Hi guys! First off, thank you for reading all the way up till now! Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. So I hope with all my heart that you'll enjoy this last chapter!

Beep. Beep. Beep.

That sound was annoying. Just like his wake up alarm, only much more high pitched. But it was familiar. Where had he heard it again? At the Center maybe? In any case, familiar or not it was annoying. He definitely couldn't sleep peacefully with that sound around. So he opened his eyes and shut them again almost immediately. The light was so intense. So he blinked, little by little getting used to the aggressive lighting. The ceiling was white, and he was in a bed with white sheets. The medical branch of the Center? Turning his head to the side, he saw a blue sky out the window. What a beautiful day. He took a deep breath, as if to inhale the outdoor air. His eyes looked lower. Sitting in a chair, under the window, eyes closed was Ochako, sleeping peacefully.

"Ochako..."

To his surprise, his voice was so quiet he barely recognized it. For some reason, pulling himself up took a lot of effort on his part. He coughed a couple of times to clear his throat before calling out to her again. This time, she slowly opened her eyes and rubbed them before seeing him.

"Oh, Izuku. You're awake. Do you need somethi..." Her eyes suddenly widened and she stared at him for a long time. She then slapped her hands on her face and then looked again. When she saw him just smiling awkwardly at her, her eyes filled with a river of tears.

"IZUKU!" She exclaimed throwing herself in his arms. "I knew it! I knew you'd wake up!"

The nurse felt him flinch in pain at her contact so she quickly released him. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"N-no trouble." He replied despite the painful vibrations traveling throughout his body. Had she always been this strong? He brought his hand to his head as he felt dizzy. "Ow..."

Quickly putting on her on-the-job face, Ochako straightened up and checked the monitors. She verified that his vitals were stable. She then grabbed a small torchlight and checked his pupil reaction to the light while asking.

"What's your name?"

He knew the drill, though he wasn't used to being on the end of the interrogated patient. "I-Izuku Midorya."

"Do you have any relatives?"

"Just my mother, Inko Midorya."

"Where do you work?"

"I'm a therapist and a councilor at the Allmight Rehabilitation Center."

"Name a few of your colleagues."

"Tenya Iida, Momo Yaoyorozu, Mashirao Ojiro..."

"Favorite food?"

"Katsudon."

"Girlfriend?"

"Ochako Uraraka."

After discreetly letting out a sigh and finishing her check up, the round-faced woman straightened up and smiled as her eyes watered again. "You're fine. You're absolutely fine." Then her face twisted in sadness and she started sobbing. "You scared me you idiot! Don't you ever do this to me ever again, you hear! I swear if it weren't for you being hospitalized, I would Detroit slap the hell out of you!"

His mind was still foggy and not everything was clear. But he knew that something bad had happened. Something bitter pinched his heart and he moved to stand up and hug her, but the instant he tried to pull himself to his feet, his muscles gave in almost immediately and he fell right back down. Bringing up his hands, he saw they were shaking. A glance at his legs revealed how skinny they were and trembling more than a newborn foal's. Then he realized that he kept putting his hands on the side of his stomach. An image flashed in his mind.

"Knife... I was stabbed."

"Yes. By Tomura Shigaraki."

"Tomura...Shigaraki..." A swarm of pain invaded his mind and he covered his eyes with both hands. The round-faced nurse knelt in front of him and put her hand on his knees. "It's alright Izuku. Don't rush things. It's all going to come back gradually. Give it a little time."

"Ochako... what happened to me?"

The nurse wiped the remaining tears off her face, and took a deep breath. "Stay calm, alright? You were in a coma for a very long time."

"A coma?" Repeated the therapist, failing to see the link. "I was stabbed in the stomach..."

"Yes, but you also got beat up pretty badly. You worsened your concussion and thank goodness someone was able to notice the internal bleeding. They operated just in time but you slipped."

His heart was beating faster. He didn't want to hear the answer to this next question, but he had to know. "How long?"

"Thirteen months."

