Hello hello! Chapter 8 is here!

But before! The reviews:

lucariotnn01: Izuku was in Nurgle's realm after all, even if it's in his mind, Nurgle got control in there, thanks to powers that were given to him when Izuku created the god, and like it was said, the Plague God is a point of a balance, Izuku can't do much without breaking the said balance, it's logical that Nurgle uses that advantage to do things without having Izuku destroying him.

Kill king: Ectoplasm is indeed dead. Mineta would have died at a point. I had three projects for him. Getting destroyed by the Plague Marines, beeing corrupted by a Slaanesh demon in the future, or simply get destroyed by Battle Sisters because of his temper.

There's a lot worse coming for whole Japan in the future, not only for UA, don't worry about that ;).

Neiltanael: Yep, he will play aliens with the factions he brought. Until a point hehe...

camdawg: Oh, the gift is a very small one :).

Helljumper206: Ochako won't die, nor will her personnality change, however, she will keep the problems acquired.

Guest: Thank you!

Darkened Void: Ack- I expected that 'Ere We Go Boyz, Plus Ultra' would be mentionned at a moment. Well... I managed to read it some time ago... A good story! But no, I didn't borrowed ideas from it.

Darth Kyuubi kurama: Thank you :)!

XXxxxadisxxxXX: I understand your point.

For the dialogue, I am slowly trying to switch from that to the more... classic structuring.


Chapter 8 : USJ Aftermath.

/

"…Now, let's talk about a subject that has shaken the entire Japan, the attack on UA High School, a week ago…"

Began a man who had a horn protruding from his forehead. He adjusted his tie and glasses before picking up his file on the event.

"Six days ago, the school suffered an attack on one of its infrastructure. The eyewitness accounts of the staff and students present at the time indicate that the attack was carried out by villains who arrived in considerable numbers, apparently attempting to kill All Might, the symbol of peace, who is also a teacher at the school.

As the attack raged on, an unknown force appeared and began attacking the criminals, we will call it Alpha. Alpha also rescued scattered students within the facility according to the accounts of the staff and students present.

However, another unknown force, which we will call Beta, also emerged from portals, causing the criminals who fell under Alpha's assault to rise again, horribly disfigured. A furious battle ensued between Alpha and Beta, with the Alpha force assisted by the staff present. It was noted by pro-heroes that both sides were using exaggerated lethal force against each other, employing large-caliber guns or melee weapons. Weapons that are illegal.

The attack was eventually repelled, however, no witnesses could attest to how it was done. There is mention of azure giants falling from the sky, coming to assist Alpha and covering its retreat as they evacuated the staff.

The students and the school nurse say that several portals opened to disgorge medical supplies and what appeared to be doctors. They were accompanied by two white giants bearing the same emblem as the blue giants within the attacked facility. The newcomers immediately took charge of any wounded, using unorthodox and unthinkable methods for our time, referring to it as 'combat medicine.'

A police and medical personnel force, dispatched to the scene following the school's call, arrived too late to be of any use, however, we managed to collect several interviews with the doctors who were present on-site, who reported what they saw."

The man stopped talking, and a small window opened on a side of the screen, showing a man in a doctor's coat and wearing a surgical mask in front of a hospital entrance. The window then took up the entire screen…

"Tell us, Mr. Doi, what did you see and experience in this first aid camp?"

Asked a woman, pointing her microphone in front of the man's face…

"Well… It's very hard to explain precisely, but I'll try to do it as best as I can. When we arrived, we were immediately confronted by these famous azure giants, they were impressive, to say the least, as tall as All Might, if not more. They allowed us to pass only when what could have been a high ranking officer ordered them to do so. The police were taken aside and taken into the dome that had been attacked. As for us, me and colleagues from various hospitals in Musutafu, went into the camp.

I never thought I'd see such a thing. It looked like an army first aid camp. I've only seen one, but the sight was the same, everyone was running everywhere, but it was orderly. At one point, one of those two white giants approached us, he seemed on his guard, and a bit suspicious, he requisitioned me and two other doctors. All the way, I eyed his equipment, some sort of large saw on his backpack, and the massive drill he had on his gauntlet. I've never seen such esoteric medical equipment… He took us to a separate tent, where the heroine No.13 and a student were lying down, the student had been covered with some sort of matte green blanket, he ordered us to check on No.13's condition before leaving. I took advantage of his absence to check on the student…

Damn… How do I say this…

The student, if I'm not mistaken, is one of Endeavor's children, they had implanted a prosthesis in him, and I could still see the mark of a scalpel cut on his chest, they had stitched it up to close the wound… However… It was crude… It didn't seem well done, it was almost barbaric, the flesh was inflamed, red and swollen around where the prosthesis had been fixed. Anyway, it was disgusting. Unfortunately, it seemed to be too well fixed, and we couldn't remove it, even in the operating room.

I went back to my colleagues and we finished checking No.13, the work there was also bad. Almost rushed.

After that, the white giant returned, and allowed us to go wherever we pleased in the camp, but strictly forbidding us from interrupting any ongoing surgical operations.

I could see a few surgical operations… They used some sort of cyborgs… And if I understood correctly, it was them who were performing the operations. To say the least, they were brutal, too brutal to be assigned to medical tasks. But they were effective. I said earlier that the work done was crude and barbaric, but… when I saw how they were operating… It was certainly brutal, but it held up. It was a quick fix, but I could see that it would hold for a long time…"

"We thank you for your testimony, Mr. Doi…"

The video then cut off, and the presenter resumed speaking. "We have not managed to obtain interviews with the police, however, an image has leaked, and we have thus managed to retrieve it. Attention young or sensitive viewers, it's best if you don't watch."

An image opened in the corner of the screen before enlarging and taking over the entire screen. The presenter's voice continued, but from his intonation, one could tell he himself was uncomfortable.

