Light, hesitant knocking broke the evening quiet of the Midoriya family home. When Izuku opened the door, his eyes went wide with complete astonishment.
"All Might?!"
The legendary hero stood before him in his usual thin form, wearing a loose formal suit. Before the boy could process the moment, Inko Midoriya rushed to the door and gasped in delighted surprise. "My goodness! Please come in, welcome to our humble home. I can't believe you're really here!"
In the living room the atmosphere was heavy with a mother's emotion and worry. Inko Midoriya sat across from All Might, her hands trembling as she held her cup of tea.
Izuku asked in a worried voice as he studied his teacher's wounds. "How are you feeling now? Are you better after that battle?"
All Might smiled calmly to reassure him. "I'm alright, my boy, don't worry. But I came today about a very important decision."
All Might straightened in his seat and told her about the dormitory living decision, explaining that the school was the only place where he could guarantee Izuku's safety given the current threats.
Inko's lips trembled and she set the cup on the table with a soft click, fear plainly visible in her eyes. "And how am I supposed to trust that? The academy has been breached repeatedly! My son comes back to me shattered with broken bones every time he goes out for training. He nearly lost his life. I don't want to lose him!"
All Might looked into the terrified mother's eyes, then leaned forward and lowered his head in complete sincerity, bowing nearly to the floor in a full gesture of apology.
"Ma'am, I completely understand your concern, and the academy bears significant responsibility for what happened. But I take full responsibility myself. I will dedicate whatever remains of my life to protecting him and guiding him, and I will give my life for his if it comes to that."
Before Inko could respond, Midoriya rose from his seat and stood beside his teacher, his eyes gleaming with a determination his mother had never seen in him before.
"Mom. Please listen to me." Midoriya said in a voice that trembled but held firm. "I know I always make you cry and I know you're afraid. But if I back down now and hide at home I'll never be able to forgive myself. I've seen All Might's sacrifice and I've seen how people suffer. I want to be a hero who reaches them and saves them with a smile. This is the path I've chosen and I can't go back."
Inko looked at her son, then at her trembling hands. In that moment she understood that the boy who used to cry in front of the television had grown up, and that the path he had chosen was no longer just studying but a battle for survival and a responsibility that couldn't be run from.
She couldn't hold herself back. She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Izuku with force, and they both broke down in tears that released everything they had been suppressing through all the days that had passed.
"I agree." Inko said through her tears. "But don't sacrifice your life, All Might. Live to raise him and guide him."
All Might watched them from behind, his features full of buried sorrow and the weight of the responsibility that had been entrusted to him.
And when Izuku walked his teacher out to the quiet street, the boy stepped forward with open arms to embrace him in an expression of his deep gratitude. But suddenly:
Bam!
All Might delivered a light tap to the top of Midoriya's head.
"Ow! Why did you do that?" Midoriya rubbed his head with exaggerated pain.
All Might looked at him with sternness, his eyes narrowing. "Why do you keep acting recklessly and doing things on your own without consulting me?"
Midoriya froze in place. He understood immediately that he meant the night of Kamino and the dangerous infiltration plan to rescue Zoro. He lowered his head and couldn't find any words to justify his impulsiveness, because he knew that a single small mistake there could have cost all of them their lives.
All Might sighed and placed his thin hand on the boy's shoulder with paternal firmness. "From now on, I'll be watching you closely. I won't allow you to do these reckless things again. Do you understand?"
Meanwhile, in Kenji's dojo, a deep silence had settled, broken only by the sound of a wooden sword cutting through the air.
Kenji was watching Zoro with focus and then said in a low voice. "Aizawa told me everything. The attack on the camp and the reckless plan you all put together."
Zoro stopped his training, his eyes gleaming with seriousness. Kenji continued, stepping toward him. "But what truly concerns me is what happened when you were in All For One's grip. What did he say to you? Did he mention my name? Or mention Shimotsuki?"
Zoro was silent for a moment, drawing back those suffocating seconds in the darkness. And before he could answer, the doorbell rang. Kenji sighed and went to open the door, finding Aizawa standing there.
"Oh, Shota. Welcome. You still remember the address well." Kenji said with a faint smile.
Aizawa replied as he bowed with respect. "How could I forget it?"
Kenji invited him in, and Aizawa immediately looked around the dojo. "Where is Zoro? I don't see him."
Kenji pointed toward the back courtyard. "The doctors ordered him to rest, but he's stubborn as you know. He doesn't stop training."
