Final Exams, "Peace"

That man, with blond hair tied back, glasses and surprisingly simple clothes along with the denim jacket tilted his head slightly, letting out a low, unmistakable chuckle.

"Yo, Ryuga..." he said, lifting his sunglasses just enough to reveal yellow lenses and a too-familiar smirk. "Are you okay?"

Of course. Present Mic. Shouta's loudest friend. Like the last time when me and Himiko went out for ramen, this time, he was playing sneaky spy as Principal Nezu ordered him to tailing me and Himiko, probably ever since we separated from the class for today.

He stepped forward, brushing past a couple of civilian onl ookers and surveyed the chaos left behind: the burn marks on the floor where Kurogiri's mist had warped the air, the overturned chairs, the sound of distant sirens, and the sharp, fading panic in the crowd.

"Hm. So," he said, folding his arms under the coat like some kind of undercover detective, "What happened??"

I wiped a bead of sweat from my brow, thankfully, regular sweat this time. "Either you're not serious about this stalking thing, or you're too dumb to realize I've been choked like a FUCKING chicken for over 5 FUCKING minutes!"

He chuckled again, this time with a tinge of guilt. "Hey, I was trying not to blow my cover. Kinda hard to tail someone when you're yelling into a megaphone, you know? And yeah, language, Ryuga. There are minors present here. Watch your mouth...""

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, well, next time maybe try intervening before my windpipe files for divorce, then i can say something nicely..."

And yeah, then the whole class 1-A started to ask questions right after realizing that the man who had just talked to me was Present Mic - who had just left when the other heroes and the police arrived to help. But really... being cared for like this is really rare...

Before I transmigrated here, when I realized that the only thing I received no matter how hard I tried, or when I encountered difficulties was simply indifference, coldness, and even sarcasm and criticism of my own weakness, I thought that unless I was either a powerful person, or a handsome person or rich or something, receiving anything positive from others was just...impossible.

Happiness, is not something we receive, but something we have to take away, one way or another. That's exactly why I wanted to change the plot of this "much ado about nothing" manga, it's simple. I just want to go "home".

Even if it's that tiny room, and the manga translation job with a salary that even beggars would give in charity, I still choose it, basically because it's something I really have and own, not some beautiful and illusory things in this world.

But then again, maybe I'm being too harsh on what's here with my own life experience and worldview.

It seems that here, except for me and the mentally ill criminals, everyone has a little compassion, or anything good and selfless. Everyone has dreams and ambitions, no matter how big or small they are...

Alright... I think I'll have to change the fate of the other unfortunate people before changing the ending of this story...

"Oy, are you crying for real, Onodera?" Bakugo asked me, looking at me with a look that was both concerned and sarcastic.

"Bullshit. I just have an irritated eye, Bakugay..."

"What the fuck did you just call me you piece of shit...!??"

...

The moment I stepped out of the police station after taking my statement and all - with 90% of it being lies and bullshit to get things over with and avoid any future problems, I immediately returned to the Heights Alliance dormitory.

Surprisingly, this time instead of just one area built first like the original to confine Himiko and me, this time they started building more dormitories for other grades. Of course, the current place is still the same, just with some boards and some names of the current class - 1-A - posted above a sign that says "Alliance". I don't know why they built it so early, maybe... because they were afraid of the high cost of building materials?

Never mind. It doesn't matter, because now I'm finally officially moving in here with all my belongings brought from my apartment here, instead of sharing a room with Himiko.

It also... doesn't have much, just the same clothes, uniforms, PE uniforms, shoes, a few identical boxers,... and some books on inorganic and organic chemistry and some other stuff. There's not much furniture either, just a small study desk, a medium-sized wardrobe, a table for chemistry practice and a bookshelf. Bed? I don't need it. Either I lay out a mattress to lie on, or I'll be dragged to the room by Himiko to sleep together - and even if it's not just for sleeping - so adding a bed is superfluous.

I stood in the middle of the room, hands in pockets, staring at my "new life" in the form of a half-empty dorm with bad lighting and the faint smell of fresh wood glue. For a second, I half-expected it to feel dramatic, cinematic, like one of those moments where everything shifts and soft piano plays in the background.

Nope.

Just silence. And the creak of a cheap floorboard.

I dropped my bag on the floor. The thud echoed louder than I expected.

It was strange, really. After all the chaos, after almost dying again, lying to a bunch of pro heroes and police officers, watching Shigaraki vanish like the ghost of a bad decision,... I thought I'd feel more... triumphant? Or maybe shaken?

But all I felt was empty. The kind of emptiness that comes not from exhaustion, but from finally getting a breather and realizing you don't know what to do with it.

Then, as if on cue, the door creaked open.

"I brought snacks," Himiko said, holding a small paper bag and a smug smile, like she owned the whole building.

I blinked. "You know you can bring something more than 2 potato chip bags, right?"

She dropped the bag onto my desk, ignoring the comment entirely. "New room means housewarming. Housewarming means snacks. Snacks mean me. And no, save the best for the last, i won't waste too much snack for this..."

"That third one sounds like a threat."

She leaned in, grinning wider. "Depends on whether you give me your pillow tonight."

"You mean the one I don't have?"

"Oh. Right." She laughed and flopped down onto my floor mattress like she'd lived here longer than me, which technically she had.

A comfortable silence settled for a bit.

I sat on the edge of the mattress, arms resting on my knees. "Himiko."

"Hmm?"

"You ever think... we're just messing everything up?"

She rolled over, resting her chin on her hands. "All the time."

I nodded, half-expecting her to joke. But she didn't.

"We're not supposed to be here, Ryuga," she said quietly. "Not being locked up like this. Not in uniforms and under sunshine and fake smiles when we have done some bullshit duties and tons of hero's job."

"But we are."

"Yeah," she whispered, "we are."

And that scared me.

Because the longer I stayed here, the more I realized I wanted this. The normal. The quiet. The way we snuck out of class to have some lunch privately. The way Midoriya looked like he was constantly trying to figure me out but never quite could. The way Bakugo called me names with the same level of hate he reserved for people he respected. And so on...

For a brief moment, it felt peaceful. Like the world forgot about us. Like the weight of being a plot-warping anomaly and a former villain was allowed to dissolve. It was a kind of peace I knew wouldn't last.

And maybe... wasn't meant to.

But I'd fight for it anyway.

I laid back beside her, staring up at the ceiling, the cheap plaster and faint cracks in the corners.

""Ready for the trip to I-Island later?"" I murmured.

She turned her head toward me. "Sure. As long as i could stand beside you..."

"Same."

A beat passed.

"Same, too."

We stayed like that for a while, in the stillness before the storm.

No war, no blood, no quirks. Just two people, broken in different ways, borrowing time from a world that never meant to lend it.

And for once...

That was enough.