Redemption (Part 1)

The six friends found themselves in a very familiar setting: walking around campus together with the couples hand in hand. Mina turned around to face everyone. "Does anyone have anything planned for the summer?" Chris and Jason looked at each other and shook their heads. Momo thought for a second before also shaking her head. Shoto just shrugged. Mina smiled. "I know! What if we all go to the beach?!" Nobody else showed interest. Mina just crossed her arms. "Party poopers." Kirishima suddenly had a good idea. "What if we go camping for a week or two?" Shoto and Momo perked up. Chris gave Momo a weird look. "You like camping?" "I don't know. I've never gone camping." Shoto nodded. She's never gone camping either. Chris smiled. "Sounds like fun. Where were you thinking?" Kirishima thought for a second. "Well, Lake Tahoe is only a few hours away. I was just thinking we could drive up and hang out together." Momo smiled. "Sounds like a plan. I can book us rooms at the resort." Jason facepalmed. "She just said that, didn't she?" Momo looked around with some confusion. "What? Is there not a resort?" Chris sighed as he pulled Momo into a hug. "My poor sheltered angel. You are too pure for this world." The rest of the group laughed. They promised each other they'll talk more about the trip on a later date.

Shoto stood in front of the school with Jason. She looked up at him. "You don't have to come." "I want to be there to support you. Do you want me to stay here?" "No. I would like your support." Jason smiled and took his girlfriend's hand. She would be retaking the exam to get her Probationary Hero License. She was glad Jason was tagging along, because she was scared of making the same mistakes as last time. All Might walked up, smiling. "Good morning, Shoto. Are you ready for today?" She took a deep breath and nodded. The retired hero looked over at Jason. "You'll be attending the exam as well? Why?" "Emotional support." "Did Mr. Aizawa approve of this?" "He supports the idea." "Alright. Let's get going."

The trio arrived at the exam site just an hour away. While the main test site was a giant arena with buildings, mountains, and a lake, this place was just a repurposed gym. All Might had to take a phone call from the school, but said he would be in soon. Jason kissed Shoto. "Break a leg." "Babe, why are you telling me to hurt myself?" "It's a figure of speech. It means good luck." He smiled and walked up some stairs and sat in the stands.

Shoto entered the gym to see Gang Orca. "Hello again, sir." The hero looked over at her. "You're here early." "All Might insisted we arrive early." "Hm." Inasa came out of the boys' locker room with a big smile. "Hello, Shoto!" Shoto smiled politely. "Hello Inasa. I'm glad to see you here." The tall man bowed to Shoto. "I apologize for my actions and words during the first test! I promise I will not be responsible for any more chaos today!" Katsuki also walked out of the locker room, completely geared up. "Why the hell am I here?!" Gang Orca shouted back at him. "Because you're just as much of a failure as these two!"

All Might was about to enter the gym when a familiar booming voice stopped him. "All Might!" The retired hero turned around to see Endeavor towering over him. "Oh, hello Endeavor. Are you here to watch Shoto's exam?" He nodded, his flames covering his beard and mustache like usual. "I want to make sure she passes this time. I also need to talk with you." "Oh. Alright then." The two walked in. Endeavor sneered. "Why is the brat here?" "Jason? He came to support his girlfriend." Endeavor looked around, then realized Shoto was the only girl down there. Then he got mad. "My daughter is dating that excuse of a human being?!" The commotion drew everyone's attention. Inasa glared at Endeavor. "What's your father doing here?" Shoto shook her head with the same amount of hatred Inasa had. "I wish I knew." Jason looked away, looking back at Gang Orca as he prepared for the exam. All Might and Endeavor sat in the back of the stands and away from the judges.

Gang Orca faced the students. "Tell me why you want to be a hero!" Katsuki shouted with a devilish smile. "To beat up villains!" Gang Orca punched him across the room. "You're too weak!" Inasa shouted with a smile. "I'm going to make people smile!" Gang Orca punched him over to where Katsuki landed. "Not with that pitiful performance!" Shoto looked up at the Number 10 Hero. "I don't know why I want to be a hero." Gang Orca nodded approvingly. "Good. Some honesty." He then punched her across the room as well. "Let's find a reason!"

All Might sighed. "Gang Orca was always the mean one out of the top 10." Endeavor was staring at Jason. All Might noticed. "Endeavor, please don't pick a fight with him. He'll-" "He'll beat me, right?" "That's not what I was going to say." Endeavor just looked down at All Might. "I saw the videos. The entire world thinks you used all of your power to stop All for One and save everyone. The truth is that you were completely spent after that United States of Smash. If it wasn't for Jason, we all would've been killed." All Might nodded in agreement. Endeavor continued. "All Might, I've been the Number Two Hero nearly my entire career. Now that you're retired, I'm in line to become the Number One Hero. Despite that, nobody is seeing me as the Symbol of Peace." He looked back at Jason. "The other Top 10 Heroes are all saying that Jason, or Endgame, rather, is going to be the next Symbol of Peace. The guy is still in school for crying out loud." All Might didn't really know what Endeavor was asking for. "So you're jealous of Jason?" "Hardly. All Might, I've surpassed you in terms of stopped crimes years ago. If it was just by how effectively we did our work, then I would be on top. But now that you're gone, Hero Agencies are getting ready for Jason to step up. Why are the best of us turning to him and not me?"

All Might thought for a long time. "...You're too focused on one aspect of becoming a hero. Fighting villains may be the flashiest thing we do, but there are a lot of other things that go into it. How you treat civilians, how you do in a rescue scenario, how well you work with others, and even the way you take down a villain all go into being a hero. I would say being a Symbol of Peace means to be doing the best you can in every category and never stopping, no matter how difficult things get for you or everyone else." All Might smiled up at Endeavor. "Also, smile more. The Symbol of Peace needs to smile." Endeavor glanced down at All Might before looking back at Shoto. After a minute of silence, he shouted. "Shoto! Make sure you win!" Shoto just glared back up at her father before paying attention to what Gang Orca was saying. All Might sighed. "You still have a lot of work to do."