(After the school day ended, there was something I had--and I wanted--to do. I wanted to visit... an old friend.)
Satoru teleported in front of a hospital. "They should be here..."
Satoru took a few steps closer and saw them: the Todoroki family.
"Hey, Satoru-kun, there you are!" Fuyumi greeted him.
"Fuyumi-san, Rei-san, Endeavor, Natsuo, Shoto-kun..." Satoru muttered. "Thanks for allowing me to come. You know how much I wanted to see him."
Satoru and the Todoroki family walked into a hall.
"I didn't come here because I was forced," Shoto said. "The same counts for you, right?"
The door opened.
"He can talk, but only for a few minutes," said a doctor.
"Let me talk to him," said Satoru. "I'm the only one he listens to."
Everyone nodded.
Satoru nodded back and took a step closer. "Long time no see... Toya-nii."
"Oh, so you had the guts to come, you filthy traitor..." Dabi muttered. He was in tremendous condition, and he was only living thanks to technology. "And I see that shitty family of mine's here, too..."
"I came here because I wanted to see you, Toya-nii," Satoru ignored him and kept going. "We're still friends, you know that."
"No, we're not," Dabi said. "Not after you betrayed us."
"Remember who was there for you when you had your daily crashouts," Satoru taunted him.
Dabi snorted under the technology that kept him alive. "Okay, maybe we're still friends."
"I've also come to tell you," Satoru continued. "What's going to happen now."
"I... will continue to go to U.A. At this point in my life, I don't regret the journey I've made nor the people I've met in the LoV, but I deeply regret being a Villain, so I'll be a Hero now. Your father, Endeavor, will stop being a Hero. As you can see, he's missing his right arm and is forced to use a wheelchair. The Hero Endeavor died under your blue flames, the same who burned your own body; you accomplished your dream. I told you several times not to overuse your flames, yet you did. You've always been stubborn, Toya-nii."
"You've always been by my side, even when nobody else wasn't. The reason I wanted to see you is... that I didn't want to lose the opportunity to say goodbye to the first friend I've ever had."
"You're really bold, telling me this after everything that's happened, Satoru..." Dabi muttered.
"I know," Satoru said. "We know each other well. You wanted your father to watch you, right? Well, he didn't. But your flames come from his Hellflame. Endeavor will come here every day to talk to you, and I'll do the same. I promise to come at least five days out of seven, including Saturday and Sunday."
Satoru turned to face Shoto, and they immediately understood each other.
"Toya-nii, I have one question for you," Satoru said. "What's your favorite food?"
"He reached his limit today!" said the doctor. "You can come back tomorrow."
"Pity," Satoru said as he turned to leave. The Todoroki family did the same.
Just then, thought, Dabi spoke up. "Soba."
Satoru turned. "Mine is ramen," he said as he wiped his nose.
"Same as me," Shoto added.
"Satoru... Shoto..." Dabi muttered. "I'm sorry..."
__________
"For me, this story ends here," Natsuo said as they went out of the hospital. "Sorry, but I won't change my mind. We won't see each other anymore."
"Okay," Endeavor.
"I want to marry my girlfriend," Natsuo continued. "I won't celebrate nor introduce her to you."
"I see," Endeavor said. "I'm sorry."
"Honestly, I think we did our part," Natsuo said. "And we had our punishment."
Natsuo opened the door of his car. "Shoto, Satoru, what are you doing? You have to come back to school, right?"
"Yeah," Satoru said.
"I'll give you a lift," Natsuo said. "You too, nee-chan."
"Thanks!" said Fuyumi as the three of them approached the car.
Satoru stopped a few feet away. Then he turned to Endeavor.
"Endeavor," he said. "Shoto and I will be fine. Thanks for training me at your agency. Bye."
The car left.
Endeavor's phone rang. Rei grabbed it.
"Look, there's still someone who thinks about you," she said.
Endeavor looked at the screen and saw that the one who sent the message was Oro.
"How did the meeting go? If there's any problem, don't hesitate to tell me, Enji :)."
__________
"Thanks, I'm fine. If I need help, I'll tell you. Say hello to Hawks for me."
Oro read Endeavor's response.
"Oh, so bold," he smirked. "For someone in a wheelchair."
He looked at the sky. "Take care, Enji."
__________
"Huh? They said you're free to go, but you wanted to stay here anyway?"
Oro and Hawks went to visit Lady Nagant.
"That's too early," Lady Nagant said. "The outer world still scares me."
