Chapter 22: Aftermath

Hey howdy hey hello, welcome to the show! Enigma's back with the first of two, maybe three, chapters today.

Nothing to really say, so let's just jump right into it.

Enjoy!

Feel free to review, but don't just rip into me. I'm doing this for fun, not excessive criticism.

"According to Vlad King's reporting of the events, the ambulances arrived fifteen minutes after the Villains left."

"Of the forty-one students, fifteen had lost consciousness and were in a critical state due to the gas. Thirteen had injuries ranging from minor to severe. Thirteen were uninjured. One had gone missing."

"Of the six professional Heroes, one suffered a head injury and was in critical condition. And one that had left a heavy trail of blood had gone missing."

"On the other hand, on the Villain's side, three were immediately apprehended and arrested. The other Villains, who left them behind… vanished. Without a trace."

"And so the forest training camp that we put together so meticulously… has ended, with the worst possible outcome." Principal Nezu ended his speech to the other teachers.

"'Fear of Villain activation'… we were too naïve in recognizing the legitimacy of this threat. They have already begun the war. The war to destroy our Hero society." Snipe shook his head.

"Even if we had recognized the threat, there's a question of if we could have done anything to defend against it…" Midnight pointed out, "This was such a rapid set of developments… ever since All Might appeared, we had thought almost all organized crime had been weeded out…"

"The main point is that without realizing it, the peace has made us grow too soft," Present Mic cut in, "to even think that we had time 'to prepare' for Villains, once we became aware of their threat."

"My own worthlessness infuriates my entire being… while they were desperately fighting, I was just… dillydallying around!" All Might groaned.

"Things like having the sports festival immediately after an attack… we can no longer continue our 'undaunted' approach with these matters." Snipe continued, "A student abduction… this is U.A.'s greatest failure."

"They snatched away our credibility as Heroes along with Bakugo." Present Mic sighed.

"Right now, the media's in a frenzy with criticisms of U.A." Nezu told everyone, showing them a newspaper, "Bakugo likely became their target when he exhibited his wild nature at the sports festival. If he somehow is brought over to the side of the Villains, it could spell the end of U.A. as an educational institution."

"We're already talking about credibility, so there's something I'd like to say…" Present Mic spoke up, "In light of recent events, it's indisputable that among us there is… a traitor. Only the teachers and the Pussycats knew the location of the training camp! Or one of the students could have turned on the GPS on their phone!"

"Mic, cut it out!" Midnight scolded.

"Cut what out? We're going to get to the bottom of this, now!"

"Can you even prove that you, yourself, are 100% innocent?" Snipe called him out, "Are you able to judge which of us is good?"

"Umm…"

"If we start jumping at shadows and suspecting everybody, it will tear us apart from the inside." Snipe continued, "If we are to search for a traitor in our midst, we must do so calmly."

"At the very least, I can say that I trust those here. Yet, at the same time, I cannot myself guarantee my own lack of culpability." Nezu told everyone, "In any case, as a school, what we absolutely have to do is be able to guarantee the safety of our students. As for whether or not there's a traitor… I have something that I have been thinking about for some time. You see…"

"You've got… a call!" All Might's phone went off.

"Sorry, sorry, I have to take this call." All Might quickly excused himself.

Moxie

"Hey…"

Kendo walked out onto the hospital roof, finding Moxie, sitting near the edge of the building.

"Thought I'd find you up here." She took a seat next to him, "What's up?"

"Everyone went to visit Midoriya, but I wanted some air to clear my head, so I came up here." Moxie explained, "I might go for a run, with Recovery Girl's healing I'm feeling one-hundred percent."

"I'd join you on that, but I have to make sure my class is alright." Kendo sighed, "Just stay safe, alright? Most of those Villains got away."

"Don't remind me." Moxie groaned, "We only took down a single Villain in the end."

"Sorry, sorry. I'll see you later, alright?" Kendo stood back up, heading for the stairs, "And you know you can always come talk to me, right?"

"I'll keep that in mind." Moxie nodded, watching as she left.

Hiryu

"Ahh, Midoriya! You're awake now!" Kaminari slid open the door, most of the class shuffling in, "Have you been watching tv? The media's all over U.A., it's pretty bad."

"That time in the spring doesn't even compare…" Sato added,

"We've caused you trouble, huh, Midoriya…" Tokoyami commented,

"No… I should be saying that…" Midoriya shook his head weakly, "Is everyone from Class A here?"

"No… Jiro still hasn't regained consciousness from the Villain's gas." Iida explained, "And Yaoyorozu suffered a head injury while being chased by a Nomu, so she has also been hospitalized. She supposedly regained consciousness just yesterday, though. Anyway, even though those two aren't here…"

"…that still makes just sixteen of us." Uraraka sighed.

"Well, Bakugo's gone, after all." Todoroki stared down.

"Hey, Todoroki…" Ashido trailed off.

Hiryu stood about awkwardly, her arm in a cast, not sure what to say.

"All Might was saying… you can't save people where your hands can't reach. So that's why you have to save anyone who is within your reach." Midoriya spoke, "But I… I was in reach that time… I had to save him! My Quirk… the whole purpose of my Quirk… it turned out exactly like Aizawa said it would. My body… couldn't move…"

"Then this time around, let's save him." Kirishima cut in, receiving a shocked "Huh?!" from the rest of the class, "Actually… Todoroki and I… we were here yesterday too. And there, we chanced upon a conversation with All Might, the police and Yaoyorozu."

"In other words, the tracking device… you mean, Yaoyorozu could make us one?" Iida stepped forward, "It's exactly as All Might said! This is a matter that should be left to the professionals! This is not a situation for students like us to be meddling, you idiot!"

"D#mn it man, I know that already!" Kirishima yelled, causing Hiryu to step back from all the shouting, "But still! I couldn't do anything! Hearing that our friend was being targeted… and I couldn't do anything about it! I didn't do anything about it! If I don't do something about it here, then I won't be able to call myself a Hero or a man!"

"Please, calm down, Kirishima. Your determination is good and all, but this time…" Kaminari held a finger to his lips.

"Iida's right." Tsuyu placed a finger on her chin.

"Iida's right! Everybody's right!" Kirishima continued to yell, "But even still! Listen, Midoriya! Your hands can still reach him!" He told the green-haired boy.

"Please, wait!"

The class turned to look at Hiryu as she shouted, shocked to silence.

"W-We can't do this! You can't do this! If you do, you'll just get in trouble!" Hiryu yelled at Kirishima, "What will you do if you do find him? Or if you get in the Heroes' way? You could just make things worse!"

"I can't just sit by and do nothing!" Kirishima yelled at her, causing Hiryu to flinch and shrink back, "I-I mean… d#mnit, look, Hiryu…"

"N-No, I get it. I-I shouldn't have said anything." Hiryu shook her head, rushing out of the room. Iida paused for a moment before rushing after her.

And there it is! What'd you think?

A lot's happened and a lot's going to be happening, so stay tuned!

Enigma, signing off.