Following the events of the battle, Bulla returned to the hospital with Pan, where they took her in and monitored her. Although her injuries had healed, Bulla was very aware of the toll that the Kaio-Ken took on one's body. Despite this, after she woke up, Pan managed to convince her friend to call their home.
"Thank you for calling Ruimi Orphanage, this is Akame Iwase speaking. How may I help you?" A familiar voice said through the hospital phone.
"Ms. Iwase, it's me." Bulla told her, her voice so small it would might as well have been a mouse.
"Oh my goodness, Brief! Please tell me Son is with you, too!" She said through her tears. This is exactly what she was afraid of. The events of the last few days were televised and covered extensively on international news. There was no way she wasn't aware of the situation at hand.
"Y-Yeah... We're fine. I'm sorry I didn't call sooner, when the summer camp was attacked, I lost my phone in all the craziness. We're both okay, all things considered." She she explained.
"Sweetie, don't you worry about the phone, you've had a rough time. Have the police talked to you yet?"
"No, but I'm sure it won't be long before it's reported that I'm no longer missing."
"Finish up your visit with Son, then go see the police, okay?" She pleaded. "I'm happy to hear you're safe."
"Yes, Ma'am, thank you. I'll give her your best wishes." Bulla told her before hanging up the phone and returning to the room. Golden light crept in from the morning Sun, leaving a warming calm sensation in the room. Pan was stable, by all means, but it still put her mind at ease having Bulla there. "So I never got to ask, how long have you known the Kaio-Ken?"
"Oh my goodness! At first, I didn't even know where to start! I only had a brief lesson on it when I was younger! Uncle Goten was trying to teach me in secret, but I couldn't remember much about the lesson because my dad caught us instantly! But I remembered when you were talking about focusing to sense surrounding energies, and I thought, 'let me try that,' but instead I focused on my past memories! And I pieced it together from there." Pan explained, her eyes filled with excitement.
"You really are Goku's granddaughter." Bulla told her with a chuckle. "Do you think it's weird that we weren't this into our training back then?" Looking down to her interlaced fingers, , her mind began to ponder.
"Not at all." Pan simply told her, prompting her to look up in confusion. "Think about, Bulla. Grandpa Goku was below our level when my dad was born. Then, when your dad invaded the Earth, things only escalated from there."
"I don't think I follow..." Bulla told her in confusion.
"Think about it! Conflict brings progress! Our ancestors only gained the strength that they had because their conflicts called for their progress! Do you really think we would have been at this level if we weren't forced to acclimate to stronger opponents?"
"I see, I think I understand what you're saying..." She said, holding her chin in her hand. Before their conversation could continue, there was a knock at the door, and one-by-one, their friends began to walk in. Tetsutetsu, Kirishima, Shiozaki, Kendo, Todoroki, Bakugo, Midoriya, Iida, and Yaoyorozu entered the room.
"Hey, guys." Kendo told them.
"Glad to see you're holding on, Son!" Tetsutetsu said with excitement.
"Thank you, guys. I'm happy to see you're all okay." Pan told them.
"We came to see you as soon as we heard you were admitted again. It's quite unfortunate to be confined here a second time." Shiozaki said in an attempt to console her.
"Yeah, but this time I'll be out even sooner." She told them, scratching her head and revealing several unpleasant gashes along her arms.
"I feel responsible." Kendo expressed. "Maybe if I reached out to stop you, you wouldn't have-" Before she could finish, Pan raised an open palm.
"Please, don't trouble yourself with it. It was my choice, and I made it knowing full well what the risks were." She told her.
"Brief." Bakugo said through grit teeth, using his eyes to gesture to Class B's students.
With a sigh, Bulla turned to them and bowed. "I'm sincerely sorry, could you please give my classmates and I some time alone with Pan?"
"Wait, what?" Kendo asked in shock.
"No way! We only just got here!" Tetsutetsu demanded. "Why would we leave?!"
"Beat it, Rust-trap." Bakugo barked, stepping forward.
"Dammit, Bakugo. You think you're so high and mighty, don't you?!" Tetsutetsu told him, raising his steel fist.
"Get that hand out of my face before I make you leave myself."
"Normally, I'd be against all of this, but Son is my classmate, and we are not leaving her!" Kendo chimed in, slightly engorging her hands.
