AN: And we are back, ladies and gentlemen, with a brand-new chapter of My Hero Academia: Light in the Darkness! I hope you are all ready because, while we're not delving into the Star Wars part of the story just yet, we will get there. First, I want to showcase the reactions of Class 1-A when they find out that Izuku really wasn't the UA traitor. So, let's see how that turns out, shall we?
Disclaimer: I still don't own My Hero Academia or Star Wars: The Old Republic!
A Class's Guilt - Events set in Motion!
Class 1-A Dormitory
Things were really tense among the students of Class 1-A, and even more so with Class 1-B gathered there because of a mandatory meeting called by the teachers. Currently, everyone was gathered in the common room of the 1-A dorm along with their teachers. This included Present Mic, Midnight, Snipe, Thirteen, Power Loader, Vlad King, and of course, All Might. A.K.A. Toshinori Yagi. Not everyone was aware of the situation, but they all could tell that this had something to do with Midoriya. Especially since there was also a police detective present for this meeting. To be honest, there were some students among them who never believed Aizawa and his suspicions about Izuku being the UA Traitor just because he takes detailed quirk notes. I mean, don't quirk analysts do the same thing for a living?
Among those who didn't believe Aizawa were Momo, Jiro, Shoto, and Toru from Class 1-A, along with Itsuka, Shinso, Ibara, Pony, and surprisingly Monoma from Class 1-B and their teacher Vlad King. In fact, none of the other teachers really believed Aizawa's suspicions in regard to their school's resident cinnamon roll. They knew that Aizawa has always been paranoid since becoming a pro hero, and it seems that that paranoia had carried over to his job as a teacher.
I should probably explain who these people are, shouldn't I?
The hero course at UA is divided into two groups, which bothers Nezu's OCD because all of the other classes are divided into three groups. But anyway, these two class groups in the hero course are known as 1-A and 1-B, with the only difference each year being the number in the class name which represents what year the students are in. Classes 1-A to 3-A are taught by Eraserhead while classes 1-B to 3-B are taught by the Blood Hero: Vlad King.
The students of Class 1-A included Ochako Uraraka, Tenya Iida, Momo Yaoyorozu, or Yaomomo as some of her classmates call her, Shoto Todoroki, Mezo Shoji, Minoru Mineta, Toru Hagakure, Mina Ashido, Katsuki Bakugo, Kyoka Jiro, Tsuyu Asui, Mashirao Ojiro, Yuga Aoyama, Denki Kaminari, Eijiro Kirishima, Koji Koda, Rikido Sato, Fukikage Tokoyami and his sentient quirk Dark Shadow, Hanta Sero and of course Izuku Midoriya.
In Class 1-B there are Yosetsu Awase, Sen Kaibara, Togaru Kamakiri, Shihai Kuroiro, Itsuka Kendo, Yui Kodai, Kinoko Kimori, Ibara Shiozaki, Jurota Shishida, Nirengeki Shoda, Poni Tsunotori, Kosei Tsuburaba, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu… yes, that is his full name, and he is aware that both his first and last names are exactly the same… Setsuna Tokage, Manga Fukidashi, Juzo Honenuki, Kojiro Bondo, Neito Monoma, Reiko Yanagi, and Hiryu Rin. And while they're not as combat geared as Class 1-a in terms of quirks, they can use theirs in many versatile ways that can really help in many forms of heroics, although these are mainly for capture or rescue purposes.
"I suppose all of you kids are wondering why you're here." Toshinori said receiving nods from the students. "Well, we called this meeting to inform you all that your fellow students, Izuku Midoriya, is not the UA Traitor. And he never has been."
"Wait, what? Are you sure, Yagi-Sensei?" asked Kirishima, whose eyes had widened in shock at the news.
And he wasn't the only one.
"He's one hundred percent certain, young man. I performed the questioning myself soon after learning about the illegal interrogation performed on young Midoriya. I know he wasn't lying because of my quirk. It's literally called Lie Detector." Tsukauchi replied, a grim frown on his face.
