The world got to see their favorite heroes in action. But the great number one hero, All Might, the symbol of peace, had his last job that day, and publicly retired.

Even though the rescue was a success, the League of Villains managed to escape with Kurogiri. The only one to be captured was All For One. All Might was able to stop All For One his great nemesis, and Grim, but Grim managed to slip away and hasn't been seen since.

Thanks to your quirk, All Might was able to fight until the end. He knew he owed you a great deal, and was disheartened that he couldn't do more. The damage from the battle took a toll on his body, and it was plain for the world to see.

You, Bakugo, and Shinso were with the villains for far too long and now the symbol of peace was out of commission. What would the world think of heroes now?

You watched the news coverage on Kamino from your hospital room. This habit of coming here was starting to get annoying. You were alone this time as visitors were limited until you spoke to the authorities.

Whatever happened after you used your quirk on All Might was a blur. You heard Bakugo's voice and you remembering the sensation of flying? Everything else escaped you.

Your only interaction with anyone so far was with a nurse and Aizawa. He explained to you that Midnight and Monarch were in the building. Apparently they'd been there since you arrived and got to see you unconscious but now the authorities wanted a moment with you before you slept again.

You didn't mind waiting to see them. Everything was a mess. You were so happy to finally be safe, but what did safe mean anymore? Now, you were at the mercy and scrutiny of the media, which already hadn't been pretty, but you chose to ignore that segment in the news.

And you had to wonder why Aizawa was there to see you. You wanted to believe he cared about you but there was more than just concern in his eyes. Were they worried about your quirk?

Butcher was back. All Might was down. You killed a serial killer. And it sickened you but you didn't feel as comfortable in the protection of the heroes like you should. You heard Shigaraki's voice over an over in your head.

"I'm here for you."

"I know what you're feeling, but you don't have to worry anymore. Stick with me."

"I'll help you..."

"Damn him," you chalked it up to a bad case of Stockholm syndrome. You so desperately wanted to be home after being kidnapped but now it was the last place you wanted to be.

You didn't want to be anywhere.

A knock came to your door and you let out a heavy sigh. Here we go...

"How are you feeling, (Y/N)?"

A man walked in with messy, indigo hair. Your heart skipped a beat until you realized Shinso didn't have chin stubble and wasn't that old.

"Oh... Mr-Dr. Shinso?!"

☺️

He had the same dark rimmed eyes and a similar smirk that made your heart melt, "It's been a while."

"What're you doing here? I mean- that's a stupid question!" You panicked, "You work here. I just mean..."

Hajime Shinso chuckled dryly, "I'm here to check on you - make sure you're good to go."

You let him do a routine checkup, but then he started fiddling with a computer next to your bed. The sounds it was making unsettled you.

"Is something wrong?" You asked.

"You're doing well, but when you showed up your quirk was creating an, we'll say, 'unrest' in your body. I don't know how else to describe it - just a constant flow of energy only attacking certain areas. It hasn't exactly died down even after you slept for twelve hours. But it's not harming you, either," he tapped his chin, "I'm stumped, if you didn't notice. My hunch is it has to do with your quirk evolving."

"Really?"

"It's not uncommon," he shrugged, "When used enough most quirks develop, like working a muscle. I'd like to keep an eye on things a while longer, but keep me updated once you're back home and tell me if anything changes."

You nodded. Hajime's face relaxed, "Thank you, (Y/N). For bringing my son home."

Your chest swelled from hearing his kind tone and sincerity, "How is Hitoshi?"

"He's okay. I hate thinking about what he endured - both of you. I heard it could have been a lot worse from the pretty boy with the wings."

You snorted.

"I wish you didn't have to get kidnapped by villains to find him, but you did more than I could have. My wife and I were devastated hearing your names listed as the kidnapped students... You've always been a good friend to him. He has us but," he shook his head with a wry smile, "He really cares for you. And having you in his corner rooting for him has made him a different Hitoshi. I worried for a long time he was too cold or harsh towards others because they were harsh to him. But since he's met you, I see more of my boy's smile.

Not to say he isn't still a pain in the ass every once in a while," he added.

"No kidding," you laughed, "I mean-!!"

His toothy grin made you miss Shinso even more, "I'm fine with a girl who can put him in his place. Alright. I'm going to send some people in to chat with you. After that you get to endure the line of adoring fans."

Your eyes dropped and you played with the thin fabric of your hospital blanket. Hajime set a hand on your head, startling you out of your trance.

"No matter what happens," he said, "You protected my family. The Shinso's are in your corner too."

You tried to smile without crying and managed to stifle it into a pitiful sniffle, "Thank you..."

He ruffled your hair, "Oh. Those are for you. They're from my wife - she came by earlier but she's with Hitoshi now." He pointed to the side table before stepping out of the door.

