"And so the King decided, and it was, he would protect his people, today, tomorrow and every day after that, so children could grow without the pain of loss, and elderly could enjoy their last days on this world. For that was his decree. For that was his home. For that was Avalon the Everdistant Utopia."
Mom's voice was soft and ticklish in my ear, it made me giggle. She closed the book in front of me, its pages creased at the edges from use.
"So did you enjoy it, my little one," Mom said as she settled the book at her bedside, her cheek meeting mine. Her skin was warm, and I could feel her heartbeat against my back, steady, reassuring, alive.
"I did, mom," I answered back, settling into her a bit more, her arms closing around me.
It felt... nice.
"So what do you want to be when you grow up?" Mom asked, her voice taking on that playful tone she used when she was having a good day. "A perfect king? A noble knight?" She whispered into my ear, her breath tickling. "What do you want to be?"
I didn't think about it much, I said the first thing that came to mind, the thing that felt true.
"Kind," I answered her simply.
Mom's expression softened, and I saw something glisten at the corner of her eyes. "Hmm, nothing beats kindness," she muttered, holding me closer if that was possible. "It sits quietly beyond all things."
I wanted to ask what she meant by that, but before I could...
Her hand jerked forward.
The book tumbled from her side, hitting the floor with a soft thud. Her entire body went rigid in my arms, muscles tensing like coiled springs. I felt her beginning to spasm, her limbs moving in ways she couldn't control.
I didn't try to restrain her. I'd learned not to do that. Instead, I just settled a bit more into her, trying to provide her calm, trying to be an anchor in whatever storm was raging through her body. I heard her wails, low, anguished sounds that tore at my heart. I saw her extremities jerk wildly, fingers splaying and clenching. I felt her tears fall onto my scalp, hot and wet.
And I wanted to cry. I wanted to wail with her, to scream at the unfairness of it all. But I didn't, because I knew that wouldn't show what I truly felt, how much I loved her, how she should know I would be there for her. Crying would make it about me, and right now, she needed me to be strong.
So I stayed still. I counted her heartbeats, too fast, too erratic. I listened to her breathing, gasping, irregular. I memorized every second, because even in her pain, I didn't want to forget a single moment with her.
Slowly, so slowly, she came to a stop. Her hands, which had been jerking uncontrollably, settled around me again. She hugged me tightly, so tightly I could barely breathe, but I didn't complain. I wished we could stay like that forever, locked in this moment where the episode was over and she was still here with me.
She muttered something, her voice hoarse and broken. I wasn't sure if it was meant for me or if she was talking to herself, to God, to the universe that had dealt her this cruel hand.
"When the big things feel out of control, focus on what you love right under your nose."
The words were barely audible, but I caught them with my enhanced hearing, something which had become stronger over the past few weeks.
"Oh, I like that," I muttered, trying to keep my voice light, trying to pull her back from whatever dark place she'd gone to.
"This storm will pass," she said, her voice so low that even I almost missed it. Her arms tightened around me again. "Always remember you're enough, just as you are."
Present Day - U.A. Sports Festival
"WOOHOOO!!!!!!"
Voices reverberated in my ears, pulling me sharply back to the present. The memory faded quickly. I had almost forgotten it, with how quickly everything had changed in the past few months.
Clapping thundered across the stadium, a wall of sound that would have been deafening to me if I hadn't learnt how to control my enhanced senses.
"THE AWARDS CEREMONY!!" Midnight yelled from the platform, her voice cutting through the noise. I stood there on the raised podium, my heart beating slowly in my chest. To my left was the second-place platform, Bakugo standing on it, quiet if anything, he looked downcast about his loss. To my right, Todoroki occupied third place alongside Tokoyami, both of them looking composed despite their losses.
"Now for the medals!" Midnight continued, her voice taking on that dramatic flair she was known for. "Presenting them this year is, you know who!"
I looked up as a familiar silhouette appeared high above the stadium. Even without my enhanced vision, everyone would have recognized that distinctive frame.
All Might.
He dropped from the sky like a meteor, landing in the center of the platform with such force that the entire ground shook for only a moment. The crowd's roar intensified, if that was even possible. He stood there, chest puffed out, that trademark smile plastered across his face, medals clutched in his massive hands.
"He's everyone's hero, All Might!" Present Mic's voice boomed.
All Might approached Tokoyami and Todoroki first, placing bronze medals around their necks. He said something to each of them, I decided not to intrude.
Then All Might moved to the second-place platform. Bakugo stood there, still radiating fury, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
All Might placed the silver medal around Bakugo's neck, and again I chose not to listen in as All Might spoke something into Bakugo's ear.
