Hey all!
This chapter went through quite a bit of rewriting thanks to the insights and comments on the previous chapter! Thank you all for that! I will strive to improve this work with your suggestions, so feel free to criticize, as long as it is constructive. Thanks!
"Hello and welcome," Nedzu said as he sat behind the table on the stage, his usual smile plastered over his face as he looked out over the sea of reporters, "Thank you all for coming to this press conference to discuss the events of yesterday's first year sports festival."
Shota held back a groan of frustration as he watched the reporters shift in their seats, just waiting for the moment they could start asking questions like a hoard of starving rabid animals waiting for meat. He hated the press, and certainly didn't want to be here, but the main subjects of this press conference were in his class, so here he was, dressed in a suit and tie and glaring out over the crowd of vultures.
Nedzu continued speaking for a while, his talent for bullshitting as impressive as always as he worked to waste as much of the reporters' time as he could. The longer he talked, the less time they would have for questions.
"And so," the chimera finally said after what felt like an eternity, "Do you have any questions?"
"Why hasn't UA released a statement regarding the man that was killed yesterday?" the first reporter shouted, the rest all murmuring and nodding in agreement. Shota cringed internally; these leeches weren't holding back today.
"Because no one died on UA grounds yesterday," Nedzu replied sharply, keeping his smile fixedly in place, "While there were severe injuries, no one has died. We plan to hold the first-year Awards Ceremony after the third-year events have concluded tomorrow."
The reporters all stared in confusion, muttering amongst themselves as they looked at the chimera, before a man jumped to his feet.
"Bullshit!" he yelled, pointing accusingly at the principal, "We saw that…that monster stab its hand straight through that man's chest!"
"I'm sorry," the words came out as a hiss, startling the reporter as Shota spoke for the first time, "But who are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb," the man snorted, readjusting his ill-fitting suit, "The whole country saw it! That…thing killed a man and UA is trying to cover it up!"
"Again," Shota growled, glaring at the man hard enough to make him sweat, "Who are you referring to? Not one of our students, I would hope."
"That is quite the accusation," Nedzu hummed, cutting off the vicious glare, "Who was it you worked for again? I'm afraid I may just have to sue them for slander on behalf of the student in question."
"S-sue? Slander?" the man gasped, looking around at the other reporters for support, "You can't do that! We all know what we saw! One of your…students killed a man yesterday!"
"And I told you," Nedzu chimed back, his anger starting to grow evident, "No one died on UA grounds yesterday."
"Then prove it!" the reporter shouted, the others looking at each other nervously, "Show us some proof!"
"And how do you suppose I do that?" Nedzu hummed, "Do you wish to visit the injured individual in hospital? Pepper him with questions? That would be quite the invasion of privacy."
"The people deserve to know!" the man continued, scowling.
"What happened yesterday was a tragedy," Nedzu sighed, "But I can assure you that no one was injured beyond a point that they could not recover from it."
"But what does that mean?" the reporter growled.
"Perhaps a question from another person is in order," Nedzu said flatly, looking towards a woman with her hand raised, "Yes?"
"What do you plan to do about the students in question? Both showed obvious intent to use lethal force," she asked, "Will either of them be punished?"
"We have already organised extensive counselling for the students in question," Nedzu replied, "As well as extra training to help them better control themselves in the future."
"So, you're not expelling them?" the woman asked.
"Of course not!" Nedzu replied quickly, "We cannot afford to allow them to leave. Especially after what happened. We need to ensure that something like this never occurs again."
"Not when that one may turn into a Villain, you mean," the man from before called out, the entire room flinching as Nedzu let out a quiet growl.
"Now that is slander," the principal snarled, "And this is the end of the press conference."
"Wait!" several of the reporters shouted, peppering the two men with questions as they walked off stage.
"Perhaps we should delay the Awards Ceremony a while longer," Nedzu muttered to Aizawa as they left, "I don't like how these…people are taking this."
Several days later…
"Good morning class," Shota said as he walked into the classroom, noting the tense silence that hung in the air, particularly over the empty desk in the back corner and the blonde sitting just in front of it, "Good to see that you're all acting logically this morning."
The room remained silent as he let out a tired sigh, walking over to the desk at the front of the class and pulling out a remote.
"Well, today we're going to have a Hero informatics lesson, and a special one at that," he muttered, watching as the class began to react, "You'll be choosing your Hero aliases."
The cheer that went up was quieter than he'd been expecting, but still a sign that the students were excited. He noted that both Uraraka and Asui remained silent as they stared at the empty desk.
"Sensei, kero," the frog quirked girl asked, putting up her hand, "What about Izuku? He's not here and-."
"Midoriya is currently excused from classes due to personal reasons," the man interrupted her quickly as the class became quiet once again, "Rest assured, he won't be held back because of this."
"Oh?" the frog quirked girl hummed, "Thank you, Sensei, kero."
"Now, onto the Pro draft that I mentioned the other day," Aizawa hummed, tapping a button on the remote as the screen lowered, "These are the draft pick numbers. There's usually more of a spread, but this time the top student somewhat stole the spotlight."
The class fell silent again, though this time in anticipation as the results appeared.
"Holy shit!" Kaminari gasped, "Todoroki got over four thousand even though he was knocked out in the semi-finals!"
"It's probably just my father's influence," the two-toned teen muttered as he stared at the board.
"Oh my gosh!" Ochako gasped, "I got offers! And so did you, Tsu!"
