Listen, I know that I said this chapter would take a few weeks, but c'mon, I have this story on the mind now. So of course I had to make another chapter. I can't just leave you guys on that cliffhanger, now can I?
Disclaimer: I don't own -man or BNHA, all rights go to their respective owners.
Chapter Seven: Regret
In the modern era, which was governed by quirks, witnessing a fight between a hero and villain was seen as, for the most part, a relatively-harmless hobby. Besides the fight between All Might and All For One a few months back, most citizens flocked to battlefields, hoping to get a glimpse of the action. Several parents brought their kids along to watch the sparks fly, so, later that night, they'd have something interesting to talk about over dinner. The public's trust in heroes was still, in every practical sense, rock solid. Who wouldn't want to see their favorite warriors of justice in action? Especially in Tokyo, where heroes were turned into toys, movie stars, and celebrities, the profession had been elevated to unimaginable heights. The news and the media, of course, moved hand in hand with that exponential growth. And so, whenever a battle did commence, all participants were usually identified within minutes of the first punch. Most times, that was amazing for heroes. However, for their classmate, this was more of a curse. "Ah hell!" Aizawa spat as he whipped-out his phone. "Things must've been quiet today, I didn't expect them to get his name so quickly!" Less than forty-five seconds after the anchorwoman discovered Allen Walker's fight with the recently-escaped serial killer, Walker's name, the villain's, and his affiliations, were all scrolling across the bottom of the broadcast.
"It appears that we've stumbled across a heated battle between a hero and a known dangerous convict!" The anchorwoman called out as the helicopter tried to get closer for a better angle. As she said, Class A's newest addition was currently in the middle of combat. The pair threw punch after punch, some of which were strong enough to make even veteran-heroes cringe. "Hmm? Oh yes, I see..." The anchorwoman said as she nodded her head. "It appears that the hero is currently a first-year at U.A. High, right now, we're asking the administration for a statement."
"Well this isn't good." All Might thought as he crossed his arms.
"Never underestimate the researching skills of a bored news agency." Aizawa said as he raised his phone up to his ear. All Might assumed that Class A's instructor was trying to call the principal. "All Might, how do you think the Public Safety Commission is going to react to this?" As he spoke, Aizawa raised a hand up to his face and rubbed his tired eyes. "Walker doesn't have a provisional license, if this gets out of hand, they might commission him for an inquiry."
"Yeah, I know..." All Might mumbled as he pursed his lips. How in the world did Walker manage to come across that villain? It couldn't have been by chance. "Are there any pro heroes in that area who could lend him aid?" He asked his coworker as Aizawa talked with the headmaster. After a few moments of this, the homeroom teacher sighed, hung up, and turned back to All Might.
"Sadly, there aren't any. Since that area's written-down as a construction zone, no civilians are there. The nearest patrolling hero is over five kilometers away, and she doesn't even have a speed-enhancing quirk." When he heard that, All Might bit his lip. By the time they got there, the battle would already be over.
"So our only option is to just sit back and watch? Damn..." All Might thought as his gaze darted back to one of the large monitors. The villain had transformed his right arm into a machine gun, and was nail-bitingly close to completely-perforating the young student. "At least his classmates don't seem to be that worried..." Just like the crowds of civilians that surrounded them, most of the boy's classmates were cheering him on without a care in the world. Granted, they all looked to be quite-stressed for their friend's wellbeing, but they weren't as worried as All Might thought they would be.
"Go for it, Walker! Tear that villain a new one!" Kirishima yelled as he raised a fist in the air. The student looked absolutely ecstatic, and so did most of the rest of Class A.
"The naïve pride of students, it can be a blessing, but also a curse." All Might mumbled as he placed a nervous hand over his mouth. He knew that they were just trying to support their friend, but as a result of that, none of them seemed to truly-grasp how dire this situation was. However, even though they were cheering, there were a few that were watching the battle with a more-inquisitive eye. Said students were Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki. Which wasn't really that surprising. The three of them had, after all, beaten back the villain Stain. So all of them knew exactly what sort of predicament Walker was in.
"They may be smiling, but you can tell that all of them are nervous." Aizawa said as they watched Walker shatter one of the villain's ligaments.
"Wow, for a quirkless brat, he sure is skilled." They heard a familiar voice say from behind them.
"I'm assuming you three came out here to see what all the commotion was about?" All Might asked as Mount Lady, Kamui Woods, and Edgeshot, made their way to the front of their little group.