If the majority of the students didn't feel guilty about how they treated Izuku before, they sure as hell feel the guilt over their actions, and in some cases inactions, now. Some of the more emotionally sensitive ones like Ochako, Tsuyu, Toru, Koji, and Mina began to tear up as they felt their guilt clawing away at them from the inside out. While others such as Tenya, Tokoyami, Rikido and Eijiro could only look down in shame, disgusted in themselves and their actions. They'd isolated and shunned their friend all because they thought him capable of being a traitor who would hurt them all or worse. And their only evidence was Aizawa's word!
"We did try to tell you all that Midoriya couldn't possibly be a traitor, but you ignored us." Momo said, tearing up a little bit herself.
But these were tears brought on by her relief that her friend's innocence had finally been proven.
"There is more to this, I'm afraid." Midnight interjected.
Now both classes were a little more on the confused side. They didn't understand. If Izuku's innocence had already been proven, what more was there to discuss besides the consequences of their actions?
They'd all soon wish they hadn't thought that.
"The little listener had been put through a horrible interrogation by a pair of overzealous cops who tried to literally beat a confession out of him. As a result, Midoriya has been hospitalized because of his injuries." Present Mic explained, almost tearing up himself as he remembered the bad news that Nezu had told them all. "The damage to his arms in particular was… severe."
"Mic-Sensei, what do you mean? What happened to Deku-Kun's arms?" Ochako asked.
"What he's saying, Uraraka, is that Midoriya's arms suffered the most damage from those cops beating him relentlessly. The bones within them from the shoulders down had been rendered little more than powder and bone fragments by the time Detective Tsukauchi arrived on the scene. The damage was too severe, and Midoriya was too low on stamina for Recovery Girl to even think about healing him with her quirk." Thirteen said as they looked away. "They were left with no choice, but to… amputate… Midoriya's arms."
Gasps of absolute horror resounded though the gathered students as they couldn't believe their ears! They knew that being pro heroes was a dangerous gig, and sometimes wasn't so glamorous, and they accepted that. They accepted the risks, the dangers, and the possibility of permanent injury near the beginning of the year. But they didn't think something like this would happen to one of them while they were still in school!
Monoma looked ready to puke as he said "I may not like you 1-A scum… but I never wanted anything like THIS to happen to any of you!"
He soon lost his resolve and ran to the nearest waste bin where he started to violently empty the contents of his stomach. Itsuka, ever the big sister of Class 1-B, was by his side in an instant rubbing his back as she tried to get him to calm down.
"Mon dieu…!" gasped Aoyama.
"Does… does this mean…?" Kaminari couldn't even finish his question.
"Fortunately, no, Midoriya will not be expelled from the hero course because of this." said Vlad King, who had also grown fond of the green cinnamon roll even though he'd never say it out loud. "Nezu has called in some favors and is currently working to get Midoriya some of the finest prosthetics one can possibly make. He will need ample physical therapy, and therapy in general after his ordeal, but he will still remain in the hero course unless he chooses to transfer elsewhere."
"And what about Aizawa-Sen… Eraserhead?" Shoto asked, refusing to acknowledge the underground hero as his sensei after this stunt he pulled.
"He'll be facing the full consequences for his actions, rest assured. And pending a psychiatric evaluation, he may even be losing his hero license." Snipe replied.
Shoto nodded. That news was good enough for him to know that Aizawa wouldn't be getting let off with just a slap on the wrist.
"We understand that this is a lot to take in, but don't let this incident stop you from becoming the heroes that we know you can all be. Don't let what happened define you, but rather use it as a learning experience so you don't let history repeat itself. It will take time and a lot of effort, but I'm sure that you can all earn young Midoriya's forgiveness and regain his trust. We know that while some of you believed in young Midoriya and didn't believe Eraserhead's suspicions, most of you were following the words and guidance of a teacher whom you trusted. So let this be a lesson to you all; take the words of others, especially suspicions, with a grain of salt." Toshinori said.
Having said their piece, the teachers left the dorms after informing the students that classes would be canceled for the next two weeks due to recent events that required their full attention, leaving the students alone with their thoughts.
It was a heavy atmosphere for every one of the students as they couldn't help but wonder how and why this all happened. But those that followed Aizawa's lead, like a flock of dumb sheep, knew that they had only themselves to blame for the tragedy that has befallen their green haired friend.