"I thought you could help us with a thing or two..." Hawks said.
"That day, your brother showed the entire world something important," Lady Nagant said, talking to Oro. "I want to see how society will change now."
She leaned on the glass and gave Oro a raspberry. "I'll be eating at the government's expense for a while longer."
Oro gave her a raspberry, too. "Damn Villain."
__________
(The next day, I went to visit someone else. Toya-nii is not the only one who survived, there was also...)
"Spinner..." Satoru said as Spinner sat in front of him. "Long time no see."
"Why did you come here?" Spinner asked. "To mock me after betraying the entire League and me?"
"Well, no," Satoru said. "I've come here to tell you the last words of Tomura. Since you're still alive, I'll respect his request."
"You dare pronounce his name, murderer?" Spinner said.
"I don't deny that I am a murderer," Satoru said. "But if you really think I didn't try to save him, then you're totally wrong, Spinner."
"'Shigaraki Tomura fought until the end to destroy everything.' Those were his last words. He wanted you to know."
"...Ah," Spinner said. "He told you to tell me?"
Satoru nodded.
"Only to me?" Spinner repeated. "Not to Dabi or Toga?"
Satoru's mind flashed with a thought he had kept away until that moment: Toga.
Where was she? Was she alive? Probably not. He would've noticed. Since he didn't want to cry in front of Spinner, he ignored what Spinner said and continued.
"They're not in a good condition, unlike you," he tried to say, maybe even trying to convince himself. "Yes, only to you."
"Shigaraki... was my hope, and you knew it!" Spinner said. "He told me--no, he told us--with a smile, 'Let's destroy everything,' and you stopped him! You are a traitor!"
Spinner's form grew bigger, just like the one he had assumed during the Final War. He grabbed Satoru's body with both hands, but the body didn't flinch. He knew Spinner couldn't harm him.
"Thanks to him, I thought I could have become something!"
Satoru stopped the doctor from blocking Spinner. "Let him be."
"Shigaraki Tomura was my Hero!" Spinner said.
"I know," Satoru said calmly. "It's not his fault for everything that's happened, but All For One's."
"He liked video games..." Spinner said. "And when I joined the League, we played together! Me, you, and Shigaraki! Don't you remember those days?"
"Bro, it wasn't even one year ago," Satoru said. "I had fun, but don't act like it's been years. I'm sorry for what happened, okay? Is this what you wanted to hear? My apologies? Now let me go, Spinner."
Satoru talked with such security and determination that Spinner actually let go of him and switched back to his normal form.
"Now sit," Satoru commanded. Spinner did.
"This is probably the last time we meet, Spinner," Satoru concluded. "Being your friend has been a pleasure. See Ya."
When Satoru turned to leave, Spinner said one last thing. "I'll write a book. I'll name it 'The League of Villains.'"
"That's not a bad idea," Satoru said as he opened the door. "But no one reads books nowadays. Maybe a comic is a bit better, but the choice is yours. And don't forget to include me, too."
__________
U.A.
"Dynamight-senpai! Todoroki-senpai! Dark Matter-senpai!"
Lots of first-years ran after Bakugo, Shoto, and Satoru.
"Oh crap, being famous at 17 sucks!" Satoru said as he catapulted himself inside Class A. "Sorry if I intrude on your class, but I gotta hide!"
"Don't worry, Satoru-kun," Izuku said. "You're always welcome here."
"First-years are crazy this year..." Satoru muttered.
Even if his mind and will tried to deny it, his mind kept drifting back to the thought that Toga was dead. He couldn't cry, not yet.
When school is over... I'll kill myself. Now that Himiko-chan is dead, I have no reason to live anymore.
"Please, control," Iida said. "They're still convalescent."
"I saw the direct of the fight against All For One," one of the first-years said.
"I admire Todoroki-senpai since the Sports Festival," said another one.
"I see Dark Matter-senpai as a sort of inspiration," said another one.
"Me too."
"Me too."
"I understand that you admire them, but they're people too," said Iida.
"Hey, class president, they were running in the hall," Bakugo said.
"Oh, right," Iida said. "You must not run in the hall!"
"If you want an autograph, I'll give you one later," said Satoru. "Now leave me alone, please. I gotta join my class, or Vlad King-sensei'll kick my ass."
__________
"Hey, everyone!" Oro and other Pro Heroes greeted Class A to fix the city. "Whaddya say we clean up this place?"
"Oro-san!" Izuku exclaimed. "Are you still convalescent?"