"Yeah, you got us." Kamui Woods exclaimed as Walker's fight raged on. "I heard that another one of U.A.'s students got caught up in some huge mess, but I never imagined this." As he spoke, Walker landed another hit on the villain, causing a noticeable crack to come from the killer's stomach. "Ouch... that sounded like it hurt." The boy's punches weren't anything to scoff at, that much was certain. The battle continued on like this for a few minutes, with both sides trading blow after blow, until, finally, the villain relented. They all watched as he sat down, almost as if he were trying to catch his breath, and started to say something to U.A.'s newest classmate. Soon afterwards, one of his arms transformed into a large missile launcher. This drew the attention of a few of the more-curious onlookers, however, what glued their eyes to the screen was what the villain did next.
"He wouldn't! That bastard!" Kaminari yelled as they all watched, in complete shock, as the suspect aimed his weapon right at the news' helicopter. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was about to happen.
"Ah hell! Walker doesn't have the tools to stop that blast!" Aizawa thought as he rushed to his phone. "Let's hope that there's a hero nearby with a flying quirk!" As he hastily dialed-in the number, everyone who was watching held in their collective breaths as the villain slowly started to pull the trigger. As if acting on instinct, many people covered their eyes, or looked away, not wanting to see what was about to happen. However, right when it seemed like all hope was lost, the villain stopped. "Huh?" Aizawa started as he looked up from his phone. "What happened to the rocket?" His answer to his question came when he, along with many other onlookers, turned back to the monitor. That was when they all saw something that shook them to their core. Namely, the villain's head lying still at Walker's feet. In the instant before the suspect had the chance to blast the helicopter out of the sky, he pulled out a pair of knives and drove them right through the perpetrator's neck. To say that this was shocking would be an understatement. For a few seconds, the main square had fallen into complete silence.
"Shit..." All Might mumbled as he felt his heart stop. "I can't believe it... Walker killed him..."
Later that day...
The rain came down in sheets upon him as Allen waited outside of the local police station. One of the officers was kind enough to lend him an umbrella, so he was perfectly dry as the water pooled into puddles around his feet. After he defeated that villain, he was quickly picked up by a nearby hero and brought here. Apparently, a news station was watching his fight, so there wasn't as much paperwork to do as he thought there would be. It was mostly the standard, cut and dry, questions. And, after he gave them a rundown of how he came across the killer, he was released. "It's cold..." he mumbled as he squeezed his left hand closed. "Damn, I wish I had a jacket." Truth be told, it was actually relatively-warm that afternoon, but that didn't change the fact that, for Allen Walker, it felt like it was freezing. "I still can't believe I killed that man..." he whispered as he clutched one of his kukris close. He'd killed akuma in the past, and battled members of the Noah family on several occasions, but he'd never actually killed a human being until that day. The feeling of his blades slicing through that villain's neck had been seared into his memory. So much so that he swore he could still smell the killer's discount-cologne. After his interview with the authorities had concluded, he spent the next few hours sat in one of the building's bathrooms. He thought that he'd be throwing up for the rest of the day, but, surprisingly, he regained his composure rather quickly. "I wonder, if I killed Tyki during our battle in the ark, would I have felt like this?" He thought as he stared at one of his shaking hands.
Throughout the course of the Holy War, there were many moments when he had to prepare himself to end someone's life. So the feeling wasn't completely foreign. In fact, if he was being honest, it was actually kind of familiar. He didn't feel bad about killing that man, after all, that was the only option he had if he wanted to save the people in that helicopter. No, what caused his hands to shake was something completely different. For, instead of feeling guilty about ending a human's life, he felt frustrated at his own naïve beliefs. "So, even hundreds of years in the future, I still can't avoid death, can I?" In some distant corner of his mind, he thought that he'd be able to become a hero without having to resort back to his old habits. The idea of fighting without killing, that was something that was worth living for. But now, after that brush with death, he realized how foolhardy that dream really was. "I'm such an idiot..." Allen thought as he curled up into a ball. At that point, he wasn't even sure where to direct his misgivings. Was he angry because he was wrong? Or was it because he didn't have any remorse over killing that villain? Either way, he hated the situation he'd put himself in. And he hated himself. "I'm sorry..." he mumbled as a few tears dropped from his eyes, falling into the puddles below. "I'm so sorry it had to end like this..." The villain he killed probably had a family, maybe even kids, and he was more worried about his own path than their wellbeing! "Heh... I guess Road was right." Allen thought as he looked up at the sky. "In the end, all of us humans are nothing more than fools."
