All for One (Epilogue)

Chris was sitting next to the doorway leading to Jason's room. He had to watch his friend be tied down by leather straps and placed on a 24 hour suicide watch. Shoto was just as mortified, crying for the first time in a very long time. The other friends were at a loss for words. It's been a full day since the battle against All for One. The villain had been taken into custody. The Nomus were all destroyed. In most cases, this would be a victory. However, this one was bittersweet. The country just lost their Number One Hero, and the League of Villains had escaped mostly intact. A nurse walked up to the group. "You're all with Mr. Miller, right?" "Chris stood up. "We are." "I'm about to check on him." She tensed up as a male nurse walked up. "Hey, Brandon, weren't you supposed to be on Suicide Watch?" The guy shrugged. "He's tied down. He's not going anywhere."

Chris burst into Jason's room. Of course, he had gotten out of the restraints. He was standing by the open window. Before anyone could make a sound, he turned around and locked eyes with his best friend. "Hey bro." The light in his eyes had returned. The nurse slowly approached him. "...Sir… please get away from the window…" Jason smiled at her. "Sorry. Just wanted some fresh air." He closed the window and sat back in bed. After a quick check up, the nurse wrote some stuff on her clipboard. "...You seem good to go…" All Might entered the room. "Mina told me you were awake, Jason." "Oh, good morning All Might." Jason looked at the nurse. "Could I have a minute alone with my friends and teacher?" With some hesitation, she nodded and left.

Jason lost his smile as he held up his bandaged wrist. "How many times did I try to pull this shit?" Mina answered immediately. "Once." Jason nodded. "Thanks guys." Jason sighed. "...I guess I owe all of you an explanation…" Everyone eagerly waited. Jason took a deep breath. "...I discovered my quirk when I was about nine… I call it 'Inner Strength': it basically turns my emotions into kinetic force…" He looked down at his arm. "...I threw everything I had at All for One… and when I run out of emotion, well… you saw what happened. My subconscious just doesn't see a reason to keep going." Shoto sat next to him. "...Why didn't you tell any of us…?" Nothing could hide the physical pain he felt as he seemed to remember something. All Might waved his hand. "We can save that for another day. He's been through enough."

Kirishima cleared his throat. Everyone looked at him. "Look, I hate to be that guy right now, but we just threw our two strongest fighters at that villain and he's still breathing." All Might nodded. "All for One may be behind bars, but he'll escape as soon as it's convenient." Jason rose up out of bed. "Chris." The young man looked up at his best friend. Jason had a fire in his eyes as he spoke. "We just bought you some time. You need to master One for All as soon as possible. Because, right now, you're the only one who has the slightest hope of beating him." Jason put a hand on Chris's shoulder.

"Only you can kill All for One."