"So here we see the violence of the confrontation between the Alpha and Beta forces, and the destruction they have caused."

The image showed a real battlefield, limbs, blood, and bodies everywhere, the surrounding terrain was cracked, sunken, and marked by the scars of violent clashes, large flies could be seen here and there, nameless filth puddles had formed on the ground, and all to the left of the image, could be seen a lake whose water had turned black, surrounded by stunted, dead trees, dripping with vile liquids. One could almost smell the stench of decay wafting through the television screen. The image disappeared, and the presenter returned, his skin a slight greenish tint.

"As you have seen, the confrontation was brutal. It caused several injuries of varying degrees among the students and staff, the death of a pro-hero and teacher of the establishment, Ectoplasm, as well as a student. Nearly a hundred villains lost their lives in the confrontation, as well as several deaths among the Alpha and Beta forces. Any DNA analysis of the latter is impossible, and the infrastructure has been quarantined due to unknown biological danger. It is planned by UA to clean the area using fire."

The man adjusted his glasses.

"The first aid camp disappeared as soon as the wounded were treated, leaving no trace behind. The origin of these two forces is unknown, however, this damage and violence can be linked to the incident that occurred four days before this event, where a student of the establishment used his quirk to coldly kill three villains instead of apprehending them. However, the lack of evidence of his involvement cannot link him to this case. A suspect can, however, be connected, we will talk about it just after. We would like to remind you that this afternoon there will be a conference in which UA will discuss this accident and new measures created by the establishment…"

The man set his file aside and picked up another, he cleared his throat before speaking.

"Now, let's talk about the main suspect. A new vigilante has recently appeared, his first official intervention was four days ago, during a hostage situation, and he caused the death of all the criminals present. He seems capable of summoning technologically advanced and sometimes non-human armed forces, as demonstrated by his intervention two days ago. No one knows his true identity…

His name being…

Doomsday…"

The TV crackled before exploding as a beam of energy pierced it, while a vehicle skidded, narrowly avoiding crashing into the storefront where the screen had been placed. The white van mounted the sidewalk, almost mowing down several people who screamed in panic, scattering in all directions, some on all fours, some jumping out of the way. The van swerved back onto the road, swaying from side to side before its engine roared, propelling the vehicle forward.

"By the grace of Tau'va!" cursed Izuku. He made a quick motion with the control stick, and the TX4 Piranha, painted in the colors of the Farsight Enclaves, made a sharp turn, narrowly avoiding hitting the store that the other fire warrior in the vehicle, Ksi'm'yen Jol'erk, his gunner, had hit after a sudden turn of the van they were chasing into a perpendicular street.

Izuku was shaken in the open cockpit, but he pushed the lever forward as soon as he was sure they wouldn't hit another building. The Piranha swayed from side to side, stabilizing for a moment before charging forward as pedestrians screamed in fear and surprise at the appearance of the vehicle.

They found themselves back behind the vehicle zigzagging through traffic, the van narrowly avoiding crashing into other vehicles, and the Piranha floating just above the roofs of the cars.

"Locked!" shouted Ksi'm'yen Jol'erk, before pressing a button. The burst cannon mounted at the front of the vehicle fired , causing the van to make a sharp turn, as the energy beams crackled on the rear right door of the vehicle, piercing the hull easily and blackening it around the impacts.

The rear doors of the vehicle flew open, and a long-barreled rifle was pointed at them. Izuku, as soon as he saw it, pulled on the stick again, the TX4 tilting slightly to the left.

The shot echoed like thunder in the street, and fortunately, it bounced off the Piranha's armor, still leaving a dent due to the impact. The green-haired boy, in a reflex, couldn't help but raise his hands and put them on his head. He heard his gunner cry out in surprise behind him.

There was a loud explosion that shook the street, causing new cries of fear, panic, and pain. The blast shook the Piranha, propelling it two meters to the side, a car that didn't have time to stop passing underneath the Piranha, and its antenna smashed against the hull, sending a piece of said antenna flying, striking the side of Izuku's helmet.

The boy was slightly stunned for a few brief seconds before regaining his composure and restoring the stability of the antigrav vehicle.

The green-haired boy glanced in the direction of the explosion as soon as the Piranha stopped swaying. The shot that the armor had deflected had hit the engine of a parked vehicle, causing an explosion that had injured nearly 4 people and overturned the nearest car on its side. The heroes would handle that. For now. He had robbers to catch.

He searched for the van. He spotted it two hundred meters ahead, thanks to his helmet optic, zigzagging again through traffic. A man with a bucket head was high-fiving his accomplice, who held an old anti-tank rifle, Tau'va knows how they found that.

Izuku growled. And launched the TX4 after them again, through his helmet radio, he asked his teammate.

"Release the two Kor'vesh, we need them."

He heard no response, but a few seconds later, in a buzz of antigravity plates, the two drones attached to the ends of the Piranha's wings rose into the air. Izuku designated the van as the target, and the two machines flew, closely followed by the antigrav vehicle. As soon as they were within effective range, the drones opened fire. He saw the two criminals in the back duck as energy beams pierced the compartment. A hatch at the top of the vehicle opened, and someone began shooting from the co-driver's seat. The targeted drone dodged the shots and counterattacked, a devastating burst ravaging the front of the vehicle, Izuku hearing a scream and the sound of shattered glass.

The van made a turn too sharp to be intentional, went over the median separating the two lanes, and flipped over to crash onto another vehicle.

One of the two criminals in the back, the man with the anti-tank rifle, was catapulted out of the vehicle and hit a light pole, twisting his spine at an improbable angle before falling to the ground limp.