For hours, Allen sat on that porch stewing in those dark feelings of resentment. Every moment, he sank deeper into the abyss. And then, right when it felt like the weight of his own self-loathing would crush him, a ray of hope shown through. "So, tell me, if you had the chance to talk to that student, what would you say?" The sound of something besides the pattering rain momentarily-snapped him out of his pit of despair. And when he finally discovered what its source was, he let out a sigh. The crew of the helicopter he'd saved was currently being interviewed live on a nearby television. They, along with the show's host, were currently talking about him.
"Thank God, they're okay." Allen thought as he watched the broadcast. He still felt bad, but being able to see those people alive and well gave him a small sense of hope. As the helicopter's anchorwoman thought-over her answer, Allen stood up, and tried his best to follow along.
"If I could see him now, I'd thank him with every fiber of my being. If he wasn't there to stop that villain, there's a good chance that I wouldn't be alive right now. So, yes, I'd thank him. Not only for me, but for my kids, and my husband." It was a line that had probably been rehearsed hundreds of times. Truthfully, it might not have even been genuine. But for Allen, that anchorwoman's words meant the world.
"If I hadn't killed that man, this woman, and her friends, would've surely died." He thought as he turned to watch the cars drive by. In return for the life he'd snuffed out, many others were saved. "There's probably no way to mend that villain's family's hearts, but, even if they don't get closure, it's nice to know that I did something good." In that moment, Allen felt himself be redeemed, if only a little. "Even though it's cruel, that's just how this world works." Many would consider those thoughts to be extremely-selfish. After all, what he was using to justify his actions wasn't anything concrete. Honestly, it was more akin to self-indulgence than anything one would consider heroic. However, they were what Allen needed to pull himself out of his depression. Truth be told, the pain from this day would probably continue to haunt him for months to come. But now, he could safely slip his mask back on, and face the world like he usually did. As he wiped the tears from his eyes, he took a moment to stare at his reflection in a nearby puddle, and smiled. "Just put on a happy face, no matter what you're feeling, just keep smiling and everything will be fine." Now, at least, he could once again see his reflection without cringing.
After witnessing that ray of hope, another hour passed. Allen spent this time sitting on the police station's porch watching the clouds go by. Eventually, a car rolled up to the front of the station, and All Might popped out. "Mr. Walker," he started as he held the back passenger-side door open. Without so much as a peep, Allen got up, nodded, and stepped into the vehicle. After closing the door, All Might hopped in.
"How're you doing, kid?" Their driver, who was none other than Mr. Aizawa, asked him as he sank into one of the leather seats.
"All things considered, I'm doing okay." He answered with a slightly-sad smile. As the car slowly started to move, All Might turned around, and handed him a small packet of documents.
"That's the information you missed today, be sure to review it." He said as Allen gratefully took the notes. Once they were going at a good pace, All Might broke the uneasy silence by addressing the elephant in the room. "I'm sorry we couldn't come sooner, the two of us have been busy at the Hero Public Safety Commission." That wasn't surprising, Allen expected that.
"I'm sorry," he started as he flipped through the pages. All Might and Aizawa nodded, even though he messed up, they understood the boy's plight. "Do you know what's going to happen to me? I did fight a villain without a provisional license, after all." There was no use beating around the bush. Even though he saved lives, he still broke the law. In response, All Might turned back around and smiled.
"While I'm glad that you know what you did wrong, I don't think you'll have to worry about that." He said, causing Allen to raise a confused eyebrow. "After reviewing what happened with the bigwigs back at the Hero Public Safety Commission, it's been decided that you'll be let off with lenient penalties." Before Allen had the chance to ask why, All Might showed him a map of the city, which was covered in red dots and lines, and stopped him. "According to a couple of witnesses who saw you chasing after that villain, if you didn't act when you did, there was a good chance that he would've gotten away." As he spoke, All Might pointed to a small green dot in the center of the site of Allen's battle. "This storm drain here is connected to the main waterway, if the villain had reached it, he would've been able to escape the city. And, perhaps, even the country. Normally, that wouldn't be enough to clear you, but apparently the commission was supposed to assign this area a few heroes over a week ago. I'm not sure how it happened, but that order never came through, and so the entire place was abandoned."
"So that's why I'm not being punished? Because the commission screwed up?" Allen asked, All Might nodded.