Aizawa came in and asked them both to sit down to discuss an important matter. He explained the details of the dormitory living decision, clarifying that the academy had built a dedicated building for each class to ensure their absolute protection.
Kenji furrowed his brows and spoke in a tone full of doubt. "You want to move him there? The academy's walls didn't stop the villains from targeting him at the summer camp, Aizawa. What will stop them now?"
Aizawa answered quietly and rationally. "Gathering them in one place under constant pro hero supervision is the best military option right now. Leaving Zoro here makes him an isolated target and makes it easier to reach him, and that puts your dojo directly in the line of danger as well."
Zoro stopped wiping his sword and looked at both of them with cold composure. "I don't need to hide behind a school's walls. If anyone dares to get close I'll simply cut them down. The matter doesn't need a fortress."
Kenji sighed with mild exasperation and looked at Zoro. "This isn't about hiding, you fool, it's about not fighting a war alone on every front. If they're specifically targeting you, coordinating with the academy and the heroes is the logical step to avoid turning the streets into a bloody mess." He turned toward Aizawa and gave a small nod. "Alright, Aizawa. I agree."
As Aizawa was about to leave, he suddenly stopped and pulled a small envelope from his pocket. "I nearly forgot. This is for Zoro." He handed it to Kenji and left.
Zoro opened the envelope. The letter was from the child Kota. The letters were written in a crooked, childlike script but saturated with words of apology and genuine gratitude for Zoro who had protected him from the villain Muscular in the forest and had nearly died because of it.
Zoro read the letter in silence. A faint sideways smile formed on his face, then he folded the paper and returned it to his pocket, murmuring in a low voice. "Heh. Looks like that little crybaby finally stopped wailing. Good. Let him grow up and become a strong man who relies on himself instead of waiting for heroes to save him."
The next morning the sun rose over a new era. Class 1-A students were heading toward the academy with their bags, their faces carrying a mix of excitement and uncertainty.
They all stood before the large new building bearing the sign "Alliance A-1." Aizawa was standing waiting for them, his tired eyes scanning their faces.
The students began gathering around Zoro, congratulating him on his recovery. "Glad you're safe, Zoro! Have your wounds healed?"
Zoro replied briefly. "I'm fine, don't worry."
Aizawa cut through the side conversations with his firm voice that accepted no argument. "Listen carefully. You'll be moving into your new rooms today. And soon you'll be taking the provisional hero license exam. But before that, there is a matter that needs to be settled."
A sudden, heavy silence descended. Aizawa continued with narrowing cold eyes. "Midoriya, Bakugo, Iida, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, and Kirishima. Step forward."
The six froze in their places and stepped forward with pale faces. Todoroki was relatively calm since he had known their secret would be revealed inevitably after his father's meeting.
Aizawa spoke in a decisive tone. "You went to rescue Zoro that night without permission from anyone. You violated the law and risked your lives and the school's reputation entirely."
The students exchanged terrified looks. Iida whispered with bitterness as he tightened his fist. "I told you all. Endeavor doesn't forget."
Uraraka and Tsuyu and the rest erupted with shock and fierce indignation. "What?! You went to Kamino and didn't tell us?!"
The rest of the students felt excluded and deeply hurt. Not from jealousy, but because their friends had hidden something this consequential from them, as if they weren't worthy of the trust to share the burden.
Bakugo spun toward Todoroki and shouted in fury with his veins standing out. "You, Half and Half! What's wrong with your father? Doesn't he know how to keep his mouth shut about something this simple?"
The argument was about to explode before Aizawa intervened with a shout that shook everyone. "Enough!"
Complete silence settled. Aizawa continued with sternness. "If the circumstances were different, I would be expelling all of you from the academy this very moment and expelling everyone who knew about the plan and stayed silent about it. You survived this time only because of the exceptional situation we're in. But I'm warning you. If this kind of recklessness happens again, there will be no place for any of you here."
Zoro was watching the scene with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked at the six classmates who had risked everything to pull him out of hell, then at Aizawa who was trying to restore the crumbling structure of order. He said nothing, but his gaze conveyed that he understood both their courage and the teacher's sternness at the same time.
As far as Zoro was concerned, the real battle hadn't begun yet, and these comfortable dormitories were nothing more than a new training ground.
Aizawa finished speaking and sighed. "Now go inside. It's time to see your rooms and get to know your new place of residence."
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For Advanced Chapters:
Chapter 106 is Available Now
Zoro vs Seiji in The Provisional Hero License Exam
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