It has been two months since the U.A. Sports Festival and a month since our exams ended. Our class did pretty well and our reward is? A class trip to the beach proposed by All Might. Of course, once we heard about that, everyone went into a frenzy full of happiness. I honestly felt giddy with excitement too, and so was Shoto.

The day of our class trip eventually came and everyone was dressed in summery clothes. Some wore tank tops, others wore their swimsuits or even bikinis under their usual clothes. I just went ahead and wore light clothing over my one piece swimsuit, still uncertain whether I would want to swim or not. The bus journey was in fact, rather noisy. We could hear Bakugou screaming his lungs out angrily at Midoriya who was always innocent but somehow always angered him. And then there's Tenya who was briefing some safety precautions to the class but no one really seemed to be listening to him. There's Mineta discussing on which girls in the class he would love to see wear a swimsuit and then being told to shut up by Tsuyu which I gladly appreciated. Followed by that were just drowned out noises of our classmates chatting and expressing their joy.

Next to me however, was Shoto. Peaceful. So so peaceful. He sat quietly, gazing out of the window with a calm expression on his face. But I guess he caught me looking at him in the reflection which caused him to turn his attention to me, his soft eyes intensely drilling into mine. I could just smile at him, not wanting to disrupt whatever thoughts he had. Hesitantly, a slight but gentle grin caressed his lips too. Gosh, every time he smiles just made me love him even more. Behind me, sat Arata. Ever since he started receiving psychological help, he has been improving ever since. I found the him I knew when we were both young, when I had no one but him. I'm just glad all things seem to be getting better slowly but surely.

We eventually reached the beach, all of us rushed out of the bus to admire the view that unfolded before us. My eyelids fluttered close as I breathed in the briny aroma, something I haven't smelled for quite a long time. Those in charge of the food were tasked to set up the barbecue pits and the food that were prepared. The others were free to explore the beach. I took off my sandals and held them in my hands while strolling across the beach with Shoto. Scrunching my toes, I felt the softness of the sand, still damp from the retreating tide. But still, it was gentle beneath my bare feet. The sun let out tranquil rays of light that rested on the warm water of the sea. Timid clouds were rarely exposed, leaving the sky to be a shade of baby blue. I was stopped in my tracks when Shoto held my hand in his, exposing me to his warmth once again. He opened his mouth, as if to say something but was interrupted. "Shoto, could you help us with the fire? We didn't bring a lighter," Uraraka approached us. He merely nodded and let go of my hand, giving me a gentle glance before heading to the barbecue pits as if to tell me that he would return quickly.

I turned my gaze back to the sea where it spread across the horizon. When I looked around me, Arata was the first that I saw. He was sitting alone on the sand, building a sandcastle. He so tenderly held a pile of sand in his hands and moulded them perfectly before placing it onto the structure. I sauntered and sat next to him, admiring his quarter-done sandcastle built with the idea of a perfectionist's. "It looks nice already," I said, staring at the foundation of the sandcastle.

"Thanks," he chuckled, continuing to mould the sand in his hands firmly. "You know... this sandcastle can represent a part of my life at one point."

I looked at him, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Have you watched Rapunzel?" He asked, "In a way, I was similar to her. Trapped. But I was trapped in a castle. The castle represented my way of thinking, the way of thinking I used to believe was right. They were my defensive barriers, and I guess being trapped behind these barriers all the time just shows that although it is difficult to free yourself from old beliefs and attitudes, it's something that's worth it. You can't see the better and brighter side of life if you're always trapped in your castle. It's something that has to be overcome," he answered thoughtfully, "So I suppose this sandcastle has a meaning. I plan to destroy it after I'm done building."

"Arata, you're right," I smiled. "I'm happy you're willing to change for the better. But I just can't help still being apologetic for what I've said and done to you."

His attention was immediately on me. "What you did to me was nothing compared to the horrid things I've done to you..." he recalled with a pained expression plastered on his face. "An apology from me to you isn't enough at all."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," I patted his shoulder. "You acknowledged your mistakes and that was more than enough for me." Although he didn't look convinced, he just smiled in response and continued with the sandcastle that once represented a part of him before silence stretched between us. I continued watching the sea before Shoto returned.

"Do you want to swim?" He asked, looking slightly excited, but he wanted to mask it. Why he was so excited, I wasn't sure myself.

