Mizu: And just like that, the final chapter is here. I debated on dragging this chapter out but in the end, decided to keep it short. It kind of wraps up some loose ends but not fully. Because a lot of those ends need time to heal. And truthfully, it kind of felt better to leave it on a neutral ending.

Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia. All rights to characters belong to Kohei Horikoshi.


Chapter Four


PrivatePM

(HerecomestheBOOM to DekuScrub)

{1:17 pm}

HerecomestheBOOM: ...u know that I didnt mean it, right?

DekuScrub: ...what?

HerecomestheBOOM: When I told u to...

DekuScrub: Oh

DekuScrub: Yeah

DekuScrub: I know

HerecomestheBOOM:

DekuScrub: Kacchan, I'm sory that I said that in class

HerecomestheBOOM: The fuck are yo apologizing for?!

DekuScrub: I'm sorry because I didn't mean to say it!

DekuScrub: I'm sorry because I don't want you to lose the friends you finally opened up and care about because of me!

DekuScrub: I'm sorry because I still care about you idiot!

DekuScrub: I'm just...

DekuScrub:...sorry...

DekuScrub: for everything

DekuScrub: …

HerecomestheBOOM: fucking hell Izuku

DekuScrub: Asdf;ahsdovhsadovao;sasn;a

{1:44 pm}

HerecomestheBOOM: your stupid ass friends are glaring at me because you started crying during a fucking comedy special yeah I typed your nme

HerecomestheBOOM: name fuck. Its just your name!

DekuScrub: Sorry

HerecomestheBOOM: Stop apologizing!

DekuScrub: …

HerecomestheBOOM: Just...

HerecomestheBOOM:

HerecomestheBOOM:...look I get it

HerecomestheBOOM: Youre trying to worry about me because thats just the type of fucking nerd you are

HerecomestheBOOM: But for tonight, just...just dont.

HerecomestheBOOM:...Im not good at words like you

HerecomestheBOOM: and I get fucking pissed off and fly off the handle all the time

HerecomestheBOOM: When we got to UA and I started looking at the hero I wanted to be and the heroes our class was trying to be, I think I started to realize that I

HerecomestheBOOM: MAY have been wrong all these years.

HerecomestheBOOM: That just made me angrier though

HerecomestheBOOM: And you remind of all I want to leave behind

HerecomestheBOOM: So I keep lashing out

HerecomestheBOOM: But I never fucking realized that...

HerecomestheBOOM: Izuku...I know that I fucked up

HerecomestheBOOM: Like, lord explosion fucked up

HerecomestheBOOM: I must have been so incredibly fucking blind not to see that

HerecomestheBOOM: Stop glancing up at me with those damn teary doe eyes!

HerecomestheBOOM: Icyhot and Round face look like they are going to try and set me on fire with their minds

HerecomestheBOOM: And Icyhot just might be fucking able to!

DekuScrub: ...sorry..

HerecomestheBOOM: Dont!

{2:03 pm}

DekuScrub: ...did you really have to explode the throw pillow?

HerecomestheBOOM: WELL I CANT EXPLODE MY DAMN PHONE LIKE I WANT TO IF I WANT TO FINISH SAYING MY PIECE!

HerecomestheBOOM: And no one is going to let me close enough to say it to your stupid ass face!

HerecomestheBOOM:...and I dont think Id be able to say it yet.

HerecomestheBOOM: So stop looking at me like I killed your fucking gerbil in front of you!

HerecomestheBOOM:...you...you still have that dumb rodent, right?

DekuScrub: Captain Nibbler?

DekuScrub: Yeah...He's with mom cause I don't have room for his cage here

HerecomestheBOOM: You are a fucking nerd

HerecomestheBOOM: Ok. I am NOT going to apologize to you through this chat

HerecomestheBOOM:...I told the old hag to get me back into anger management classes...

DekuScrub: But you hated those!

HerecomestheBOOM: Yeah and what of it!?

HerecomestheBOOM: They fucking piss me off!

HerecomestheBOOM: But I know that I need to change

DekuScrub: Kacchan...

HerecomestheBOOM: I cant say it to your face yet but I will eventually.

HerecomestheBOOM: So just...

HerecomestheBOOM: Just give me some time.

{2:38 pm}

HerecomestheBOOM: Great! Now four-eyes is pissed at me!


You're Izuku's reason for living...