"I'm sorry, but your compliance isn't exactly a factor." Todoroki told them as frost began to rise from his arm.
"Please, stop, Kacchan! It wouldn't be fair to them!" Midoriya pleaded, stepping in front of Class A's students.
"Come on, Tetsutetsu! You're better than this!" Kirishima told his Class B counterpart, making his best attempt to appeal to him.
"It's fine." All of a sudden, the tension was broken, and all eyes turned to Pan. "If Bulla is asking you to leave, even in this situation, than it must be important. I'm not asking you to leave entirely, but if you could give us a little bit of time, I'd appreciate it."
"But-!" Before Shiozaki could finish her protest, Bulla stepped forward and took her hand, looking into her eyes.
"Please, guys." With that, all conflict had ceased. The three students left the room in an angry murmur, leaving Class A with Pan.
"So, what was it that was so urgent, guys?" Pan asked them as Midoriya took a step forward and held Bulla's hand up, placing his fist in her palm.
"I believe that these belong to you." He told her apologetically, opening his fist and leaving two earrings in her hand. "Kirishima told me what happened. I'm sorry to have put that kind of stress on you, Bulla."
"Our earrings!" Pan said in surprise.
"I appreciate it, Izuku. But that doesn't change what happened." Bulla told him.
"I think it's time you give us an explanation. What are those earrings, and where did they come from?" Todoroki questioned, taking a step forward.
"What all do they know, Bulla?" Pan asked her friend.
"Only Bakugo. But he and Todoroki saw me transform." She told her somberly.
"That's right." She said. "I never properly congratulated you on that. I had my suspicions, but Bakugo was the one who confirmed it."
"Look who was paying attention." Bulla said under her breath.
"What was that? I'll make you pay attention to the ground if you don't knock it off!" Bakugo retaliated, clenching his fist and causing Bulla to smile.
"Fine. But this doesn't leave this circle. A lot has happened, and it could be dangerous for us if this got out." She explained.
"Here, allow me to lock the door." Iida said. With the click of the door, and an affirming nod from Pan, Bulla let out a deep breath.
"I'm sorry that I can't give you all of the details right now, since it's quite a story. It may be hard to believe, but Pan and I are not from this world." She told them, clenching her fists. "Todoroki, Bakugo, what you saw out there was a form that is known amongst my people as a 'Super Saiyan'. It's known to give the user explosive speed and power, but an untrained Super Saiyan tends to lose their sanity while using the form."
"And that's why you were ready to flatten us all of a sudden." Bakugo said, causing the other's eyes to widen.
"Bakugo, you believe this?" Todoroki asked him.
"I don't know, Kacchan, it seems like a lot to take in." Midoriya said nervously, scratching his cheek.
"Don't you think I know that, you damn nerd?" Bakugo told him, grinding his teeth. "Just shut up and listen."
Giving her a nod, Bakugo was able to reassure Bulla. "Thank you." She said before continuing. "On my world, there were people who far stronger than anyone on this world. Our parents were among them." Looking down at her palms, Bulla realized how dream-like the whole situation seemed. A scarred Pan behind her, with her friends before her demanding answers. Somehow, though, Bakugo's determined gaze made her feel more confidant. "They were born from a race of warriors known as the Saiyans, who are said to become stronger every time they fight. We tend to break through our limits regularly, and our power is connected to our emotions. In moments of strong emotion, a new form may awaken."
"I see. So that would explain why you were able to briefly push back that Nomu." Iida said, connecting the dots.
"And it would explain your golden hair and overwhelming power back at the summer camp." Todoroki followed.
"Right. On our world, we've learned to enhance and reduce our strength by controlling our Ki, essentially a life force that everyone has. The more Ki you have and can control, the stronger you are." She expressed, holding a hand up and forming a glowing orb. "This is Ki as we see it."
"And that's origin of your 'Quirk'." Midoriya said, holding his chin. "That's strange, I've heard of the term Ki, but I've never heard of it being used in such a way. To think that it's so seamless with this current generation of Quirk-holders."
"My flight is the same way." Pan chimed in, holding her hands in her lap. "I can use my Ki to lift and propel me through the sky. I went back to watch the Sports Festival when you all went to I-Island, you could clearly see our Ki while we were fighting. Thankfully nobody questioned it at the time, however a few people were speculating through articles that it was a special effect for the event."