"Well, there are a couple of other factors that affected the decision. You being a minor certainly helped, and the fact that you're a known student at U.A., with me and Mr. Aizawa as your teachers, we had more than enough testimony to waive your punishment." After hearing that, Allen couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. However, he knew that that wasn't all.
"And... what am I facing for killing that villain?" When he asked that, All Might felt a lump form in his throat. This was going to be hard.
"That's... complicated... technically speaking, you won't be facing any official charges." All Might said as Allen leaned back into his chair.
"What do you mean by that?" He asked. In response, All Might cleared his throat, and looked away. This wasn't something he could say while staring at one of his students.
"The truth, Mr. Walker, is that you made the right call. I'm going to be honest, in some situations, a hero has to take a life to save others. Although, in recent times, villain-casualties as a direct result of a hero's intervention have become quite rare. However, in the few battles where they do still occur, most are done out of the public's eye." It went without saying that having one happen on live television was practically unheard of. "I probably shouldn't tell him that he's the first student in U.A.'s history that's killed a villain while currently-enrolled." All Might thought as he bit his lip. "Because of that, the commission decided against sending you any inquiries."
"But there's something else, isn't there?" Allen just couldn't believe that he'd get off scot free for killing a man. And, much to All Might's dismay, he was right.
"You're correct. Even though your actions are technically legal, as far as the public sees it, you betrayed their trust. Therefore, the administration cannot go without punishing you. This incident is probably going to go on your permanent record. Also, until the end of this school year, you will no longer be permitted to join your class on any off-campus trips. In addition to that, you're hereby barred from taking the provisional license exam until your senior year." For someone in the hero course, these two punishments were absolutely crushing. However, much to All Might's shock, Walker took his just desserts with a smile.
"Hey, that's actually not too bad." The boy said as he watched the city pass him by. With that, the number one hero turned to his coworker, and frowned.
"He's taking this better than I thought he would." Aizawa whispered as they turned onto the main road, All Might agreed.
"The hard part is going to be how his classmates handle it." He thought as he stared somberly at U.A's newest addition. As he did, he noticed Walker's smile, and sighed. "Well, if he can grin like that, then he's probably okay." All Might whispered as Aizawa pulled them into the school's parking lot. Finally, this long day was coming to a close.
A few days later...
The worst part about keeping secrets was how isolated they could make a person feel. Depending on the secret, and the condition in which it was kept, several issues could arise. These problems come in a wide-variety of forms, from something as simple as mild annoyances, all the way to soul-shattering loneliness. Most times, an individual would break down under the pressure. However, on rare occasions, a secret-holder would bottle-up their stress, allowing it to bubble and churn without being detected. These select individuals are especially dangerous. Not to each other, but to themselves. As, once their stress reached a plateau, they could erupt. Or, in other words, they'd snap, and suffer from a nervous breakdown. What's especially horrifying about this truth is that those the secret is being kept from have, therefore, no idea of the stress that they impose upon a secret-holder. Which, depending on how these ignorant-individuals act, could drastically affect the secret-holder's wellbeing, and psyche.
As Allen walked into the classroom, he immediately noticed how quiet it was. "Uh, hello everybody." He said as he waved to his classmates. However, besides Midoriya and Uraraka, none of them seemed to take notice of his presence. Even as he sat down, and got himself comfortable, not one person came to talk to him, or even bothered to say hi.
"Hey, Todoroki, do you think I could snag a look at your homework?" Ashido asked her two-faced classmate as she shoved right past Allen's desk. As she did this, his gaze temporarily-met hers, and, for a moment, her face started to contort. It wasn't much, just a tiny twitch, but Allen recognized it instantly. Even Midoriya and Uraraka, who'd waved at him when he walked in, didn't actually come speak with him. They were silent, as silent as a morgue.
"So that's how it is, huh?" He thought as he quietly lowered his arms to his desk. Ever since the day he killed that villain, his classmates had been giving him the cold shoulder. Now, he wasn't an idiot, he knew why this was happening. After the news of his act began to spread, many tabloids and news agencies had started calling him a "killer" and a "false hero". One wrong move, and there was a very good chance that they could end up on the front page alongside him. In this world, publicity was everything for heroes, it was how they made their living. None of them, at this crucial stage in their lives, could risk their career being tainted by his misdeeds. Or, at least, that's how most of them saw it. Granted, it wasn't that they hated Walker's company, far from it. In fact, many still saw the boy as a friend. It was just that, for everyone's sake, they couldn't afford to be seen associating with him. "The media in this time must be terrifying. It has all of these heroes running scared." Allen thought as he let out a sad chuckle.
