(A week has passed since the Final War ended. The works to reconstruct the city, which had been suspended since Jaku, had finally restarted. After the battle, a huge amount of help from abroad has arrived. As for me, I had just woken up from my 7-day coma in the hospital.)
Satoru's eyes slowly opened. He was in terrible shape. I'm hungry...
The entire right side of his face and his mouth were bandaged. Both his arms were broken and bandaged, and so was his right leg. He had bandages and patches all over his body, neck, and abdomen. Since he was unconscious for the whole time, he didn't have the opportunity to regenerate properly.
"Oh, so you're finally awake... Ototo."
Satoru heard a voice coming from his left. When he turned, he saw his brother Oro.
"Aniki..." Satoru muttered. "You're in the same room as me..."
"Yup," said Oro. "They didn't have any other rooms, so they just paired us together."
Oro's condition was not as bad as Satoru's, but even he wasn't in his most splendid shape. His forehead was bandaged, and half of his hero costume was destroyed.
"What about Tomura and All For One?" Satoru asked. "I don't remember anything..."
"They're gone for good," Oro replied. "And it's all thanks to you and Young Midoriya."
"No, you're wrong," said Satoru. "It's thanks to everyone that we've won. Everyone helped. Alone, I wouldn't have won, not even in a lifetime. Tomura had a way better control of his Quirks than I."
Satoru suddenly felt a jolt through his body; Regeneration finally worked.
"You regenerated?" Oro asked, seeing Satoru sitting up all of a sudden.
"I think so," Satoru said, watching his hands. "But only the pain and wounds will go away; these scars all over my body will permanently stay here."
A doctor entered the room. "Akiyama-san! You recovered!"
"Yes, I did," Satoru said as he jumped off the bed. "I won't say I'm feeling as good as new now, but at least the pain has disappeared."
Satoru took off his bandages and could finally see again with his right eye. "Where is Izuku's room?"
"Over there," the doctor pointed to his right.
"Thanks," Satoru said. "I'll catch you up later, Aniki!"
"I'd wave my hand to you, if I were able to move my arms right now..." Oro muttered, looking at the ceiling. "My little brother... really has become a Hero. I'm so happy."
Satoru's right, though. For example, I wouldn't even be alive if Edgeshot didn't sew my heart up with his Quirk. I gotta thank him later. He's probably sleeping inside of me right now.
The door opened violently, and Bakugo, still patched up and bandaged, entered the room. "Oro-san!"
"Young Bakugo..." Oro muttered. "I'm happy you are fine..."
"I was worried about you..." Bakugo muttered. "Is your heart okay? Can you move?"
"Yeah, compared to one week ago, now I'm feeling like a dream."
"Sorry if I entered too abruptly," Bakugo said. "When... when you're able to move, can I have your autograph...?"
Oro smiled. "Of course you can, Young Bakugo. After all, you deserved it."
__________
Satoru opened the door of Izuku's room. There was also All Might.
"Satoru-kun!" Izuku exclaimed. "Your wounds and bandages have disappeared..."
"Yeah, Regeneration finally decided to do what it should," Satoru said. "Anyway, are you okay? Do you remember anything that's happened?"
"Barely," Izuku said. "But I remember Oro-san, Kacchan, and I helped you land the final blow on All For One."
"Oh, that's great..." Satoru muttered.
The room's door was slammed open, and Bakugo entered. "Yo."
"Kacchan! Thank God you're okay!" Izuku exclaimed.
"Yo, Katsuki-kun," Satoru said. "I forgot to tell you, but thanks for your help against All For One."
"Don't thank me, brat," Bakugo said. "Deku, earlier... You talked about embers... does this mean that..."
Satoru understood. "Izuku... you're Quirkless again...?"
Izuku nodded. "That's not a big deal. That's the way I was born. I have no regrets. I feel like I've lived a beautiful dream."
Bakugo's eyes slowly teared up. Satoru placed a hand on his shoulder to console him.
"You're crying?!" Izuku exclaimed.
"How much fucking trouble have I put you through?" Bakugo wondered.
I understand how Katsuki-kun feels, Satoru thought. I'm feeling the same for my brother. Because of me, he went through Hell. I still haven't apologized to him.
"I thought we would have kept challenging each other..." Bakugo sobbed.
"Don't worry, Katsuki-kun," Satoru tried to console his friend. "You still have me as your training partner."
"Don't act like that, Kacchan, that's not like you!" Izuku said. "I still have the embers, so I'm not fully Quirkless yet!"
"You've gotten stronger, young men," All Might said. "Young Akiyama... you still have All For One's Quirks?"