"I did think that was rather strange, but I suppose that explains everything." Yaoyorozu told them, her hand resting over her heart with relief.
"What about the earrings?" Kirishima asked, stepping forward. "You still haven't explained what they are and why they fuse people together."
"Because I haven't finished yet, guys!" She told them angrily, prompting everyone to withhold further questions. "So, yes, the ability to fuse is known about amongst different races and dieties, but there's no true single way to do so. The way my family knew about was a way to fuse through a dance developed by a race called the Metamorans. It allowed the two to fuse and raise their combined strength by several times. However, these earrings are known as the Potara Earrings." She continued explaining, holding them between her fingers so that they'd dangle in front of her. "When two people wear the earrings on the opposite ears, it causes them to fuse, creating a being of unrivaled power. I don't know their origin, but they were a gift to our family by the upper gods of our world. Each fusion method has their own strengths and weaknesses, but to me, the earrings are by far the superior method."
"Wait, I have a question..." Midoriya stopped her. "If your beams and Son's flight are both forms of Ki control, than how come you can't fly and she can't shoot beams?"
"I've started to develop other techniques manipulating Ki." She explained, holding up a hand and forming a much dimmer ball of light in her hands. "I'm still training, so I don't have as much of a grasp on actual blasts. But I've started learning how to use a technique called the Kaio-Ken that my uncle and grandpa used."
"Besides, it would be suspicious if we started having more than one ability in a world where everyone has a single Quirk. It was for the best that we each only knew our individual abilities." Bulla explained. After a long period of silence, she raised her arms in an inviting gesture. "Well? Any other questions?" She told them. "This would be the time to ask."
"How can we believe all of this?" Iida asked her plainly. "And if we choose to do so, how do we know we can trust you?"
"Hey, man, don't be rude!" Kirishima told him, turning to his friend and putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Quite the opposite, actually." His fists clenched, and he looked up with eyes full of determination. "You... I fought alongside you at the USJ. I saw firsthand just how dearly you care about your classmates. Your friends."
Bulla's eyes widened as Iida's faced stretched with a smile. "Tenya..."
"You have my support. As the Representative of the prestigious UA Hero Course's Class A, I believe you, Bulla. However, there may come a time in the future where a secret like this is revealed to the world, and you may not be able to cover it up as being part of your Quirk. When that time comes, how will I garner the support of the masses?" Iida told her solemnly, looking to the ground.
"That's easy." She told him, causing him to look up at her own warming smile. "I'll just rely on you for that, Tenya."
With his eyes glossing over, Iida took a bow of gratitude. "Sincerely, Bulla, from our world to yours, I thank you for all that you've done for us."
Following his own bow, Kirishima bowed next to him. "I betrayed your privacy. I'm sorry for taking those important earrings from you."
Next, it was Midoriya who bowed sincerely. "I'm sorry, too. I picked up your earring during our class's shopping trip, and I wasn't able return it because of the I-Island incident. After that it completely slipped my mind."
"You guys..." Bulla looked up, keeping the tears of joy from dripping from her eyes, and took a deep breath. "Thank you."
Following their visit, Bulla made her way to the police station, basking in the warmth of the golden sunlight surrounding her. She met at the reception by a female police officer, who poked her head out from behind her computer. "Why, good evening, young lady. What can I help you with?"
"Yes, hi, my name is Bulla Brief? I wanted to come by and let the police know that I wasn't missing anymore." She told her, prompting the officer to click away on her keyboard.
"Oh! Brief! You're the UA student that was taken by the League of Villains!" She told her, jumping out of her chair. "Are you injured, at all!? Do you need me to call for medical attention?"
"No, Ma'am, I'm fine. I just wanted to let the police know that I was okay." She told her before turning around.
"I'm sorry, could you please standby for a second?" The officer asked her as she picked up her phone and dialed three numbers, sounding the little tones that phones make. "Hey, I have Brief here, could you come out to see her? Thank you." She hung up the phone and gave Bulla a soft smile. "He'll be out in just a moment. Would you mind talking to one more person before you leave?"
"Oh, yeah. I can do that." She told her. As promised, a young man came into the lobby in less than a minute. His face was very familiar, but Bulla couldn't pin a name to his face.
