Silence. Utter silence. Yuu held his breath as he realized he was late in getting the vehicle out of the city's boundaries, but the silence that he got was rather, relieving. The bomb didn't activate, though it was already past the allocated time.
" They did it..." Whisper's face grew brighter and his smile widened as he realized what happened. " They did it, they disarmed the bomb!"
" Midoriya-san, everyone..." Hearing that, the boy allowed himself to slouch down and relax. " ... I knew you would do it."
" Slowly there! Don't faint on me now or I'm gonna drop you and this track on someone's head!" Thunderbird blurted as he quickly scanned the area for a place to land and place down the white track.
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Sora blinked once, twice, at the weapon in her hands. She halted midair the moment she realized something was off. " It didn't activate..." Her mind quickly caught up. " You've done it Midoriya! Ochaco-chan, they did it! Midoriya did it!"
" Thank god!" Feeling her legs become jello, Uraraka sank to her feet as relief washed over her.
" Well done, Midoriya-chan, everyone." Asui wore a rather proud smile at that.
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Despite the bombs being disarmed, the heroes' work didn't end there. They had to deal with the aftermath of the whole incident from capturing all of Humarise's members to tending to the wounded and injured.
Thankfully, there was no major damage done on the side of the heroes, that if not counting the trio who went on to Humarise's headquarters and who were later found in quite the serious state.
" Those guys went all out," Whisper commented once their call with Midoriya ended.
" Yet, it was thanks to them that the world was saved and Humarise's leader was captured." Yuu pointed as he pulled on the news articles on his phone. " Also, those who were helping them from the inside of the police."
" Guess I'll have to admit it then, the world owes that delinquent now." The ghost snorted as he recalled Bakugo's state from the video call while Recovery Girl was kissing him.
" I'm just glad none of their injuries turned up to be very bad in the end." Yuu pointed. However, something about his voice seemed off.
" What's the matter, you look down?" Whisper asked most concerned about the boy's dejection. They won, and the world was safe, what was it that he was worried about?
" During this fight, many trigger bombs were left undealt with. If... if Midoriya-san and the rest didn't disarm the bombs when they did..."
Whisper looked down at him for a moment before clobbering him on the head Yuu screamed out loud. " What was that for?!"
" You're still as doubtful and pessimistic as ever." The ghost shook his head tiredly and then pointed one finger at him. " Listen carefully, Yuu. Each one of you did what he could do in the time, it wasn't just Midoriya and the others, it was all of the heroes around the world that brought about this victory. Think of it as interconnected strings, moving all together to fulfill a certain goal, and tagging at one end would affect the others as well. That's what happened. You all contributed and saved people, so there is no reason to feel down about it."
" Whisper..." Lowering his hands from his head, Yuu finally gave a nod. " Right. It was a teamwork after all."
" That's it." The ghost nodded holding a thumbs up at the boy.
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" Hi, cheese!" All four girls smiled broadly at the camera as it snapped their picture with the large Eiffel Tower above them.
" I was dying to do this!" Sora said marveling at the picture on her phone screen.
" The tower was quite amazing from the inside too, glad we took so many pictures." Uraraka clapped happily.
" We should thank Ryukyu for allowing us to wander around before our flight." Hado pointed out with her usual innocent smile.
" Speaking of that. I guess it's time we went back, ribbit." Asui pointed and one look at the time convinced Sora they were already late and they had to run.
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A day later, all of them who were called out for the mission gathered in front of their dorm's door. " Man, surely there is nothing better than coming back here!" Kirishima smiled broadly as he looked at Yuu by his side.
Yuu couldn't agree less, for him, Height Alliance felt like the home he had so long dreamed of. And coming back to it always reminded him that he had a place where he belonged, a place with people waiting for his return.
" So, what're we waiting for?" Asked Uraraka enthusiastically as she bounced on the steps and stood before the door, waiting for them to catch up.
" I bet Iida-kun and the others are worried sick," Sora said looking back at Asui.
" True. So not to keep them worried any longer, let's head inside, rebbit." However, as they passed the threshold, they were met with an accelerating Iida who flung his arms around vigorously at them and cried his eyes out.
" You guys! You guys are unbelievable!"
Koda, Hagakure, and Ashido ran up to them as well, Koda mostly worried for them while Ashido and Hagakure were eager to hear their stories and adventures. Aoyama came twirling all the way up to them, offering them cheese. " Want some?" He asked Sora while giving her his usual wink.
" No thank you, I surely had enough while I was in Paris." She declined politely.
" You guys had four bombs in Tokyo? We had one and it was really a hard fight for it," said Sero as they began exchanging details on their missions.
" I do envy you guys! I wish I could have gone out there and shown those Humarise people some of my moves." Hagakure started flailing her arms around.
" Calm down Toru-chan." Sora tried pacifying her before she could unintentionally hit Ojiro or Sato.
" I'm just glad all of you are fine." Koda was the happiest Yuu remembered him ever to be.
" Hey Bakugo! We got you a gift!" Kaminari called out as he held some triangular board with Salam's picture on it. " Don't you think it would be great in your room?"
" Like hell I would put it there!"
" Don't say that man. They got you a gift, you should cherish it." Kirishima tried talking to him.
" Shut up! And who is this extra? I don't even know him!"
" Salam, the top hero in Egypt and quite a famous hero worldwide. I'm surprised you don't know of him, Bakugo-san." Yuu interjected.
" No one asked for your information, baggy eyes! Are you taking after the damn nerd now?! Huh?!"
" I... just thought you ought to know. Sorry..." He muttered in an inaudible small voice as he retreated from there.
" Guess it'll take time before you can actually coexist with Bakugo, Yuu." Whisper facepalmed himself.
Aside from their classmates who were left behind, Aizawa and Togata were among the ones waiting for their return as well.
Togata couldn't spare a breath as he marveled over his two friends' hard work on the mission. " I've got the goosebumps. You two, well done."
" Well, have to admit I almost gave up there," said Amajiki
" It's a great thing we have some reliable juniors. Right, right, Amajiki-kun?" Hado cheered.
" Ah. It sure is."
Aizawa however didn't have much to say, just watching over them as they mingled and talked. It wasn't until Cementos and Mic joined the huddle that he got a bit talkative. " Alright, everybody!" Mic shouted, gaining their attention. " You guys had done a great work! You all deserve to be commended for your bravery and hard work! So let's get a bit thrilled over here! Yay!!" He said holding his thumbs up and so did the other two teachers, albeit, a little rigid as though obliged.
The students however didn't give him the reaction he was hoping for, merely silence. " You're such tough listeners."
Sora gave an awkward smile at that. " I do really feel sorry for him. He means well."
" Except, no one actually cares for his attempts to throw a party everywhere he goes." Whisper shook his head.
That night, all of them gathered in the living area, sharing their stories and experiences of the mission they had just survived. Joking and eating together, the atmosphere felt rather light and joyful even Bakugo didn't seem as awfully hostile as he always was. Unaware of the fate awaiting them and the dangers laying down the path, all as a certain villain was moving out of sight...