"Hmm... Should I?" I wondered aloud. I saw the other girls in my class already making their way to the water. "Alright then, see you soon, Arata!" I stood up and brushed the sand off my pants. He waved at me as Shoto and I walked to where the others were. I hesitantly took off the dress I wore over my swimsuit, unsure whether it looked flattering on me.

"(Y/N), you look great! Come join us!" Uraraka exclaimed before pulling me into the water with her, forcing myself to have to leave my dress in Shoto's hands who didn't mind. She wore a super adorable two-piece swimsuit, and I must say, she just looked so cute in it. Same goes for Yaoyorozu, although I wouldn't say she looked "cute" in it, she was probably more than that especially after having seen so many of the boys gazing at her (cough sexy cough). Tsuyu wore a green swimsuit and her swimming was just so graceful yet fast, which was expectant. But I couldn't say the same for myself. I can't swim exceptionally well so I just stayed in the shallow waters, enjoying the coolness of it.

Not too far away were where the boys were swimming at. Kirishima seemed to be beckoning to Shoto to take off his shirt and swim with them. "Just take off your shirt and show them off!!" He yelled playfully at him. I easily got distracted by Tenya just running up and down the beach though, he claimed it to be "running practice" to "improve his stamina". It wasn't too long until Kirishima did manage to get Shoto to remove his shirt, revealing chiselled abs that could attract any girl, but I wasn't too interested in that, maybe.

After hours of splashing and swimming, the rich smell of barbecued food wafted through the air, attracting everyone like bees to honey. We decided to head to the barbecue pits to have dinner which All Might and Aizawa so delicately barbecued for us while we were having fun. I shivered when a breeze passed by but felt Shoto wrapping a towel around my shoulders, it was his. "Ah, thank you, you're not... cold?"

"No, I can warm myself up anyway," he reassured me, making sure the towel covered me efficiently. He was still shirtless which made my cheeks burn slightly. Only. Slightly.

All of us helped ourselves to the servings of nicely barbecued food, all of it cooked with perfection. There were chicken wings, hotdogs, fish, beef, shrimps, basically an endless platter of delicious food. It was definitely enough to fill all of us. We thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

The timing seemed so perfect. The yellow ball of fire in the baby blue sky changed to hues of orange. It merged with the sky while the clouds, like cotton candy, blushed at the warm touch of the sun. Sillhouettes of birds flew across a sky that was now filled with golden rays from the sun. We all sat, admiring the beauty of it. Soon, the sun was half into the water, but its reflection in the sea made it complete. While I was so distracted by the sky, I only then realised that only Shoto and I was sitting at a corner that had nobody else but us, our other classmates were nearby, just not in the same table area as us. It felt just like a date with him.

"I'm glad we were able to spend some time today, even if it might not be by ourselves," he spoke, his eyes still fixed on the sky.

I concurred. "Mhm, we should go to the beach again one day, maybe just us." I heard a soft chuckle from him. In surprise, I just had to look at him, who now had the hugest smile I've ever seen on Shoto's face before. "Shoto, you're smiling so wide!" I exclaimed, bursting into purely happiness.

"Only you can make me feel this way," his hand found his way to mine. "I love you."

"I love you too." He leaned in and before I knew it, the world started to fall away at his kiss. It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be. His hand laid gently under my ear, his thumb slowly caressing my warm cheek. That was when I knew life was truly beautiful, just like the sunset that had taught me endings can be beautiful too.

Writer's note
I hope you enjoyed this special chapter!! I'm sorry it took so long for me to get this out T.T But I finally gathered enough motivation to write it, hopefully you guys enjoyed it <3 Thank you for all the love and support this fanfic has gotten, I appreciate it so much and I'm happy to see that so many of you enjoy it! As for now, I hope you enjoyed this potentially last chapter of Vessel Of Time!

Updated note from 2019
Helloo !! I'm from the future haha okay anyways, I finished this fanfic in December 2017. Since then, my writing has changed and improved, so I apologise for how immature I was when writing this fanfic and it honestly makes me cringe reading it lmao. Still, I thank everyone who took the time to read it, even when it honestly isn't my best work (it's just horrible). I still have a long way to go in my writing, but your encouragement (and criticism!) has really helped me a lot and I'm very appreciative for that. Goodbye for now! ♡