The white fabric of the dress shirt was stiff. Ryuu pulled the sleeves down, but they stopped an inch short of his wrists.
He had grown since the last time he wore this.
He stood in front of the mirror. His fingers felt thick and clumsy as he tried to loop the black tie. He made a knot, but it sat lopsided and loose near his collarbone.
He pulled it apart and stared at his reflection. His skin looked sallow under the LED lights.
Mina stepped into the frame of the mirror behind him. She was already dressed in a simple black dress. She reached up and brushed his hands aside.
"I'll do it."
Ryuu dropped his arms. He looked at the wall while her fingers worked the silk. She moved with quick motions, tightening the knot and tucking the fabric under his collar.
Momo walked out of the bathroom. She wore a black pantsuit with her hair pulled back into a severe bun. Ryuu's phone vibrated on the desk. He picked it up.
It was a text from his mother: I'm at the gate.
"She's here," Ryuu blurt out.
"Okay."
Mina smoothed the front of his shirt. Her palms lingered on his chest for a heartbeat.
"Let's go."
The three of them left the room together. They walked down the hallway to the elevator in silence.
When the doors opened on the ground floor, the sound of the common area hit them.
Two students from Class 1-B stood by the vending machine near the entrance.
"I'm telling you, the Hero Law exam is going to be a disaster this year," the taller one laughed out wryly, clutching a can of coffee.
"Just focus on the 2214 amendments," the other shrugged. "That's all Vlad King ever tests on anyway."
They didn't look up as the three of them passed. Ryuu kept his gaze fixed on the back of the person in front of him.
They pushed through the heavy front doors of the Heights Alliance building. The rain had stopped, but the air was cold. Puddles covered the asphalt, reflecting the flat, grey sky.
Ryuu walked between Mina and Momo as they headed toward the campus exit. Near the training field, a group of general studies students talked loudly near the fence.
"Did you see the leak for the new rankings?" one girl asked.
"It's probably fake," her friend laughed. "They always post bait lists before the actual ceremony."
They reached the fork in the path. To the left was the UA main gate. To the right, a large transport bus was idling, its windows tinted.
Aizawa stood by the bus door, checking a clipboard.
Ryuu stopped.
"This is us," Mina gestured toward the bus. She reached out and gripped his hand, giving it one hard squeeze before letting go. "We'll be right behind you."
Momo stepped closer, adjusting the lapel of his blazer. "Don't look at the cameras. Just look at the car in front of you."
They turned toward the bus, joining the small queue of black-clad students from Class 3-A.
Ryuu continued toward the main gate alone. His dress shoes made a sharp, rhythmic clicking sound on the concrete. The noise was loud in the open air.
His mother's car was idling by the security post. White vapor puffed from the exhaust pipe into the damp air.
He reached the passenger side and pulled the door open. The interior was silent.
Yuki sat in the driver's seat. She wore a black veil pushed back over her head. Her face was pale, and her hands gripped the steering wheel at ten and two. Her knuckles were white.
"Ready?" she asked softly.
"No."
"Me neither."
The car moved through the streets of Musutafu and into the heart of Tokyo. Ryuu watched the city through the tinted glass.
Everything looked normal. People were walking dogs. A delivery man on a scooter wove through traffic.
**VROOM!**
The scooter zipped past their car, the engine whining high and annoying. The rider didn't know he was passing a funeral procession. He just wanted to get his ramen delivered.
They turned a corner onto a main avenue. A giant digital billboard hung over the intersection. Usually, it showed ads for sports drinks or new hero merchandise. Today, it showed a static image of three faces.
Kenji Yamamoto was in the center. The words **IN MEMORIAM** were written in bold white text across the bottom.
Ryuu looked away. Seeing his father's face ten feet tall in the middle of a shopping district made his throat feel like it was closing.
"There's so many people," Yuki whispered.
As they approached the Hero Commission facility, the sidewalks became packed. It wasn't just civilians. There were people in black suits, police officers in dress uniforms, and a line of reporters held back by waist-high metal barricades.
"GET BACK! I NEED THE ANGLE!" a photographer shouted at a passerby.
"F##K OFF, I'M JUST TRYING TO GET TO WORK!" the pedestrian yelled back, shoving the camera lens away.
