"Thirteen-sensei, he opened his eyes!"
"Oh, that's great. Can you hear me, Akiyama-kun?"
Satoru opened his eyes and found himself in front of U.A. "Thirteen-sensei... you're a girl..."
"Not the point," said Thirteen. "After you fainted, your classmates brought you here. And... there's someone else who wants to see you."
Satoru got up and noticed Class 1-A was there too. "What the..."
"Hideki..." Izuku muttered. "Oh, sorry, I meant... Satoru."
"Don't... don't worry..." Satoru muttered, his body still weak. "Seems like they don't want us here, huh...?"
In front of U.A.'s main gate, a lot of people were shouting.
"We don't want them here!"
"Don't let them enter U.A.!"
"They're the guys Shigaraki and AFO are after, aren't 'em?"
This situation sucks... Satoru thought. But...they're right. How could they possibly forgive me after everything I've done...?
"Not to mention that the one with red hair is a Villain!" shouted a civilian. "Do you really want a Villain inside U.A.?"
"He's not a Villain!" Present Mic shouted from his mic. "We've already had a discussion with Oro and the principal; he can come back!"
"Our safety'll be guaranteed!"
"We can't accept it!"
"Izuku..." Satoru said. "I'm leaving. If you want to return to U.A., then stay here. It's clear there's no way I'll be accepted again."
The boy turned back and started to walk away, but Izuku grabbed his hand. "If you leave, then I'll leave too. Maybe I've never told you this, but since the day you went to live in my house, you've always been like a Big Bro to me. So wherever you'll go, I'll go, too."
"Don't say that..." Satoru muttered.
Uraraka approached. "It's okay, you two."
"Uraraka... why are you doing this?" Satoru asked. "I can understand why you want to help Izuku... but what about me?"
"Because you're a friend," Uraraka said. "And as Oro-san said, you can still be saved. Don't try to save yourself alone; let us help you. We won't let you two go. We can't."
Satoru stared at Uraraka without saying anything. When a Hero is in trouble, who's going to save them?
The protests of the civilians kept going.
"Don't let him in!"
"Go away!"
"Shigaraki will come here, not to mention All For One!"
"Didn't he convince them?" Sero wondered.
"Where... where are my classmates...?" Satoru asked.
"They returned to their dorm," Iida replied. "All expect one."
Satoru looked to his right and saw Itsuka. She... remained here with me...
"Satoru-kun..." she said, slowly walking towards him. "I won't abandon you. I'll stay with you. Got it?"
Satoru silently nodded. "Got it."
I don't know if he has understood it from now, Itsuka thought. But my crush on him has become a deep, heartfelt devotion to him.
"Guys, calm down!" Present Mic said again. No one listened.
Hikaru was sitting on the floor behind Satoru. "Ototo, haven't you noticed me?"
"Oh, hi, Aniki..." Satoru weakly turned. "So you stayed here too..."
"Of course," Oro got up. "How could I abandon my brother?"
"Jeanist, we came here because we trusted your words!" a civilian said.
"I know," Best Jeanist countered. "Just like the principal said, U.A. is the safest place right now. And your lives are a priority to us. Knowing we had to move first, we used Izuku Midoriya as bait to localize the Villains. Then we bumped into Satoru Akiyama, who's been here at U.A. under the alias of Hideki Shirakawa. We decided to bring him here, too. Even if we know he was a Villain, he is no more now, and his recent actions confirm he wants to redeem."
"We are aware of the discomfort you are feeling, but we'd like it if you allowed these two to rest here, in the safest place in the world. To be ready to fight, they need to be in perfect shape."
"Don't lie to us! All of this is your failure's fault!"
"Even you, Oro, the Number One Hero, are trying to allow the red-haired one only because he is your brother?"
"Exactly," Oro replied. "There's no other reason."
"And you still call yourself a Hero?"
Oh, no... because of me, even Aniki's reputation is lowering... Satoru thought, blaming himself. Why... don't throw away your reputation as the Number One Hero just to save your stubborn brother, Hikaru!
"Oro-san, can you bring me there?" Itsuka asked, pointing at the roof of U.A.
"Yeah, of course I can," Oro said. "Why?"
"Just bring me there," Itsuka repeated. Oro nodded and grabbed Itsuka's hand, bringing her to the roof.
She grabbed Hizashi's megaphone... he thought. Itsuka took a deep breath and spoke up.
"Hid- Satoru Akiyama has a special power. He left this place because he didn't want to be a burden, nor to cause problems. We were the ones who brought him back here, because he's our friend."
"Itsuka..." Satoru muttered silently under his breath.
"His power," Itsuka continued. "Is... special, that's it! He's gonna use it to defeat All For One, that's why he got targeted. That's why he had to leave! Have you seen his conditions after he left?"
The civilians all turned to take a look at Satoru's dirt, malnourished body.
"He's the first one who wants to fix this situation... that's why he kept moving forward, knowing he could have been attacked at any moment! Even if he possesses a special power, he's just a normal human with feelings!"
"And as for Midoriya Izuku... allow him to stay, too. He and Satoru are the keys to freeing us from this Hell."
Bakugo stepped forward. "There's a system that can protect 'em all... but the fear remains. We'll handle the things you two can't get rid of in place of you."
"Katsuki-kun..." Satoru clenched his fists. "Do you still see me... as a friend? Or at least... as a rival...?"
Bakugo sighed. "Yes. I see you as both. We're here for you... Satoru."
Satoru widened his eyes. He... he called me by my name...
"That girl up there..." Bakugo muttered. "She loves you from the bottom of her heart, y'know that?"
"I do..." Satoru said. "But I would never have imagined she'd been prepared to say this in front of everyone just to defend me..."
"He kept fighting..." Satoru heard a familiar voice. When he raised his head, he saw the girl with dolphin-like features in the crowd. "Even after he saved me, he kept fighting. This shows he's not a Villain anymore. He's on the good side now!"
"So you want us to reduce to that condition too?" A civilian said. "Do you want us to cover ourselves in mud too?!"
"The only ones covered in mud are the Heroes right now!" Itsuka said. "Just give us the time to clean ourselves!"
"Itsuka, stop that..." Satoru clenched his fists. "You're making me cry..."
"Let this be..." Itsuka said. "His Hero Academia!"
In that moment, Satoru crumbled to his knees. All the emotions he had kept masking or holding back exploded in that moment. Even the rain couldn't mask his tears this time.
(Since the beginning of this story, I've never told you something, now that I think about it. Maybe I didn't tell you because, seeing my occupation, you'd never have believed it. But now that I'm in this situation, I can say it.)
(This is the story of how I became the greatest Hero. And also, the story of how we became the greatest Heroes.)
Chapter 74 - End