The green-haired boy stopped the vehicle near the accident and grabbed his Twin Pulse Carbine before jumping out of the cockpit and cautiously approaching the van. He first checked the back. The man with the water bucket head was knocked out and probably wouldn't wake up anytime soon.

A buzzing noise surprised him, and he turned his head, pointing the barrel of his gun at the source of the sound, calming down from the sudden stress only when he saw that it was one of the drones circling around the overturned vehicle.

Izuku then went to check the front…

He glanced inside… And immediately withdrew his head as a bullet grazed the helmet. He pointed the gun inside and blindly fired until he heard a scream and the sound of something metallic hitting the ground.

"Are you okay?" Ksi'm'yen Jol'erk asked from the Piranha, and Izuku responded affirmatively with a grunt before glancing back inside.

The driver was dead, no doubt… Cranial trauma after crashing headfirst into the dashboard. The co-driver was agonizing, a pool of blood forming beneath him, dripping from his chest where Izuku had hit him. The greenette hesitated no more and shot a beam of energy into his head. He then turned to glance at the crashed vehicle. In the meantime, his gunner recalled the drones, which returned to anchor themselves to the Piranha's wings.

Damn… Izuku felt his heart tighten… No…

"Ksi'm'yen Jol'erk, I need your help.", he said in a morose voice over the radio.

"What's wrong?"

"The primitive vehicle that crashed. A family inside. I can't see well, but I think one of the adults is dead."

He heard a grunt…

"By the grace of Tau'va… You want us to help these Gue'la?"

"Affirmative."

"But… Shas'ui… These…"

"I know. Except for these four, the other Gue'la are not hostile."

He heard a sigh, and the radio went silent. He turned his head in time to see his teammate jump out of the vehicle after grabbing his rifle and rushing over. Izuku noticed people slowly returning but keeping at a safe distance, mostly taking out their phones to film. He raged internally but couldn't help shouting, his helmet translating his words into something understandable.

"It would be nice if someone got off their ass to help these poor people!" There was a recoil, but no one stepped forward.

Izuku seethed with anger. At that moment, there was a shot as an energy bolt blew off the hinges of the car's front door, which fell with a metallic clang. Ksi'm'yen Jol'erk leaned inside and pulled out an unconscious woman. Izuku could hear fearful cries from the back through the opening.

The greenette approached and blew off the hinges with a shot. Again, the door fell with a loud thud, eliciting more panicked screams from inside. Izuku leaned in. A young boy, maybe 11 years old, in shock, and a baby screaming at the top of its lungs. He unbuckled the boy and pulled him out of the car. He carried the boy and placed him near where his mother had been laid by the gunner. The boy immediately threw himself onto her, shaking her desperately until the woman groaned…

Izuku watched the scene from behind his visor, and his heart clenched at the sight, before turning to retrieve the baby. He emerged a few seconds later with the infant. He placed the child next to its mother and brother, while in the distance, sirens began to be heard, and sirens meant Police, and Police also meant pro-heroes.

After depositing the kid, he turned to Ksi'm'yen Jol'erk to ask him to come help him get the other adult out. They had to act quickly if Izuku didn't want to face the police or the heroes. But the other fire warrior shook his head, hands covered in blood. Izuku understood and lowered his head; the father was dead.

"We're getting out of here…", Izuku ordered in a terse voice after composing himself. The two sprinted to their vehicle. And once aboard, Izuku backed up the TX4 before taking off in a roar of engines…

Izuku returned home as soon as he regained a human form and made the TX4 and the gunner disappear. He wasn't stupid; he wasn't going to transform in front of everyone, so he came to these woods, where few people passed by, it was quiet enough... And then... It allowed Izuku to reflect after an intervention...

Because of him, a family had lost a father... He blamed himself, yes. But not so much after all, it was a game of destiny; exposure to years of conflict had taught him that no matter what was done, there would always be collateral damage among civilians, intentional or not. Always move forward, and forget the past. That's what people did to avoid madness in the midst of a universe plunged into war. And then... The world... Always forgot... The family would mourn for a while, then they would forget. It would still leave scars...

Speaking of scars...

He lifted his T-shirt slightly and checked the scar he had on his ribs; he still wondered what the God of Plague meant, what Tzeentch had told him... He had to part ways very quickly with his 'present', and thankfully... That was actually the first thing he had done...

Flashback

Izuku sat on his bed... Damn... Conversations with his mother were always long... Very long... Especially when he left like that without telling anyone. He had decided to tell his mother everything... The confrontations, the attack, everything... Except for two things. His encounter with Nurgle...

And that damned gift. Lifting his T-shirt, he glanced disgustedly at the three slimy tentacles that rose, almost hissing at the touch of the clean air in his room... It was just a harmless outgrowth, but... It was a mark of the Dark Gods, so he had to get rid of it. Now he needed equipment. Sure, it would be improvised, but he had seen enough surgical operations in his head to know how to avoid bleeding out in his room...

He took a knife from the back pocket of his pants... He had managed to grab it while going to the kitchen under the pretext of getting water, and his mother hadn't noticed anything, as they were discussing how he had managed to pass the UA barrier. He laid the blade on the bed... Then, he headed to his desk, which looked more like a mechanic's workshop than anything else, with all the plans, sketches, tools, and much more... He began searching for suitable tools...

He had decided to try to build a bionic that resembled those worn by the Imperium; his eye injured by Katsuki had bothered him enough. After almost spending all his pocket money on materials, he could finally start his project... The reason he decided not to use a bionic crafted by the Adeptus Mechanicus was simply because those made by cyborgs were effective, but most of them were uncomfortable... If not all.

He finally found what he was looking for... A wrench and a soldering iron... That would do...

At the same time, Inko called out.

"Izuku! I'm going out! I need to buy a few things for dinner!"

The greenette responded immediately.

"Okay! See you later!"