The car slowed to a crawl as they reached the security checkpoint.
"Don't look at them," Yuki advised. "Just walk straight to the entrance."
They did. Ryuu kept his eyes forward as camera flashes exploded around them. Questions shouted from the press line:
The reporters leaned over the rails, shoving long microphones wrapped in black foam toward his face.
"I need this." One photographer climbed onto a trash can to get a higher angle.
"Mrs. Kazama! How are you feeling today?"
"Ryuu! Can you comment on your father's sacrifice?"
"Is it true you were held captive for two days?"
*CLATTER.*
The trash can lid slipped, and the man nearly fell, cursing loudly as he regained his balance.
Security ushered them through quickly. Inside, the building's lobby was decorated with somber efficiency. Black drapes. White flowers. Photos of the deceased arranged on memorial boards.
Ryuu's eyes found his father's photo immediately. It was from years ago, when Kenji had still been with them. He looked younger. Happier. Alive.
"This way," an official in a dark suit said, guiding them down a corridor. "Family members have a private room before the ceremony begins."
The room was small. Comfortable chairs. Refreshments nobody would touch. Other families were already there, people Ryuu didn't know, all wearing the same expression of grief.
A woman approached them. Mid-forties, red eyes from crying, holding a young boy's hand.
"Mrs. Kazama?" Her voice was hoarse. "I'm Akane Tanaka. My husband... he was forced to work at that facility. The villains had our son." She looked down at the boy. "Kenji saved him during the collapse. Helped him get to an exit before..." She couldn't finish.
Yuki's hand found the woman's. "I'm so sorry for your loss."
"I'm sorry for yours too. But I wanted you to know... your husband was a hero. He saved my child when he could have just escaped."
More people came forward. Other families. Other stories of Kenji's actions during those final moments. Each one was a knife in Ryuu's chest.
His father had saved people. Even while fighting. Even while dying. Had made sure others escaped before he did.
And Ryuu had just run.
"Five minutes," the official announced from the doorway.
They were led out toward the main hall. It was a cavernous space. Rows upon rows of black chairs stretched back toward a gallery. At the front, seventeen wooden caskets sat on raised platforms.
**THUD. THUD. THUD.**
The sound of hundreds of people sitting down at once echoed off the high ceiling.
Ryuu sat in the front row. He felt a gaze on the side of his head. He turned slightly.
But all he saw were the gazes of the pro-heroes on him...
Few minutes later, they were ushered out toward the main hall. The space was massive. Hundreds of seats faced a stage where seventeen caskets were arranged. His father was third from the left.
The hall was already half-full. Pro heroes in formal attire. Government officials. Families of the deceased. And at the back, separated by ropes, members of the press with cameras.
Yuki and Ryuu were directed to the front row, reserved for immediate family. As they sat, Ryuu caught sight of his classmates filing in.
Mina and Momo, as promised. But not just them.
Midoriya in a formal suit, his mother beside him. Bakugo in black, looking uncomfortable but present. Ochaco, Tsuyu, and Jirou together. Kirishima, Kaminari, Todoroki. Even Mineta had shown up, unusually subdued.
All Might sat with the faculty section, his skeletal form somehow making the formal wear look dignified. Aizawa beside him. Recovery Girl. Principal Nezu.
More heroes Ryuu recognized. Endeavor. Best Jeanist. Mirko, who caught his eye and nodded once. Others whose names he knew from rankings and news coverage.
The hall filled completely. Every seat taken. Standing room only at the back.
All these people. Here to mourn strangers. Here because the Hero Commission had decided these deaths mattered enough for public recognition.
Music began. Something classical and mournful. An official took the stage.
"Thank you all for coming today," he began, his voice amplified. "We gather to honor seventeen lives lost in the line of duty. Some were heroes who fought evil from within. Others were civilians caught in circumstances beyond their control. But all of them deserve our recognition and respect."
The speech continued. Ryuu stopped listening. His eyes were fixed on the casket that held his father's body. Polished wood. Brass handles. So ordinary for something that contained someone who'd been extraordinary.
Names were read. Brief biographies of the deceased. When they reached Kenji Yamamoto, the official's voice took on added weight.
