You'd better be taking care of yourself. Grab a drink and a snack, or take a nap if you need it. ily, bitch. Now, enjoy the chapter (:

Discord server, if uhhh snails am i right??: https://discord.gg/DSBF4dP

~

"We're going to take care of her here at UA," Aizawa told him, gesturing towards where Eri sat on the olive-green sofa. "But I suppose you expected that."

"Doesn't make me any less excited!" Izuku exclaimed, wiggling in place and beaming so wide his face hurt. "I'm really happy to see you again, Eri-chan!"

Eri was smiling back at him, wearing a cute pale blue gown. Hado was tying her hair into low pigtails with a look of utmost concentration. Mirio was in casual clothes and stood behind the sofa, posing with his arms spread. To one side, Amajiki was watching his friend with an impassive face, but when he sensed Izuku glance his way he tensed up and hesitantly offered a small smile, then turned away.

"Oh, Mirio-senpai, I meant to say-" Izuku rocked forwards onto his toes- "you can tell Hado-senpai and Amajiki-senpai about my whole... thing. I was too worried about how you'd react to say it was okay at the time, sorry – but I don't want you to feel bad about keeping a secret, so, uh – yeah! You can tell them! I've told most of my friends, so it wouldn't be fair if you couldn't, right?" He paused, wrinkling his nose and casting his gaze downwards. "That speech was a disaster. Did that make any sense...?"

"Made sense to me!" Mirio confirmed, twisting around to rest his elbow on the sofa's backrest, then propped up his head. "Izuku-kun's from the future! Isn't that cool?"

Hado sat up straighter, repeatedly poking at his forehead whilst he grinned. "Hey, hey, really? The future? You're not messing with us?"

"Nope! Sir even verified it!" He assured, glancing over to the boy, with bright blue eyes. "It's really cool to know you turn out to be such an awesome hero, Izuku-kun!"

"You can call me Izuku, too, if you want," Izuku told his seniors as he stepped forwards.

"Yay, that's so cute! Call me Nejire! That means we're friends, right? Right?"

"Right!" Izuku agreed with a laugh, reaching out and picking up Eri, holding her close to his chest.

"First names..." Amajiki whispered anxiously, turning around and planting his forehead against the wall.

Mirio stood up and patted his back supportively. "You don't have to be afraid of Izuku-kun!"

"Yeah, Deku-kun's the nicest," Ochako piped up, stepping forwards to beam at Eri. "Hi again, Eri-chan!"

"You remind me of my little sister," Tsu commented, leaning next to her friend. "Welcome."

"Thank you," Eri responded softly, grabbing a fistful of Izuku's shirt and smiling.

"Tamaki," Amaj- Tamaki whispered, shrinking into himself but squinting his dark eyes in a friendly manner.

"You gonna adopt those two, as well, Izuku-kun?" Mirio wondered with a genial head tilt.

"Don't encourage him," Aizawa cut in hastily, seemingly intending to cover the boy's mouth with a palm before learning from his mistakes and instead lightly pressing his fingertips against the back of his head as a harmless deterrent.

"Aw, nii-chan," Izuku teased, laughing and turning his face away when the fingers poked at his cheek instead. "Sorry, sorry."

"No, you're not," he said drily, tucking his hands back in the pockets of his hero costume.

"No, I'm not," Izuku agreed, fondly nosing into Eri's hair and closing his eyes contentedly for a moment. "You know me so well..."

*

It took a lot of persuading to pry Izuku away from Eri again. At least he knew she was safe with Mirio, but... he still didn't want to let her go again.

Eijirou lightly elbowed him and gave a questioning grin. Izuku smoothed out the worried crease of his brow, lips pulling back in a sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. When it came to his feelings about Eri, he was far too transparent.

Ochako tucked herself under his arm, and he let it drape over her shoulders. Tsu padded in between Eijirou and Izuku, and all of them turned their gazes to the front door of the dorms as the bell trilled. The atmosphere of the room instantly lit up as the Wild Wild Pussycats entered with their classic catchphrases, automatically falling into formation. They looked different without make-up and their hero costumes. Ashido and Hagakure instantly sprinted forwards to grab the box of buns that Tiger offered, and Ochako squirmed out from beneath Izuku's arm to go over and join them drooling over the buns.

"Please, come inside," Shouji offered politely.

Mandalay raised her hands and shook her head slightly. "Oh, don't worry about us."

"We need to go visit Class B, too," Tiger told them.