Finally, All Might turned to me. The Symbol of Peace himself, the man who embodied what a hero should be, standing before me with a gold medal in his hands. Up close, I could see the fine lines around his eyes. He was what I had striven towards when I was a vigilante, but now as a realization dawned on me, something became clear.
I bowed my head, allowing him to place the medal around my neck.
"It was a well-won victory, young Arthur," All Might said, his voice dropping to a more personal volume that only I could hear clearly over the crowd's noise.
"Thank you, All Might," I replied, straightening up to meet his eyes.
All Might seemed to want to say something more, his mouth opening slightly, but I had already turned toward Midnight. There was something I wanted to say. Maybe it was rude of me to do it but I felt like I had to say it.
"May I say some words?" I asked her.
She looked surprised for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "Yeah, most of the time first place gets a small speech, so go for it."
"Do you need a mic?" she asked, handing out her own mic to me.
"No, it's fine," I told her. My voice could carry when I needed it to.
Bakugo's head whipped toward me, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "What the hell are you planning, you bastard?" he hissed, but I ignored him.
The stadium began to quiet as people realized I was about to speak. I looked up to the cabin where Nezu was waiting, he had rung me in to be the perfect hero, he also wanted me to have a balanced life, I was beyond grateful to him, even if he had manipulated me a bit, to get me where I was.
I was grateful for having friends. Something I could only have done with his help, because of how I was before.
I took a deep breath, feeling Excalibur's weight at my side and Avalon's comforting presence.
"Uhuhm," I began, clearing my throat. I let my voice carry across the field, projecting it to every corner of the stadium. "Good evening, everyone."
The remaining conversations died down. Tens of thousands of eyes focused on me. Along with however many were watching from their television, my gaze finding a camera among the many.
"You may know me," I continued, "but I'd like to say something now that I'm up here in front of you all. You may all think of me in different ways, a hero, a vigilante, a menace, a teen who took the law into his own hands. Some of you may even see me as a symbol of heroism."
I paused, my hand unconsciously moving to grip Excalibur's hilt, but I stopped myself before it could fully reach her, instead I settled my hand to my side once more.
"But I'd like to clear something up." My voice grew stronger, more certain. "I don't want to be any of those. I don't want to be a hero. I don't want to be a law enforcer. I don't want to be a symbol."
I could feel the confusion rippling through the crowd, not that I could blame them, why be in a hero school if I didn't want to be a hero, why be a vigilante. Why did I do any of this?
"I realized something while in these two months here," I said, thinking of Toru and Mina and Kirishima and Kaminari and Tsuyu. Thinking of Nezu and his tea and his eerie smile. Thinking of Nejire and her never ending questions, the conversations of the fan club she continued to show me. Thinking of my classmates who'd fought so hard today, each one of them striving to be the best they could be. "We don't need more of those. Not truly, anyways."
I looked out across the sea of faces, each one a person with their own struggles, their own pain, their own dreams.
"What we need are friends. Someone to always be in our corner, to believe we can change and be better. Even when we don't believe in ourselves. Because sometimes we only do need that. Belief."
The memory of my mother's arms around me, her words echoing in my mind.
You're enough, just as you are.
"So I'll be that for you," I said, my voice softening but still carrying across the silent stadium. "I'll be your friend. That's all I wish."
Finally I let myself grip Excalibur's hilt, not with the hardness that came when I was nervous, but simply to show she was part of me, my equal along with Avalon, they were what made me, me.
"Thank you."
The crowd, which had gone silent somewhere in the middle of my speech, stayed silent. The weight of that silence pressed down on me, and I began feeling a little awkward.
Then one clap reached my ears. Clear and distinct among the thousands of heartbeats and breathing patterns I could hear. It was from someone in the crowd, someone I didn't even know.
Then another clap joined it.
Then another and another, and another.
The clapping spread like wildfire. The sound built exponentially, growing from individual claps into a thunderous roar that shook the stadium foundations.
I felt my heart swell, that familiar warmth spreading through my chest.
I looked up at the sky, I felt tears forming at the edge of my eyes, I didn't let them fall, maybe because I was being watched by thousands, even if they were tears of joy.
I heard my mother's voice in my head once more.
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
I smiled, feeling tears prick at the corners of my eyes.
I'm going to be kind, mom.
That was what I was.
That was all I needed to be.
Kind.
A/N: Booh, chapter!! I got a scare out of you didn't I. Either way, here we fucking go, as you can see it's a skip to the end of the tournament, because I could not write the fights for the life of me, like I just couldn't each time I sat down, I wanted to pull my hair out.
So I simply didn't, I skipped to the end, to this speech, to what kind of person Arthur wants to be. Not a hero but a friend, because sometimes that is all we really need, companionship can go a long way after all.
Either way I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Thx for reading. Send those power stones. Author out.