"Commander Kenji Yamamoto served his country for twenty years before disappearing eight years ago. We now know he went undercover, infiltrating one of the most dangerous villain organizations in Japan's history. For nearly a decade, he worked in secret to dismantle their operations from within. His final act was to ensure the destruction of their research facility, saving countless potential victims. He is survived by his wife, Yuki, and his son, Ryuu."
The hall was silent except for muffled crying.
"Mrs. Kazama has prepared some words," the official continued, stepping aside.
Yuki stood on shaking legs. Ryuu wanted to stop her, to say she didn't have to do this. But she was already walking to the podium.
For a long moment, she just stood there, gripping the edges of the podium, staring at the papers she'd brought.
Then she looked up.
"I met Kenji when I was twenty-three," she began, voice wavering. "He was brilliant. Obsessive about his work. Terrible at small talk. He asked me out by accidentally spilling coffee on me and then offering to buy me a new shirt because he felt bad."
A few people laughed softly. Even through her tears, Yuki smiled at the memory.
"We got married two years later. Had our son three years after that. Kenji was... he was a good father. Devoted. He would spend hours reading to Ryuu, making up voices for characters. He built a treehouse in our backyard even though he had no idea what he was doing, and it ended up crooked."
Her voice broke. She paused, composing herself.
"And then he left."
Ryuu's chest tightened.
"But he didn't leave because he didn't love us. He left to protect us." Yuki looked directly at Ryuu now, tears streaming. "He loved us so much that he gave up everything...his family, his life, his identity...to keep us safe. And in the end, he gave his life to save our son."
She wiped her eyes with a shaking hand.
"I'm angry that he's gone. Angry that we lost so many years. Angry that my son had to grow up thinking his father abandoned him." Her voice strengthened. "But I'm also grateful. Grateful that Ryuu survived. Grateful that Kenji's sacrifice meant something. Grateful that, even briefly, we got him back before..."
She couldn't finish the last sentence. She began to sob into the microphone.
**THUMP.**
The official caught her as she swayed. He guided her back to the seat.
The ceremony continued. Other eulogies. A moment of silence. Prayers from various religious traditions.
Then the official spoke again: "We'll now hear from Ryuu Kazama, Yamamoto's son."
Ryuu froze.
He hadn't prepared anything. Hadn't planned to speak. Had told everyone he wouldn't.
"You don't have to," Yuki whispered, sensing his panic.
But everyone was looking at him now. Waiting. Hundreds of eyes. Cameras recording.
His father had died saving him. The least he could do was say something.
Ryuu stood. His legs felt like water. He walked to the podium on autopilot.
The hall stretched before him. So many people. All waiting.
He gripped the podium just like his mother had.
"I don't have a speech," Ryuu said. His voice cracked. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I spent eight years hating the man in that box. I thought I wasn't worth staying for."
The room was so quiet he could hear the hum of the air conditioning.
"Then he saved me. I had two days with him. Only two. He told me he left to keep me safe from people who wanted to use my quirk."
He felt a hot tear track down his cheek.
"I felt him die. My quirk... And I just ran. I've spent every hour since then wondering if I should have stayed." He couldn't even talk properly anymore...
He gripped the edges of the podium.
His vision blurred. Tears he'd been holding back for days finally breaking through.
"He told me about my quirk. Things even I didn't know. He explained why he left, to protect me from people who'd want to use my abilities. And then he fought so I could escape. Stayed behind so I could live."
Ryuu's voice broke completely.
The hall was utterly silent.
"I don't know how to grieve someone I barely knew. I don't know how to honor a sacrifice I never asked for. I don't know how to be the person he thought I could be when he told me to 'go be a hero' with his last breath."
Ryuu looked at the casket.
"But I'll try. Because that's what he wanted. For me to live. To use my quirk to help people. To be something good in a world that took him away from us twice."
He couldn't say more. Couldn't force any more words past the tightness in his throat.
He walked back to his seat in silence. His mother pulled him close, and they cried together while the ceremony continued around them.
The burial was private. Just family and a few close associates at a cemetery on Tokyo's outskirts.
The rain returned as they lowered Kenji's casket into the ground. Umbrellas bloomed around the grave site.