Izuku leapt to the front of the group, dropping into a crouch to enthusiastically shake Kouta's hands where he sulked next to Mandalay. "Kouta-kun! Long time no see! Thanks for your letter! I'll treasure it forever!"

He wasn't lying – even in the future, it held pride of place.

Kouta's cheeks pinked faintly, and he averted his eyes sideways. "Whatever."

"Midoriya-kun, look," Mandalay spoke up, stepping aside to point at the red shoes on the doorstep. "He chose them himself. He said he definitely wanted red."

Kouta hastily moved to stand in front of them, waving his arms with a panicked shriek to try and distract them. "N-No...!"

Izuku merely smiled, all soft and fond. "We match!"

"But why are you back at UA?" Satou asked as he entered the room holding a tray of teacups.

Pixie-Bob raised her hands to wordlessly refuse the tea. "We came to let you know we're in business again."

"We suspended activities to recover from the attack and kidnapping," Mandalay informed them. "Even though we weren't active for so long, we still held Rank #411 for the second half of the year, thanks to the outpouring of support from our fans."

"We can't just stand still when there are people waiting for us!" Ragdoll exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air, then lowered one into a wave at Izuku. "It's good to see you in good health, Midoriya-kun!"

"You too, Ragdoll-san!" He responded with a warm grin.

"It's gonna be the first JP Hero Charts without All Might, huh?" Eijirou remarked thoughtfully.

"That's gonna be really strange," Kaminari added.

"We should all watch it together this evening!" Ochako suggested with excitement, gaining energetic agreements from the others.

Izuku waved his hand in the air, rolling into his tip-toes to be taller. "Dibs on sitting next to Shouto-kun's warm side!"

"Damn it, Midori, I wanted that seat!" Ashido whined, going up to him and prodding him in the chest, the box of cat paw buns cradled in her other arm. "I'm sitting next to you, instead, then."

"Sounds good, Ashido-chan," he agreed with a deliberately charming smile.

She scrunched up her nose and her cheeks darkened a couple of shades, then she turned and stomped away, grumbling something under her breath. Kaminari patted her sympathetically on the back. Izuku just grinned wider.

*

Izuku shoved the last of his dinner into his mouth, frantically chewing even as he shot up from the table and dashed over to the kitchen to place his dishes in the sink. A few worried murmurs followed him as he grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair on his way back, already fumbling in the pocket to withdraw his phone. His teeth clamped around the jacket so he could text with both hands, shooting Aizawa and Toshinori a quick message to remind them he was leaving to handle some business. He glanced over his shoulder and started to walk backwards towards the front door.

"See you guys later!" He chirped with a lazy wave, shoving his phone back in the jacket pocket, then hanging it on the coat stand by the door.

The evening was warm enough under the hues of sunset, despite it being the end of November. Izuku urged himself into a decent-paced run across campus, and as he passed through the front gate, he rubbed idly at the black band on his wrist. A smattering of star-like lights pulsed at his touch, but faded quickly.

Plans flashed through his mind, covering everything he knew would soon happen and giving a thousand different ways to tackle the issue. He dipped into an alleyway, ducking into a doorway and emerging as Oni. Information flitted across his screen as he sprinted through the streets, giving him ample warning to avoid any civilians. The eyes on his helmet flitted up, narrow and cautious, as he noticed the silhouette of the towering building.

He skidded around a corner and emerged at the base of the building just in time to see a dark creature shoot over and slam into the side, hunched over like a grotesquely large spider. Glass shards came raining down as it broke through the window. People shrieked, scattering away from the pavement and staring up in horror.

"Everyone, please evacuate the area!" Oni ordered loudly. "Heroes will be on their way soon. In the meantime, get to a safe space. The park across town will be a safe place to gather. Thank you!"

Whether it was his assertiveness or the fact that a few people recognised the hero who helped out All Might despite the costume upgrade, the civilians followed his advice. Most of them headed in the direction he had pointed towards the park, but a few split off into different directions. He had to have faith that they would remain safe.

A burst of heat alerted in his helmet, and his head snapped up to stare as a supernova of flame exploded outwards, flinging the intelligent Noumu away in a spray of glittering glass and roaring fire. The smoke dissipated to reveal Endeavour floating by directing jets of fire to his soles, and just opposite him, suspended in the air, was the ragged-looking Noumu known as High-End. Even as he watched, muscles and flesh were stitching back together, reforming his body within a few seconds as if nothing had ever happened.