You spotted an enormous bouquet of lavender roses and smiled. They were beautiful and their sweet aroma calmed you, unlike the sanitized smell of hospital.

But most importantly, they weren't red...

The door opened again and you were surprised to see Nighteye and not True Man or the chief of police again. The lanky, glaring man approached your bed at a comfortable distance.

"You look well. Considerably better than earlier," he said with an emotionless face.

"Thank you, sir? I feel better."

"I'm sure you're curious why I'm here."

You shrugged, "You weren't what I was expecting, no."

"Well. First and foremost," he adjusted his glasses, "I've come to apologize."

"Sir?"

"Yes. I let my curious nature get the better of me. When I saw you visiting Monarch in the hospital I couldn't help myself and used foresight on you. Now that we all knew who you were, I had to know what your future looked like. It was wrong of me to pry especially based on my ignorant judgement.

Furthermore. I saw several outcomes and probabilities and did nothing to stop them. I know it sounds cruel especially after what you've gone through..."

You starred at him in horror and slight disgust.

"But you must understand... there is usually nothing I can do to prevent what I see. What I see happens if I intervene or not. There were hundreds of outcomes for last night and the only ones where neither you or Shinso died were the ones where I didn't get involved."

"So... if you had stopped me from getting kidnapped at all, then?" you fished for an answer.

"Shinso would have died. At least, from your future that's all I could see. I didn't touch him, obviously. Everything played its part and the choices you made brought all three of you home. Alive. I don't share this knowledge to taunt you or cause you more grief, but it is my curse and because I knew I've already shared my statement with the police."

You almost forgot for a blissful moment that you killed someone using your quirk, "Oh..."

"Hawks told me how you refused his help to cover for you," Nighteye scoffed, "Which I found to be quite stupid, and also admirable. Not many would have chosen to come forward when an out was so easily given."

"I'm not sure why, I just don't think I could live with myself ignoring something like that. Especially..."

Nighteye waited patiently. You kept thinking about the League; Tomura, Twice, Toga, Dabi, everyone and their views on the hero society. If you allowed Hawks to take credit for Stefano's death, you would be a hypocrite and the villains would be right.

"Never mind," you muttered.

"May I show you something?"

He held up a thick file in his hand that you hadn't bothered noticing earlier. You watched him remove the rubber band and holding it together and he moved closer to the bed.

Once opened, he took pictures from the file and placed them on your knees one by one. They were photos of young women; beautiful and happy.

One, two, three, four...

Twelve... fifteen...

Nighteye finally stopped with a final photo - number twenty-nine.

"These are the bodies we've identified, so far," he said, "Killing is wrong, but, you stopped a monster who would kill far more than this if given the chance."

All those faces. Every single one of them had a life - a future - people who loved them. You and Shinso could have been added to the pile. You helped him collect the photos up again but it felt strange to touch them, like they were sacred artifacts.

"Your future is an interesting one, (Y/N). I've seen every outcome, and yet I don't know which you'll choose," He paused and a very faint smile graced his lips, "I know everything seems dark now, but some of those paths will lead you to a light. Damage can be done if I share too much, so my gift to you is simply hope."

"So, my life isn't over?" You half joked.

"Far from it. Not to say it won't be difficult..."

"Well, darn. It's been such a pleasant ride so far."

Nighteye studied you carefully, "... I enjoy your humor. It's not the best, but keep it up. Anyway. I have to leave you now. Hawks and I have essentially taken care of your case, all that's left is your statement. You can tell the truth. I suggest cooperating and accepting the consequences they find appropriate, but they'll be livable."

He was about to leave but you called out to him, "Sir!"

"Yes."

"Do I become a hero?"

His long silence made your heart sink. Maybe there was no hero work in your future after last night.

"There are very few paths... But you saved someone tonight, did you not?"

"Yes, but..."

"Do you become your father," he asked for you, "These are all probabilities."

You swallowed the lump in your throat. First he mentions hope and then says you could be doomed. He watched the turmoil brewing in your face and sighed.

"We can't live our lives in fear. This is why my quirk is sometimes a curse. To see if you live, when you die - what does it matter really? It just gives one anxiety and stops the living from living. In the end, we all have a destiny."

He opened the door to your room, "Any day, any hour could be our last. There are no guarantees. So live every moment... with a smile."

You let his words resonate with you and relaxed back onto your bed. These were your last few minutes of peace before you had to face the world again. It scared you and excited you. The idea of endless possibilities...

You came to peace with many things, but talking to Midnight and Monarch again after seeing your father face to face was your first obstacle. The secrets had to end. You wanted to understand and forgive because you loved them, but it hurt that they still kept things from you.

As promised, the next time the door opened you were welcomed by a wave of people. Your class, your aunt, your godfather, even All Might himself. He was skinnier now, but he still had the strength to smile when he saw you.