Perfect, he could operate on himself in peace... And not in his room this time.

He waited for his mother to leave the apartment before immediately slipping into the bathroom. He arranged his tools in the bathtub, then removed his T-shirt and climbed in himself...

He took the knife and cast a final disdainful glance at the tentacles wriggling in all directions, sometimes oozing vile fluids. He seized them firmly before grunting.

"Farewell, you filth."

He placed the knife at the edge of the tentacles, where they met the skin... And he cut with a sharp motion.

He gritted his teeth, almost breaking them, the pain was so intense. His nerves were overwhelmed by signals of pain, and he dropped everything he had in his hand. The knife fell with a loud clatter into the bathtub, as the tentacles fell with a soft thud, already curling and decaying, into the tub.

He brought his hands to his side where blood was already appearing, dripping into the tub and forming small red marks.

Izuku removed his sweaty and trembling hands from his side and managed to bend down to pick up the soldering iron and the wrench. He screamed as a sharp pang of excruciating pain pierced his side, as if a nail were being driven between his ribs and into the wound...

He turned on the soldering iron and pointed it at the wrench... He had nothing to solder, however, he needed to heat it...

Once hot enough, he pressed the burning iron onto the wound... A new wave of pain shot through his body, and Izuku writhed in agony, but he kept the iron pressed against the wound despite the pain... He blacked out for a split second, almost dropping everything and falling, but he regained himself, and after three minutes of excruciating pain, he removed the wrench...

He stepped out of the bathtub, trembling and sweating profusely, but at least the job was done...

The greenette sat on the floor... Letting the pain pass... And about fifteen minutes later... He could finally stand up... He still hurt, but the pain was bearable...

Well, afterward, he should monitor the wound, it will heal faster... However... There were risks of infection, the scab falling off and causing another bleeding, or even... that he had actually further damaged the skin and organic tissues.

He picked up his tools and put them away, then, before his mother returned, he took the wrinkled and rotten tentacles, as well as the knife, stuffed them into a trash bag, and threw them deep into the kitchen trash can.

After all that, he cleaned the bathtub, grimacing still due to the lingering pain, then, he allowed himself a well-deserved afternoon of rest...

End of flashback

Izuku continued to walk the dirt paths until he emerged from the woods and returned to the monotonous backdrop of the city.

The boy, as he silently walked the streets, hood raised to conceal his face, observed the people passing by and listened to some conversations. Since the USJ incident, that was the only topic. He heard the horror in people's voices, the indignation, the fear, and the shock. The echoes of the devastation caused by the clashes between Adeptus Astartes and Death Guard had left a mark on the people, and he wouldn't be surprised if many were withdrawing their children from school, or if his classmates decided to change their career paths. The fact that such a prestigious school had been attacked, one of its teachers killed, and one of its students killed, did not help UA at all. He shrugged; it wasn't really his concern now; now, he had to watch over a city, right?

He finally arrived in front of his apartment building and climbed the stairs. He took out his keys with a swift movement from the pocket of his pants and opened the door...

His mother wasn't there, probably out shopping... Inko was the only person he had spoken to about vigilantism, about what he had become since the doors of heroism had closed with his expulsion from UA... And the fact that Japan as a whole probably knew his face because of the news. Inko had initially categorically refused to let him endanger himself like that, but Izuku had eventually convinced her. And it was mostly thanks to the fact that he was really stubborn. He had harassed her until she gave in... Which she did.

As he entered, he had a sigh of relief... This patrol was finally done... A little early, yes, but it was done, he went in the living room, grabbing the TV remote to turn it on, he wanted to see what would be said in this event, one that Japan expected...

/

The press conference...

Shota Aizawa didn't like the press, and never had. Firstly because he was an underground hero, secondly because the press asked completely absurd questions or tried to portray them as incapable, and thirdly, it was because they circled like vultures around everything.

He was the last to step onto the stage, giving a nod to All Might and a cold, hostile, and contemptuous look to the principal, and his appearance was marked by astonishment in the journalists' eyes.

He was covered in yellowish bandages, looking more like a mummy than anything else. However, he had made an effort to present himself, gathering his mass of black hair into a bun, and managing to change into a suit and tie. The doctors had advised him to avoid exerting too much strain on his body, as some of his bones hadn't completely healed, even with the use of a healing quirk similar to Recovery Girl's as soon as he could be moved to the hospital. The doctors hadn't had the courage to touch the bandages that the mysterious men from the rescue camp had put on him. He had no details, unconscious as he had been, but the accounts of his colleagues, as well as the press, had helped him to know what had happened during his unconsciousness. And he didn't like it at all.

Not at all.

Flashback

"I just have one question... why... Why... WHY!"

Shota yelled, slamming his only valid hand on the desk hard. His single visible eye amidst the mass of bandages gleaming with rage...

"You told me Midoriya had seen something despite the death of that woman. And now I know what it was... He KNEW! WHY DIDN'T YOU LET HIM SPEAK?"

It was rare for the tired teacher to lose his composure. But now...

Nezu looked at him, slouched in his chair, hands on his knees, wearing a serious expression, and didn't respond, letting the storm pass.

"YOU COULD HAVE PREVENTED THIS... DISASTER! AND NOW LOOK WHERE WE ARE! WE'VE LOST A STUDENT, AND WHO KNOWS IF THE OTHER INJURED STUDENTS IN MY CLASS WILL SURVIVE! THEY MAY HAVE BEEN TREATED, BUT WHO KNOWS IF THE DAMAGE WON'T BE PERMANENT?"

His students had suffered the most from the attack, and when he spoke of damages, he meant both physical and psychological harm; some of his students had seen horrifying things during that attack, things that even experienced pros would struggle to bear...