Satoru nodded. "Still in me. I'll use them for heroic purposes, I swear on my life."
"Oh, that's great," All Might said. "You've all changed a lot since the day I met you."
"Young Midoriya, from the day you charged forward without hesitation, you were already the greatest Hero to me. Now that you've managed to cheer everyone up, though, you are so to everyone."
"Then there's you, Young Bakugo. who allowed me to be here to tell you this. You, too, are the greatest Hero."
"And last but not least, Young Akiyama. I couldn't help but remember the days I trained your brother, Hikaru, every time I looked in your eyes. You really are brothers, and you have the same determination as him. You're destined to become... one of the greatest Heroes ever, just like your brother."
Satoru tried to hold his tears back from the emotion. "Stop flattering me, All Might-san... so no 'you're the greatest Hero' for me? Understandable. After all, I'll never reach my brother's level..."
"Thanks a lot, guys..." All Might said.
Satoru, Izuku, and Bakugo all smiled.
(When I was a kid, I thought Heroes were bad. Maybe I was influenced by All For One. Now I understand that being a Hero is the best thing a person can be in their life.)
(My--no, our--story isn't finished yet. It'll be finished only when we see a radiant path in our future.)
__________
(In June, months late, our Senpai's graduation ceremony was held.)
"Potatoes, potatoes, potatoes..." Tamaki silently repeated as he grabbed his diploma.
"You fought with honor!" Principal Nezu said.
Nejire then took her diploma. "I graduated!"
Now that I'm single, I can say that, Satoru thought as he crossed his arms. Hado-senpai is way too frigging cute. Pity a cute girl like her has to leave.
"Good lyrics, right?" Present Mic shouted from his mic. "C'mon, put your hands up, for the representative Mawata Fuwa!"
"It sounds like a rap battle! How cool!" Kinoko said.
"That's not cool," Satoru replied. "That's badass."
"Akiyama-san, that's not fair," Yui said. "You have a Quirk that makes you regenerate! You're the only one who's not injured!"
"But I'm the one who fought the most, though," Satoru countered. "And you must have seen me with all those bandages. There wasn't a part of my body that wasn't injured."
Itsuka looked at him. If I don't tell him my feelings now, then when will I...? I've decided, I'll tell him now.
"Let's also welcome the one who represents the graduates, Lemillion a.k.a. Togata Mirio!" Present Mic shouted before Itsuka could even approach Satoru.
Mirio took a deep breath. "Thanks to everyone for being here despite all your engagements!"
"What's with this seriousness?!" the listeners all fell on the floor from the shock. Only Satoru, Tamaki, and Nejire remained on their feet--they knew Mirio too well, they knew he wouldn't have joked in this situation.
"We lost a lot and gained nothing," Mirio continued. "Heroes' fights generally serve to cheer the people up after a negative situation. We used everything we've learned in this school and fought like a real team. We didn't come back to zero yet. These free years served for us to shape ourselves and prepare for what's to come. Our goal isn't today. There's no radiant future without a little bit of humor."
"Today, we're at the start line, and the ones who'll keep studying here... see ya!"
I'll miss you, Togata-senpai, Satoru thought. We'll catch up in a couple of years to see who will be the Number One Hero.
__________
Class 2-B (provisional)
"All right, guys," Vlad King said. "Satoru's gonna enter the room. I'll expel the first one who yells at him. I want you to compliment him and hug him. That's what he deserves after all he's done."
"But, Vlad King-sensei," Monoma said. "I still don't fully trust him yet..."
"You really don't?" Shihai said. "Are you retarded? He literally protected all of us! He saved the world!"
"Monoma, if you don't greet him as he deserves, you can say goodbye to U.A.," Vlad King thundered. "You can come inside, Akiyama."
Satoru slowly stepped inside the house. "Yo. I know what you're thinking, and..."
His classmates rushed to him and hugged him.
"I knew you were a Hero deep inside, Sat!" Tetsutetsu exclaimed as he rubbed his head playfully.
"Don't do it ever again, Akiyama-san!" Pony exclaimed. "You scared me!"
"Welcome back, Akiyama," Togaru said.
"Let him breathe, let him breathe!" Itsuka said. "Satoru-kun, can we... talk later? Just the two of us?"
Kyaaa! She's gonna confess her crush to him! Setsuna thought in her mind. "Hey, don't keep him all for yourself, Itsuka. I'm sure Akiyama-kun wants to reconcile with everyone."
Satoru smiled. "I want to know what you did during the battle. I'm curious."
(So yeah, this is how I fully redeemed myself and reconciled with my classmates.)
Chapter 88 - End