8 Years Later
" The gang formerly known as class A is here tonight to give props to our very own Todoroki Shoto for his rise to number 2 on the charts! Cheers!"
" Cheers!" Everyone raised their cups in response to Kaminari, though none of their drinks were alcoholic.
Sora and Yuu sat across from Bakugo and Midoriya, next to Kirishima.
" Gee, thanks for finding the time to do this for me." Todoroki glanced back at Kaminari as he tapped his shoulders.
" Hey, don't sweat it! That was just the excuse!"
Instantly, the other man looked down. " Oh... Sure. Right..."
" Kidding! Obviously, we're here to celebrate you!" Kaminari shot out when seeing his former classmate's gloomy face.
Yuu chuckled. " Todoroki-san still takes everything so seriously, I see."
" Quit picking on No.2, No.44, and No.27," Sero piped in.
" Knock it off, man!" Kaminari complained.
" Seijin, you climbed all the way to No.27? In such a short time. I thought you debuted not too long ago." Todoroki asked as he took his seat beside Midoriya.
Yuu rubbed his head. " It's just... It's easy for me to take several missions at a time. I think that's what helped boost my ranking."
" Tsk. Cheater." Bakugo clicked his tongue.
" You're just bitter because you dropped to No.15." Yuu pointed with a smirk, and Bakugo stiffened, his glare could burn a boulder. " If you keep up like this, I might just overtake you on the chart." He shrugged as he watched the blond boil with rage.
" In your dreams, baggy eyes! Scratch that! You don't even dream!"
" I don't have to see you flanking, you're already doing it."
The two bickered back and forth while Midoriya ducked his head, whispering to Sora in front of him. " I can't believe Seijin-kun is bickering with Kacchan!"
" Right!" Sora's eyes widened with amazement as well. " They apparently go together on joint missions a lot. And this became some kind of norm between the two of them."
" Kacchan is going on joint missions!?" Midoriya blinked, unable to believe it.
" Listen to this, Midoriya-san," Yuu sighed as he turned his attention to the green head. " Your childhood friend here is dragging me all over the place because he doesn't have sidekicks as of yet."
" It's really a problem, huh?" Kirishima chuckled.
" It is! Some kinds of missions can't be taken unless you have a team of a minimal number. Why do you think heroes would want sidekicks in the first place? Have any of you done your research before going independent?" Yuu explained.
" I've always been bad at laws relating to heroes and stuff like that..." Kirishima laughed sheepishly while Bakugo gritted his teeth.
" You don't have any sidekicks yourself!" He countered explosively.
Yuu raised an eyebrow as a repost, and ten blue flame balls flared around him. " These are the ones available for tonight. I can call for more if you so wish."
Bakugo merely shook with restrained fury, and Yuu smirked as his flames faded away.
" I never thought I would see the day when Seijin would roast Bakugo like that!" Kirishima laughed, patting the man hard on his back so that he almost spilled his drink. " You've become a man!"
" And you've grown strong too," Todoroki added. " How many spirits do you have now?"
Yuu took a moment to run the numbers. " I think I have around 66 fighting spirits by now."
" That many!" Midoriya exclaimed.
" Man, in the past, you could hardly summon one spirit. Dang it, you're really taking huge leaps ahead of us," stated Kirishima.
" Not just that," interjected Yaoyorozo from the next table as she took a moment to scan him. " You've also grown old. How to say it... More manly. I can hardly believe you're the same Seijin-san who used to sit behind me. You definitely changed a lot."
" You've even been on the cover of several magazines, too!" Hagakure piped in excitedly.
Sora couldn't deny the remark. He certainly changed, putting aside his simple casual outfit of a light blue jacket, jeans, and a black tee. His hair had grown slightly longer and was arranged in a neat part, with some of it tucked behind his ear to prevent it from getting in the way.
She couldn't blame those magazines for wanting to use him as a model.
Yuu's face grew a tad red at the attention as he rubbed his head uneasily. Sora merely chuckled at his reaction. " Deep down, he's still that shy Yuu, though," she told Yaoyorozo and Hagakure.
" You too, Shirogane." Sero leaned back as if to take a good look at her. " You have changed a lot since high school. I barely could recognize you if you weren't appearing on the news, No.38."
True for that, she had been through a growth spurt after high school, growing taller and more feminine. As she grew older, she began to fancy her hair growing longer as well, and so left it till it had reached beyond her waist.
She held her head proudly at Sero's recognition.
" Right! Especially your-" before Mineta could say anything, Jiro pierced through his ear.
" No one wants to hear your comment on the matter."
" Keep that up, and your rank might never rise among female fans. Remember the incident with that girl during valentine on our first year. Don't scare them away." Sato lectured him.
" Tell him, Sato-kun! Last mission we had together, he stuck to my back for a ride after we finished." Sora shivered at the memory while Yuu spat some of his drink in response.
" I think some people never grow up," Sero sighed.
" Sero-kun though." She squinted at him. " You somehow remind me of Aizawa-sensei."