"ECTOPLASM IS DEAD! AND HOUND DOG HAD TO RETIRE FROM HEROISM DUE TO DAMAGE TO HIS SMELL AND MUSCLES THAT WAS ONLY DISCOVERED WHEN HE COLLAPSED IN THE TEACHERS' ROOM! ALL BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPIDITY!"

On that note, Aizawa calmed down somewhat, although a throbbing vein was still visible on his temple. Nezu waited for a few extra seconds...

"I was only doing my duty as the principal of this institution, Mr. Aizawa."

That response was like a hammer blow to Shota.

"Excuse me?" he asked, his voice dangerously low.

The white rodent leaned on his desk...

"I was only doing my duty. Izuku Midoriya was a danger to everyone. And his quirk is uncontrollable. Look at what happened at the USJ..."

"What does that have to do with the USJ..."

Aizawa growled, his anger intensifying another notch. He was on the edge of killing the fucking rat right now…

"This damage... This violence... Izuku Midoriya instigated the confrontation. Intentionally, or unintentionally. I know it for a fact. I may lack the necessary evidence, and the police does too, but Izuku Midoriya told me about his quirk at the beginning of the school year, to me and Power Loader, he explained to us what his quirk really is. A world of war and death. Where peace does not exist, where hope and joy disappear under barrages of shells. If I'm not mistaken... Space Marines, Adeptus Astartes, that's what he called those from Alpha. Death Guard, that's the name of Beta... I made a mistake by not asking him. And I admit it. I prioritize safety. What would have happened if Midoriya had let slip such things in front of your students? The same thing would have happened. And after that, imagine it in public. Your colleagues and students clearly saw the resilience and strength of these creations. The carnage would have been immense and inevitable..."

Suddenly, something appeared to Shota... A brief flash... And something he had tried to forget came rushing back all at once...

His conversation... With that thing... That giant bird-like creature...

Nezu's point was valid... He couldn't deny it. He couldn't imagine what would have happened if the bird creature appeared to peoples... He had seen the violence he unleashed with the sort of law enforcement troops... And if the USJ was his doing... Then...

Nezu continued, with an incisive voice.

"You might think that I only thought about the image of the school by excluding him. That is just a fraction of my reasons. I stifled a threat in the bud. A threat that could have caused much more damage in the future than now at the USJ."

The rat was right... But Shota didn't want to give up. One of his students had been killed in the attack; he couldn't accept that.

"So you preferred to sacrifice children?"

The man fumed.

"You preferred to cause the death of children to ensure the well-being of the future? They have a life ahead of them, and you want to ruin it? What kind of person are you?"

"A rat. You have a big heart, Aizawa, and you care about your class. I appreciate people like you. However, your anger blinds you. It pains me to admit it, but yes. I preferred to sacrifice children now rather than millions of others in the future."

Shota grimaced behind his bandages... He understood the relentless logic of the school principal... But it was... Nasty.

"You're a heartless monster..."

Nezu's gaze hardened just a little.

"Perhaps, but I am realistic."

Shota closed his eyes, breathing forcefully to calm himself. Which he didn't succeed in. He slammed the desk again with his hand...

"You've just shattered the trust of our students, their parents, and the people in us all! We're supposed to be their guardians, their protectors... And instead, you decide to play... play… GOD... And decide who has the right to live and die!"

Nezu took it without flinching...

"Trust can be rebuilt over time. Death is irreversible, whether now or in the future."

The rodent replied coldly. Shota looked at him with disgust...

"You're an abomination. A monster, Nezu. The only thing holding me back from resigning on the spot is my class and the children I have to take care of..."

End of Flashback

And as he recalled the scene, the press conference began. Questions started flying in all directions, and All Might had to calm the crowd...

Once that was done, the questions could be asked. Everything proceeded normally, questions about security, future plans, and so on were asked... Until a journalist with blue skin and pink hair spoke up...

"Can we consider this attack on your infrastructure as a sign of weakness among heroes and your institution?"

At this question, Shota gritted his teeth, which was hidden by his bandages; he saw the objective of the question and perfectly understood the intention to try to corner them behind it; he tried to speak up... But Nezu was quicker.

"No. We cannot characterize this attack as a sign of weakness among heroes. They did their best to protect the students, and some did so at the cost of their lives. However, this attack did indeed reveal the lack of reliability of our security equipment. On that, I concede the point. We will do everything to track down and correct any possible security flaws our institution may have.

We were overconfident in believing that the UA barrier would be sufficient to protect us, which apparently is not the case. We also plan to strengthen our security with new, more advanced security systems than those we already possess."

Shota saw a cruel smile form on the woman's lips.

"However, the intervention of heroes did not prevent the death of one of your students, nor the serious injuries inflicted on others. Only the arrival of this mysterious force Alpha saved your skin and prevented further losses."

Shota grunted before speaking up.

"I don't think you know what my colleagues had to deal with. You're asking a question without knowing the details. My colleagues fought tooth and nail for the protection of our students, despite opponents who far outmatched them. The Alpha force may have saved us from Beta and the villains, but faced with Beta, my colleagues held the line to prevent the monstrosities of Beta force from breaking through and attacking the evacuated students. You mentioned the death of Minoru Mineta and the injuries to some of our students. But did you mention the death of Ectoplasm, or the retirement of Hound Dog, or the injuries inflicted on No.13? No."

The woman bit her lip and began looking left and right... Searching for something to respond to.

"The injuries suffered by your students... Why didn't you prevent them? Why weren't you there when they needed you?"

Shota immediately responded.

"No.13 and I were the first ones able to react. Our students were scattered by a villain with a rare teleportation quirk. We couldn't, as a pair, rescue all our students at the same time..."