The instant the words left her mouth and reached his ears, all his muscles contracted at once sending new waves of pain throughout his body. His breathing accelerated as did his heartbeat and he wrapped his arms around himself. Sensing the panic rising, Ochako grabbed the cover of the bed and tossed it over his back and head before facing him again, hands on his face.

"Easy Izuku. Breath in, breath out. Slowly." She mimicked the instructions until their breathing were in tune. "It's alright. Everything is alright. You're fine. Everyone is fine."

"Everyone is fine..." He repeated, closing his eyes and keeping his breath rhythmic like hers.

After a few minutes, it was all natural and the young man opened his eyes again and looked at her big brown eyes, round face, and that beautiful smile he loved on her. She hadn't changed at all. But that was the outside. What had happened while he was sleeping? Putting his hands on hers, he started shaking again. Suddenly, he was so afraid.

"Ochako... I'm... lost. Have you... are you..."

Instead of letting him finish, the nurse closed the gap between them and kissed him on the lips. In an instant, his worry vanished and he kissed her back, taking in the energy and reassurance she was breathing in him. She was still his. After thirteen month, she'd never moved from his side. He could've cried out of happiness. When she pulled away, she stood back up but kept his hand in hers.

"I'll have to schedule you for physical rehab. But what do you say I get you something to eat first?"

Just as she said that, his stomach growled loudly. So he was more than happy to let her feed him a little.

After a slow week of physical rehab, Izuku was able to walk with the help of crutches. According to Doctor Shuzenji, a sweet old lady dubbed Recovery Girl who was the head of the Medical Branch of the Center, his body would take a few months to completely readjust. But as far as the after-effects of the coma went, he was on his way to a full recovery. Though his body needed more work, his mind had started to clear up little by little like Ochako had said. But for some reason he hadn't dared ask her about it. The fact that she hadn't even mentioned the singer's name in front of him ever since he woke up gave him a bad feeling. And at the moment, he felt like he was in no condition to take any bad news. His head was still too blurry and not used to overthinking. So he himself had left the subject alone as he tried to focus on his recovery. Though it didn't leave his mind. Ever.

Inko had been the first person aware of Izuku's awakening. She'd rushed there the same day, the instant Ochako called her. It frightened the young therapist how much weight she lost in the past year. She looked even thinner than when he was a kid. She'd hugged him and only released him when the doctors told her that he needed more rest. Ochako had warned the others but until now, none of them had been allowed to visit. Recovery Girl was afraid it would be too overwhelming for him and he thanked her for it. The only other one was Momo for his head scans. Now he felt better and he could move around.

"Well are you ready?" Asked his girlfriend, even more excited than he was.

"Ready as I'll ever be." He replied, smiling.

Slowly, at his pace, they walked throughout the hallways, where they came across old colleagues that congratulated him for his recovery and new faces that whispered to each other when seeing him.

"You're a popular case among the newbies." Explained Ochako. "Patients and staff."

"That bad, huh?"

"Bad? Izuku, you're a hero to everyone here! Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the board wanted to make a statue of you in the yard."

'I hope not.' Thought the green-haired man, sweat-dropping. He glanced around. Everything still looked the same, aside from the new people. But he was too smart to think nothing had changed. Having Ochako with him was a blessing. He didn't know who she was taking him to see first. But even if he was happy, the nervousness wouldn't disappear. The nurse led him to the garden of the Center where the patients and the staff could relax when on break or used it for certain activities. Izuku spotted Ojiro giving a judo class. He smiled but they didn't dare disturb him. Further, Iida was giving a math support class. His concept of taking a break hadn't changed. But it had a lot of success amongst their younger patients who still attended school. For some, it was far more preferable to study here than to be at home. The councilor saw him, smiled and after saluting him with a nod, returned to his class. As diligent as ever. Izuku followed Ochako wondering who she was taking him to if it wasn't his closest colleagues. Suddenly, she led him off the trail and headed towards a group of two people sitting in the grass, their backs turned to them. One was a girl with pink dyed hair, the other, a boy with brown hair that used to be dyed two colors.

