Chapter 308- Moving Forward
Toshinori ran as fast as his legs could take him to the operating room the nurse hastily told him his master would be in.
'I'm sorry, Young Midoriya, for leaving with no explanation, but!' He burst through the doors of the observation room, shocking some nurses who were watching in anticipation.
"Gran Torino- my master- what's happened?!" Toshinori called out to one of the doctors.
"A-All Might?!" The doctor yelped in shock. "W-We don't know what exactly happened, but Gran Torino's injuries suddenly reopened… We barely got him here not too long ago, but…"
Toshinori looked into the operating room, his master laid out on a table as doctors rushed around him, prepping tools and equipment for an emergency procedure. A blanket had been hastily thrown over the senior hero's body, a hole cut where his injury was.
The hole in Torino's stomach was bleeding profusely, the blood seeping into the blanket and onto the floor around the table. His eyes were sealed shut, an oxygen mask wrapped around his face. From where Toshinori was standing, he could tell his mentor was a deathly shade of pale.
"Please… Tell me…" Toshinori choked out. "Can the doctors help him?"
The doctor swallowed loudly. "Like I said, we just got him in here, but… There's only so much we can do for him. It's been nothing short of a miracle that he's survived up to this point."
Toshinori felt his heart sink into his stomach. The world seemed to tune out around him as his attention never left his master's face, so pale and sickly, but so calm and peaceful all the same.
'You can't die yet.'
The doctors around him moved around his table, plugging machinery into the hole to try and stop the bleeding while they attempted to seal the wound.
'Please, not yet.'
The doctors had to stop the procedure a few times to change equipment out for cleaner equipment, or to plug a new machine into Gran Torino, and every time Toshinori felt his heart race as he watched them do what he felt was anything but save his master.
'Nana… She wanted us… Me and Young Midoriya to give you her regards.'
Toshinori didn't realize it, but Recovery Girl had been rushed into the room by some doctors. By the time she reached Gran Torino's side, her face fell in despair. She looked at his injury, her eyes calculating but filled with terror.
Eventually she sighed. She shook her head as it lowered, and the doctors in the room visibly deflated. The lead doctor nodded to one of his subordinates, and they began shutting off the equipment and packing their tools up.
'No…' Realization settled in on Toshinori. 'No no no….' Toshinori continued to watch, eyes wide in despair, as the doctors and Recovery Girl stepped out of the room. He quickly met his gaze to Recovery Girl's, whose face was filled with absolute remorse.
"Toshinori…" She spoke, her voice shaking. "There's nothing more to be done. My quirk… It can't fix this. I'm… so sorry."
Toshinori felt everything come crashing down inside of him. He wanted to outrage, say there was something more to be done, anything to save his master.
'But that's not true.' He realized. He looked back into the operating room, his master laying on the table alone.
'Just like Nighteye…' His mind raced back to seeing his former sidekick, laying on an operating table with a giant hole in his chest. His final words, the last smile he ever had.
'No. Nighteye wasn't alone.' Looking at his master again, he was absolutely alone in that room, sans the few doctors still cleaning up the equipment.
'A world without smiles and humor has no bright future.'
"May I go in?" Toshinori asked. The lead doctor nodded wordlessly, and held the door open for him to walk inside the operating room.
Toshinori silently walked to the side of the table, holding back his tears.
"M-Master…" He spoke, his voice hoarse. Gran Torino shifted, his eyes barely open. He groaned as Toshinori took his hand and held it gently.
"T… Toshi…" Gran Torino wheezed out. It was clear that even staying awake was taking a lot of energy out of him. He was still fighting.
"Young Midoriya… and I… we spoke with Nana…" At this, Gran Torino's eyes opened a little more widely. "She… She wanted us to…"
Tears were pooling in Toshinori's eyes, and he couldn't fight them anymore. He was doing his best not to hiccup in front of his master, even in his incredibly weak state.
Torino's hand squeezed Toshinori's own hand tightly. Toshinori looked to his master, seeing his eyes, still full of light and curiosity. Toshinori heard the unspoken message- 'Wanted you to what? Spit it out, already!'
Toshinori inhaled deeply, then gave Gran Torino the most genuine smile he could.
"She wanted us to give you her best."
Gran Torino sighed, and a small smile crossed his face. His hand loosened in Toshinori's.
His breath hitched.