Oni's eyes squinted and he gritted his teeth under the helmet. As much as he wanted to dart in and take down the Noumu to keep people safe, Endeavour needed this opportunity to prove himself. He needed to face his shortcomings and rise above them, and show the world that, although he was no All Might, he had maintained such a high rank for a reason. Amidst all the chaos and terror, Japan desperately needed a new pillar.

And that couldn't be Izuku. Not anymore... not yet.

Endeavour was a powerful hero. Oni would just provide back-up and do his best to negate damage.

...which was a hard feat when Endeavour needed to use the full extent of his fire just to match High-End's speed and power, and even then, it wasn't enough. Walls shattered and debris clattered down as the Noumu's elongated arm tore a diagonal line clean through the top of the building. Oni flashed around to catch a few of the larger chunks and prevent them from causing too much damage, and spent a few precious seconds grabbing a handful of remaining civilians and heaving them out of the danger zone, then leapt onto a low roof. He bent his knees, collected his Quirk, and launched skyward just as the broken segment started to slide, concrete dust expelled in choking clouds that harmlessly wove around his helmet.

His gauntleted hands splayed out, his shoulders set firmly, and he dug his boots into the wrecked walling. White eyes cast up to the floors upon floors that were rolling towards him, and then-

The weight of the building pressed against his palms, and he raised his Quirk higher to counter the burning in his shoulders and wrists and the strain on his locked legs as the sheer mass bore down upon him, hard enough to push him backwards towards the edge, boots shattering troughs into the unsteady floor. A feral growl rumbled in his throat and his whole body was trembling with the strength it took to just slow the building's momentum, even with the blessing of his Quirk and the benefit of Melissa's Full Gauntlet tech to better support his arms and legs, but he still pushed harder, every breath coming as a rasping pant, sweat dripping down his face inside the helmet, every joint aching and creaking and his brain screaming at him to give up and get to safety, but there were innocent people trapped inside the building, and he would not let it crumble until Hawks had got them all to safety, and-

The broken half of the building ground to a halt. Pebbles clattered over the edge of the building around the heels of his boots. Dust coiled around his body, concealing everything but the wall directly in front of him. He remained frozen in place, fearful to even blink in case he dislodged the perfect balance.

Information filtered through his helmet, tallying up all the human heat signatures in the damaged section of the building. The numbers were decreasing as he watched, presumably with Hawks' influence. A red feather shot in close enough to get into his vision, faltered, then changed course and darted inside a broken window, bringing out a limp civilian.

There was a powerful beat of wings that cleared the dust. Oni carefully moved his eyes sideways, taking measured breaths and stubbornly remaining calm. Hawks floated next to him, gloved finger curved over his chin as he gave the small figure a thoughtful appraisal.

"Damn," he whistled. "Oni-san, right?"

A strangled 'mmhm' was about all he could manage.

"All the civilians are out of this damaged section," Hawks informed him, already turning to check on Endeavour.

Oni let out another rasp of acknowledgement, calling upon his Quirk and hesitantly moving his hands, curling up his fingers and sliding his arms apart to grab onto the broken window frame, just barely managing to hold his place. He clenched his fists, scrunched up his face in anticipation, then flung the broken section skyward, pushing himself backwards off the edge of the building in the same motion. It wasn't thrown very far, but a second later there was a flash of fiery whips that slashed through concrete, tearing it into less dangerous chunks.

An arm hooked underneath his own, abruptly stopping his freefall and jolting his aching shoulder painfully. He looked up to see Hawks straining to keep the both of them afloat whilst shedding feathers to carry huge blocks of debris away from the streets. Oni whipped the bo staff loose from his helmet, twirling it between his fingers with enough speed to kick up a strong gust of wind, guiding rubble onto rooftops and easing some of his weight off the hero. As Hawks' wings depleted, he carefully plummeted down to a rooftop, letting go of of the boy. They shared a glance and a nod before parting.

Oni leapt between buildings to grab falling chunks of debris and place them down gently. He twisted in the air, reaching up to snatch a piece of concrete nearly as big as him and temporarily rest it on his abdomen. There was another veritable boulder crashing down towards the street like a meteor, and- shit! A few civilians were gathered in the doorway of a shop and staring in terror.

The hero spun in the air, letting go of the concrete and shifting to deliver a powerful kick and send it skyward once more, simultaneously using the force behind the hit to launch him towards the civilians. Oni slammed his bo staff into the pavement, clamping his hands around it and melding his momentum into a powerful spin. He bent both his knees, gaze locking into the falling block, and planted his soles against the rubble mid-spin. It went shooting upwards, colliding with the other piece he'd kicked away and exploding into a puff of dust and less dangerous pebbles.

