The Symbol Retires

{Sekai’s POV}

When I woke up, there were police officers in my room. They were seated next to my hospital bed, killing time on their phones while waiting for me to wake up. They didn’t have any ill intentions or anything, it seems, since Sir Floof isn’t guarded. The cat officer sees me stir and puts his phone away and introduces himself, “I am Officer Tamakawa from the Police Force. I know you just woke up, but we were wondering if we could debrief you and get your story.” I pet Sir Floof and nod, and he asks, “Actually, before we go any further, is that a dog? They normally don’t like me.” He nonverbally motions to himself and how he is a cat person, and I smirk, “Well, he is the best boy. Aren’t you, Sir Floof?” He does that high chirp, and Officer Tamakawa sighs in relief and asks, “Can you tell us everything that happened from the moment of your capture?” I nod, and as I pet Sir Floof, I give them a verbal recount of what happened while Sir Floof puts his ribbons on me to prevent me from getting too emotional. I didn’t tell them specifically that he was looking for my quirk, but told them that he was asking questions about it while intentionally being vague. My stomach growls as I give my statement, and they get someone to grab me breakfast as I continue to give my statement.

Once I was done giving my statement to the police and finished eating, the nurses gave me one last examination to make sure I was ok, and they released me into police custody to go back to Musutafu. I tell them as they are escorting me through the hospital, “It would be faster if you would just let me use my quirk.” Officer Tamakawa says, “We have vehicles here that need to go back with us, so let’s take the vehicles instead. Otherwise, we might have taken you up on that.” I ask, wanting to get home as soon as possible, “How many are we talking? I might be able to make it work. I can handle more than I used to.” He chuckles, “You really want to get home that badly, don’t you?” I nod. He turns to his colleagues, “Can you guys take the vehicles back? I can teleport with her back to Musutafu and take responsibility for her.” They nod, acknowledging his words, and go off. I ask him if we can get a few jawbreakers before leaving for my quirk, and he nods.

He pointed me in the right direction, Sir Floof went back into his ball (that was surprisingly on my person when I woke up in the hospital), and we teleported back quickly and got back in about 5 minutes. He has me drop him off at the station and then calls the Kubos on my behalf. Ayaka, who was already here from giving her statement, came rushing in and hugged me, crying, “Sekai! I missed you so much! How are you feeling?” I squeezed her tight and said, also crying from my right eye, “I was so scared.” She squeezed me tight. After a long hug, she pulls back and sees the bandage on my neck and caresses it, and asks about it. I told her about Vampy and how we bonded a little while I was captured, and how I felt that same hero pull like from Wano, and she hugged me. I ask her while still crying, “Am I weird for wanting to help her?”

As she squeezes me, she says, “Shhhhh. That isn’t weird at all. That is actually what heroes do, you know.” Heroes. Villains. I recall that news broadcast of them spilling my secrets, and I start silently sobbing into Ayaka and whisper while clutching her tighter, “They told everyone everything. How will I face them?” She squeezes me tightly and says, “I have been thinking about that, knowing how you would feel. How about we buy you a lightweight hoodie so you don’t overheat, and buy you a hat and sunglasses to hide your scars. I can get a similar disguise since they know you are my sidekick, so they won’t figure out your identity through mine.” I grip her kimono and nod while saying, “That sounds perfect.”

Garlic came out of his pokéball and joined in our hug, and we stayed like this until Mom and Dad came in and they joined in, too. After several moments of hugging together, Mom says, “Let’s go home.” Ayaka holds my hand as we walk to the car. A police officer stops us and says, “There has been a change of plans. We will be escorting you home and leaving a security detail at your house. All Might has reported that the villains are specifically after Sekai here, and we want to ensure her safety.” I sigh, and we accept the escort. Mom asks while we continue to walk to our car, “Do you have any special lunch requests, Sekai?” I say, “Anything you cook would be perfect. I just want to go home.” Ayaka asks while squeezing my hand, “Is there a taste that feels more like home to you?” I shrug, unsure since everything she cooks tastes like home, but I remember the first meal she fed me, “U-u-udon.” Mom smiles warmly with watery eyes, “Alright, I will make some udon when we get back home.” 

