Two days later
Oro was sitting in a hospital bed, his right arm, left eye, and lower part of the face were bandaged.
I have to tell him... I've waited all this time because I thought it was too early... but now, Satoru has to know... he has to.
Hawks entered the room. "You okay, Hikaru?"
"I'm okay, Keigo," Oro replied. "How's Enji in the other room?"
"Aside from his injury to his left eye, he's okay," Hawks said.
"Where's Mirko?"
"She's probably waiting for you outside the hospital to slap you."
"Yeah, probably..." Oro muttered. "When I'm discharged from the hospital, I'm going home. I've done my job."
"Fair enough," said Hawks.
__________
Oro finally got discharged from the hospital. Next stop, Musutafu...
"Hey, Oro," Hawks greeted him. Endeavor was standing beside him. "What if I accompany you to the train station?"
"Yeah, good idea," Hikaru replied. "And by the way, Enji, we both could've avoided that scar on the eye if you hadn't intervened."
"It's a miracle your eye didn't get damaged," said Hawks.
"I know," said Oro. "But you know, this scar makes me tough, so I'll proudly live with it!"
Even if I hate to admit it, he's right... thought Endeavor. I can't be the number one if I am this impulsive... Oro deserves to be the number one.
__________
Train station
"Thanks for accompanying us, Keigo," said Oro. "Be careful here in Kyushu. You never know when another Nomu will spawn."
"I'll be careful," said Hawks. "I'm the third national hero, after all."
"Yeah... just like me until four days ago..."
Oro and Endeavor took the train.
"Be careful, you two!" Hawks shouted, waving a hand to them.
"So," Oro said, now talking to Endeavor. "Once we arrive in Musutafu, what are you going to do?"
"I'm going home to my children," said Endeavor. "I guess you'll go visit your brother."
"Yeah," said Oro. "I must tell him something very important."
"What?"
"It's a family secret," Hikaru said. "As for you, I don't know what family problems you have, but I understand that your children don't like you very much, so whatever you did, go and apologize to them."
Endeavor paused for a second. "...I will."
__________
Class 1-B dormitory
Satoru was sitting on the sofa, still shaken by his brother's fight with that Nomu.
He said... I can be a hero too...
"Your brother was amazing two days ago!" said Tetsutetsu.
"Yeah, he fought that Nomu face-to-face!" said Kosei.
"You should be proud of your brother, Shirakawa," said Monoma.
"I am," Mato responded. "I am very, very proud of my brother."
Suddenly, his phone rang. It was a message from his brother.
"Come outside. I have something important to tell you."
"Sorry, guys, I gotta go," said Mato, getting up and heading to his room.
"What the hell is wrong with him..." Togaru muttered.
"Maybe he has to go to the bathroom?" Tetsutetsu supposed.
Satoru arrived in his room and reached the balcony, where Hikaru was waiting for him.
"You're here, Ototo," he said.
"Aniki!" Satoru hugged his brother tight. "You scared me to death! Don't do it ever again!"
"Sorry if I scared you," said Hikaru, caressing his brother's head. "I'm the number one hero, I can't lose, don't you think?"
"I was scared anyway! You're my last piece of family remaining!" said Satoru. "Is your eye okay?"
"Yeah, it's just a scar..." said Hikaru. "Anyway, about our family... I think the time has come to tell you the truth."
"Huh? The truth?" Mato repeated.
"Yeah, the truth," Oro said. "The truth about who killed our parents."
__________
A little flashback to 16 years ago...
In a little house in Musutafu, a man was returning home from his job.
He had spiky, red hair, yellow eyes, and always a smile on his face.
He entered his house and saw his wife.
She had straight, long, sky-blue hair and brown eyes, and apparently, she was pregnant.
"I'm back, Mitsuki," he said.
"Kagehiko!" Mitsuki noticed his presence and turned. "I'm glad you're back!"
"Where's Hikaru?" Kagehiko asked.
"In his room," Mitsuki replied. "He's playing with his toys."
"I bought him a gift," said Kagehiko. "And we should also tell him he's going to be a big brother."
The two of them reached their son's room.
"Hikaru, I'm home," said Kagehiko.
"Otosan!" A 10-year-old Hikaru, with shorter hair and a skinnier physique, rushed to his father and hugged him. "I'm glad you're back alive and well, otosan!"
"I have a gift for you, Hikaru," Kagehiko kneeled and gave his son an All Might figure.