Ryuu stood beside his mother, watching the casket descend. This was it. The final moment. The absolute end.
Earth covered the casket. One shovelful at a time.
When it was over, people dispersed slowly. Offering final condolences. Promising to stay in touch. Empty words that meant well but changed nothing.
Mina, Momo, and the others hung back, giving Ryuu space but staying close enough that he knew they were there.
All Might approached, his skeletal form imposing even in mourning clothes.
"Young Kazama," he said quietly. "Your father was a brave man. His sacrifice won't be forgotten."
"Thank you," Ryuu replied automatically.
"If you need anything... support, guidance, just someone to talk to... my door is always open."
Ryuu nodded. All Might moved on.
More heroes offered condolences.
"Hey. Kid, stand up straight. Do not let your grief diminish the name of your father, which you carry. If you intend to honor the deceased, you will do so by becoming a hero strong enough to ensure such a pathetic end never befalls you." Endeavor was stiff and formal; he didn't even wait for Ryuu's response before walking away towards Shoto.
Mirko also came. But she didn't say anything...she just squeezed his shoulder and gave him a quiet nod with a sad, assuring smile.
As for the other heroes...their words didn't even register to him anymore.
Finally, it was just family and Ryuu's friends.
"We should go," Yuki said softly. "There's a reception, but... You don't have to attend if you don't want to."
"I don't want to."
"Okay." She kissed his forehead. "I'll make excuses for us. Go with your friends. Let them take care of you."
Ryuu joined Mina and Momo. They walked toward the parking area where a bus waited to take students back to UA.
"That was brave," Momo said quietly. "What you said in there."
"It was honest...they were words I felt at that moment...." Ryuu carefully worded his thoughts since they were in shambles.
They boarded the bus. Most of Class 3-A was already there, talking in hushed voices. When Ryuu entered, the conversations stopped. Everyone looked at him with sympathy he didn't want.
He took a seat near the back. Mina on one side, Momo on the other. The bus started moving.
Midoriya turned around from the seat in front. "Ryuu... I just wanted to say—"
"Please don't." Ryuu closed his eyes. "Please. No more condolences. No more sympathy. I can't handle any more today."
"Okay." Midoriya faced forward again.
The ride back to UA was silent. Rain drummed against the windows. The city passed by in grey blur.
When they arrived, most students dispersed to their rooms or the common areas. Ryuu headed straight for his dorm.
"Do you want company?" Mina asked at his door.
"I want to be alone."
"Ryuu—"
"Please. Just... I need some time alone."
They exchanged worried looks but didn't argue. "We'll check on you in a few hours," Momo said.
He entered his room and locked the door behind him. Finally. Finally alone.
Ryuu collapsed onto his bed fully clothed. Stared at the ceiling. Felt the weight of everything pressing down.
His father was in the ground. Actually, truly, permanently dead. No more wondering. No more hoping. Just... gone.
And now what?
Now he was supposed to move forward. Return to classes. Train to be a hero. Live the life his father had died to give him.
But how did you move forward when everything felt hollow?
His phone buzzed. Messages from classmates checking on him. He ignored them all.
The afternoon faded to evening. Evening to night. Ryuu didn't move. Didn't eat. Didn't do anything except exist in that small room and try to remember how to breathe.
Around midnight, there was a soft knock.
"Ryuu?" Mina's voice. "We know you said you wanted to be alone. But it's been hours and... we're worried."
He didn't answer.
"We're not leaving," she continued. "So you can either let us in, or we'll sleep in the hallway. Your choice."
Despite everything, that almost made him smile.
He got up and opened the door. Mina and Momo stood there in sleep clothes, concern written across their faces.
"Hey," Mina said softly.
"Hey."
"Can we come in?"
He stepped aside. They entered, and the door closed behind them.
They didn't ask if he was okay. Didn't try to make him talk about feelings. Just climbed into his bed on either side of him, their presence solid and real.
"Thank you," Ryuu whispered. "For being there today."
"Always," Momo replied.
They lay in silence. Outside, rain continued its steady rhythm.
A/N : Sorry for not uploading sooner...mb on that, but we're back...I lost few of my scripts so I wasn't able to come up with more sooner, that's why I haven't been dropping chapters.
Happy new year!!!