I enjoyed staying at home for a week and going to the gallery, which I used to think was a drag, but it felt like heaven in comparison to my latest ordeal. Ayame didn’t treat me any differently, and I was grateful for that. Mom and Dad let us be together this time, THANK FUCK. We have been with Mom, and she has been teaching us, almost like we are at an internship, trying to keep me distracted from my recent trauma, which I really appreciate. We did our best to soak up the art techniques she taught us. I learned something about Mom’s quirk. It can only capture things within a certain radius, so she can’t capture the sun or the moon since they are so far away. That would probably cause the end of the world as we know it, from what I learned in school, if she could.

Ayaka got a text from Midoriya, and it seems that our classmates who came to my rescue want to talk. She tells me, Mom, and Dad, and Dad asks Mom, “Fumie, can we invite them over for dinner? I would like to thank them for looking out for our kid.” Mom nods, “I would like that very much. Ayaka, you can tell them they can come over later for dinner.” Ayaka texts them the plans as I sketch the scene Mom is working on in my own sketchbook that they bought me. The scene today is a small hill covered in flowers with a partially cloudy sky and sun painted on that white wall. The way she uses the colors in the rays of light peaking through the clouds makes it like I am looking at the sky. Mom’s eye for detail is amazing.

After we closed the gallery, we went home and tidied up our room since we are having guests. Just in case they come in here. I go into the hallway closet to get the vacuum cleaner and vacuum the floor while she picks up dirty clothes and puts them in the hamper and makes the bed. When we were done cleaning up her room, we played that fighting game where Ayaka beat me yet again. I totally forgot about Sir Floof’s quirk and our plan to double-team her. Before we could queue up another match, Ayaka got a text from our classmates who arrived earlier than expected. Mom started on dinner and put on a pot of tea for all of us. Todoroki asks Ayaka, “Should we talk out here or in your room, Kubo?” Ayaka says, “My parents are fine. It will probably be more comfortable for all of us if we stay in the living room with the extra space.” They nod and sit on the couch.

The nerd breaks the uncomfortable silence, “S-so, we were wanting to talk about what we overheard that night.” Ida says, “It sounds like you are being targeted by this All for One, and we want to help you, Sekai… or would you prefer me to call you Mochizuki?” Two-toned and Yaoyorozu nod, and Hagakure holds my hand that Ayaka isn’t holding. I stammer, “It w-would be weird to change now, so S-s-sekai is fine, I guess.” Ayaka sighs and looks at me and asks me, “Is it alright if we tell them?” I sigh and nod. Ayaka tells them almost everything about my quirk and the real story of how and where we went when we got lost, and she gave our classmates the censored version of the terrifying version of Japan to keep the nerd’s secret. Mom brought us tea while she was talking, and we helped ourselves. Ayaka also told them how we learned things traveling and had the Principal take credit to take me out of the spotlight. At the end, Ayaka asks them, “Can you keep this a secret? Sekai will be in more danger if everyone knows. Especially if they learn of otherworldly abilities they can accumulate.” 

The nerd says with a serious expression, “We promise not to say anything. Are you going to tell the rest of the class?” I sigh and say, “I d-don’t know.” Hagakure gently squeezes my hand and says, “We don’t have to tell them if you don’t want to. We will keep your secret as long as you want, even if that means to our graves.” Yaoyorozu nods, “Yeah, what she said.” Mom says, “I don’t know how I feel about this big bad villain being interested in my baby girl.” Dad joins in, “I second that, but at least All Might was able to defeat him, so the police could take him into custody. It is a shame All Might had to retire, though.” The nerd says in a trailing off voice, “All Might…” 

Ayaka asks the nerd, “Speaking of All Might, what is the deal about that skinny form, Midoriya?” The nerd sighs, “Several years ago, All Might had a really bad injury to his stomach from fighting All for One. Since then, he couldn’t maintain his muscle form for as long, and the more he pushed himself, the less he could use it.” Ayaka then perks up and asks, “So, hypothetically, if we had a way to heal him completely, he could use his muscle form?” The nerd shrugs, “Yes, in theory; however, the doctors already did everything that they could.” Ayaka perks up and looks at me, and nonverbally refers to the dragon balls. I perk up as well, on the same page, and I ask her, “Call Hatsume and have her ask Bulma if she could make us a radar to detect them. Who knows, they may even exist in this world for all we know.” The nerd asks, “I am so confused. What do you mean by them, and how will that help All Might?” Ayaka says, “It may be best if you don’t know the details, but if what we are thinking pans out, we can restore All Might’s body. This may end up being a wild goose chase, though, so don’t get your hopes up.” She says as she pulls out her phone and pulls up ‘Bimbo’ in her contact list and steps away to call her real quick.

