The first years were... energetic, not to say the least.
They had chased Todoroki and Bakugo halfway across the school before the two boys took refuge behind their strong and sturdy class rep, seeking his protection from the flood of teenagers eager to meet them.
Sora could hardly hold back her laughter at the scene. " To think those two would run away from someone like that..."
Even if they had fought the demon lord not too long ago, they were all still, deep down, high school students, she had realized.
Iida took care of the overzealous juniors, all while berating them for running in the hallways and prompting them to head for class.
Mineta seemed so cross with Bakugo for having earned so many female fans despite him being a ' bad boy'.
Life had begun to slowly return to its flow as their school year began.
Something about sitting for an English or Alchemy class made them feel at ease.
Sora didn't know whether it was the shelter she felt the school provided from the outside world, or the fact that, despite everything, they were moving on and looking forward.
The heroics study in the afternoon had been switched to restoration help.
They would get into a bus and help out with rebuilding an area they had been assigned, along with the Pro heroes.
Fat and Jeanist greeted them. Sora could even see Amajiki among those helping.
So he already joined as Fat's sidekick, huh...
Everyone joined in, even Bakugo.
" Didn't they say to take it easy?" She asked as she flew over him and Edge Shot, who was slowly regaining his strength.
" That's why I'm stuck with this garbage!" He grumbled, showing her the light plastic bag he was hauling under his left arm. " No one is going to allow me to lift anything heavier than this!"
Sora chuckled at his apparent dilemma. The mighty Bakugo was reduced to light cleaning. She could see why he was enraged.
" Sora-chan!" Uraraka called out from beside two large containers filled with rubble. " Could you-"
Before Uraraka even continued, Sora's form shifted into the large bird with four wings; still, its size was somewhat smaller.
" Weren't you bigger than this?" Bakugo asked as she went to retrieve the containers Uraraka just rendered weightless.
" I can control the size." She glanced down at him. " Being that huge in here would cause more damage than we're trying to mend."
And she lifted her loads away from the construction site.
It took several flights to clean the whole place of any rubble or ruins, and by the time she was finished, the civilians had put together a meal for them.
She quickly joined her classmates, savoring the delicious Onigiri, and she couldn't help but shed a few tears as she munched on them happily.
" Shirogane-san is crying!" Midoriya startled.
" Is it that good?" Tokoyami inclined his head at the one in his hand. He found it delicious, but not a burst-to-tears delicious.
" It's not like that..." Sora quickly wiped away her tears. " Food gets more delicious the more emotions you put into it. I can almost taste it, everyone's sincere wishes to help out, however they can. Their cheers for us to do our best. Their silent comfort."
She took another bite, tasting it slowly as another tear rolled down her face. " And it really fills me with all kinds of feelings. Making me want to do more for them."
Suddenly, the simple snack in their hands felt different, and several of them smiled openly.
" Thank you all for this awesome feast!" As the class rep, Iida stepped forward to express their gratitude. " We'll do our best to finish the job today!"
The eldest man among the civilians laughed at that. " Might be a little short-handed to get it done that quickly..."
" If Seijin was here, it wouldn-"
Mineta's mouth was sealed shut by Sero's tape at that. " Idiot! Don't say that!" He hissed, eyes darting to Sora.
She heard it.
She had been thinking it too.
And she frankly felt a bit of warmth to know that they missed her friend as much as she did.
But in the end, she pretended she didn't hear a word, busying herself with the table of snacks.
A futile act, she thought, as everyone knew of her sharp senses.
She could already hear the bus that was heading their way, promising to rectify the shortage problem and shake the sense of gloom that settled at the mention of their absent classmate, long before it reached them.
The bus housed the first years who insisted on apologizing, not with words, but with their efforts.
And so, they were granted minor tasks.
Speak of being persistent...
Sora huffed with a small smile as she watched the young students who were trying hard to follow in their seniors' footsteps.
" As long as we have that someone..."
A gentle breeze ruffled her hair as she took in the joint efforts of everyone.
" Everyone... is becoming everyone's hero... huh..."
The girl looked slightly back towards her classmates, who seemingly were enjoying the feast.
One, single, dark swirling aura that seemed to be a tick away from bursting, caught her red eyes...
________________
The dorm's requirements eased up a bit in recognition of the students' state.
They were allowed to go back home if they so wanted.
Most of her class decided to stay.
Sora had her wounded grandmother, however, so she needed to go back home to look after her.
She wasn't the only one.
Uraraka, too, decided to commute for a while.
However, that night, the girl didn't answer any of their texts or calls.
