MHA: Hands on, Quirks Up!

Fuck. I feel so damn exhausted.

Not physically, no. My body's perfectly fine. Not even a scratch left on me thanks to that regeneration quirk I acquired from Nomu.

But metaphysically? I feel like I've been wrung out and left to dry.

The crash is the worst part. There were eight quirks surging through my body barely half an hour ago, and now that they're gone, my body desperately wants to feel that surge of power again. Everything feels dull now, like the world has been dimmed.

However, I'm still not done for the day yet.

I already gave my official statement. Told the detectives only what they needed to hear.

Said that Kurogiri warped the class all across the USJ, and I coordinated with the other students to start regrouping. Told them I stayed behind because I didn't want to risk putting my classmates in danger. 

I really sold the hero angle, making myself the picture-perfect symbol of self-sacrifice.

And I had to stay consistent with what I told Nezu, too.

Back then, when he walked up to me, I was still a little dazed. The adrenaline hadn't worn off yet. I let more slip than I should have. I mentioned something about how I only survived because the villains were playing around.

Except, I wasn't really talking about any villains; it was me who played around.

How much could Nezu infer from that?

I don't know.

He didn't press. But he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who needs to press. He's always smiling. Always observing. Always thinking.

I might just be overthinking it; it's entirely possible he didn't find anything out.

So maybe I got away with it.

Still, it was a stupid mistake.

After my statement, they gave me time alone while the heroes and police did a final check over the USJ.

Just me and my thoughts.

I ran back through the fight with Nomu in my head and realized that I screwed up more than I want to admit.

Like how I completely forgot I had Aizawa's Erasure until halfway through the damn fight. I wasn't saving it for some big surprise strategy; I just forgot. His Quirk didn't give me a full erasure, but it made a noticeable debuff to Nomu. It would've made the entire fight a whole lot easier.

I have the potential to become one of the strongest heroes.

But there were just too many moving parts, too much power in my hands. I didn't have a full grip on it.

That's a problem.

Then there was what I did to Tomura.

Torturing him wasn't the issue.

I know what you're supposed to say. "Torturing someone is wrong, no matter what." or "Violence without purpose is a flaw."

Sure, I get that. 

But this is Tomura Shigaraki we're talking about. The guy who's going to lead a terrorist group. Who's going to kill hundreds, maybe thousands. Possibly even more.

If anything, it was karma. He absolutely deserved everything he got.

But that wasn't the real problem.

The real problem was me. Why I did it.

It was pure emotion. It wasn't strategic; it wasn't part of a bigger plan. It didn't serve a long-term benefit or tie into some future scheme.

I never liked Tomura to begin with, and I got pissed off. I wanted to hurt him, so that's exactly what I did.

And that? That was the mistake.

I could've handled things so differently. I could've killed the Nomu first. I already had it crippled and unable to fight back. Just wait a minute longer to finish it, then turn my attention to Tomura and end him in one clean strike. Wipe a major threat off the board before he ever got the chance to ruin things. That would've been the smart move.

But no. I had to go full edge-lord, inflict a little pain, take a victory lap on his spine.

I lost control.

Still, it's not like it was a total failure.

In the end, I hit every goal I set.

All Might thinks I fought with conviction. With power and purpose. The way he would've. I told him I used Midoriya's "superpower" quirk to stay in the fight. Made sure to sell the image: a scrappy young hero, fighting with everything he's got until the Symbol of Peace arrived.

Definitely didn't mention how I methodically decayed every limb on Nomu's body.

The teachers are probably already hailing me as the MVP of the day. I can't blame them. As far as they know, I held off the monster that pushed All Might to his limits, protected the class, and put myself in the line of fire for everyone else.

A real hero.

The students should be in a similar boat, except without the details of how much Nomu pushed All Might.

Though I expect Midoriya to learn about it. There's no way All Might won't tell him what happened. And really, it's his opinion that matters the most.

Which means it's only a matter of time until he gives me One For All.

Maybe after Overhaul? Or perhaps one of the movie villains?

Whatever. Doesn't matter. I'm ready for it now.

I played my part perfectly.

But...

I glanced down at my hands.

For a second, I thought they might be shaking. 

But they weren't. 

Of course they weren't.

Just some nerves; no need to think about that stuff.

I did nothing wrong.

The teachers will be escorting me soon. Back to the others. Back to nineteen sets of eyes waiting to hear if their class rep made it out alive.

The hero's journey wasn't over yet. Not until I walked back into that room and gave them all the ending they wanted.

I should probably throw on a tired smile. Say something cool. "Sorry to keep you waiting," or whatever. Let them see me walk in strong.

Their protector.

Their hero.

Their savior.

Kyūta Henshin. The man who stood alone.