"Mina, Shouto. Someone's here to see you." Called out Ochako.

Both teens turned around and jumped on their feet when they saw Izuku. Again, he got stunned. Shouto was tall. Much taller than him now. Of course. They were both junior high schoolers now. Mina brought her hands to her mouth and her face reddened in happiness. Both hurried forward until they were a foot away from him.

"Mr Midorya!" Let out Shouto, smiling as well. "I can't believe you're awake."

"It's so good to see both of you." Said Izuku, still not over the initial shock. "You've grown up so much. I barely recognize you."

"Sir, can I please hug you?" Said Mina, who was in tears.

Before he could even reply, she threw her arms around him and squeezed him against her. Still she was careful not to hurt him. Once more the therapist smiled until she released him.

"So what are you two up to? I take it you finished your rehab so why are you here?" He asked.

"I'm on a part time internship with Mr Iida." Explained Shouto, and just with that, Izuku understood even before the two-faced boy said it. "I'm going to become a therapist. And if possible I'd like to work here."

Ochako laughed. "He interns here every chance he has. What is it, your fifth time now?"

"Amazing."

There was no other word to describe the glee and pride Izuku was feeling. Truly, they'd started from the bottom, climbed all the way to the top and just kept going towards the sky. "What about you Mina?"

The girl scratched the back of her head and smiled nervously. "Nothing that interesting. I go to school and my grades are average thanks to Mr Iida. But I'm trying to get into film school. Not sure to do what yet, but it seems interesting."

"Fair enough." Said Izuku. "Do you have any news on the others?"

"Denki is still part timing at the Aizawa garage with the motor heads. Grades wise, he's about as good as me." Said Mina, laughing. "Tsu put her brain to use and I think she wants to join the marine when she's done with school. She's working really hard."

"What about Shinsou?"

"No news from him." Said Shouto. "Last I heard he disappeared after graduating. Though when he finished his rehab, he told us he had something planned. Didn't say anything more though."

"I see... Well, I hope he's doing well."

Ochako then placed a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. "Now there's someone here to see you Izuku."

The green-haired therapist turned around, slowly given his stability necessitated the crutches. And his eyes widened in shock when he saw who was coming their way. Even more skeleton thin than before, moving in a wheelchair and plugged to an IV, the professor still had that bright smile on his face. When he approached Izuku saw the watered blue eyes of his mentor glowing with happiness. But he didn't know how to react. Of course, the creator of the Allmight Center's health had been deteriorating for the past five, well, six years now. And with his refusal to stop working, it only helped the progress. On one hand, the young therapist was frustrated from having lost a year of his mentor's slowly slipping time. On the other, his heart throbbed with joy at his presence.

"Midorya, my boy." Said the man who seemed on the verge of tears. "Thank God. Thank God you

are here."

When the blond man opened his arms to him, something broke inside Izuku. The happiness and sadness he was feeling tore through him like a knife and dropping his crutches he let himself fall into his mentor's arms.

"Welcome home my boy."

A father welcoming his son back. How could anyone else describe this moment? The bond they shared beat any of blood relations. After a moment, the two released each other and Ochako returned his crutches.

"Sorry for causing you so much trouble, Professor." He said, having trouble maintaining the tears in.

"You better be, young fool. But I knew what I was signing up for when I made you my pupil, my boy. And as it turns out, I couldn't be any prouder of you."

That was too much to keep in. The green-haired therapist clenched a hand over his heart and tears streamed down his face. And just like his mentor had taught him, he smiled widely.

"I'm back. Thank you, all of you."

"Guys, I don't understand where you're taking me."

Izuku had just been released from the hospital, and the instant he'd stepped foot out, his friends and girlfriend had found it necessary to kidnap him by forcing him into a car. Sitting in the back between Iida and Ochako while Ojiro drove and Momo occupied the passenger seat, the therapist was more confused than ever. Truth be told, he'd wanted to spend the evening with Ochako. His fuzzy mind had finally settled properly and he wanted to talk to her about Katsuki.