It would have been fine and all if her parents hadn't called, asking if their daughter had decided to stay at the dormitory that day.
When Asui called Sora, almost in tears, an idea crossed her mind.
She could think of a place where Uraraka would go.
She wanted to head there and check, but she hesitated as she looked out the large window at the dark night sky.
" Go."
The sound from behind her made her turn her head back to her grandmother, who offered her the softest smile.
" I can tell. There is someone you want to be by their side right now. So go."
" But..."
During the day, Haruka, who was a nurse, took care of Yui while Sora was away.
But then...
She was on her own.
" I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me." She moved her wheelchair closer and took her granddaughter's hands in hers. " Someone needs you more than I do, Sora. So don't let them down."
The girl squeezed her eyes shut and hugged her grandmother tightly, inhaling her warm scent. " Thank you, Grandma..."
She turned around, opened the window, and jumped out.
With a beat, her wings sprang out and took her up into the dark sky, beyond the city lights, as Yui watched her fly away...
________________
She had been right.
Uraraka was there, where they had erected the Troy fortress before the final battle.
Midoriya was there with her.
Apparently, he was faster to find her.
Sora breathed a sigh of relief and texted their location to the rest of the class.
She didn't feel right interrupting those two.
But the class was too worried to leave them hanging.
She drifted down, unnoticed by the two, and overheard pieces of their conversation.
Toga and Shigaraki...
As expected.
A few days ago, they discussed the same topic there, each wanting to save them.
Now...
Both of them...
Her feet touched the ground, and both turned to her.
" Shirogane-san..."
" Sora-chan..." Uraraka quickly started to wipe her tears away.
She didn't want Sora to see her in that state.
And Sora could tell why.
She reached her hands, stopping her. " Let them flow... If my friend can't cry in my presence, what kind of a friend would I be?..."
Uraraka sniffed, her tears bubbling even more, while her face contorted in an attempt to hold them back.
" I've been thinking too... that I couldn't save anyone..." Her hands squeezed Uraraka's. " I didn't want to let go of Aoyama's hand... but I had to... because I didn't want to get in his way..."
Yuu's sacrifice...
Her grandmother's guilt...
Her mother's pain...
Her friends' own struggles...
That war broke more than any of them could mend easily.
The city beyond them already started taking shape.
But their hearts remained broken and fragile.
Perhaps it won't ever be back to normal.
Yet again.
They didn't fight to get everything back to normal.
That was nearly impossible.
They fought...
Her tears fell on Uraraka's hand. " We can't change the past. We can't take back everything that was broken and lost..."
Togata said it...
They had lost more than they had gained.
" Still..." Her eyes locked on Uraraka's teary ones, and she leaned her forehead against that of her friend gently. " I want to move on... I don't want everything to be for nothing... I want tomorrow to be brighter..."
A tomorrow where no one had to suffer as they did.
Where no one had to sacrifice themselves again.
" That's all I could think of... that's all I could do from here on..." She looked at Midoriya and offered the briefest of smiles. " To make a difference..."
The boy gave her a small smile, though his eyes swam with tears as well.
" Sora-chan!" In a moment, the girl wrapped her arms around her, crying her eyes out.
" Here they are!" A shout from behind them caught their attention as Dark Shadow's large form towered over them.
" Uraraka! We're here for you, too!" The whole class runs towards them, almost tripping over themselves.
" Ochaco-chan! You sillyhead!" Asui managed to overtake them, leaping into Uraraka's arms as Sora moved away. " I was waiting for you to open up to me! You know you can say whatever's on your mind."
Uraraka didn't have the words to respond, but she laughed and cried equally, a testament to her guilt and happiness at the same time.
Sora could only smile as she wiped her own tears before Ashido ran into her too, almost crushing her in her hug. " Sora-chan, too! You know you're no exception!"
" The whole class has been worried about you two, you know!" Hagakure rebuked, hands, or rather sleeves, flailing in the air.
Sora turned towards them, blinked, and then let out a soft chuckle. " I see... that's how it was then..." She looked to Uraraka. " We were all worried for each other... in our own ways..."
Their class continued to rebuke and tell them off, all while trying to squeeze the life out of them, before Bakugo's question to Midoriya about the embers caught their attention.
It wasn't that Sora didn't know.
The consciousnesses within him have faded.
His strength had somehow diminished, she noticed.
Midoriya was probably going back to being Quirkless before high school ended.
They turned on him as well, shouting at him for not saying anything.
And at the back of the group, Aizawa stood, watching the students he came to care for argue and comfort each other.
A rational choice... He looked up, as though contemplating something in the night sky...