"Brief, how are you doing today?" He asked, dropping to one knee to talk to her face-to-face. "My name is Naomasa Tsukauchi. I'm a close friend of All Might. Would you mind coming to the back with me so that I can ask you some questions?" Putting her hands together, Bulla pondered on the thought for a moment before giving him a nod. The two of them walked through the double doors of the police station, leaving the lobby, and entered an office further down the hall. "I know it's kind of boring-looking in here, but I'm typically not in my office anyway. I like to be out in the field more than I like being at my desk. What are you thoughts?"
"Yeah, I can agree with that. I couldn't stay cooped up behind a desk all of the time." She told him.
"What about your parents?" He asked. "Do you think they could do a desk job like this all of the time?"
My parents? Why bring them up? "They're not around anymore, but I really don't think my dad could have done that. My mom is more of the inventor type, so it's hard to say if she would have enjoyed a job like that."
"I'm sorry to hear that about them. If there was even a sliver of a bright side there, it'd be that they wouldn't have to waste their time sitting at a boring desk like this."
"Right."
"What are your thoughts on the office space, though? I'm thinking of redecorating soon, and any feedback would be nice."
"I think it looks alright." She told him. It's boring alright, but I just want to answer these questions and go home.
There it is. Now that I've got my base line, I can begin. "Alright then, in that case, let's being. I've held you up long enough." He told her, clicking away on his keyboard. "Now, when we took All Might's statement of the operation, he described that upon arriving on the scene, three of the villains, known as Dabi, Magne, and Kurogiri, were already unconscious. What happened prior to the hero's arrival?"
"I... I knocked them out." She admitted. "I had thought about what happened to Pan, and I just exploded."
Well, she's not lying. That certainly is an impressive feat for a child. With her ability from the USJ in mind, it'll be vital that she remains on the straight and narrow... Otherwise she could be an issue down the line. "I'm glad you're safe, did any of the villains harm you physically?"
"No, I wasn't hurt at all." She told him, squeezing her hands on her knees.
"We have been trying to pin down the League of Villains since the USJ incident. Did they say or do anything that could have implied their next plan or potential whereabouts?"
Bulla thought back on the experience as a whole, shaking her head side to side. "No, Sir. Nothing comes to mind."
"Alright, in that case, you're free to go. Would you mind if I brought you back home?" He asked her, standing up from his seat.
"It's fine, I wanted to head back to the hospital, anyway." She told him.
"That's understandable, but I was actually reading up on your friend's file. She's being released tomorrow, but because she had already been discharged, then was brought right back, they wanted to be a little more careful and keep her care a priority for now. I wouldn't be surprised if they were cutting visiting hours as we speak." He explained, walking around his desk and opening the door for her. "It's your choice."
After a moment, Bulla remembered how long it's been since she's been to the orphanage. Between the Summer Camp and her kidnapping, it's felt like ages since she's lied in her bed. "Y-Yeah, I think going home would be nice." She told him as the two left the police station.
Exiting the police car, Bulla was almost moved to tears as she laid her eyes on the scene before her. The same old rustic brown double-doors, and the name plate for the building just next to the door, reading 'Ruimi Orphanage'. And finally, Iwase standing by the the door, her arms open.
Without thinking, Bulla ran full speed ahead into her caretaker's arms, accepting her warm embrace. "There, there, it's okay. I have you, now." She told her, petting the back of her head.
That night, Bulla enjoyed what seemed to be the longest hot bath of her young life. Once she was finished, she left the bathroom, and came face-to-face with a pleasant surprise. Sitting on the bed was Pan, with Sandayo, Hanamura and Takado. "There you are, Big Sis." Sandayo told her. "I wanted to welcome you back, but you went straight to the bathroom."
"Are you okay? You're not harmed, are you?" Takado asked her.
"That situation must have been scary!" Hanamura followed. "I knew you'd pull through, though! Because you're the strongest out of all of us!"
With a chuckle, Pan smiled, her teeth in full display. "If they think that, then I'm going to have to prove them wrong." Standing up, she tucked two crutches under her arms. "I'm more or less healed, but they were really hesitant about letting me go." Approaching her friend, she gave her one more big smile, putting a fist into her chest softly. "It feels like it's been forever since you've been back."
All of a sudden, with her words echoing through her mind, all of the fear, the frustration, the relief, every emotion she had felt but kept inside over the last 72 hours had rushed to the surface. She reached out and embraced her dear friend. "Pan..."