"Oh come on, don't play dumb." Said Ojiro. "You officially came back from the dead and you don't expect us to celebrate? I thought you were smarter than that."

"Then why won't you all tell me where we're going?"

"It's a surprise. Personally, I would tell but Uraraka ordered us to keep our mouths shut."

"And you better!" Threatened the nurse glaring at him in the rearview mirror. "This is my surprise. You're all just crashing."

"You didn't think we were gonna miss it right?" Retorted the judo therapist. "I mean, it's not every day we get an opportunity like this!"

The nurse sighed. "True. But don't you spill."

"Fine, fine."

Knowing Ochako, no one would give a hint of where they were going if they valued their dignity. So Izuku slumped back in his seat and looked outside. He could walk using only one crutch now which was great improvement. But still he'd wished he could've had some time to speak with his girlfriend. Ever since his mind had cleared up and he could remember everything, he'd wanted to know what had become of his childhood friend. Not only Ochako but everyone around me had avoided the subject. So he promised himself that after this, he would demand a clear answer and wouldn't budge until he got it. For now, he would just let her and his crazy friends drag him to whatever party they had planned for him. They had all patiently looked over him while he was out, he owed them that at least.

"Darn it!" Cursed Ojiro. "There's so much traffic. Come on, move it!"

Indeed, outside cars were honking at each other and even pedestrians crossed in the middle of the streets. They were in the middle of the City, and when Izuku glanced out to see where they were, he saw the Hosu's Convention Center. There was a mass gathering of people there and guards at the entrance. Looking up, he saw posted signs on the building's walls. It looked like there was a show tonight. That made him think of his friend again. What had happened to him? If his friends refused to speak about it, it couldn't have been good. Ojiro punching the wheel made him jump and brought him back to reality.

"This won't work. We'll be late." The judo therapist turned to the nurse. "Ochako, how about you two get off here and walk? It'll be much faster than this. Let's meet up after."

"Okay." She replied before turning to him. "Izuku, I need you to wear this."

With that, she pulled a night mask out of her bag. Without giving him time to react, she put it around his head and obscured his vision.

"Hmm Ochako..."

"Trust me. You need it for the surprise. Come on."

Shaking his head and sighing again, Izuku let the nurse lead him out of the car. It seemed that she hadn't lost her stubbornness. Having a terrible sense of direction, he wasn't able to tell which direction she was taking him, but he could hear a lot of people around. They walked slowly at his pace again and it seemed that they were walking away from the crowd. Ochako remained quiet but he could hear her making quick impatient steps. He secretly hoped that whatever she had planned wasn't too extravagant. Though that wasn't her style, she might have gone overboard for this special occasion. She suddenly stopped.

"Tickets and ID please." Asked a man.

"Here you go."

"Alright, come right in. The elevators are at the end of the hallway on your left."

'Elevators? Where are we?' Wondered the blindfolded man.

Again Ochako led him and they got on the elevator. While they rode, Ochako looked at her boyfriend. He hadn't said a word for a while, and did she know him for being a blabber-mouth borderline conspiracy theorist when he was in a confusing situation. Slightly worried, she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, are you alright? I know you told me you'd be okay for the evening, but maybe you're too tired for this."

"No! That's not it at all!" He exclaimed frantically. "I promise. I'm really glad you're doing all of this for me, honest!"

"Then what is it? You're spacing out a lot."

"It's just... I've been thinking a lot about Kacchan. No one's said a word to me about him ever since I woke up. I just want to know what happened. It doesn't matter if it's bad, I just need to know."

The nurse remained quiet for a long moment and thought very hard about what to say next before speaking again. "Izuku... That guy... there's no point in going after him anymore."

The way she said it made his insides shift uncomfortably. It took a great effort to ask this. "What... do you mean by that?"

"Look, I promise. I'll tell you everything after this." She said that, as she removed the night mask and looked at him straight in the eyes, her hand on his cheek. "For now, just enjoy yourself, alright?"