Toshinori hadn't thought much about what those words had meant at the time. He had been so overwhelmed by the boy's actions and convincing his mother to continue letting him watch over her only son that the words had passed by unceremoniously. That night he had chuckled to himself thinking that he was flattered that the boy was such a huge fan of his. When his successor had moved into the dorms, he had been staggered by the sheer amount of All Might memorabilia decorating it. It had been...sweet in a bizarre way. But that had been all the thought he had given it.

Now though, with the discovery of Izuku's past, those words took on a whole new meaning.

You're Izuku's reason for living...

She hadn't been exaggerating, had she? After his self-harm attempt, he had latched onto the only thing that gave him any kind of hope. Hope that it would one day get better. That so long as ALL MIGHT was around, as long as he could dream of becoming a hero like his hero, that he could keep on going. He couldn't love himself but he could love the dream of being a hero. Of being someone that would protect the smiles of others. One that would smile no matter how excruciating the pain in his own soul was. That hope was all that he had to keep going.

And he told him that he could not be a hero and LEFT him on the top of a roof...

Saying that he felt guilt crushing down on him would be an understatement. He wasn't sure that there was a word that encompassed just how much shame he felt for how he had acted when he first met the boy. No matter how irritated he had been about having a child- (oh god, this boy was still just a child. How could he have overlooked something like this?!) -find out about his secret, he still should have escorted the boy off of the rooftop. But more than that, he had told him that he couldn't be a hero and left him there.

The day he had been told to jump off a roof and end his life, he was told by his hero, the only thing keeping him alive, that he would not be able to reach his dreams and then left there. Alone. All alone on that damn roof.

Nothing he could ever do would ever make it up to the boy. No apologies or words of comfort would be able to erase his actions. The only solace he could take was that he had met his amazing successor and grant his wish. To be able to help him become the hero that he was meant to be.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprise to see you looking like someone just kicked your puppy in front of you," Aizawa sighed as he sat across from him in the teacher's lounge. He had just gotten back from checking up on the class, "Don't know if it'll make you feel any better but here."

Looking up, he saw Aizawa holding up his phone to show off a photo he had snuck of the class. There were all crowded together in the commons with an assortment of blankets, pillows, and junk food. In the center of the mass was a laughing Izuku, cuddling with Koda's pet rabbit. Even Bakugou was present though it was clear that the class would not be quick to forgive with him seated on a separate couch, present but apart from them all. It would take a while but they all showed that they were willing to work through it all together.

He did have one question though...

"...why are they all in my pajamas?" Toshinori weakly laughed.

"Apparently it was Todoroki's idea that he brought up to Yaoyorozu who made them all," Aizawa rolled his eyes, pulling back his phone and tucking it away.

"They're all worried," Toshinori nodded, "Not that I can blame them."

"...Mic was really worried too when he heard the kid crying while he was waiting in the hallway," Aizawa rubbed the back of his neck, "We'll probably have to tell all the staff so that we can better keep an eye on Midoriya's mental health."

"He won't like it but he should also take a day or two to rest," the former hero added.

"Good luck stopping him from training," Aizawa snickered.

Quiet soon encompassed the two teachers. Over the last few months, they had come to admire each other quite a bit. They had also both become extremely protective of their class. They knew that their situation was strange. Aizawa was their homeroom teacher but All Might only taught heroics to 1-A. This was originally because of his time limit and had yet to be redefined. But since he was still a novice at teaching so more often than not, Aizawa would help out as he didn't have a class at that time. As such, they had seen their students grow and experience so much together. It was a strange bond but a bond nonetheless. As such, they both were extremely worried about Izuku's wellbeing, before this and definitely now.

"...I overheard Bakugou calling his mom as they all headed for the dorms," Aizawa sighed, "He asked her to get in contact with his old anger management therapist."

Toshinori was about to open his mouth to say something when his phone went off. It was an epic musical number, unlike all of his other ringtones that were quotes of his. He had purposefully set it as such when he had first met his successor because it was the first time in a long time that he felt hopeful for the future. Pulling out his phone from his pocket, he smiled at the screen.

Midoriya (Mini Me)

Kacchan just told me he's going back to anger management

That's good news, right?

I...

I don't know

Well how do you feel about him going back?

...guilty?

Like...it's my fault?

Like if I had just stayed quiet, that everyone would be happier

But you wouldn't be

...maybe

Izuku, I know that it can be hard to accept, and most likely hypocritical of me to say, but you are not responsible for anyone else's happiness.

-Read-

The former hero frowned after several minutes without any response from his protégé. The boy was always prompt with his responses.