"There, there, it's okay." Pan told her, petting her along her back. "You're home, now." As sweet as her words were, it wouldn't be long before the new stability that Bulla found would be changed forever.
With the end of the Kamino Ward incident, Class 1A was given a few days off, as a means to recuperate from the recent events. However, the following day, Bulla roamed through the hallways of her home before finding her homeroom teacher, having tea with Iwase. Although the situation as a whole by itself was strange, it was only emphasized by the scolding look on Iwase's face.
What's going on here? Bulla though to herself as she remained hidden around the corner of the door frame. I've never seen Ms. Iwase so mad before!
"You have got to be kidding me!" She told him, slamming her hand on the table. "I can't believe UA has the gall to come in here and ask me something so disrespectful as this after you lost my child!"
"Ms. Iwase, I understand your frustrations and concerns, and take full responsibility for the events that transpired, however-"
"I would hope so! You're their teacher, and they left for one week, one week, under your care, and they're already being targeted by villains! I don't think you quite understand the severity of all of this!"
"I assure you, the Boarding Project is to protect the students to the best of our ability." He explained. "They will be housed, fed, bathed, and the dorms are a five minute walk from the school. In this instance, it'd be the safest option to-"
"You still don't get it, do you?" Iwase said, cutting him off once again. "She has nobody but her friends here. Her parents are dead, her friends from her old home are all gone, and she can never go back. All that she has left is here. And somehow, UA messed that up, too!" Her hands balled into fists on her lap. "Son is her last friend, her only remaining connection to her old home, and she almost died! How am I supposed to handle those news? I'd be hard-pressed to even let the girls continue attending UA High!"
After a heavy moment of silence, Aizawa picked himself up from the sofa before kneeling down. With his hands in front of him, he allowed his head to softly touch the ground. "Akame Iwase, back in the day, you were known as the hero Nozomi Ruimi. Your name came from your ideology, that there was hope for everyone in this world. While I can't entirely agree, you were certainly one-of-a-kind, despite retiring at a young age due to a loss of a close friend of yours." Aizawa's knowledge of her past suddenly shocked her, causing her to stand.
"Hey, now, what're you-!?"
"I see why you are trying to protect them." Aizawa told her, cutting her question short. "But you need to understand that they are both exemplary students, and Hero Society as a whole would be worse off if they couldn't receive the top-rated training in the country. I understand that this year's curriculum has fallen so far south that it would might as well be in the ocean, and I cannot apologize enough for allowing your children to fall into the crosshairs of the villains' targeted attacks, but the UA Boarding Project is our first step in what we believe to be the right direction. There will be twenty-four hour surveillance outside of the dorms. They will have fresh and essential supplies replenished every day, and they will be able to take solace in the comfort of the friends that she has accumulated over the past few months." With his words, Iwase could clearly see his hands clenching under his head. "I have seen her, as the Class Representative, attempt to give her life as a means to protect her fellow classmates. And for that, I also apologize. If you allow her to continue, and move forward with this project, then I give you my word. She will not be in harm's way again. This, I swear on my life."
With his speech finished, Iwase took a seat, reeling from his words. They weighed on her heavily, and she couldn't help but reminisce on her old friendship. "Please stand, Aizawa." She told him, prompting him to pick his head up. "I'm reluctant, but if she's okay with it, and the school can uphold their promise, then I am going to allow it. But mark my words, Shota Aizawa. If she's caught up in another life-threatening situation that she's not prepared for, then that's the end of it. I'll pull her from the Hero Course. That is my only rule."
"Then it is a rule that I'll respect." He told her.
"In that case," turning her head, Iwase called out towards the door, "Brief, come on out." She said, surprising the young student. Coming out from behind cover, her expression said it all. "Don't give me that look. You know I used to be a pro, so it would have been shameful if I didn't notice you. Well, what's your decision?"
"I understand if you need some time to think about it." Aizawa told her, pulling himself to his feet.
"No." As she spoke, she looked up, her eyes full of determination. "Despite everything that's happened, I need to get a whole lot stronger! Because this..." Her father's words began to echo through her mind, and she fought back tears. "This is a world that I'll protect with my life. And that's exactly why I have no doubt. I'll do it."