"Nossir," Hikaru said. "I'm as good as new now!"
Everyone smiled at the Number One Hero.
"Young Bakugo," Oro pointed at Bakugo. "Here's what you wanted."
Oro handed Bakugo his autograph.
"So you really... gave me your autograph..." Bakugo slightly smiled. "Arigatou, Oro-san."
"C'mon, let's not waste any time and clean up this place!" Oro exclaimed. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he could act like he always did--cheerful, always joking around, and smiling. "These kids... really are strong."
"Don't make me laugh," said a voice. "Good as new, you say? You still look like a crumpled denim."
Oro looked down and noticed Edgeshot, still in his small form, but with his arms.
"Guess who's talking," Oro laughed. "You're reduced to a string, and you call me a crumpled denim, Edgeshot-senpai?"
Edgeshot warmly laughed. "You could be a bit grateful to the one who saved your life, at least."
Oro shrugged. "I already thanked you for sewing up my heart back then. Now you gotta live inside me forever!"
"See? I've got arms now," Edgeshot said as he swung his arms. "I'm slowly coming back."
"Guess we gotta team up when you're able to do anything, then," Oro said. "It's not like we can separate from each other, ahah!"
__________
At night, on a cliff
Satoru was looking at the city from below. He was about to commit the extreme action.
Himiko-chan is dead... I can't live without her. I'll jump off this cliff and reach her in Hell. It's not like I deserve to go to Heaven...
Satoru remembered his first meeting with Toga and the way she gave him the grey scarf he always wore.
This scarf... You were the one to give it to me. That's why I'm wearing it in my last moments of life.
Satoru took one step closer and closed his eyes. Just then, he heard a voice.
"DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID, DUMBASS BROTHER!"
Oro had rushed to Satoru and grabbed his shirt before he could do something very stupid. "Are you going nuts? You're totally out of mind!"
Satoru's gaze was fixed on the ground. "You know how much I cared about her, don't you?"
"You're talking about Toga Himiko?" Oro asked. Satoru nodded.
"You probably don't know, but since the Paranormal Liberation War, Himiko-chan was the only reason my heart was still beating. Now that she's gone, what am I living for...?"
"To become a Hero, you idiot!" Hikaru shouted. "Don't you care about me? Your classmates? Anything? Was she the only important thing to you?"
"It's not like that," Satoru said. "But she promised she would never have left me alone."
"Satoru, listen," Oro grabbed his brother's shoulders. "During our final showdown against All For One, you showed me you truly changed. Leave behind the past, you're not a Villain anymore. You're not Mato anymore. You are a Hero. My Hero."
Satoru's eyes suddenly teared up. "I might leave my past behind, but I cannot leave Himiko-chan behind!"
"She was so cute, so gorgeous... always asking for my blood, always clinging to me... damn, I regret never saying to her how much I loved her... now I'll never be able to see her cute face again... I'll never be able to give her my blood... I'll never be able to hug her... why, why did destiny take her in place of me? I should be dead, not her... I even tried to use Search, but the reality is that... there's nothing more to observe. Himiko-chan's gone. And I couldn't save her..."
Damn, my little brother is crying over a girl... Oro thought. A Villain, moreover... can't blame him, though. I would act the same if Mirko died on me.
"I loved her, Aniki... more than anything else..." Satoru crumbled on his knees. "And she liked me back. I was so stupid, rejecting her on Okuto island, what came to my mind...?"
Suddenly, twenty voices shouted in unison. "Akiyama!"
Class B was there.
"Have you lost your mind?!" Monoma shouted.
"Be a man, don't cry over a girl like that!" Tetsutetsu said.
"You're an idiot!" Itsuka jumped onto Satoru's arms. "Satoru-kun, listen... I may not be able to replace Toga Himiko, but please, listen to me. I like you since the first day of school..."
"And you're confessing your feelings right now, in front of everyone?!" Satoru said.
"Yes," Itsuka said. "I don't want to hide it anymore."
"Anyway, I want to know everything about your story as a Villain," said Togaru, trying to distract his mind from thinking about Toga.
"Yeah, I'm dying from curiosity!" Pony jumped in the air. "Tell us your days as a Villain, Akiyama-san!"
"I want to know too," Oro said. "Remember that time we clashed at USJ without even knowing all of this would have happened?"
Satoru nodded and stood up. "Thanks, guys... I'm feeling a bit better now..."
He smiled. "Let's go to our dorm. I'll tell you everything."
Chapter 89 - End