Hospital
Inko stood before the door to the hospital room trembling in fear and sorrow at what she'd see behind it. She knew that her son was behind that door, unconscious, hurt and armless. She didn't blame all of UA, but she did blame a certain underground hero for giving in to his paranoia and not only turning her own son's classmates against him, but also effectively ruining her baby boy's life! She didn't doubt that this experience would give Izuku PTSD and he'd no doubt have some lingering trust issues, especially when it comes to police and heroes.
She released a shuddering breath as she watched her unconscious son sleep in a medically induced coma. He had been cleaned of all of the grime and blood that had accumulated from that horrible interrogation, so at least he wasn't messy anymore, but that wasn't much of a good thing since his arms had been damaged so badly that they had to be amputated.
Izuku had been dressed in a hospital gown that concealed the multiple layers of gauze that had been wrapped around his upper torso after the surgery, and his face had some bandages on it to help prevent the smaller cuts from becoming infected. Izuku had a mask fit over his nose and mouth that was hooked up to a respirator to help him breathe better until he was physically healed enough to breathe normally again, but the worst part… or the very worst part… was the stumps where the poor boy's arms used to be. From the shoulders down, Izuku's arms had been amputated due to the damage done during the interrogation being completely irreversible, even for Recovery Girl's quirk.
It had pained the Youthful Heroine that it had come to such a thing for the poor boy, especially since she knew that if she didn't do this then it could possibly lead to even worse things happening. She had warned Izuku about what could happen to his arms if he continued to break them every time he used his quirk, but she didn't expect or want it to happen for real! The stumps where Izuku's arms used to be were also wrapped in gauze, and he had been hooked up to several IVs that were giving him the nutrients and medicine that he would need in this comatose state.
There was ONE silver lining, though.
Nezu was making good on his promise to Inko that Aizawa would be facing the consequences of his actions, and he would most certainly NOT be getting away with a mere slap on the wrist as the Hero Public Safety Commission would have probably wanted. No, he would no doubt be losing his teaching license for what he'd done and, pending a psychological evaluation, would probably lose his pro hero license as well. The UA principal had also assured Inko that her son would receive a pair of the finest prosthetic arms that technology could create. It would certainly take some time for Izuku to get used to such arms, but it was certainly a better alternative than having no arms at all. And they would be more than capable of withstanding the full power of Izuku's quirk so he wouldn't have to worry about destroying his arms when using his quirk in battle anymore.
Inko sniffled as she held in her tears and gently ran a hand through her son's hair, which was once again silky smooth and fluffy after having the blood washed out of it.
"My baby… you've suffered so much…" sobbed Inko.
She kissed her sleeping son's forehead and continued to run his hands through his hair, trying to comfort him even in his comatose state. Never let it be said that Inko has no motherly instincts. In fact, hers are probably on overdrive right now. She couldn't help but wonder what things would be like if Eraserhead had never found and read her son's hero analysis journal. Would her son have still been interrogated on false charges? Would he still have his arms?
So many questions left unanswered.
But Inko swore that she would oppose any force that would dare try to bring harm to her precious baby boy, even if she dies in the process! She won't allow anything like what has just happened to her son to happen to him again!
Little did she know that there were other forces at work in the universe. And they were going to give Izuku the power to be the hero that the universe needs, instead of the man that others would force him to be.
***To Be Continued…***
Ending AN: And so ends another chapter of this story! I know it's been a while since we last saw a chapter for this story, but I had other things I was working on, and having a lot on one's plate does make it difficult for one to actually work on anything. And unfortunately, the ongoing pandemic has done absolutely nothing for my motivation to work on any of my stories, really. But I'm gonna keep on keeping on and make sure that my stories finally reach completion! Also, the poll on my profile is still underway, so go over there and cast your votes if you haven't already. Be sure to review, fav, follow, and vote, and I'll see you all in the next chapter! See ya!
Poll Question: Which of these stories do you want me to continue & focus on after I've finished writing The Phantom of the Empire? (Please vote for up to 3 choices)
Poll Options…
Avatar The Heroic Flame: Book 1 (Water)
Predacon of the League
The Dragon King of the Espada
Digimon Frontier: Kuvira's Darkness Redeemed
My Hero Academia: Light in the Darkness
A Drunken Marriage of the Force
Reign Storm: A Hero and his Queen
GoD of Nerima
Pokemon Red - Barriss's Redemption(Remastered)
My Hero Academia: Consequences