind.”

This was better than anything Izuku had ever dreamed of. Todoroki was giving him a second chance?
“Midoriya? Are you okay?”

“Izuku,” the green-haired boy blurts.

“What?”

“Call me Izuku. Please.” Izuku blushed and looked around nervously.

Shoto smiled this time. A genuine smile. Izuku’s breath was taken away from him when he realized how much more beautiful the hero looked when he was happy.

“Izuku, then. Call me Shoto.” Then Todoroki reached across the table and gently held Izuku’s hands in his.

Izuku squeaked. “Okay, Shoto.” Izuku stared at Todoroki with what he was sure was the reddest face in the history of the Earth, but he couldn’t look away.

It was silent for a moment until, “Izuku.” 

“Yeah?”

“I would like to take you out for dinner sometime, if you would like.”

Izuku let out a laugh. He couldn’t help it. This was beyond anything he had ever hopde for. Here he was, alive and well years into the future with a career ahead of him, his family and friends safe, and Shoto Todoroki asking him on a date.

He squeezed Todoroki’s hands gently as he responded. “I would love to, Shoto.”

They still had a lot to talk about, and there were sure to be a fair share of obstacles in their futures, but Izuku didn’t mind. In that moment, sitting across from Todoroki and holding his hands at the table in his small apartment, Izuku had never felt more content. He had everything he ever needed and he was not going to let it fly away if he could help it. In that moment, Izuku felt like they could work through whatever was thrown in their way as long as they did so together.

Dear Reader, I can confidently tell you that Izuku was right.

This book is a story about tragedy, loss, and hate. But it is also a story of hope, recovery, and love. Going back over this story has made me realize just how powerful people can be as long as we never give up on the ones we love and our hopes and dreams.

Izuku’s story has helped me in countless ways, and I sincerely hope it’s helped you as well.

Thank you for reading,

Shoto Todoroki

______________________________________

This is the last full chapter! Wow, I never thought I'd make it this far! Remember, we're not done quite yet! Stick around for the epilogue, it will be coming out very soon...

(I'm internally freaking out because I've been writing this for two and a half years but that's something to take about later~)