DETERMINATION

Aftermath, reprise

It's been days since your fight with All Might. You never woke up. Not once, during all of that time.

Flowey sat in his pot by your side the whole time, gently carresing your hand with his vines as he watched your shallow breathing, your lungs rubbing against jagged, broken ribs with each inhale.

Flowey had changed ever since a piece of your DETERMINATION decided to stay with him. He got... more caring. Every day, he would sit beside your bed and talk to you, as if you were awake and could hear every word. It weirded Shigaraki out, but Flowey didn't care. He kept doing it.

He would speak of your past, how he was sorry that he wasn't there, back when you were still Y/N Todoroki. How he wished he could have been there to protect you against Endeavor. How he wished that he wasn't so pathetically weak compared to you. Maybe if he was stronger, he could have protected you. Maybe if he was stronger, he could have fought All Might by your side. If he could have done that, you wouldn't be laying here, completely comatose.

Every so often, crying could be heard from your room, alongside begging. Begging that you wake up soon.

"Come on... I know you can do it. You're DETERMINED enough for the whole Earth. A few broken bones is nothing to you. I believe in you... we're best friends, after all, right?"

Upon hearing this, Shigaraki scoffed and moved away from the closed door, going back to the bar, where Kurogiri was, too.

"This is ridiculous. He's not gonna wake up. It's been days. I say I just turn him to dust. End his misery." Shigaraki said, sitting down on the stool and pouring himself a drink.

"Patience, Shigaraki. Y/N is strong. Stronger than all of us. He will wake. He just needs time." Kurogiri assured, wiping a glass. "But... if it comes to it. If he truly is in a state from which he won't wake. You will be allowed to end it." Kurogiri stated, after all, if Y/N does not end up waking up, it may be for the best to just end it. Let him move on.

The heroes, however, wasted no time in celebrating the infamous child murderer's defeat.

All Might was praised. Celebrated throughout all of Japan for facing such a terrible villain and not only surviving, but winning.

That's not what happened, of course, but it was the best story All Might could come up with. He was about to give a speech, regarding the villain he faced.

All Might walked up to the stand, wearing his most iconic costume, that same smile plastered on his face like it always is. But, if you looked close enough, you could see something in that smile. He was troubled. By what remains to be seen.

Once on the stand, a microphone in front of his face, All Might began his speech.

"It's been a few days since my battle with the villain the community has branded "The Megalomaniac"." All Might said, starting off his speech. "What he has done, is unforgivable. And although, I doubt this defeat shall be his final one, I will always be here to stop him. I will return every time he does. I will protect each and every one of you, even if it's the last thing I do." All Might said, causing mass cheering from the crowd, which he quickly silenced by simply putting up his hand.

"But I do not wish to dehumanize him further. He... is still a child. Greatly mislead, but still a child. During our fight, I saw something within him. He wasn't evil. Just... misguided. And while I believe that it's too late for him to change, I believe he could have changed. If he chose to do so sooner." All Might said, it seems that what he saw, the Hate consuming you and Flowey SAVING you using your own power, it made him change his mind about you being pure evil.

"But regardless of his motives, regardless of his reasons, he is still a villain that must be stopped. Permanently. And I, The Number One Hero, All Might, will do my best to be the one to do it." All Might said, wincing subtly when he felt a sudden pain in his side. It seems that your fight left him permanently wounded. Permanently weakened.

"But... should I fail, should this one prove to be too much for me, I have no doubt that one of you will succeed. Whether it's one of you who is already a hero, or someone who will become one, I know that one of you will succeed where I failed. But for now, I am here! And I plan on staying right here! Thank you all for coming here today, to commemorate the victims of this villain. It means the world both to me and to the families of those who lost their lives." All Might said.

A chuckle could be heard from within a dark room. The TV turned off.

"So, the boy finally faced All Might." A familiar voice said, tapping his fingers on the desk. "And lost." The voice said. "It seems he's not as powerful as I believed, what do you think... doctor?"

A figure emerged from the darkness, a short man with a mustache and glassed. "He may yet prove himself worthy. I still believe he should be given the chance, Master." The man said.

The familiar voice chuckled once more. "Perhaps. I'll make sure he is watched in the meantime. He wishes for independence, so be it. I won't interfere with whatever that impudent boy has planned." The light turned on, revealing that it was All for One who was speaking.

"You'll do that for me, won't you, old friend?" AfO asked, a sinister smile appearing on his face as a familiar, black figure emerged from the dark corner of the room. Gaster.

"Of course I will."