He followed through on another spin around his bo staff, then let go with one hand and loosened his core to drop his legs back down and dig his heels into the ground until he came to a halt facing the startled civilians. Oni exhaled shakily, then stood up straighter, tugging his weapon loose and separating it back into escrima sticks.

"It's best if you evacuate with everyone else," he advised them with more calm than he felt. "Is everyone unharmed?"

They glanced at each other, then back at him and gave simultaneous, mute nods. He returned it and instantly leapt back up onto a nearby roof, examining the new heat signatures his helmet was tracking. High-End had spewed out several more Noumus that were a lot weaker, but a nuisance nonetheless.

Oni sprinted towards the area most of them had landed, seeing trails of slimy mucus oozing down the walls. A couple of men in suits were cowering in the shadows of two of the beasts, and Oni jumped in, throwing one escrima stick to get the Noumus' attention and then dropping into a slide to swipe out their legs and knock them backwards. He rolled back to his feet and snatched the escrima stick out of the air before it could hit the ground.

Red blurred past, followed by a gust of air as Hawks swept down. Two sharp feathers were dragged across the Noumus' throat and torso, causing blood to bloom up from the slashes, but the creatures didn't even react other than turn their attention to Hawks. The civilians cheered excitedly, and more feathers hooked onto the scruff of their clothes, carrying them far away from danger.

"These things are tough, huh?" Hawks remarked nonchalantly, but there was an anxious edge to his smile as he stabbed the Noumus until they went still. "To be frank, I'm pretty helpless against power types..."

"You're saving people and supporting Endeavour. That's enough," Oni told him, snapping his bo staff back together and sharply examining the area for more threats.

Heat exploded in the sky, and his head snapped up to stare. Endeavour was burning bright enough to rival the sun, turning into a sphere of white-hot flames next to the decapitated building. The energy coalesced at the heart, then blasted out as a beam of fire hot enough to incinerate anything in its path. Amber light glowed across the city, blocking out the blue sky. Even from such a distance, the waves of heat were enough to warm through his costume, prickling over his skin like he was standing too close to a bonfire. Hawks shielded himself with a wing, staring with wide eyes at the spectacle.

It was weird for Izuku to look at such a display of terrifying power and still think I'm stronger than that.

Both heroes snapped out of it and simultaneously lunged down towards another pale Noumu that was rounding on a few remaining civilians in the street. Oni ducked in and slammed the end of his bo staff into its chest, making it stumble back into Hawks, who slashed across its flesh with another feather. They dashed through the streets, taking down Noumus a lot easier together, and with Oni's early warning, there were fewer civilians to worry about.

"Hey, Oni-san," Hawks spoke up, a little breathless as they ran to another Noumu. "You're clearly insanely strong, so how come I haven't seen you in the rankings?"

Oni gave a one-shouldered shrug, sliding beneath a bulky arm. "I'm not a hero for the recognition – I just want to help people."

"Ah, noble," the hero said, then ruthlessly cut down the Noumu.

They watched as it slumped down, unmoving, on the pavement. A few civilians paused, frozen in either admiration or terror, then finally scrambled away to join the evacuation path. The light returned to normal as the fire faded, leaving Endeavour as the lone figure in the sky upon first glance, but-

A tiny scrap of High-End still remained, and that was enough for it to survive and retaliate.

"Endeavour-san!" Hawks yelled in panic.

Streaks of elongated flesh burst from the villain. It tore up Endeavour's face in a splash of blood, and-

The hero crashed into the ground. High-End's limbs spread as they regrew, and the villain lowered to land next to him.

"Oni-san!" Hawks exclaimed, holding out his hand desperately. "We need to help him!"

Oni grabbed the proffered hand without hesitation, and a second later they were in the air, shooting across the city to the epicentre of the damage. From the sky, they got a birds-eye view of the grim scene. Endeavour was sprawled on his back over a broken chunk of debris. Fire still glowed in the patches of his costume, but his hair had extinguished. Half of his face was drenched in blood and parts of his outfit were torn and shattered.

Even as they were flying, Hawks was still sending out feathers to snatch civilians to safety, and his wings were rapidly shrinking, making it a lot harder for him to keep them both afloat. He reached down to grab at Oni's forearm with his other hand, teeth gritted under the strain.

"We just need to distract the Noumu and give Endeavour a moment more to recover," Oni said, closing his eyes for a moment as a stupid plan came to mind. "...Hawks."

