Rising Conflict

Estelle struggled for breath as she hid in an alleyway nearby. Frustration ebbed in her veins as she attempted to process the events that had passed. She couldn't believe it; why were spirits rampaging around humans? What was the cause? And why did this have to happen now?

Holding her head in her hands, Estelle forced the air into her lungs and back out as she tried to count. The frantic thrumming of her heartbeat and rapidly changing thoughts wouldn't allow her to just focus.

'Come on, breathe, breathe! Spirits. Breathe. Fucking disaster. Breathe. This is bad. Breathe. Focus on the problem. Breathe. There were cameras. FUCKING BREATHE.'

Raising her hand in blind panic, Estelle rushed her knuckles to her cheek. Coughing in shock from the blow she had given herself. Estelle slumped against the alleyway wall as blood slowly slid down her face. Sighing, Estelle bumped her head against the back wall and closed her eyes, letting the pain suck away her frenzy for the moment.

Relaxing, finally, Estelle opens an eye to the phone on the ground beside her. She hadn't even realised the device had constantly been ringing. Sighing, Estelle raised the device to her ear after pressing the green button.

"Report."

"Hey, Estelle. It's us, your classmates."

Closing her eyes in irritation and disbelief, Estelle stayed quiet on the line as she waited for them to explain the reason for their call.

"We just wanted to make sure-"

"That you ain't dead, Lioness. You alive?"

Scoffing, Estelle muttered, "Unfortunately."

"What do you mean?!" Bakugo demanded roughly. The bubbling emotions under her veins fired back up from his blunt words, and she couldn't stop her hissing response.

"I mean that this was a fucking shitshow. Gods, I knew they were acting up. But, to attack as a collective? Like a fucking hivemind! Goddammit! Not again! Fucking spirits!

Bakugo was quiet as Estelle spit out the words with venom. It was an out of character outburst for someone like her. The students could be heard in the background, gasping in astonishment from the words Estelle had just uttered.

"You done?" Bakugo voiced calmly.

Taking multiple deep breaths into the receiver, Estelle murmured a weary "Yeah, sorry."

"You took down those creatures, did you not?"

"Yeah."

"So, you did your job. You can figure this out; you said it yourself. You won a war. You are not weak."

Feeling a painful warmth and energy from his brief pep talk, Estelle nodded in the dark alleyway before standing up. Before she could utter another word, Bakugo communicated once again. "Now, get back to the dorms. Dinner is soon."

Estelle was interrupted from her retort as a black limousine stopped at the end of the alleyway. A figure slowly moved out of the vehicle and stood by the door, his hands folded at his front.

Estelle recognised him.

It was the bodyguard from the Commission.

"I don't think I'm going to be back for dinner."

"What?! Where are you goi-"

Estelle hung up, her eyes focused on the man walking towards her with a frown. When he finally reached her, he announced, "The Commission has requested your presence. Come with me."

Nodding, Estelle followed him into the car and healed herself on the silent journey to another potential shitshow.

Estelle stood in front of the Commission with a firm stance. As if ready to stand her ground for what was coming. Nodding to those sitting around the conference room, Estelle ignored the pity glances from those who sympathised with her.

She didn't need their pity.

She needed their public support to do her job. This mess could fuck it all up.

"Thank you for meeting with us so quickly."

"Of course, president."

"Let's get started. Can you tell us more about the attack that had just taken place?"

Shaking her head, Estelle voiced, "You know as much as I do. You've seen my memories. They don't work together, and they don't like humans. Humans are simply ants to these creatures."

Nodding in agreement, Estelle relaxed at the collective eyes boring into her. Thankfully, they didn't look like they had an agenda this time, but she would always need to be on her guard for people like this. The man to her right caught her eye; he didn't look too pleased.

"You also know that the last time their behaviour was similar. It was during wartime. Someone is at the root cause of it, and I'll figure it out and deal with them."

"Do you have any idea who it could be?"

"Nearly everyone I know is dead."

"Yes, that's true." The president murmured back thoughtfully, her eyes flickering to Estelle with her usual coldness.

The conversation was cut off by the male at Estelle's right. Standing up furiously, Estelle could see the fury he was trying to hide beneath the surface. Huh, he did well so far, keeping quiet. He should have stayed that way.

"Are you all insane! The Cambion's plan was to deal with the spirits before the people noticed! She failed! Therefore her agreement is null and void! She's been let loose for months! And, she has nothing to show for it!"

Estelle scowled at the man's words, the frown deepening as others around the room began to agree with him. She had hoped they would have a little more faith in her than that.

"Actually, I have some news. I have created a device that manages to sense spirits in the area. It's enough to give anyone time to get the hell out when it starts ringing. It's still being tested by me, but every examination so far has been full proof. I travelled Japan to see if it would even help me locate the bridge - but that failed."

"ErasureHead did notify us of a device but gave no further details. Why didn't you come to us with this earlier?"

"It's only been a week. Why would I tell you something that was in the works? I would have notified you as soon as I had all the range levels and info you needed."

Snarling, the standing man retook his seat. His glare bore down into Estelle with fervour. Frowning, Estelle turned to the man in question.

"Say it, what's making you so reluctant to continue the way we are?"

Scoffing, the man turned his head away. "You should have dealt with this already. If you were under the Commission's watch, we could have had this resolved by now."

Raising her brow, Estelle shook her head. Those around the room lifted their brows in surprise when they noted humour laced in her words. "Oh, believe me. You wouldn't have. The fact that this was the first sighting since I have been here just shows that I am doing my job effectively. The change in spirits is what caused this mess. Not me."