He could trust her, he knew he could. So he smiled at her honesty. "Alright."

The elevator stopped and he followed Ochako to what looked like the very top bleachers from the concert hall of the convention center. These were the seats reserved for VIPs. He dared not ask how much she paid for them. Now he understood why they said they'd meet up the others later; they were probably somewhere else in the audience. The whole room was filled to the max. On the set, there was a full set of drums, guitars and microphones.

"So can you tell me now what we're watching?" He asked, trying to get his mind off the earlier topic.

"They're called Ignite. In six months, they got more popularity than any other band in Japan. They're amazing! All the teens at the center are super into it. I wanted to check it out and maybe put you up to speed on today's music."

"I see." He said only half paying attention.

The lights suddenly went off and the fans cheered in the dark. Someone came upstage and saluted the fans who cheered louder, but Izuku wasn't listening. He was miles away, incapable of focusing on what was going on. What had she meant by 'there's no point in going after him anymore'? What could've happened? Had he ran away and disappeared? Had he gone through with his original plan? The thought alone made Izuku want to vomit, and he shook his head to get the negativity out. If it had been that extreme, she would've told him? Wouldn't have she? The loud clapping and even louder cheering of the room pulled him out of his daze and he tried to focus his attention on the stage. Five shadows were discernible now. One of them, the keyboardist, saluted the crowd with a short speech and then light illuminated the stage, briefly blinding them.

Down a pit of emptiness, more and more I fell

I hear the screams calling through the flames of hell

Surrounded by darkness, the world wants me to quit

Breaking my body, tearing it to bits

His voice reached his ears and Izuku's eyes widened in shock. Rising from his seat, forgetting to grab his crutch, the therapist almost fell over the railing. Up on that stage, singing a song he didn't know, was his childhood friend.

In the fog of anguish, voices will call my name

The demons inside won't vanish, there's no way

But try as they may, rotting the core of my veins

It's already to late, I've broken my chains!

Unlike the times where he'd seen him perform at HELLGATE, his eyes were looking up and sparked with life and excitement. A smile decorated his face as well. Granted a smile that could make babies cry but a smile nonetheless. This was the only way the ash blond knew how to smile. The fans were frantically cheering, shouting as loud as they could.

Shout out to the flames

The pain makes me feel alive

Shout out to the voices

They allowed me to strive

To the demons in my head

You start up my blaze

Izuku didn't even realize that a smile had stretched across his own face. The heavy weight he'd been carrying suddenly flew off his shoulders. And he turned to look at Ochako who had kept her eyes on him since the beginning. The nurse approached him and hugged while resting her head on his shoulder.

"You did it, Izuku." She said, as best she could over the noise of the hall. "You saved him."

Too happy to be able to say anything, the green-haired therapist turned to her and kissed her intensely. And he prayed that this was truly reality and that he wasn't just still in a coma, dreaming.

The rest of the evening went in a spirit of glee and partying. The couple enjoyed the music and the songs. Izuku didn't have to be told to know that Katsuki had written all of them. The themes had greatly altered since HELLGATE. It'd gone from feeling trapped, loosing it to breaking through and winning. This was better than anything he'd ever hoped for. When the concert ended and the crowd was slowly exiting the building, the two of them stayed in their seat longer. The nurse was happy to see that joy was still visible on her boyfriend's face.

"Thank you Ochako." He said.

"I didn't do anything, really. Once he made up his mind, he only climbed uphill. In three months time, he was done with his therapy. At first he came to see you almost every day. Then work started to take off and it became less frequent. But I still gave him news."

"It's fine. I'm glad." Stated Izuku standing up. "Should we go meet the others?"

"Not just yet." She replied, grabbing his arm to make him sit back down. "There's one more thing."

With that, she took out her phone and started texting really quickly. When she was done with Izuku, she asked him what he wanted to do once he'd be fully recovered.

"Honestly, I want to start working again as soon as possible. But the Professor won't let me anytime soon..."

"And he's right. You need to get back into shape. How do you expect to handle violent patients when you're in this state? You need meat on your bones and to pick up training Mister."