/

"... We don't have cloning quirks, so our striking force was reduced. No.13 was taken out in a very sneaky way, leaving me alone to face all the adversaries. One of our students managed to escape to alert the rest of the staff, who arrived later. I had to focus on defending the students I could protect. Protecting students against so many enemies, even with the assistance of a mysterious sniper, supposed to be the new vigilante, Doomsday, isn't simple. Our-"

The TV shut off on that sentence, leaving the room in silence...

"Anyway... You won't be going into heroics anymore, Kyoka...", said Kyotoku, looking at his daughter... Miko was sitting on a chair, watching her with the concern of a mother...

The bluenette was nestled against her father, still looking at the now-darkened screen... Lost in her thoughts... No... She wouldn't return to heroics... She had decided to leave the program to switch to general studies... Maybe pursue a career in music? Her brief visit to a hospital, the echoes of deafening gunfire echoing in her head, the spurts of blood as men were hit, bursting like overripe fruits, falling on the ground with lifeless eyes as the green giants advanced... If that was heroism... If it was nothing but blood, mud, and death... And if what they showed on TV was false? Arranged to make the profession seem glorious? And in truth, people were dying in that manner, criminals or civilians seeing their bodies torn apart by said heroes or criminals?

She stood up, groaning as she took a breath... Followed by a mechanical whistling that filled the room as she exhaled.

The bluenette saw her father and mother grimace at the sound, which unfortunately had become a daily occurrence every time she breathed in or out...

"I'm going to my room...", the bluenette said under her breath, followed by another mechanical whistle. She turned her back and set off to accomplish the feat of climbing the stairs... It took her about twenty minutes, literally, to climb sixteen steps.

Despite the little exercises she did every morning, her body was adapting too slowly to the lung prosthesis, and she was afraid her body would reject it...

She opened the door to her room and entered, her gaze fondly passing over the instruments that decorated the room... Guitars, a drum set... Jiro sat on her bed and reached out to grab her phone from her dresser.

When her screen lit up, she found she had... Nearly 12 notifications... The bluenette let out a small amused giggle...

She and Kaminari seemed to be in for an evening of texting it seems...

/

"… Our students, despite the situation, even if they were outnumbered, fought with bravery, I am sure about that…", the old TV said…

Ochako Uraraka took time to process and understand everything... And it took her even longer to put on a small sad smile...

The teachers had appreciated their courage... Sensei had praised them, and she was glad about that...

However...

She wouldn't see Mr. Aizawa in class anymore... She had wanted so much to assist her parents as a hero, in a conceivable future... But the door had closed in front of her... Depriving her of her goal... And there was also that..

The blood, guts and death... The horror... The illusion of her dead body… She didn't wanted that to become her life...

The brunette got up to go grab herself a glass of water, her right arm hanging by her side... Using her now only valid arm, she opened the cupboard and took out a glass... Sighing, she filled it from the tap and drank slowly, savoring the crystal-clear water flowing down her healing throat. She was temporarily mute, but at least she was healing slowly... It was as if she had had a particularly violent bronchitis.

That was the only thing the doctors had managed to treat... Her pancreas had been... Replaced by a prosthesis, which did its job fairly well...

But those weren't the most serious damages...

It was her brain that had been most violently attacked... As a result, she had some trouble processing and understanding information, occasional latency periods before her body made a move, and finally... Complete paralysis of her right arm... She couldn't continue on the hero path with so many issues... So… The brunette changed course… And went into management…

Ochako then walked over to a window and looked outside... She was expecting someone today... Well... Two people... A taxi stopped in the street a few seconds later...

Ah... There they were...

Her parents had spent a lot to come visit her... She was glad they had finally arrived... Besides, it had been a while since the brunette had seen them...

With a latency period of a few seconds, she turned around and went to open the door to greet them...

/

Tenya Iida stood solemnly in the living room of the Iida household, watching the television... But he was only half there, to be honest...

Overnight, his goal had suddenly shifted... He still wanted to become a hero, to defend the honor and values of the family and to represent what being a hero truly meant... But now, he has a new objective...

Becoming a pro hero for his friends. He needed to push himself for them, for his comrades... He felt immensely guilty; he had blacked out in the teachers' lounge as soon as he arrived and delivered his warning message. Thus, he couldn't be there for the hell his classmates had endured.

He found it unfair that he couldn't help... That he couldn't support his comrades who needed it... Both morally and physically...

"I know that look, Tenya..."

Said Tensei with a sigh, leaning in the doorway of the room... Iida hadn't heard his older brother arrive, so deep was he in his thoughts.

"Do you blame yourself for not being there?"

The bespectacled boy turned to his brother... He maintained his serious expression, though a barely perceptible hint of guilt could be seen in his eyes... But he spoke candidly.

"Yes, Tensei, I blame myself for what happened to my classmates. The very essence of a hero is to be there to support and help those in need, and I failed in that task."

Tensei sighed and approached his younger brother, kneeling before him...

"Iida... You may not have been able to be there for your classmates at that moment, but you helped them. You told us you exhausted yourself to the point of fainting while running to warn the teachers and staff of the danger. You did the best you could. Without you, more of your classmates would have died... You weren't there with your classmates, but your action saved them. Your friends and comrades may have been injured, but without your action, it could have been much worse..."

And so, Tensei wrapped his arms around Iida and hugged him.

"You have nothing to blame yourself for, Tenya..."

Iida, after a moment of surprise, returned the embrace to his brother...

/

Bakugo slammed forcefully into the wall of his room with his fist...

This bunch of extras... These men in black armor... These good-for-nothings... He couldn't believe it... He had been impressed by their presence, and he had... FALLEN BACK!

Fallen back, for heaven's sake.

Him! The future Number One! Impressed by a bunch of clowns waving swords in the air! And he had backed down. In front of people who weren't worth more than damn Deku.

What hero would he be if he retreated at the first problem or the first unexpected appearance? The answer was simple.