Mina pushed her way to the front of your bed, her pink complexion was puffy and red from crying.

She sniffled, "Permission to hug?"

You snorted in laughter, "Um. Yeah, of course."

Mina threw herself on you and sobbed loudly, "I'm so happy you're back!!!"

"Me next!" Mineta said.

"She needs to recover, not get worse!" Jiro flicked him in the forehead.

Mina gave you room to breathe and so that Midnight could see you. Your aunt didn't say anything but she wrapped her arms around your shoulders and hugged you tightly.

"Don't expect any tears from me," Monarch mumbled behind her, "I was out of those days ago."

Midnight pulled away and you grinned up at them, "Hi, guys."

Monarch suddenly collapsed beside your bed grasping your hand, "I lied!! Here they come!" And he cried dramatic tear into your bedsheets.

"Oh, good..."

You heard Bakugo's monstrous voice shoving passed your classmates, "If you died I was going to kill you!"

"We're happy to have you guys back," Kirishima's red hair popped up out of the crowd, "We were all scared for a good while..."

"Our class is together again!" Uraraka squeaked.

You scanned everyone's smiling, or crying, faces. This was one of those moments you wanted to remember forever - seeing everyone together, carefree and loving even if it had to be short lived once you all returned to reality.

Shoto finally got to you next and pressed his lips firmly against your forehead with his hand pushing your hair out of the way. Your classmates nearest by all froze or blushed.

"You need to stop worrying us like this," Shoto glared.

"I-I promise it's not for fun," you said.

"GET AWAY FROM HER, YOU HALF AND HALF BASTARD!" Bakugo was restrained by Iida and Kirishima.

"Alright - we need to give my darling some space," Monarch ushered everyone towards the door, "You, especially, shouting child."

All Might and Izuku lingered a little longer with Midnight. The retired hero sat on the edge of your bed and awkwardly pat your foot, "I owe you an explanation."

"I mean, I'm curious about," you gestured to his face, "this, but I wouldn't say you owed me anything?"

"There's... more," he said sadly, "And we should have talked a long time ago. I want you to rest now, but whenever you're ready, I am here."

Even All Might's voice was entirely different. You missed his overly heroic, booming tone but this All Might also felt more real to you.

"Okay, thanks for saving the day, All Might," you grinned.

"You saved me this time," he scoffed.

He took his leave, leaving you with more questions, and yet you weren't in a hurry to find them. Midnight stepped into the hall for a moment, probably feeling the vibe of the room, so Izuku was left. He wore an expression that hurt your little heart.

"Deku?" You asked.

"I'm so sorry... I let you down."

He was shaking, but he grabbed both of your hands in his, "We came to rescue you and Bakugo at the camp, but I was too weak to do anything."

"Oh," you frowned, "Deku, I haven't once thought you failed me."

"But if I had been stronger-"

"Then I never would have found Shinso," you said, "Everything... happens for a reason."

His emerald eyes hadn't left the floor but now they peered up at you. He seemed to calm down after that, but something else was keeping his heart racing. You watched his cheeks get red and you worried perhaps your quirk was manifesting on its own.

"Are you okay?" You asked, "Is it me?"

Izuku nodded. With his hands still encasing yours, the rest of his upper body gravitated towards you. By now, you were fairly familiar with body language and you realized what he had on his mind.

"You sure you want to do that?" You laughed nervously, "Remember how people freaked out when I kissed you."

"I don't care what they say. I-It was special to me. You're special to me..."

Your eyes grew wide. He was actually going to do it? Izuku wasn't as bold as the others so it surprised you now how determined he was. You weren't sure how you felt about it all. He always felt more like a brother or something, but then again, you wouldn't have kissed a brother...

His lips pressed against yours and you waited for the feeling of disinterest to settle in, but it was better than you expected. You never thought about him romantically, but he wasn't a bad kisser at all. Maybe a bit gentle, but that seemed to suit him. His shy, terrified nature melted away once he touched you.

But when he stopped, he was back to himself again.

"I-I-I-I have to g-go? Uh, n-not that I don't want to stay! Um, I'm s-sure you need time to rest.... k, bye!"

You couldn't help but laugh to yourself. Damn, Izuku had some game after all. You touched a finger to your lips. Of course, that didn't exactly make your romantic predicament any easier.

The only one you hadn't seen was Shinso. You gazed at the door like a sad puppy waiting for his owners to come home. He was probably still resting, but you've wanted to see his face, his real face and not Toga, for what seems like an eternity. Maybe the nurses would let you go visit him?

You started pulling off the wires attached to you, like your heart monitor, when you heard snickering in the doorway. When you looked up, you saw your aunt and Hajime Shinso getting a good laugh at your anxious escape.

Hajime rolled his eyes, still grinning, and nodded his head in his direction, "Come on, then. I'm sure he's excited to see you too."