Would you like to talk?

...yeah...

Will you be alright till tomorrow? We can go to Dagobah beach so that you can vent without worry for a bit.

That actually sounds really nice...

Can you meet me in front of the dorms around 6 am then?

Of course! See you then All Might!

Toshinori chuckled slightly as he tucked the phone back in place, "Don't worry about keeping Young Midoriya from coming to classes tomorrow. I've got it."

Aizawa's eyebrows furrowed slightly, "You know, you have never been good at hiding your favoritism for Midoriya. It hasn't affected your teaching too much so I wasn't concerned but the fact that the two of you know so much about one another is starting to become one."

Toshinori stared at his coworker for a long moment before a self-deprecating smile curled into place on his bony cheeks, "The hero that Young Midoriya mentioned during his tale this morning was me."

Aizawa did a remarkable job of not visibly reacting.

"He accidentally found out about my secret and impressed me so I agreed to help him out with what I could to get ready for the exams. And he hasn't stopped impressing me and surpassing my expectations every day," All Might fibbed a little, stretching the truth where he had to. But nothing in his last sentence was anything less than the absolute truth.

At this, Aizawa grinned and shook his head, "Figured it was something like that. The kids didn't notice but you looked like a part of you died when he got to that part."

There were no lies in that statement either.


Toshinori did his best not to fidget as he sat beside his student in the drab waiting room. The leather seats were slightly uncomfortable but they weren't meant for long seating periods. Next to him was a basket filled with magazines showing off the best of homes or summer dishes. He thought about flipping through one for a moment before deciding against it. On the other side of the basket, Izuku sat clicking away rapidly on the brand new fidget cube that Present Mic had gifted him. The man had been all too happy to give him it. Izuku had been thrilled with the gift too, though that may have been because it was some of the radio host's merchandise. Still, listening to the constant clicking was both comforting and worrying. The boy was trying to put on a brave face, but the clicking and the wild swinging of his legs on the slightly too tall chairs gave him away. He was nervous. Or rather, as Toshinori was learning, he was anxious.

Not that Toshinori wasn't anxious himself. Of all the favors that his successor could have asked of him, this wasn't exactly what he had in mind.

"Izuku?" came a kind woman's voice as the door they were facing opened up, revealing a middle aged woman with graying ash brown hair tied in an updo and hazel eyes, "Why don't you come on in?"

Izuku slid off of his chair, nervously glancing at Toshinori, "...C-Can...Can my teacher come with me?"

The woman blinked before smiling kindly at the boy, "So long as it is ok with you, it is ok with me."

With a wobbly smile, Izuku crossed the room and through the threshold of the door. Toshinori followed suit, heart in his throat. He took the room in as Izuku got himself settled on the maroon couch up against the wall. The room was painted in neutral earthy tones with several bookshelves filled with books about psychology and a few figures of dolphins holding them up. On one of them, there was a cute dolphin wax melter that was currently melting a cube of what he assume was the source of the slight floral scent of the room. Diagonal from the maroon couch was a swivel chair where the woman had taken a seat. Seeing as there were no other seats available, Toshinori sank into the couch beside his student.

"I have to admit that I was surprised to hear from you, Izuku," the woman smiled, glancing at Toshinori, "Last time I saw you, you told me that you were training super hard to get into U.A. and that you weren't sure if you were going to have time to come and see me. Since you are here with a teacher, am I safe to assume that something has happened?"

The two One for All users looked at each other before Toshinori laid a comforting hand on his protoge's shoulder. Izuku shot him a grateful smile before taking a steadying breath, "Actually...there's a lot of things that's happened..."


Mizu: That's the end of "Panic". Originally, I toyed around with this story being much longer and delving into how the other students took the revelation and what they would do to make Izuku feel better. But when I got to those parts, they felt forced or patronizing. Maybe it was just because this story was so personal for me that I had a hard time pulling it off like I wanted. And truthfully, I like how this has ended a lot better than I originally planned.

Thank you guys so much for all your support with this story. It feels good to get back into writing, posting, and actually finishing stories. And I won't lie and say that there isn't a sequel to this story rolling around my head. (I say that as if I didn't just finish outlining the entire story start to finish in two days...) However, it'll probably be a while before I get to actually writing it. Panic, while I love this fic and am super happy that you all do too, has taken a lot out of me. I'm probably going to disappear for a while again to work on the sequel and some other stories.

Soooo...I guess I see you guys next time I decide to come out of hyper sleep. Ciao for now!