That made him sighed. "I know. It's just coming from him, it's a little irritating. He's in way worse shape then me, and yet he doesn't pause."

"Well, perks of being the chairman I guess." She said, shrugging. "Someday, you'll have that privilege, you know."

Her eyes became sad all of a sudden and she looked down. "Ochako?"

"You and Professor Yagi, you're exactly the same. Stubborn, determined... But I guess that's just how heroes are. I've accepted that a long time ago, even though you still scare the hell out of me sometimes."

"Ochako, I'm sor..."

The door leading to the VIP seats suddenly bursted open. "Hey, Uraraka! What do you want? I'm tired as hell and I still have work! This better be import..."

Izuku turned around and the childhood friends found themselves face to face. The two of them paralyzed. Izuku because he hadn't anticipated that, and Katsuki, judging from his face, most certainly because he hadn't been aware of his awakening. Ochako stood up.

"Izu, I'll be waiting for you at the entrance. You two have some catching up to do."

None of them answered, and the nurse walked away, shutting the door behind her. But even after she was gone, the long silence remained. The green-haired therapist was the first to break it by standing up.

"H-hi Kacchan."

The singer didn't reply, but walked closer to the therapist and threw his fist in the face. Not strong enough to knock a teeth out but enough to hurt him and send him right back down in his seat. "OW! What was that for?"

"FOR USING YOURSELF AS A SHIELD, YOU ABSOLUTE MORON! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, FREAKIN' SUPERMAN?!" The angry man then shifted his body towards the stage. That felt good. He'd waited over a year to do this. "Took you long enough."

"You didn't have to punch me..." Replied the therapist doing his best to smile despite the pain in his jaw. Katsuki's way of showing his concerns hadn't changed which was a good sign. "Congratulations. You've heard this before, but your songs are amazing. Ignite is a really cool name by the way. Much better than Nitro."

"Shut up, you damn nerd." Replied the singer sitting down.

Izuku expected him to pull out a lighter but he just gazed in the distance. "You're not smoking?"

"I quit. It would have messed up my voice. Besides, they just pumped the poison out, I'm good on drugs. Including legal ones."

"I see."

Again, silence fell on them and they just stared at the people exiting the building. Fortunately for Katsuki, they were high enough so that no one could see them without breaking their necks looking up.

"How long have you been awake?" Asked the blond, still avoiding meeting eyes.

"Three weeks."

The singer clenched his teeth. "Tch. Damn round-face. Why didn't she tell me?"

"She didn't tell me about you either until we came here." Said Izuku, putting himself in her shoes. "She probably wanted to surprise both of us. I guess it worked on both ends."

"I fucking hate surprises." He growled. "Guess I should've known. It's the first time she asked me for VIP tickets. I was too busy to pay attention."

"Wait, you give them to her for free?" Said Izuku surprised.

"She and Yagi are always on my guest list." Explained the singer, he then froze when he saw the glare Izuku was throwing him. "What the hell are you looking at?"

"Kacchan, have you been hitting on my girlfriend while I was comatose?"

A look of utter shock mixed with anger took over Katsuki's face, because no matter what emotion he was displaying, anger was never far behind. "Hell no! What the fuck Deku?!"

"It just feels really weird." Continued Izuku, his suspicious glare still on. "It's a valid concern."

The singer resisted the strong urge to punch him again and instead proceeded to yell at him. "Okay, now you're pissing me off! I'm not interested in round-face that way! If you wanted to keep an eye on her, you shouldn't have gone in a coma in the first place!"

Shouting nonsense when angry, that was the Kacchan Izuku remembered. Truth be told he wasn't worried, he trusted Ochako. But if she was on the guest list, it meant there had to be some link between them. And that's what really interested him, but before he could even ask, Katsuki spoke.

"I do it cause it's no skin off my back and I owe her, that's why! Don't get weird ideas in your screwed up brain, dumbass!"