He wouldn't be a hero in that case.

Real heroes were holding the line in the face of adversity. They were spitting their hate in the face of death when it was coming, telling it to go fuck itself. They were going onward whatever the fuck would happen. In whatever situation. Always forward, no retreat, no respite until the opponent was brought down.

And if a hero would die, he would bring the fucking villain WITH him.

Tsk...

It wouldn't happen ever again...

He glared swords with his eyes as he looked around his room to let his anger pass on something, finding nothing, he sent another punch into the wall...

And from downstairs came his mother's voice...

"BAKUGO, STOP HITTING THE DAMN WALL! AND COME PREPARE THE FUCKING PEPPERS!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP OLD HAG!", screamed back Bakugo…

/

Denki was very happy to finally start receiving responses from Jiro... And he couldn't help but let out a small cry of joy.

And on the other side of the couch, his father, Takei Kaminari, smiled...

"Your girlfriend?"

Denki immediately regretted his uncontained burst of joy and turned red with embarrassment.

"I- I don't have a girlfriend!"

There was a chuckle behind him. And an arm was slung over his shoulder as his sister jumped onto the couch beside him.

"Come on! We know you have one! Is she pretty?"

"Oh no! Not you too, Ehara! I thought you were on my side!"

He instinctively moved his phone out of her reach; his sister was 18 and didn't hesitate to tease him. Traitor, she had said she would help him. His sister had a wide smile.

"Be glad Mom's at work, she'd jump on that occasion without hesitation."

Suddenly, his father burst into laughter, drawing the confused Denki's attention. And he didn't realize his mistake. His phone was snatched from his hand with a quick movement.

"So... Kyoka Jiro... Jiro-chan? You've already found a nickname for her?"

Denki turned around abruptly, his eyes shooting sparks at his little brother, Okano Kaminari. At twelve years old, he was the worst of demons.

"Give it back, Okano!" Denki pleaded, realizing suddenly that he could find out everything about her and tease him about it as he pleased... However, his little brother's expression suddenly darkened...

"It's that girl you talked about... The one whose lung was replaced with a mechanical alternative..."

The mention of that chilled the room's atmosphere in an instant... His father lowered his eyes with a saddened look... His sister's hand on his shoulder clenched into a fist as her gaze went blank, becoming as hard as rock...

Denki had left the hero path because of that. He had done so of his own free will. He didn't want to die. Instead... He had managed to be accepted into a school that taught medical professions; he would still save people, but by using his own body as a living defibrillator.

It would still allow him to save people, even if it was in a different way than what he originally aimed for...

"Your stomach and liver... Are they okay?" Okano asked.

Denki nodded slowly. His liver and stomach had been damaged by the bull man when he was impaled in place of Jiro... He brought a hand to his side, as if he could touch it directly. He didn't feel the stomach prosthesis, however, when he ate, he felt it kick in... Making him sometimes a little nauseous due to unnatural movements made by the mechanical stomach. However, his liver couldn't be completely replaced, only half of it was, as a result, he had nutrition problems and ate less.

"Don't... think about that... It's in the past..." Denki said softly... He took a breath...

"Yes... I have a girlfriend..."

And with that statement, the bad mood was chased away...

/

Eijiro Kirishima stepped out of the store carrying the shopping bags his mother had asked him to buy...

"Kirishima!"

Suddenly called a voice behind him, he turned his head, tilting it in curiosity...

And Mina almost knocked him over as she jumped on him. He just managed to hold onto his bags before they fell.

"Wow!"

Exclaimed the red-haired boy, raising his arms in front of his friend's embrace (he hadn't yet mustered the courage to admit to himself that he liked her)...

"I was so worried! With all the chaos in that camp... I couldn't see you... And since the classes stopped immediately, I couldn't tell if you were okay..."

Kirishima was touched by so much attention, and even blushed a little, giving a shy smile with his shark-like teeth...

"Yeah... I'm fine... Did you see our injured classmates or not?"

"Yaoyorozu, Jiro, Uraraka, Kaminari, and Todoroki? I briefly saw them, but no, I couldn't see them... Hagakure and I tried to go see them... But... One of the two giants in white stopped us from passing. When Hagakure tried to go around him, silently though, he turned around abruptly, grabbed her by the arm, and put her back in front of him. I won't even tell you Hagakure's protest when she realized the man could see her..."

Kirishima chuckled slightly.

"Ah... What was said?"

Mina chuckled too.

"She called the giant a pervert, but the man coldly replied, I quote, 'that he had already faced the same situation thousands of times'."

The two teenagers burst into laughter, 'imagining' Hagakure's reaction (even though he couldn't know what she looked like because of her invisibility) to the response, a method some used to alleviate stress in all sorts of situations...

"Well... So... What are you up to?"

Mina asked, suddenly changing the subject...

"Eh... Just the errands my parents asked for..."

"Me too! How about we do them together?"

The pink-haired girl asked with a little elbow jab in the ribs and a wink. Kirishima couldn't say no to this opportunity to spend time with the person he liked.

/

"Your flesh is weak, Shoto, if you left your leg behind," grumbled Enji Todoroki, looking at Shoto with his eyes blazing with anger on the porch of the house.

Shoto maintained a stoic demeanor in front of his father, staring him straight in the eyes, his mechanical leg emitting a soft purring of pistons and esoteric machinery...

"I didn't come to talk to you, Endeavor. Just to reassure Fuyumi and Natsuo about my health."

Shoto had only been released from the hospital today, after completing his rehabilitation, and the doctors had for no valid reason declined any requests to visit him. And they had been greatly impressed by his quick adaptation to his prosthesis.

Endeavor was about to reply when Fuyumi passed behind him.

"Oh, Shoto! There you are!"