"Yeah?"

"...throw me."

Hawks' gaze snapped down in shock, and a myriad of emotions crossing his face. "That's dangerous."

"I've survived worse."

Hawks let out a stressed breath, then swung his arms and released Oni at the height of the arc, sending him flying with an added beat of his depleted wings. Oni spun his bo staff to propel him a little further, drawing up his legs to make him as aerodynamic as possible. High-End's bulbous eyes swivelled around to watch as he landed smoothly, burning off his momentum in a few rolls across the broken ground and then digging his bo staff into the ground to come to a grinding halt in a crouch. The white gaze on his helmet was narrowed threateningly, and he silently apologised to all the people he was giving heart attacks by throwing himself into yet another dangerous battle to protect the Number One Hero.

"A-A-A new hero?" High-End rasped, falteringly turning around and adjusting his long limbs. "A stronger-er h-h-hero?"

"You're looking for strength?" Oni asked, separating his staff into escrima sticks and fixing them back into place as tusks on his helmet, leaving both his hands free.

"Weak-k-k... boring. Want-wan-t-t... A fight." He lowered his torso in a predatory manner, shoulder-blades sticking up and ragged head peering down, eerie teeth bared in a smile. "Are yo-you-u better than th-the Number On-ne?"

Oni glanced past the Noumu. Endeavour was frighteningly still. Only the slow, shuddering rise and fall of his chest indicated that he was even alive amongst the wreckage. He would pull himself together, eventually, but until then...

Oni widened his stance and spread his arms, fingers splayed and white eyes squinted in a grin. "See for yourself."

One for All burned in his veins, and he easily flashed aside as a palm rapidly slammed down where he had been a second prior. A trail of disturbed dust had High-End twisting around to rediscover the small hero, and he let out a low rumble before trying to swipe again, but whilst he was insanely fast, he wasn't faster than Oni. The Noumu kept turning in place as Oni ran circles around him, occasionally leaping back and forth and ensuring he held High-End's attention by executing a few reckless manoeuvres. He hopped over an arm as it stretched out unnaturally, then threw himself into a sideways flip, one palm pressed to the hourglass insignia on his chest, dancing around each deadly hit as if it was a simple playground game.

A flicker of heat flared in his visor, and he grinned beneath the helmet.

Oni flashed aside, ducking behind some debris. High-End barely had time to react as Endeavour was engulfed in phoenix flames, using the force of the heat to jet him forwards, one fist drawn back and pulsing with volcanic temperatures. He flung his arm forward with a beam of roiling fire that incinerated through High-End's body, filling the air with the scent of burnt flesh, but it still wasn't enough.

Another building collapsed as Endeavour was flicked away as if he was nothing. A helicopter was whirring overhead, capturing the drama as it unfolded. The heat faded, but continued to flicker in and out as Endeavour tried to steady himself.

Rubble shattered under Oni's fingers as he clenched too hard. High-End's neck jolted at a morbid angle as he turned to look at the source of the noise, jaws parted in a feral grin.

"Y-yo-ou are strong. An inter-res-sting opponent," he hummed out in a warped voice, fully turning to face him again and ignore Endeavour.

Oni stood up straighter, fearless and relaxed. "This is not my fight, Hood."

The Noumu stilled momentarily. Oni held his breath, pivoted on his toes, then sprinted back to the main streets on the edge of the destruction. Endeavour handled it before, and could handle it again. Even if things changed and the fight went south, it wouldn't be hard for Oni to step in and help, no matter his original plan of staying out of it as much as possible.

Chaos claimed the streets. All the people who had remained despite his warning were flooding the roads, blocking traffic and shoving at one another in a panic. A few policemen were doing their best to regain order, but they couldn't be heard over the cacophony. It was a mess of heat signatures all blurring together in his helmet's display, and he shook his head, disabling the feature to scan the crowds and hone in on a small figure getting swept up in the sea.

Oni hopped over their heads, landing lightly and picking up the sobbing child, then leapt up onto a nearby low roof. He went largely unnoticed, especially as a fresh wave of panic overcame the populous when High-End loomed on a building at the end of the street.

"It's okay," Oni said quietly to the kid. "Could you cover your ears for me? I'm gonna do something loud."

Sniffing violently and rubbing his face with a sleeve, the boy did as he was told, sticking his fingers in his ears. Oni inhaled deeply, then blew it all out in a prolonged whistle that turned piercingly shrill and unpleasant through the voice modifier. People froze to cover their ears and automatically turn towards the sound. When the last echoes faded, the crowd was mostly silent, and the glint of a camera lens turned towards him.