"What do you suggest then? The papers are being written as we speak. The people value your strength, but they will break away if these spirits continue to attack. You need to have them on your side. If they aren't - they could riot to have you locked up. Shift the blame to yourself, and nobody will win. They control what happens to you."

"Great..."

"Your speech was sufficient in that for today. But words will only get you so far. You need to show the world that they can rely on you."

Gritting her teeth, Estelle's jaw hurt from the pressure. Rely on her? Really? She was going to have to play that card again? No fucking way.

"I can see you hate the thought. I understand. History is repeating itself somewhat. But this is the best way forward so that the spirits are dealt with, and you can go home."

"What if I went into hiding? Disappear and deal with this alone. Nobody would know."

"The world is watching you, Estelle. If you disappear now, they will declare your guilt, and we won't be able to stop the hunt for a wanted woman. You need to be the people's hero."

"So, I have to do two jobs."

"Correct."

"Fucking fabulous."

"You are already beginning to be called the Guardian. I think you will find it much easier than you realise."

"But, isn't that cruel? To give them hope that I will be there to help and then leave?"

"A little, but the world would move on. There are always new heroes taking up the mantle."

Nodding, Estelle could see that the meeting was coming to a close.

"Estelle, we don't have the power to influence the minds around us. You will get a lot of heat and traction when in public. You must remain the pillar your previous world knows you to be. You can't take your time anymore, not if these attacks continue. You will have to move as quickly as possible to mitigate the damage."

"I understand, President."

Estelle didn't make it back to UA until much later in the evening. She had spent some time with the Commission going over formalities and action plans. So, by the time Estelle reached the front gate. She was exhausted.

Unsurprisingly, the class of 1A were crowded around the living room, waiting for Estelle's return. They all rushed to her with collective relief. The students surrounded the tired girl with concerned eyes and slowly relaxing grins.

"Thank god you're back! We were so worried!"

Feeling uncomfortable with the caring warmth in the air, Estelle turned her head to the floor with a frown. The bruise on her cheek was in full view as she waved them off. "I'm fine; I'm just tired."

"Where did you go after you hung up?" Izuku asked, his eyes holding concern as they scanned her face.

"The Commission had requested to see me."

Scowling at the students who riled back up from her words. Estelle ignored their flurry of questions as they worried over the outcome of the meeting. Her eyes met with Bakugo, who stood at the side of her. His glare clashed with her drooping eyes as he glowered over the mark on her face.

Watching as the blonde gritted his teeth, he managed to furiously spit out, "Everyone, shut the hell up! You're crowding her; let her eat some food. She can tell us what she wants to."

Turning silent from stupefaction, those around the room immediately felt full of guilt. The students winced at the fact they had accidentally returned to pressuring Estelle for information and backed away from her with apologetic smiles.

Estelle felt gratitude for those around her, and she realised that this was becoming more frequent the longer she remained with them. For now, putting the thought away, Estelle relaxed at the bubble she now had and returned their smiles with a small one of her own. She would never have guessed that a simple gesture like that would make their smiles turn into beams of joy.

Why do they get so elated with stuff like this? She would probably never know.

When the moment was over, Estelle felt Bakugo's grip on her arm as he led her to the couch. Leaving without a word, the class kept their distance from Estelle and placed themselves around the room. When Bakugo finally returned with her food, Estelle gave a small smile in thanks before digging into her food.

"Tch."

The room was silent as Estelle ate through some of her meal. When she finally felt comfortable talking, the students began to thrum with anticipation. Thankful for their patience, Estelle explained further the events of the day.

"There was a dispute at the Commission. A few of the board members believed my contract was null and void now that Spirits have been seen in public- "

"What?!" Students yelled back in shock.

"Hold up-"

"What does that mean for you?!"

"Hey! Hey! Don't make me yell! Let me finish!" Estelle shouted out to calm the class. Sighing in relief at the silence back in the room, she continued. "They are just worried for the civilian's safety, I understand. They think I haven't made enough progress- let me finish! But I showed them the device for locating spirits and my work schedule. They changed their tune after that. Still, the board cannot help me much with public opinion. I don't know if you've seen the news, but my name is controversial. I have to get the media on my side to do my job effectively."

"How are you going to do that?"

"By pretending to be a hero. I'll be doing normal hero work henceforth to ensure this doesn't go sideways."

"Lioness, are you really telling us that you're going to run yourself into the ground even more?"

"I have no choice."

"Why do you say it like that? You saved those people today! You don't have to pretend," Kaminari popped in, his brows furrowed in confusion.

'A mess that I could have prevented if I never came here.'

"I told you guys when I came back to UA that I wasn't a hero nor villain. I was just a girl trying to survive the path laid out for me. I stand by what I said. I'm not a hero."

"So why fight in a war? Why bother to help this world?"

"Because I am the only one who can."

"That sounds like a hero to me."

Estelle gave no acknowledgement to the answer as she ate the last bite of her food. The students around the room flickered their eyes to each other in silent words of understanding. This was another thing that she wouldn't give her truth for. Deciding to leave that topic of conversation for another time, Jiro broke the silence with a different question.

"So, you mentioned that the spirits were working together. You sounded like they've done this before?"

Startled that Jiro noticed her slip up from the phone call, Estelle resigned herself to the fact she would need to answer this query. Nodding, Estelle voiced, "Yes, during the war. They were soldiers of the enemy. They all worked under one banner, and that type of power ripped the lands to shreds. The fact that it's happening again is not a good sign."

Tension rose from Estelle's honest answer. They didn't want to jump ahead to conclusions, but this sounded ominous.

"Do not worry, I have dealt with this before, and I'll do it again. I meant what I said, I will have this resolved, and I will come out victorious."

"Spoken like a true hero."

"Shut up."