"An All Might figure! Thanks, otosan!" Hikaru exclaimed.
"And... there's also something more we gotta tell you," said Mitsuki. "You're going to be a big brother."
Hikaru widened his eyes. "Really?"
"Yes, really," said Kagehiko. "If you want, we can decide his name. It's a boy."
"Satoru! Satoru! Let's call him Satoru!" Hikaru jumped in the air. "Satoru Akiyama!"
"Satoru... I like how it sounds," said Kagehiko, patting his son's head. "Then it's decided: your brother's name will be Satoru!"
__________
6 months later
Kagehiko and Hikaru were in the hospital. Mitsuki was giving birth to her second son.
"Otosan, how's okasan doing?" Hikaru asked, holding his father's hand.
"She's doing fine, Hikaru," said Kagehiko. "Just... your brother doesn't want to come out."
Finally, a doctor opened the door. "Kagehiko-san, your son was just born. You can enter to see him."
"Can my son enter, too?" Kagehiko asked.
"Later," said the doctor.
"I'll call you when you can come inside, Hikaru," said Kagehiko, entering the room.
A few moments later, Kagehiko appeared. "You can enter and see your brother, Hikaru."
Hikaru entered and saw his mother lying on the hospital bed, holding a tiny newborn in her arms.
"Hikaru, come here... let me introduce you to your little brother..."
Hikaru walked up and saw his brother, Satoru.
I'm very happy... I finally had a brother...
__________
3 months later
Kagehiko, Mitsuki, and Hikaru were walking together. Hikaru was holding his brother in his arms.
"Taking a break and going for a walk once in a while is important," said Kagehiko. "You know, Hikaru?"
Hikaru nodded.
Suddenly, though, the three of them heard an explosion.
"What was that?" Mitsuki asked.
"I don't know, let's check!" said Kagehiko. "Hikaru, you stay here and protect your brother!"
"Wait! Otosan, Okasan!" Oro exclaimed, but his parents already left. Even though his father had said not to, Hikaru followed them, but when he arrived at the place, he saw something shocking for an 11-year-old boy.
"If you don't want to ally with me, then I'll kill you."
A man with white hair, a menacing gaze, and Kagehiko's neck in his hands.
All For One.
"Let Otosan go, you monster!" Hikaru yelled.
"Oh, a kid? What a pity, I must kill a--no, two--kids," said All For One. The villain tightened his grip and cracked Kagehiko's neck.
Otosan...
Without thinking twice, Hikaru ran away as fast as he could, trying to escape All For One's wrath.
"Come here, I swear I won't harm you if you decide to join me!"
"How could I ever join someone who killed my parents!?!"
Hikaru reached a forest, hoping to blend in with the trees and get away.
I must... I must protect Satoru... I can't let him die...
Satoru was crying in his brother's arms.
Unfortunately, the forest ended, and Hikaru found a cliff.
Oh crap, I can't escape now...
When Hikaru turned, All For One was in front of him and punched him in the gut.
Hikaru dropped his newborn brother, but All For One grabbed him on the fly.
"If I can't get someone willingly," said All For One. "Then I'll take this kid with me and raise him to become my successor."
The last thing Hikaru saw was his brother being dragged away by All For One, and then he fell into a stream.
__________
"I don't know how, but I survived and reached land. I was wet, alone, lost, confused, with my parents dead, and my little brother probably joining them soon."
"I was eleven years old, I didn't know what to do, where to go, or if life still had any meaning. Then, a miracle happened."
"In the distance, I saw a muscular figure with blond hair and a smile on his face. That man was All Might."
"All Might found me and took me with him, and trained me to become a hero and his successor. When I grew up, I enrolled at U.A., and when I returned home to All Might, we trained. He taught me how to control my Quirk well, and I remember at one point he even offered to take his Quirk, and I said I wasn't sure."
"Time passed, and I graduated from U.A. and became a professional hero. It didn't take me long to climb the ranks and become number three. Just when I was sure I wanted to inherit One For All, All Might found his successor, Young Midoriya."
"And now here I am, the number one hero, the new Symbol of Peace, telling the story of my life to my little brother, who I thought was dead. Now you know why I'm mad at All For One: because he killed our parents. I think I've told you everything there is to know."
Satoru remained speechless.
You're telling me that the man I thought cared for me actually killed my parents and ruined Aniki's life? I can't forgive him... not even in a lifetime...
"Thanks for telling me, Aniki," said Mato. "I now know the truth."
Chapter 51 - End