RISE 3

He froze, placing her on the ground and ignoring her 'oof'.

"Freckles, stay still, okay?" Of course she didn't, but he put his hand on the back of her head anyway and felt warm liquid. He looked down at his hero costume to see it on his chest as well and cursed, he had thought the blood was from her arm. Of course she hit her head when they fell. This girl was a fucking magnet for danger apparently. No wonder the Monkey was always hovering over her like a goddamn sentry. He realized she had been quiet for a while now and looked back at her sleepy face.

He swallowed his emotions and let off an explosion near her, and she jerked awake. "Good, now keep those eyes open until I can get that damn Chipmunk over here."

He stood up and started yelling, letting off explosions and waving his arms to the students on the ledge above them. "CHI- err FLOATY GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE NOW!!" To his relief, she was smarter than he gave her credit for, and had started rushing down the second he said 'floaty'. He let off another explosion, and Red's eyes opened again.

"Stop closing your damn eyes, Freckles." He growled anxiously. Chipmunk made it down, and gasped when she saw Red on the ground.

"What happ-"

"She's bleeding too much from her arm and her damn head, probably concussed as well with the shit she's been saying. Float her so she isn't jerked around while I walk up those damn stairs with her."

Chipmunk pushed past him and placed a hand on Red. He let off another explosion and Red's eyes opened, her hand reaching for Chipmunk. Chipmunk shook her head, pressing her own two hands together instead to float her. Katsuki growled and grabbed it, tugging her along behind them as they made their way up the stairs to the rest of the group. As they reached the top, the doors opened and the Pro Heroes they had for teachers started flooding in. It was over.

"Sorry everyone, I know we're a bit late, but I got the teachers over here as fast as I could!" The Rodent said, perched on top of Vlad King's shoulders.

"It's Iida!" Chipmunk exclaimed in relief.

"Your class rep has returned! And I brought reinforcements!" Glasses replied proudly.

Katsuki sagged in relief and let go of little Red's hand, letting Midnight take her. He heard a "Release!" behind him, and the woman fell the few inches left into the teacher's arms, groaning.

Red, Aizawa, and Thirteen were loaded into ambulances. Some healers stayed behind to heal Froggie and the Pervert's cuts from battling aside Aizawa. The Monkey and the Invisible Chick were also treated for burns on their bare feet. Buzz Brain was being treated for bruises on his neck. Deku had two broken legs and two broken fingers, and was taken to Recovery Girl along with All Might…

The villains had been rounded up, they had won… but at what cost? Katsuki had never seen All Might bleed before… It was like finding out a god is secretly human like everyone else. Despite this though, All Might had shown incredible, undeniable power. He had saved the day, beating the bad guy, no matter what. No matter how strong they were.

That was what Katsuki was aiming for. He was aiming to be even stronger than his favorite hero who saved their class. He was going to keep working, and work even harder than before, because he now knew he needed to. Even though he told himself it wasn't his fault, Katsuki knew the truth. He wasn't fast enough to move out of the way, even with Red's warning. Her focus on him being in danger, on his inability to be fast enough, his reliance on All Might's rescue, it had all led to her own brush with death. He was never going to be the reason for something like that again. He was never going to be the liability, the one Red was worried for, the one that needed rescuing. He was going to become the one doing the saving, like All Might.

Katsuki felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked away from the ambulances that had started driving away.

Kirishima didn't say a word, and just nodded his head in the direction of the bus. Katsuki didn't shout, or say anything snarky in response, and just followed.

Everyone was quiet on the bus ride home. Icyhot had his arms around Ponytail protectively, like he was scared if he let her go she would disappear. Ponytail herself was nervously checking her phone, waiting for news on Red. Chipmunk had her arms wrapped around her waist, looking out the window anxiously, probably scared for Deku. Earlobe and Buzz Brain sat close to each other, the former glancing at the latter's neck where the bruises had been, shuddering. Monkey was staring out the window as well, not taking the news about Red calmly at all, needing Invisible Chick to calm him down before they boarded the bus. Froggie and Pervert shuddered every once in a while, and Katsuki had heard they had witnessed Aizawa being…

He looked out the window, pushing the thought of his teacher's broken body from his mind. They had had their first real fight, but none of them could have been prepared for the consequences.

They were adults. They had fought, and they had won… But it was a hollow victory when they thought about what they had lost as well. Nothing would ever feel completely normal for Class 1-A after this, but they weren't weaklings like the rest of the school. No, they were survivors. They were winners. And winners didn't let themselves be consumed by the darkness around them. They fucking rose above it.

As Katsuki looked around at his classmates, he saw proof of their strength. He saw it in Pinky rubbing Kirishima's shoulder. He saw it in Buzz Brain poking at his neck childishly to show Earlobe he was okay. He saw it in Invisible Chick's quiet words to Monkey. His class was full of damn survivors, and if they could survive that shit show of an invasion, they sure as hell could survive the aftermath.

Later that night, the entirety of Class 1-A was packed into the common room as movie after movie played, no one willing to admit they were there because they didn't want to be alone that night. Laughter gradually started filling the TV lit room and popcorn was passed around as blankets and pillows were brought down from upstairs. Katsuki made it clear he was there against his will, but also continued to check his phone every few minutes, just in case. Right before he drifted to sleep, Kirishima's stupid leg poking into his side, it finally came.

His, Ponytail, and the Monkey's phones all went off. He opened the text to see a picture of little Red smiling tiredly at the camera, Thirteen next to her with a thumbs up.

Like he said. His class was full of survivors.

Katsuki finally allowed himself to sleep, knowing that no matter what darkness came at them, they'd continue to rise above it.