"You owe her, huh?" Said Izuku smiling to himself. It looked like she had been the last push the singer had needed to get back on the right track while he was away.

"I ain't stealing your angel."

"Hm? What was that?"

"Nothing."

"You said the professor was also on your guest list. Why?"

"He was in charge of me in my time in the loony bin. Got to hand it to the guy, he sure knows how to talk to people."

"Can you please not call the Center a loony bin?" Muttered Izuku. "We're a rehab center, not a psychiatric institute."

"To normal people, that's the same thing. There isn't much difference between a junkie and a schizophrenic."

The therapist raised an eyebrow. "Now you're calling yourself normal?"

"Shut up! Compared to you, I'm the most balanced person in this whole damn world!"

Pulling up a plastic bag Izuku hadn't noticed, Katsuki took out two cans of beer. That reminded both of them of when Izuku first came to HELLGATE, looking for him. Again, they stayed quiet, drinking and reminiscing. The heavy atmosphere was gone. That uneasiness Izuku had sensed coming from the singer a year ago had completely vanished. The chains had been broken. He was free and from the looks of it, he was back to that pompous, egotistic self. Indeed, nobody is perfect.

"So what now, Deku?" Finally asked Katsuki while crushing his empty can.

"Now? Well, now that I don't have to babysit your cranky butt anymore, I can focus on my work again."

Of course that answer only served to trigger the singer's very short temper. "SAYS THE GUY WHO WAS IN A COMA FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR!"

"Haha! Don't get mad Kacchan. But I don't plan on going anywhere. I belong at the Center. What about you?"

A grin stretched out on his face. "Got anymore stupid question? We're on our way to the top. I'm gonna make this the fucking music of the century! You just watch me! I'll save you a seat to come watch me win!"

Sweat-dropping at the comment, the therapist shook his head. "That ego of yours still needs work..." Even so, he was glad. "You sure came a long way. I guess I don't have to worry about you anymore."

Tossing his can in the trash, the green-haired man stood up and grabbed his crutch. He looked at the singer and smiled at him. "Keep on winning Kacchan. That's what you do best."

"Like I need a nerd like you to tell me that." Growled in response the blond before looking at his watch. He had to get back to work soon and then he'd promised the motor-heads he'd have a drink with them.

Approaching his friend, the freckled-face extended a hand. "If you ever need me, you know where to find me."

"Not gonna move from your miracle hole are you? I suppose this nerd fest is the best place for a dork like you." It sounded like he was mocking, belittling him even, but that was just Kacchan. Nonetheless, the singer stood back up and grabbed his friend's hand. "I'd tell you to watch your nerd ass, but knowing you, it'd be a waste of words. Uraraka has her work cut out for her."

Izuku found it unnecessary to reply and just shook his head before heading towards the elevators. But as he passed his childhood friend, the singer called out to him one last time.

"Hey Deku!"

"Yeah?"

Katsuki wasn't looking at him, he'd probably loose face if he did. Prideful bastard that he was. Saying thank you would be so out of character and so damn difficult for him. So as usual, his clever brain found of an alternative.

"Keep being a stubborn idiot and saving other idiots. That's what you do best, nerd face."

It took a moment for the therapist to really take in the fact that Katsuki had complimented him. When he finally processed it, he smiled and returned him his own answer.

"Like I need you to tell me that."

And with that, they shared a gesture they hadn't executed since they were little kids back in their crappy neighborhood. A simple fist bump.

After Deku had left, Katsuki stayed up there a little while longer. This day had gone so much better than he was expecting. And that was saying something because he never expected one of his concerts to turn out bad. The weight on his shoulder disappeared. Now that Deku was awake, there was no need to hold back anymore. No limits, no regrets. He could storm in the big world with his music and he was going to rock this generation. Opening a second can of beer, he lifted it towards the sky as a toast to his nerdy friend who'd revived his dream.

'Reaching out, heh? It so simple it's stupid.'

The end

Thank you everyone so much for your support all this time! Kudos to all!

I'd love it if you could leave a comment with your final impressions! THANK YOU!