"I see that, kero," the girl hummed, looking at the board before raising her hand, "Sensei, what about Izuku? He got to the finals; wouldn't he also have some offers?"
"Midoriya…" the Pro trailed off, before giving a quiet sigh, "Midoriya did get some offers, but it's been decided that he will stay at UA for…private training."
"Private training?" the class muttered, "What does that mean?"
"What about me?"
The room fell silent as they turned to look at the blonde teen, his face twisted in his usual scowl, realising that his name was also absent from the board.
"You…" Aizawa sighed, "You also received numerous offers, despitewhat happened. However, it was decided that your offers would be screened first to ensure that you go to someone who can…help you the most, Bakugo."
"I don't need any fucking help!" the blonde snarled as the class started to whisper.
"Enough," Shota barked, silencing the room once again, "Whether you made it up there or not, you will have the opportunity to work alongside the Pros. But first-."
"It's time to choose your Hero names!" Midnight shouted as she burst through the door.
"So," the bestial man said, "You won the sports festival. Congratulations."
"Tch," the blonde clicked his teeth, "I didn't win shit! That fucking Deku ran off after that cloaked bastard interfered with the fight! That doesn't count!"
"I see," Hound Dog nodded, "So, how do you feel after that man…interfered with your fight?"
"Pissed!" Bakugo spat, glaring at Hound Dog, "He ruined my chance at beating that fucking Deku into the dirt where he belongs!"
"Are you sure?"
"Huh?" Bakugo blinked, "The fuck are you saying? Yes, I'm sure!"
"How much of the fight do you actually remember?" Hound Dog asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"All of it!" the blonde roared, "I was beating that shitnerd into a paste! Then he taunted me, and I flew up to use Howitzer Impact and kill him and then…"
Hound Dog waited as the teen trailed off, a distant look in his eyes. He remained silent for a moment, a deep shudder passing through his body before he spat out the rest of his sentence.
"Then the cloaked bastard blocked my hit."
"Is that all?" Hound Dog asked quietly, the blonde nodding sharply, "Are you sure?"
"Yes," the blonde growled.
"And that's all you remember of the fight?"
"YES!" he snarled.
"Are you sure?"
"YES!" Bakugo suddenly screamed, "DEKU WASN'T ABOUT TO FUCKING KILL ME! HE WASN'T! DEKU WOULD NEVER DO THAT! HE'S TOO FUCKING GOOD FOR THAT!"
"I see," Hound Dog muttered as Bakugo froze, staring ahead in shock, "I would usually be a little more delicate about this, but you don't really do delicate, do you Bakugo? I'm afraid you might have developed PTSD, young man."
"PTS-what?" the teen muttered.
"PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder," Hound Dog explained carefully, "It occurs when a person undergoes a great deal of stress over a period of time, with certain factors triggering it. Don't worry, a lot of Heroes get it, though usually not so early in their careers."
"Fuck you," Bakugo growled, "I ain't got jack shit wrong with me!"
"Haaa," Hound Dog let out a long breath, "Well, whatever you would like to believe, you still have to attend these sessions with me until I decide that we don't need them anymore."
"I don't need your shitty help," the blonde growled, looking away.
"But you do," Hound Dog sighed, "But that's beside the point. Tell me, what do you think about the way the media have been handling it?"
"Huh?" the blonde spat, "The fuck does that mean?"
"You haven't seen the headlines?" Hound Dog asked, a look of surprise on his face, "I see. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned them, it would be best for you to not look-"
"What headlines?" Bakugo growled as he pulled out his phone, quickly searching the web, his eyes going wide as he let out a small whisper, "The fuck? The fuck is this?"
Monster Trio obliterate UA sports festival.
Is UA raising Heroes, or Monsters?
Is the Next Generation of Heroes actually safe?
Brutality on the Big Screen: Three UA students who showed no mercy.
"The fuck?" Katsuki growled, "They…they're comparing me to that fucking Deku! And Half-n-half! I'm not a fucking monster! Neither is he! What the fuck?!"
"I need you to calm down, Bakugo," Hound Dog said, his voice strangely far away as the teen scrolled further through the headlines, the edges of his vision going dark, "Bakugo, you're hyperventilating! Look at me! Look at me!"
Darkness engulfed Katsuki's vision as he stared at the last headline in shock.
Are they really human?
The man scrolled through the phone as he crouched on the rooftop, glaring at the screen as if it had offended him. He had stolen it off the last Fake he'd attacked, the armoured fool now lying in a hospital bed awaiting his final days. He would need to get rid of it soon, of course, but he needed to do some research before his next hunt.
His eyes flicked over the latest headlines, his scowl deepening as he scanned over the articles. The rot was deeper than he'd thought. Especially if it had infected UA of all places, one of the few establishments he believed to still be able to produce decent Heroes.
"They call them monsters," he growled, licking his long tongue over his lips as he turned to the dark portal opening behind him, "Tell me, if they are considered monsters, then what does that make you?"
"Are you sure about this?" Shota asked again, looking at the teen.
"Yes," Izuku replied from his position chained to the floor, "This is the only way."
"But this could literally kill you," the Homeroom teacher said, the distress obvious in his voice.
"And if I don't learn to control it, how long until I actuallykill someone?" the teen shot back, glaring at the teacher.
"Fine," Shota grumbled, looking to Snipe as the cowboy themed Hero stepped up, pulling out his pistol, "But I still don't like this."