She rushed over, hugging her little brother tightly...

"Natsuo and I were so worried..."

She looked at the whistling and purring prosthesis...

"So that's how the white giants replaced your leg..."

Endeavor grunted before speaking, teeth clenched, still confronting Shoto with his gaze.

"A prosthesis is unworthy of our family..."

Fuyumi looked at her father, frowning.

"Dad! That's not fair!"

Enji broke the standoff and looked at his daughter before saying...

"Whatever..."

And with that, he went back inside...

Fuyumi sighed... Shoto felt sorry for his elder sister who had to endure their unbearable father...

"Come in, Shoto. Natsuo and I were worried sick, you'll have to tell us what happened... And why is your leg a prosthesis now..."

Shoto nodded silently, as his sister stepped aside to let him in...

"NATSUO! SHOTO'S HOME!"

He heard a loud boom, a door flying open, and his brother appeared in the hallway, almost slipping, before rushing towards Shoto to hug him.

"You scared me!", exclaimed his brother, his voice relieved...

"Sorry, Natsuo. It happened when nobody expected it."

Shoto replied calmly despite the strong embrace that almost deprived him of air.

"And your leg?", asked Natsuo as he inspected him after finally letting go.

"We'll talk about it when we're settled in.", ordered Fuyumi before Shoto could respond, "Come on, sit down, I'll join you after making tea."

Shoto replied, "No thanks, I'm good. But I'd like some cold soba if there's any."

Fuyumi smiled at him and went to the kitchen as Natsuo and the dual haired boy went to the living room...

"So... Your leg?"

"I've gotten used to it. It can feel strange to have lost your leg and know that it's mechanical, but not as terrible as you might think.", explained Shoto, in a completely neutral voice...

The two brothers sat on the floor, and Natsuo rested his elbows on his knees. Fuyumi arrived with tea and a bowl of soba, which Shoto almost jumped on. But he waited for his sister to start sipping her tea before taking the bowl...

"So? What happened? Why do you have a prosthesis?"

Shoto didn't answer immediately, taking two bites of soba and savoring them before swallowing.

"I took a shot. I was with the men from Alpha force and a giant from the Beta Force managed to place a shot between the three of them who were protecting our backs. I took the bullet straight in the leg. It tore it off clean, but I managed to avoid bleeding out by using my ice."

He recalled the impact of the shot, how he collapsed to the ground, and an unpleasant, diffuse sensation returned to his brain.

Fuyumi and Natsuo looked at each other worriedly as Shoto stopped speaking when he then remembered the sound of the pistons whistling, the humming of a saw, and the cold voices of the two machine men who had operated on his leg. He had a slight shiver...

"I was operated on by two cyborgs. The two machine men didn't hold back, and the man overseeing the operation had to stuff a piece of cloth in my mouth so I wouldn't scream like a madman. They hurt, but they didn't care. To be honest, there wasn't a glimmer of life or interest in their eyes. Just milky dead eyes for one, bright red optical lenses for the other."

He saw Natsuo's fist clench, and Fuyumi nervously bite her lip. He judged it necessary to change the subject. And especially to avoid telling them that he also had an operation on his chest.

"And you?"

"I took several days off for you. The school principal was understanding.", replied Fuyumi.

"I continued my engineering studies. I have to, impossible to miss a class without being left behind...", replied Natsuo, still tense.

"And mother?", asked Shoto.

Fuyumi lowered her eyes...

"She found out about your hospitalization... You have to go see her as soon as possible... She blames dad for hurting you... And... She's having fits of madness because of it, calling you... The hospital had to put her in isolation to prevent her from hurting herself..."

Shoto lowered his eyes... Saddened...

"I'll go see her as soon as I can... That is, not before the end of the week... But I'll go see her...", promised Shoto.

/

The conference ended half an hour after it began, Izuku turned off the TV. Honestly, the last part was boring... After the intervention of the blue skinned woman, Nezu explained the security systems they spoke about in other previous questions… All those security systems... They were relatively useless.

Izuku was quite disappointed with what he had seen, to him, it was just a press babble... He got up, stretching, as the door of the apartment opened.

"Hi, mom!" Izuku shouted as he went to see her.

"Izuku! You're home early!"

Izuku chuckled as he went to the entrance, where he leaned against the wall.

"Yep! Finished my patrol early on a chase and an accident... Wait, let me take the bags."

The green-haired boy approached to retrieve the bulky bags his mother was carrying.

"Yes, thank you, Izuku..." replied Inko with a grateful smile. The green-haired boy picked up the two bags, pushing an expression of surprise due to their weight, "It's... It's heavy!" Izuku complained, Inko walked past with a mischievous smile, "Come on, unless you've turned into an old man?"

Izuku let out a small annoyed grunt.

"How did you manage to carry this all the way here?"

"Who said I carried them? The items and cans inside are just small enough for my quirk to attract them..."

Izuku understood what his mother was getting at.

"So, you actually carried a large amount of stuff... But in an 'empty' bag?"

"Exactly!" his mother replied from her bathroom, "By the way! I found your red lens that you wanted. For your little project?"

It was the motivation of his mother finding the lens he needed that gave Izuku the strength to carry the bags to the kitchen.

"Yes!" Izuku replied, placing the bags down with a sigh of relief... He heard Inko coming out of the bathroom and opening a pocket of her coat to take out the much-coveted red lens... As soon as she appeared with it in her hand, Izuku snatched it, thanked his mother, and dashed into his room...

Finally...

His eye prosthesis project will be finished… He had worked so hard for it...


I don't know why, but I feel like this chapter is chaotic. VERY chaotic. It feels like there's something that I missed? I don't know... This chapter will probably get a rework once I manage to get a hand on why I find this chapter strange...

My rambling aside, hope you enjoyed it!