He had the same dark black hair, crooked smile, and half-lidded eyes, coupled with his faint mustache; he could pass for a cleaner, more refreshed version of their teacher with ease.
Sero laughed as he waved it off. " If anyone resembles Aizawa-sensei, it would be him." He indicated Shinso, who was listlessly minding his meal.
Truly, he resembled their teacher more. But not in features like Sero, rather, in the general appearance. The weary eyes, the poor posture, the unkempt hair. He matched their teacher's weary vibes and gruffness.
" Whoa! For real!" Everyone was drawn by Ashido's shout. " Kuroiro-kun and Kinoko-chan?! They're together now?!"
" For real, yeah!" Hagakure affirmed.
" I didn't get those vibes from them at all during that team-up mission we did!" The pinkette cried in delight, as if she had just found a new flavor of ice cream.
" Oh! Itsuka-chan told me about those two! She said everyone in class knew they were into each other and were waiting with bated breath for when they would get together!" Sora told her.
Ashido celebrated the luscious news with delight.
" Speaking of, how about you two?" Sero pointed at Jiro and Kaminari, who quickly refuted it.
" I smell denial." Sora held her glass to her mouth, staring past it at the two.
" Definitely." Yuu seconded, mirroring her act.
" Idiots..." mumbled Bakugo.
" Well, then, what about you two?!" Jiro countered by thrusting her earlobe into their faces.
" That's right! Everyone in our class had been waiting for when you two are going to get together!" Ashido pressed.
Finding almost every eye on them, they looked at each other and then looked down, faces flushed.
" Well... you know... We didn't want to ruin Todoroki's celebration... so..." As Sora spoke, both of them reached for their pockets simultaneously, and then drew up their hands, the silver matching rings circling their fingers glimmered as they caught the light. " We're already engaged..."
There was a moment of utter silence before everyone exploded with questions and congratulations at the same time. The most vocal of them was Mina. " When?!" She gasped.
" Last month," Sora said, giving Yuu a teasing nudge in his ribs as his face grew redder. " Someone finally gathered the courage to come ask for my hand."
" It's not like that..." he argued. " I can't just ask for your hand like that. I needed to make some preparations beforehand."
" You and your overthinking." She chuckled.
" Well then, congratulations to you both!" Iida held up his glass. " I wish you a happy life going forward!"
Todoroki raised his glass as well. " Let's throw another toast for the newly engaged!"
" Cheers!"
" Welp... we really ended up ruining your celebration..." Sora smiled apologetically.
" Not at all," Todoroki assured her. " Nothing would have made me happier than hearing this news."
" That reminds me, Mineta-san," the short man flinched as he felt the heat from his seat at the table beyond. He didn't dare look back. " I would appreciate keeping your balls off my Sora from here on. Or I might accidentally send a ghost to haunt your apartment at night. A blond woman's ghost."
" Eek!" Mineta squeaked.
" Seijin-kun... is scary..." Ojiro shivered in his seat, having faced him. Although his smile remained polite, his expression assured them he had every intention of carrying out his threat.
" Seijin became well versed in the art of threats," Tokoyami noted with a raised eyebrow.
" I learned from our teacher." He pointed out, and everyone shuddered at the memory of Aizawa's silencing glare.
" Will there be a wedding?" Uraraka asked excitedly.
" We're hoping to hold it in four months," Yuu told her. " You would be able to come, right?" He looked around, hopeful.
" Absolutely!"
" I'll definitely free up my schedule!"
" Just tell me the date, baggy eyes!" Bakugo already got his phone out.
" You're going to invite class B, too, right?" Midoriya asked, and Sora nodded her confirmation.
" I have taken all of their addresses to send the invitations. All that is left is Ai-chan. I know I can ask Itsuka-chan and the others to get the message to her, but I wanted to send everyone a formal invitation." She murmured.
" If that's the case, I can help with that. Dobutsu-san started working at UA at the beginning of the new school year." Midoriya informed.
" At UA?"
" Hound Dog has retired, and she has taken up his place as the counselor and groundkeeper." He gave an awkward smile. " It seems the principal is at a loss for words for why the school's ground became a home for bears and other wild animals."
Sora chuckled at that. " That's very Ai-chan-like. But thanks for the help, Midoriya."
" Anytime." He smiled. " So, when are you going to join UA yourself?"
" Joining?" Yaoyorozo looked at her. " Do you perhaps think of taking a teacher's job?"
" Yes. I want to teach English. It seems UA has been understaffed lately. Mic can't take on all the classes on his own." She looked back at Midoriya, who gave a nervous laugh. " I will be getting my teacher's license soon. So I think I might make it by the start of the second semester."
" And your hero work?" Shoji asked.
" Of course, I will be continuing with it." She held her fist up enthusiastically.
" What made you think of becoming a teacher, Shirogane-san?" Midoriya asked her.