Everyone gasps, and Todoroki says, “If that works, then he could return to being a hero. I know my father would like that. He has been having a hard time accepting the number one position like this and would rather defeat All Might to get that number one spot instead.” I scoff sarcastically, “Oh no, not the flaming bastard feeling upset.” Yaoyorozu says, “Sekai, that isn’t a nice thing to say about someone’s father. Especially the number two hero… The number one now, I guess.” I smack my teeth, “Tsk.” Two-toned placed his hand on Yaoyorozu’s shoulder and said, “It is fine. He is a bastard after all, so she is not wrong. Though I can’t help but be a little curious about what he did.” Ayaka comes back since it was a brief call, rejoining the conversation with her vein popping on her forehead as she sits back down beside me and holds my hand, and says, “It is what he didn’t do when Sekai was younger, and he dares call himself a hero. He saw her at her lowest and treated her like garbage.”

Hagakure and Ayaka both gently squeezed my hands, and Sir Floof headbonked me and placed his ribbons on me, realizing I was getting pissed off. I sighed as I accepted the warmth of the ribbons. Hagakure says, “Speaking of assholes, did you guys see the latest from that punk from the orphanage?” I shook my head, and she let go of my hand, pulled out her phone, looked up the video, and showed it to us. Isamu looks completely different, and he says, crying what seems to be genuine tears, “I am sorry, ok?! I don’t know why I did it, and it was wrong, so please stop treating me like an outcast! Sekai, if you are listening, please forgive me! I am the real garbage, not you!” I find myself crying after watching this, not knowing if I want to forgive him or not. Ayaka says while clenching her fist, “I am not sure if I accept that.He only said those words because he couldn’t last a week feeling the same thing that Sekai felt for 11 years.” I reach forward and grab a tissue from the box here in the living room and blow my nose from crying. As I am finishing cleaning my nose, Mom says, “Dinner is ready, kids.” 

We all migrate to the table to eat. Mom made croquettes, miso soup, and diced cabbage for dinner, served with a tonkatsu sauce, and she even made enough to share with Garlic and Sir Floof, who dug in with stars in their eyes (with extra diced cabbage for Garlic). We say, “Thank you for the food.” I take a bite, and it seems that Mom made yet another dish that tastes like home… then again, everything she makes tastes like home, really, since this is now home. I could eat her cooking forever. As we are eating, Ayaka gets a call, and Mom says sternly, “That can wait until after dinner.” Ayaka sends it to voicemail. Shortly after, she gets a text and it displays on her screen that says, “She said that she has one already, but she will need to use the one she has to copy the algorithms exactly to make it easier, which she said she could do in 3 days. She asks if you could take one of my babies with you.” Ayaka tells the nerd, “We will find out more in 3 days when we visit Bulma. I will keep you updated. You have his number, don’t you?” He nods, and Ayaka continues, “This is all about him, so I think he should be in the loop.” He nods, “I will talk to him later. He may want to call you, so is it ok if I give him your phone number?” Ayaka nodded with a mouthful of croquette.

Before Ayaka could verbally respond, Dad said with a warm smile, “I feel that she is safer already.” Mom joins in, “The Symbol of Peace in my daughter’s phone contacts? I understand what you mean, Hanzo.” She says, chuckling. I sigh as I continue to scarf my food, thinking that it seems weird that they would be so excited for an old man to have their daughter’s contact information. Or am I crazy? I apparently made a face while I was eating, and Ayaka chuckled at me, making me blush. Yaoyorozu says as we eat, “Thank you again for inviting us over to your home on such short notice.” Mom says, “Well, you not only saved our kid, but you all are also our daughters' friends.” I drop my chopsticks and say, baffled by her words, “Wait, do you guys actually think we are friends?”