Right on cue, Aizawa walked in to begin the day's first lecture. As he expected, none of the teachers seemed to notice this was happening. And why would they? Besides his social-ousting, all of his classmates acted exactly the same as they usually would. And, of course, he never spoke up. It was his actions that put them all in this bind, after all. It was only right that he should bear the brunt of the stress. "Alright," Aizawa started as he tapped on the board. "All of you get out your textbooks and turn to page thirty." Allen did as he was told, and soon the school day was underway. The classes themselves didn't take too long, and by the time the lunch bell rang, he'd filled two notebooks with detailed descriptions, diagrams, and anything else that he'd find useful.
The second they were released, his fellow students rushed out the door and towards the cafeteria. However, he didn't join them. "I'm not hungry..." Allen thought as he got up and made his way to the front of the school. For some reason he'd lost his appetite. Instead, he decided to spend the rest of his lunch hour in his dorm. At least there he could get some studying done. "Ahh~ it's a good day today!" He lied to himself as he did some stretches at the front of the building. Once he was all warmed up, he started the jog towards his destination. "I should probably focus on science and history, those two are definitely my weakest subjects." As distracting thoughts of class swirled around his head, he slowed to a stop, before coming to a standstill near the campus' northern wall. "Huh, what's that sound?" He asked out loud when he heard something rummaging through a nearby trashcan. Curiosity got the better of him, and before heading back to the dorm, he took a little detour to the closest dumpster. It took him only moments to find the source of all the noise.
"Woof!" As strange as it was, somehow, a puppy had managed to sneak into the campus. It was a thin little beagle, and it was malnourished down to the bone.
"What the?! How in the world did you get in here, little guy?" He asked the mangy mutt as he got closer, trying to get a better view of the beast. Surprisingly, it didn't run away, and instead just stood there, eating its trash without a care in the world. "Hey, you know, some of that stuff could kill you." Allen said as he reached out to stop the puppy from devouring a can of dishwasher soap. Once he pulled the plastic bottle from the dog's jaws, he threw it away, which made the creature more than a little pissed. It didn't have the strength to bark, but Allen could tell it was angry. It was the puppy's eyes that gave it away, they carried a desperation in them that he found eerily-familiar. "Hmm... you... just stay here, I'll be right back!" Allen said as he sprinted off towards the dorm.
Minutes later, he returned carrying a huge bag of dog food. "I'll have to pay back Koda later..." he thought as he took a handful and showed it to the animal. As he thought, it was initially hesitant to take food from a stranger. But, after a few minutes, the beast relented, and slowly started to chew from Allen's hand. Once it devoured a handful, he would reach back in and grab another one. "Sorry I couldn't get you a bowl. I completely forgot about it." He said as the dog, who seemed to have eaten its fill, finally stopped chewing. "Now that I've got a good look at you, I've got to admit, you're pretty cute." Allen said as he lightly tussled the puppy's ears. After that, he led the dog to the school's front entrance, and opened the gate. "There, now come on, if they catch you here you'll probably get sent to a kennel."
"Woof!" The dog barked again. Allen expected that it would jump at the chance to be free of the campus. However, instead, it just sat there and stared at him.
"You aren't going to win me over with those eyes," Allen said as he pointed towards the city below. "Now get going! I mean it!" Again, the mutt ignored his orders. Once it was clear that the dog wouldn't be moving anytime soon, Allen sighed, and scratched the side of his head. "Listen, please just come on—" he started as he reached down to pick the dog up. However, instead of finding himself ensnared in a pair of bony-jaws, which was what he expected, Allen felt a warm sensation run down his left palm. The dog had licked him, and it appeared to be absolutely-enamored with the fact that it did so. As a crushing wall of familiarity washed over him, Allen's bottom lip started to quiver, and, for a moment, a single tear streaked-down the side of his face. "It's warm," he started as he knelt down and hugged the dog, "You're warm."
Author's Note
Well guys that's the end of yet another chapter, I know this one came out early, but again, that's just cause I wanted to. Anyways, thanks for the reviews and all of the support, I really appreciate it! If you get the chance, please give this story a review, or maybe rate it, it really helps to know what you guys are liking/not liking about this story.
Anyways, that's all for me, enjoy the rest of your day!
Chapter Eight: Suspicion
