Worn Spirits

And hello everyone welcome to the latest chapter of Hailstorm Vol. 2! No guest reviews to answer this week so as they say, on with the show!

Hospital: Back Alley

"DAMN IT ALL!" Yelled Clay as he kicked a trash can so hard it left a dent. "A little faster, why couldn't you have been a little faster?!" He kicked another trash can over in his rage before slamming his fist into the side of the dumpster, not caring how much it hurt. "All that time and training and what does it amount to if you can't pull one person to safety in time?!" His only answer was the ring of the metal dumpster as he continued to throw punches at it until his exhaustion finally caught up with him.

"Well you seem to be using your time quite productively," said Slade as he walked out of the side door of the hospital, "You somehow managed to go most of the raid without receiving little more than cuts and bruises. Let's not give the doctors any more work than they already have."

"This is just some bloody knuckles," Said Clay dismissively, "a little disinfectant and some bandages will fix them right up. And we might be saying the same thing about Nighteye if I'd managed to move him out of the way in time."

"You can't blame yourself for that," said Slade, "we all went in expecting to fight for our lives and even die if necessary. Do you really think Sir is unhappy about the outcome?"

"He'd do it all again in a flash, yeah I know," said Clay as he leaned against the wall, still not facing his friend, "and it's all part of the job. But Slade I let one of Midoriya's heroes die, all because I got distracted for a second. If I'd moved just a bit sooner then maybe-."

"Then you might've saved him that go around but there's no guarantee he wouldn't have died some other way," said Slade, "I'm sure you recall the old wisdom that heroes aren't heroes because they never make mistakes. The man could see the future and he still somehow managed to get into a situation that even he wasn't able to get out of. Even your Uncle made a mistake today and I had to save him, something you told me to do I might add."

"And I'm beyond grateful that you did," said Clay as he pushed off the wall and faced his friend, "I just-do you think Midoriya is gonna put the blame on me for this?"

"We both know Izuku better than that," replied Slade with his arms crossed, "if he's blaming anyone it's himself. Not a single person blames you for Nighteye losing his life, least of all the man himself."

"So you say," said Clay with a sigh, "but whatever the case I guess we'd better get back in there before we're missed."

"Why do you think I came out here in the first place," said Slade as he patted his friend on the back and directed him inside, "Tsuyu, being surprisingly nosy, happened to see you skulking off and sent me after you."

"She really is a sweet girl under all that bluntness," commented Clay as they approached the lobby where the news was playing. Currently, there was a report about an attack on a police convoy by, the League of Villains! And the one they attacked had been carrying both Chisaki and the finished product of anti-quirk bullets.

"Looks like they weren't really allies after all," said Slade as they walked up to the other occupants of the room: Aizawa, Recovery Girl and a mortified looking Izuku who was watching the broadcast very intently.

"They've been running this same news report since yesterday," said Recovery Girl.

"It isn't something any of you should feel responsible for," said Aizawa, getting the student's attention. "The police are working on it right now, so don't feel the need to worry."

"But what should we be doing then?" Questioned Izuku.

"You've all done more than enough for today," said Aizawa, "I've already been asked to tell you that all students are to return to the school. Togata will be staying a bit longer for observation, but everyone else has already been healed by Recovery Girl. They should be here shortly."

"I'll remain here a bit longer to heal a few more of the patients," said Recovery Girl, "though before I go." The old lady reached out and kissed Clay's hand for a few seconds, healing his hurt knuckles. "Don't be too hard on yourself. Sometimes even your absolute best isn't enough, I should know." Clay gave a simple nod to this before Midoriya spoke up.

"But shouldn't we stay until Eri wakes up?" He asked.

"There's nothing more we can do for her now other than leaving her to the doctors," replied their teacher in his usual blunt tone.

"I know it's just," Izuku let his sentence hang in the air before changing the subject, "can I at least go see Togata before we leave?" Aizawa never got an answer out as Midoriya set his belongings aside and rushed back towards where Togata was currently roomed.

"I guess we'd better go too," said Slade as he grabbed his friend's back pack while Clay grabbed his costume case. The two rushed after Izuku and found him just as he opened the door.

"It's Midoriya," he said as he opened the door for the three of them. The sight which greeted the three was, a bit unexpected.

"Hey guys!" greeted Togata in his usual enthusiastic tone while holding his legs in the air performing what was known as the 'bicycle' exercise. "Good morning Midoriya, Clay and Slade! It looks like I'm the only one stuck here for another to be monitored, and while I've got all this energy too! Damn it!"

'Well he's, lively,' was the thought on everyone's mind as Midoriya approached the bed first.

"Togata, I thought you-?" The green-haired boy started to say.

"I know how it must look," said the leader of U.A.'s big three as his tone actually turned half serious, "I've lost both my quirk and my mentor in the same day. By all accounts I shouldn't be in a laughing mood." He flipped back up to a sitting position then. "He might not have given off that impression with any of you, but Sir actually smiled quite a lot when he was working with me. And his dying wish was for me to smile, so that's what I'm going to do, as well as become a fine hero someday. Besides, Eri will probably feel sad if she sees me looking gloomy."

"You kept protecting her even after you lost your quirk," said Midoriya almost too quietly for them to hear as he clenched his fist, "Maybe if you'd been the successor then-."