'Thank you…'
TWO WEEKS LATER
"Sheesh, this place is full of reporters." Hawks dryly commented, fidgeting with the tie hanging around his neck.
"This is what you wanted, isn't it?" Best Jeanist responded, smoothing his hair down for the millionth time. "A large crowd to hear the Number One's declaration?"
"I mean, yeah, but I'm starting to get nervous." Hawks said. "Did I brush my teeth enough?" He quickly breathed into his hand and smelled it to make sure. Best Jeanist rolled his eyes and turned towards said number one, who was sitting on the couch in their small waiting room.
"Endeavor, are you ready?" He asked. Endeavor silently nodded. He wasn't proud enough to not admit to feeling nervous, but he knew better than to let his nerves take over him. Not at a crucial moment like this.
They had decided to host the conference at Endeavor's agency, and the room had almost instantly been packed with reporters, all demanding for the number one hero to present himself immediately.
'Normally, I hate press conferences.' Endeavor thought to himself. 'Reporters are always nosy. The incompetent ones ask stupid questions that waste my time, and the more clever ones almost always nearly back me into a corner to answer questions I'd rather not. It's only thanks to UA's exceptional training program that allows me to navigate such conferences without causing too much of a stir, but that won't be the case today.'
Besides, this would be step one in their plan against Shigaraki and the League of Villains.
'Because of Shigaraki and Dabi's actions, the public's lost faith in the heroes.' He reflected as he stood up and began to walk out with his compatriots. 'While our primary focus will always be to stop Shigaraki and the League of Villains, we also need to regain the public's trust. With their trust and cooperation, we can more easily save and protect them.'
At least, that's what Hawks had told him. It was one thing to plan this out; it was an entirely different matter on whether or not it would happen, by the young hero's own admission.
'At the very least, these people want reassurance.' Endeavor concluded. 'To know that we've done nothing wrong, to be shining beacons in society. I can't offer them that.'
Hawks, Best Jeanist, and Endeavor emerged from their room, walking to the small table with some chairs and microphones set up for them. The room erupted into murmurs and grumbling, as lights flashed and reporters opened their notepads or laptops and prepared to write.
"Firstly, we'd like to thank you all for coming today, even with everything that's recently happened." Best Jeanist started. "We understand just making the journey here was dangerous for each of you, and for that we cannot apologize enough. As heroes, our duty is to make a society of safety and security for the people whom we serve. For us to allow any danger to be continuously present in your lives is unacceptable." He, Hawks, and Endeavor then bowed deeply.
"More than anything, however," Hawks continued, "We won't beat around the bush about why you're all here. Recently, there have been a number of accusations from the League of Villains member known as Dabi- who has called himself "Toya Todoroki" as of the recent war between ourselves and the Paranormal Liberation Front- that involve the three of us. We are all here today to clarify these accusations, starting with our primary subject of them, Endeavor." Hawks waved to Endeavor, letting him know it was his time to speak.
'I can't offer them reassurance.' Endeavor thought as he opened his mouth to speak. 'But what I can offer them is total honesty and clarity to who Endeavor- to who I am.'
And so, Endeavor told them everything about his family's dark history. He explained that Dabi had spoken the truth about their blood relation, how he treated his wife and children, and how specifically he had treated Toya and Shoto as carriers of his legacy rather than as his own children. He never once looked any one specific reporter in the eye, but he kept looking around the room, making sure they were each hearing him properly. When he was finished, he could hear the audience muttering in shock- some saying how he should've denied it, or how he had just ended his own career. But he tuned them out as he bowed in an apology- he had said his piece.
"The accusations about you may be true, but the ones about Hawks and Best Jeanist clearly weren't!" One notably observant reporter yelled at him. "What's all that about?!"
"My supposed assassination of Best Jeanist was a ploy to help me infiltrate enemy ranks." Hawks explained, his voice steady as he looked the reporter straight in the eyes. "It was misinformation on Dabi's part that led him to make those accusations. However, the rest of what he has said remains true- the bit about me concealing my father's identity as a known criminal was true. For that, I deeply apologize." Hawks bowed, his eyes closed.
"What about the fleeing villain?!" Another reporter asked. Hawks' eyes shot open, but he didn't look up at the crowd. "He said you killed a villain in cold blood! Is that true too?!"
Endeavor and Best Jeanist watched Hawks from the corner of their eyes, surprised at his silence.
'Normally he always has an answer…' Endeavor thought to himself.