Ayaka bonked me on the head, and I say confused, “W-wait, I was being serious though. I thought my first friend w-was Vampy because she was the first person to ask. I never had a friend before, so I don’t know.” For some reason, I feel like I am about to cry, and tears are welling up in my right eye.  Ayaka hugs me with tears welling up in her eyes and says, “I am sorry, I thought you knew. I am such an idiot.” I hug her back, and she continues in a breaking voice, "Yes, you have friends." I ask to make sure with a breaking voice of my own as tears start to fall from my right eye, “I have friends?” Ayaka cries with me, “Yes. They came to rescue you after all because they care about you. All of our class feels the same way, though not everyone supported our decision to break the rules, but everyone desperately wanted you to be safe.” Hagakure said, “Sekai, we have BEEN friends for a while now.” Ida, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, and even the nerd nod in affirmation to Hagakure’s words. Two-toned said, “Bakugo even said he wanted to join the rescue mission, but obviously we couldn’t take him along… he isn’t the type to excel in stealth after all.” 

When he said that, I laughed while still hugging Ayaka as tears streamed down my face, “That spiky bastard really said that?” Hagakure chimed in, “Heard it with my own ears.” I scoff, not really believing it, but also believing it at the same time. I sigh in relief, “I am glad you guys didn’t bring him, because I probably would still be a blind burrito if he ruined your rescue. He loves blowing shit up too much.” Mom clears her throat, and I pull away from Ayaka’s hug and apologize, “S-s-sorry, Mom, I’ll watch my mouth while at the table.” Yaoyorozu giggles behind her hand elegantly and says, “Wow, sometimes it is hard to imagine that you are the same person who gave that villain such an attitude.” Hagakure says, “Yeah, I thought you were so cool, Sekai.” I am confused and say while wiping my tears, “Really? Because I felt like I was about to sh- I mean crap my pants.”

After dinner, Mom told Yaoyorozu, “Hey, kiddo, tell your parents I think that they will like the latest collection that I have made using the little ones' quirks.” She says, pointing to Garlic and Sir Floof, who are both cuddling each other adorably in a post-meal nap. Yaoyorozu smiles and says, “I will be sure to pass along the message. Thank you for your hospitality, Mrs. Kubo.” Two-toned bowed slightly to my Mom, also exiting, “The meal was delicious, Mrs. Kubo, thank you.” Hagakure hugs me and says in my ear, “I am so glad that you are back, Sekai.” I gently squeeze her back and respond, “Me, too.” She waves goodbye, and so does Ida. Leaving the nerd. He says, “I was thinking it might just be better to call All Might while I am here.” I shrug, not really caring. He pulls his phone out and sits on the sofa, then puts it on speaker phone. 

We hear an old man's voice, “Hello, young Midoriya, how was the dinner at the Kubos?” The nerd says, “It was amazing, and I am still here now. So, they mentioned that they might be able to heal your body, All Might.” All Might responds in curiosity, “How exactly do they plan to succeed where the best doctors failed?” Ayaka looks at me, and I nod. Ayaka then explains the lore behind dragon balls and that collecting them all will grant someone a wish, and explains how they used them to bring back a whole planet and its entire population. At the end, All Might asks, “Who all knows of these dragon balls?” Ayaka responds, “Everyone in this room, and now you, All Might.” All Might responds, “Let’s keep this as 'need to know'. I don’t even want to imagine what All for One would do if he got his hands on those.” I shiver, imagining All for One doing the same stuff as those Z fighters. I only saw what he looked like from the news since I was blindfolded the entire time that night. He apparently was wearing a mask, and that is why I couldn't feel his breath that one time.

The nerd says excitedly, “If this works, then you won’t have to retire!” All Might chuckles, “If it does, I might take a step back a little. It is now seeing what happens in my short absence that made me realize that my presence caused complacency among the rest of the pro heroes. So they can have an opportunity to grow and become stronger and better heroes through experience.” I chuckle maniacally, “That flaming bastard won’t like that at all. I love it.” Ayaka chuckles at my take on the situation, and we tell him that it will be a few days before the radar is ready.