"Hey, please remain calm!" He projected his voice, for a moment slipping into his Deku persona with the steel and confidence. "Police are doing their best to guide you and keep you safe, so please listen to them! Heroes are working hard to contain the villains, but our attention is split between making sure you are all safe, as well as fighting the Noumus. Trust in us, and evacuate in an orderly fashion." He paused and raised an arm to point at the boy in his grasp. "Also, whose kid is this?"

A hand hesitantly raised in the crowd. Oni gave a thumbs-up, noting the position.

"Endeavour is still alive. Don't give up hope so soon," he finished calmly, dropping down from the building.

The crowd parted as he walked, letting him through. A tearful woman raised her arms and Oni set the boy back on his feet, letting them reunite. Oni reactivated his heat sensors and glanced up, spotting the grotesque form of High-End soaring overhead, arms stretched and moulded into bat-like wings. Shortly behind him, Endeavour was blasting along like a meteor.

"See, Endeavour's still fighting! Stop letting something that isn't there get you down!" Someone screamed fervently in the crowd.

The two opponents twisted and spun through the air, twin trails of smoke and steam marring the blue sky. Hawks joined the macabre dance, slashing away muscle ligaments before being hit away. Red feathers came to life and shot towards Endeavour, pushing against his back, urging him faster, and huge wings of flame unfurled and wrapped around High-End as he surged in closer. 

They clashed in a smudge of heat and smoke, long limbs curling around and grabbing at the hero, and a stronger pulse of air burst from the Noumu's back, overpowering Endeavour's propulsion and dragging him across the sky.

Waves of hot air howled through the streets, and the civilians huddled down as it tore through their hair. Oni located the lone figure of Hawks on a rooftop and leapt his way towards him, skidding to a halt at his side. There were only a few measly, downy feathers left on the stubs that remained of his red wings, and half of his visor was shattered. Blood dripped down a small slice over his nose.

Amber light cast down like a sunset as Endeavour rocketed higher and higher, burning brighter and brighter, evaporating a hole through the clouds, illuminating a golden halo of flame that coalesced into a glowing star. A pillar of white-hot fire exploded towards the heavens and the remaining clouds tore apart in shining rings, surrounding the epicentre of supernova flame that flashed in a final surge of sheer power that was too incandescent to look directly at.

Then it plummeted like a shooting star. Hawks choked in a panicked breath and Oni was already launching away, leaping from building to building and following the burning beacon as Icarus fell. He sprinted off the edge of a building, locking onto the falling figure of Endeavour wreathed in smoke, then stretched out his arms and collected his limp form. The charred and flaming remains of High-End slammed into the road, throwing up a cloud of dust and smoke and sending a pulse of hot air through the city. Oni tightened his grip and landed as lightly as he could, bending his knees to soften the impact and shattering the asphalt under his boots.

Endeavour was too hot to touch, clearly gone far beyond his safe limits. Oni carefully lay him on the road with a wince, and took a step back, the radiating heat still intense. The hero shifted slightly, gritting his bloodied teeth and squinting open his blue eyes to stare up at the small figure who stood above him.

"Get up, hero," Oni said, raising his palm through the smoke and clenching it into a fist. "Japan needs you. Your family needs you."

A flicker of flame coursed over his face. Endeavour let out a low growl that caught wetly in his throat, and he picked himself up on trembling limbs. Oni observed in mute concern, and when he was satisfied, he offered a nod and flashed away before the cloud had a chance to clear.

He hopped onto another rooftop, crouching at the precipice and staring down. A fist punched through the smoke, embers curling around his knuckles and a final pulse of dying heat clearing the scene. Endeavour was unveiled, tiredly standing with a dipped head and no fire, the back of his costume entirely scorched away, whole torso hunched in exhaustion and one arm hanging limply, but the other was weakly pointed towards the sky, fingers clenched tight in triumph. The pose was a poignant echo of All Might's final stand, but instead of representing the end of a hero, it heralded the dawn of a new age.

Endeavour still remained far from perfection, but... he was well on his way to repentance.

Beneath the helmet, Izuku smiled.

~

Satisfying numbers, hell yeah babeyyy thank you so much <3

FANART, POG!!! (also slight blood warning, it's the scene in last chap in the haunted house)

From BlackHumanUnicornIdkAnymoreXd on Discord!! (w.....wattpad won't load the image,,,,, i,,,, uh... i hope this fixes later 😳)