Best Jeanist remembered Hawks' words about Twice when they went to his mother's house.
'That's why I think Bubaigawara was a good guy who was just desperate to be helpful. And I can't help but feel the same way.'
'Hawks…' Jeanist thought. 'Killing Bubaigawara truly shook you, didn't it? Please, let them know that! Let them see this side of you!'
Hawks suddenly stood up straight, his eyes still downcast. He took a deep breath in, then began to speak once more.
"It is true. I did murder the villain known as Twice as he was fleeing. But it was not done in cold blood." Hawks spoke. "Jin Bubaigawara, above all else, was an extremely dangerous threat. If I had not taken action the way I did, then we would be seeing massive destruction on a much larger scale." Reporters began murmuring and scrawling down notes as quickly as they could. Jeanist watched his friend warily as he opened his mouth to speak once again. "That is the cold-blooded rational part of my thinking, at least." The murmuring died down as Hawks turned his eyes back to the crowd.
"Being raised by the Public Safety Committee, I was trained to make decisions that would leave no room for doubts in my mind. Every decision I made had to be the best one, and I had to fully believe that in order to make those calls. But this… This time is very different for me.
"I saw a lot of myself in Jin Bubaigawara while I got to know him undercover. He was a villain, yes, but more than that, he was a troubled man who sought only to be useful to somebody. The League of Villains found use for him, and whether these uses were for nefarious purposes or not, he was happy to know there were at least some people who appreciated his contributions. I… Can't help but feel the same way. I wanted nothing more than to be of use to the people around me as a child- and even now, I still do." Hawks bowed deeply, the audience now silent in shock. "It speaks to my lack of character that I couldn't find a way to save him. His death- while beneficial in keeping society safe- was in no way a necessity. I will have to live knowing I made the wrong choice for the rest of my days." The room remained silent as Hawks rose from his bow. Endeavor remained looking into the crowd, silently monitoring for reactions, while Best Jeanist looked to his friend with a hidden pride and awe.
"A question, if I may?" One reporter finally spoke up. "During Gigantomachia's rampage, my mother was horribly wounded. You saying "sorry, it's all true" isn't going to change that- nor will it change any of the damage caused to anyone else!" She was now getting visibly angry, her fists clenched and her eyes wide with rage as she grit her teeth. "Do you have ANY idea how many people have lost their homes or their loved ones in just this last week?! How can you all stand here and let off all your regrets onto us while people are out there dying?! Villains may have done the damage here, but your actions are to blame as well! How can you sit here, without an ounce of remorse or guilt for any of that on your faces?!" The room was silent for a beat. Then Endeavor spoke up.
"If we showed you the full extent of our pain, exhaustion, and tears… Would that somehow fix everything?"
"Wha-" The reporter sputtered. "OF COURSE NOT! NOT WHEN THERE'S VILLAINS TO STOP, PEOPLE TO SAVE, A SOCIETY TO PUT AT EASE! THAT'S HOW-!" She suddenly stopped as realization hit her. "That's how…"
"You're exactly right." Endeavor responded. "That's how the three of us will atone."
"However, with the ranks of heroes thinning, we cannot deny that heroes are ill-equipped to protect the masses at large." Best Jeanist continued. "Therefore, our goal is to reduce the overall sphere of people who require our protection."
"WHAT?!" A reporter cried out. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?!"
"Following a discussion with the government, from today on U.A. High, Shiketsu High, and many other hero academies will put their expansive, well-secured campuses to use as designated evacuation shelters. The students' parents have already begun the process of taking shelter and providing assistance in these shelters."
"YOU'RE JUST GONNA LEAVE US IN SHELTERS WHILE YOU TRY TO FIGURE THINGS OUT?!"
"This is required in order to let us find a path forward." Endeavor explained. "We simply cannot be everywhere at once- we may be heroes, but we're still human. If we can see to it, however, that you're all safe in a select few locations, then this will make our burden slightly less heavier to bear. Our jobs as heroes is not just to defeat the villains, but to save the innocent people. With these shelters, we have more resources to do the latter so we can spend more energy doing the former.
"There are many heroes and officials working hard to put this plan into work, for all of your sakes. If you have any grievances, any criticisms, or any doubts- please, just direct every single one of them towards me and me alone." Endeavor's mask of flames ignited as he faced the crowd, a determined look crossing his face. "Please… Just watch me!"