OVERFLOWING ━ bnha

f u n e r a l

—

Although the days leading up to it seemed unnecessarily long, the day of the funeral arrived. Just a few days ago, her hands were shaking at the thought of sending them away in front of the people present. Now, as she stared at the family photo hung on the wall and looked into their eyes, she knew that she would be alright.

She was going to honor their memory well. Their lives may have ended tragically but she would do her part to send them away well.

"It's time, huh?" Yasu, who was waiting for her said after she walked up to him, "You know what they say, the things we love never truly leave us. They may be gone physically but they will always remain with you in your heart."

"Did you spend the whole night trying to come up with that?"

He smiled softly and ruffled their hair before walking out of the door. "We've tried to clear as many of the paparazzi as we could. You won't have much to worry about."

Most of the funeral was a blur. Everything seemed somber. This was the next crucial moment that reminded (Y/N) her parents were really gone.

The ceremony was formal and structured. The monks read a scripture and after it ended, the family members of the deceased offered incense in hierarchical order. (Y/N) being the only one who had a "relation" to her parents was the only one to offer incense. There were no traces of other family members because there were none left.

After her, the guests followed. The first one to light the incense was Recovery Girl, the oldest one there. Lots of heroes followed after her. (Y/N) recalled seeing All Might, Endeavor, Best Jeanist and many others that she was used to seeing only on television. Somewhere along the way, it was Yasu's turn to light the incense and after a while, (Y/N) saw her friends' faces along with Iida and Todoroki.

During the next part of the ceremony, the guests offered (Y/N) customary condolence money in plain white envelopes. She couldn't even count the amount of envelopes that every stranger laid out in front of her. Some families placed flowers in front of the grave as well. When (Y/N) saw each member of the Todoroki family setting down a bouquet of flowers after offering the condolence money, she recognized where they were from.

Her eyes met Todoroki's and he gave her a look of pity. (Y/N) took it as a look of pity; she couldn't decipher the emotion behind those hetereochromatic eyes but there was definitely something there. Maybe it was regret for buying the flowers from her and then giving it back to her unknowingly. Maybe it was a slight sense of shame for behaving that way towards her when she had just gone through something horrific. Whatever it was, pity was definitely something that she saw a trace of.

The guests each offered their condolences to (Y/N). She heard a lot of things along the lines of  "we're terribly sorry for your loss" and "you must be grieving a lot." All she could offer in return was a bland thank you.

After offering condolences, the guests all moved to a different room where foods and drinks were served. (Y/N) and Yasu were invited to sit near Recovery Girl, All Might, and Endeavor.

"I loved that woman to death," Recovery Girl said, "She was a really precious friend to me. Her and her husband. They met at UA, did you know?"

No, she didn't. She didn't even realize that UA was around when they were her age.

"They were a good match. Good people too. As pro heroes, they were stealthy and they were really helpful. Without them, some missions would not have gone as planned," Recovery Girl continued, "Her foresight and his strength saved countless people. It's such a shame she was taken away so soon, and in such a terrible way too."

Being the family member at a funeral was exhausting. On top of the emotional exhaustion, (Y/N) had to greet each person and sit with them as well. It wasn't required but it was generally seen as good etiquette.

Everyone told her stories about her parents' younger days and for the most part, it warmed her heart hearing them. It made her even happier when she recognized some of them.

After she had finished visiting everyone and listening to their anecdotes politely, she sat down next to the only people she knew. Izuku, Katsuki, Ochaco, Iida, Koda, and Todoroki were all sitting together. Their parents had told them that it was fine and even though families came together, they didn't have to sit next to each other.

"I didn't realize that you were close to them," Iida said immediately after she say down, "My condolences, (Y/N). It must be terrible to lose your family like that."

"It is."

(Y/N) took a sip of the water and she hadn't realized how dry her throat was until now. The tasteless liquid felt like heaven.

"I fully understand now why you wouldn't want to take part in the sports festival," Iida continued, "I admire your ability to make a choice for yourself, even in the hardest times. You must have had a rough time. I couldn't imagine dealing with seeing all that alone."

"I wasn't alone," (Y/N) responded, "It was the day that I took the three of them to my house. Horrible, really."

The conversation continued and after they praised her parents' lives, the topic was diverted to something lighter. (Y/N) noticed that after offering condolences, Todoroki didn't say a single word the whole time. She caught him glancing at her from the corner of her eye but he didn't make an effort to join the conversation. He just clenched his cup of green tea tightly.

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I HAVE FOUND MY NEW FAVORITE PICTURE ON THE INTERNET.

ANYWAYS GOOD NIGHT (OR WHATEVER IT IS RN) AND I LOVE YOU OKAY BYE