" Yuu's brother," she stated. " He knew I loved English and suggested I take an advanced course at university. And frankly, I liked the idea. Since many Heroes take side jobs nowadays, I thought, why not? I can do what I love, and help watch over new generations as they take off, just like our teachers did for us."
" No more Japanese sweets classes then?" Sato asked her. " I was enjoying our cooking classes together."
" Nah! They're definitely there too! It's twice a month after all! And I wouldn't give up your baked goods, Sato-kun!" Sora retorted.
" Do you have that much free time!?" Bakugo argued.
" Right, heroes have more time on their hands these last years." Jiro rolled her earphone jack just as Yaoyorozo pointed at her.
" Jiro-san, too, is doing a side job as a musician. Your last album was really a hit. It's the background music at my office," said Yaoyorozo.
" It... it was nothing..." She pressed her jacks against each other, a sign that she was feeling embarrassed by the attention.
" You're still playing?" Shinso asked her curiously.
" Of course! I love music! Besides, I'm not the only one! Seijin is composing music, too. He uploads them weekly to his YouTube channel. And they're really good. I've even asked for his help on some of my songs."
Yuu choked on his drink as she announced. "Jiro-san..." He turned with an awkward smile.
" You still compose tracks?" Bakugo snorted. " Hopefully not a 'study with me'."
" It depends. I'm just doing it as a hobby for now. Not like a side job. Though sometimes I get requests from Jiro-san and others to make certain BGM or Remixes."
" He has a studio in his apartment. And he sometimes composes children's music for his niece."
" Niece!" Everyone looked back as Yuu covered his face with his hand.
" Did you have to?"
Sora stuck her tongue out with no remorse. " He's an uncle already. And he adores his 4-year-old niece so much, he makes sure to make time to play with her. Want to see their pictures together?"
" Please don't!"
He was saved by the alarm.
" In pursuit of a robbery getaway vehicle on scrap boulevard block 3, Minami Ward! We've got extensive Quirk-related damage, and this could turn into a real mess!"
" And this is why we can't have booze at these things."
They grabbed their suitcases, which instantly detached to cover them in their hero suits as they leapt to action.
It must have been odd, Sora thought, to see 23 heroes jumping out of a restaurant in their costumes and racing down the road.
Sora didn't know how, but it turned into an impromptu race.
One that Iida swiftly won, before their top three caught up.
Yuu could list a hundred ways a truck could be stopped without so many flashy moves, but he elected to enjoy the brief moment that brought back memories of their past days.
The perpetrator had been captured by the police, and the damage was dealt with by the rest of them.
With their uniforms safely detached and secured back into their suitcases, they expressed their disappointment at having to end their get-together quite abruptly.
" Hey, it's never goodbye forever!" Kirishima cheered them up.
" Besides, we still have Seijin and Shirogane's wedding to look forward to." Sero reminded them.
" Indeed."
" Ah, I picked up the tab at the restaurant," Todoroki said offhandedly. " So don't worry about parting ways here!"
" Huh?! Our guest of honor did what?! We're going Dutch, obviously!!" Mina objected.
" There is no need to."
" Stop being so stiff, Todoroki!" Sora told him off as she took out her pouch. " Do you have some change, Yuu?"
" Here."
After paying their friend back, they all said their goodbyes and split up, walking down their own ways.
" This was a lot of fun!" Sora exhaled happily as she and Yuu walked among the crowd, their hands held firmly together, while the city lights danced on the horizon and poured over them.
She had never minded holding on to the metal prosthetic, he had long since noted, even when it was cold and snowing.
For her, it was just another part of him.
" It seems we're the first in our class to be openly engaged, huh," he mulled over the whole thing.
" Oh, just wait, I guarantee it. We'll be seeing more and more of them getting engaged soon."
Yuu looked down at her. " How do you know?"
The girl beamed. " Did you forget? Auras. And I definitely can tell when the auras of two people are resonating together when they have romantic feelings for each other."
" Then, Kaminari-san and Jiro-san?" He smiled at her.
" They're definitely getting together, I tell you!" Sora held her hand up, as if admiring her ring. " We might have just given them the needed push to consider it themselves. Who knows, maybe there are two who are confessing this very moment."
Yuu couldn't help but watch her beaming face and her bubbly laughter with deep longing.
He loved it.
He loved everything about her.
Her roundish face.
Her deep scar.
Her mischievous, glimmering red eyes.
The faint hint of pink lipstick she had applied to her bottom lip.
And he was happy that she was his.
And he was hers as much.
It all still felt like a fleeting dream to him.
He squeezed her hand, but with his metal one, he could not feel her warmth.
He could not tell if it was a dream or not.
She turned to him. " Is something the matter?"
In a blink, he leaned over her, stealing a quick kiss.
That was a much more concrete method of confirming.
The woman's face grew pink and hot as he straightened. " Nothing. I just love how much you talk when you're happy. Shall we go home then?"
Head still feeling light, she nodded repeatedly, drawing a chuckle from him.
And together, they slipped into the crowd, almost undiscernible...
*** THE END***