"Now you just stop that line of thought right there," said Clay, "if anyone's to blame for what happened to Nighteye it's-."

"I don't blame either of you," said Mirio, interrupting them, "and even if I was this successor you're talking about, I don't need a powerful quirk. And I don't see why either of you are acting as dejected as you are right now. From where I'm sitting you both did a splendid job, Deku and Cirrus the heroes." This statement brought a few tears to Izuku's eyes as Clay averted his gaze, thinking on Mirio's attitude.

"I almost forgot to mention," said Slade, "I happened to have a talk with Eraser Head about Eri's quirk before I came to find you Clay. If Eri does learn to properly control her quirk, she may be able to reset Togata to the point where he had his quirk."

"And even if that doesn't work, I'll just keep trying different things until I find something that does," said Mirio as he clenched his fist in determination, "I'll have to take a little time off of U.A. until then, but even with things the way they are now I'm more than okay. After all, I have the vision Nighteye told me about with his foresight, so let's all keep smiling!" He lightly tapped Midoriya's head with his fist to get his point across. It seemed to have the desired effect as the green-haired boy actually managed to cheer up a bit.

"I'll make it back to U.A., as Lemillion, the one who'll save a million people," Said Togata.

"Well in that case, we'll all be waiting," said Clay as he formed a small smile of his own.

U.A. Heights Alliance: That Night

It took a bit longer to get back to the school than any of them expected. As soon as the group of students were discharged, they'd been picked up by the police and taken to the station for a debriefing of the Shie Hassaikai incident. Between the questioning and the mass of paperwork, the sun had pretty much set well before they finally arrived. A fact that Tsuyu commented on as the group of work study students all marched towards the doors to the dorms.

But none of them quite expected the welcome they received upon entering the main room. "They're back!" exclaimed Kaminari and Mineta as the rest of Class 1A practically charged the door, throwing out one question after another.

"We say the news," said Momo as she gave Slade a welcome back hug, "you went through a lot out there."

"Are you sure you're alright," Questioned Jirou as she checked Clay over for any signs of injuries before getting interrupted by Mina throwing her arms around the cloud user, surprising them both. Hagakure did much the same with Tsuyu and Uraraka.

"I was worried sick about you guys!" exclaimed Mina as the earphone jack girl worked to pry her off Clay.

"Anyway we were all worried," said Sato as he held up a delicious looking dessert, "would you like some chocolate cake?"

"How do you guys keep getting wrapped up in crazy stuff like that?!" exclaimed Kaminari.

"I'm simply glad to see they're all okay," commented Shoji from one of his mouths.

"Alright everyone, calm down!" exclaimed Iida as he waved for everyone to back off, "I know you were all worried but we need to give them some space and console them quietly. You saw what happened on the news, so treat your classmates properly. If nothing else, their spirits are assuredly worn down." This seemed to have an effect as the rest of the class backed up a bit, looking a little sheepish about the fact that they'd basically jumped all over their classmates upon entering.

Funnily enough, Midoriya actually spoke up about the situation first. "Thanks a lot Iida," he said, "but it's really alright."

"Well in that case if I may," said the engine leg teen as he pushed his glasses up with his finger, "I was extremely, extremely worried about you guys!" He was practically yelling this while shaking the green-haired boy back and forth. 'And he's being the most violent of all,' thought the class more or less collectively.

"I'll go make some lavender tea, it'll ease everyone's spirits," chimed Momo as she headed back into the dorm kitchen.

"I do gotta ask," said Jirou, "I know you're not 'okay' okay Clay. But are you at least holding up?"

"I've been better," admitted the cloud user, "as you know it's not the first time I had to watch someone die. But it was the first time I've ever had to watch a hero die."

"Well I don't know if it'll help all that much," said Mina as she produced Koda's rabbit from seemingly nowhere, "but would anyone like to hold Koda's bunny for a bit?"

"Oh me, me!" said Uraraka excitedly as she, Tsuyu and Hagakure all gathered around the pink girl. The others smiled in spite of themselves as their classmates continued to consul them for a bit longer.

Later That Evening: Clay's Dorm Room

Their classmates had been a fair help in easing the interns minds, but they'd also sent them to bed rather promptly, knowing that it'd been a trying day for all of them. And in truth, Clay was tired to a pretty fair degree as far as his body went. But his mind was still running on full tilt as the events of the day ran through his thoughts over and over again. It had wound up with the cloud wielder resorting to playing his electric keyboard on low volume as he always did when something was troubling him.

'This is the job sometimes,' he thought as his Uncle's and the words of the other heroes resonated in his head. "Rest in peace Nighteye," he finally said as he switched to a keyboard tune similar to the melody of 'Piano Man', "We'll take care of Eri for you." It would be a long time before he actually fell asleep as he played his ode to the fallen hero through the night. And come the next morning, there was a solemn vow that he would get better.

And thus our little intermission comes to an end with this surprisingly short chapter as we begin to roll into the school festival arc. And as we move into that arc I find myself in a little situation requiring a bit of input from you all, namely, which girl should Clay ultimately wind up with. I know this is a long series and there's the possibility we'll encounter a new girl who'll steal the show and our cloud wielder's heart, but right now I want to hear what you all think. So as always leave your answers in your comments and reviews along with what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as Clay and Slade demonstrate some of their lesser known talents in preparation for the school festival. 'Til then.