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Beginning of Chapter
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The purple scar of destruction still glowed faintly in the earth. Silence reigned.
And then, slowly, the god bled back into a man.
Gojo's grin faltered, his body trembling. The glow in his eyes dimmed. His knees buckled in midair before gravity remembered him, pulling him down. He hit the broken floor with a sickening thud.
The sound of slience broke. The students cried out, those who could rushed to him with what strength they had left.
Bakugo led Shoji, Tokoyami, Uraraka and Kaminari. They rushed to the aid of their saviour, only to freeze at the sight of him.
Blood. So much blood.
Satoru Gojo, the boy who had just erased the unstoppable monster from existence, lay sprawled out, his chest shallow, his eyes unfocused. His lips twitched as if he wanted to laugh again but nothing came.
Just silence.
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Half an hour later...
The flashing lights of police vehicles and ambulances painted the wreckage of USJ in harsh reds and blues. Medics swarmed the scene, their voices tense but hurried, carrying away the injured on stretchers. Smoke still rose from collapsed sections of the building.
Gojo lay on a stretcher himself, his body trembling in exhaustion. His eyes were covered by thick bandages, glowing faintly beneath as if light were straining to escape.
Recovery Girl leaned over him, whispering to the paramedics. "Keep the regeneration steady. His body's repairing itself too fast for standard medicine. Just stabilize him."
Next to him, three stretchers covered in white sheets were loaded onto body bags. On the tags of the bags were the names Sato, Kudo, and Ojiro written. And st the same time, their names echoed through the murmuring crowd of students, disbelief heavy in the air.
Kirishima cried silently, Mina clutched her own arms until her knuckles bled, and even Bakugo was wordless, his rage muted by shock.
Snipe stood nearby, one hand resting awkwardly on Kaminari's shoulder as he sobbed. Midnight crouched to comfort a trembling Jirou and Momo, rubbing their backs gently.
"You kids did good. You're alive. That's what matters now."
Ms Joke held Uraraka in her arms, the poor girl crying as the teacher pat her head. "We won... but... i-it doesn't feel like it." She said in between sobs.
"Everything's okay. It's over now. They're gone..."
But the words of comfort couldn't cover the hollow ache in their chests. The silence was broken only by the shuffling of police boots and the constant zip of body bags.
Todoroki walked up to Bakugo and put a hand on his shoulder. The blonde not even reacting.
"Bakugo. You did good... I'm glad you had my back." He said before turning away, going to help one of the paramedics, leaving the blonde to stand there, before he followed Todoroki to do the same, the two picking up a stretcher with Toru, covered in cloth and paint to be visible to their eyes into the ambulance.
Each not knowing how to help, but trying their best to help.
In the shadows of the wreckage, Aizawa stat quietly, back against the wall with bandages around his body and his face half hidden. Holding an ice pack to one of his eyes, the parts of his face that was still visible was pale, his scarf next to him on the ground, bloodstained from overuse.
His eyes darted constantly to the students, guilt written all over him.
Nezu sat next to him, holding a tablet, his fur in a mess as he typed away. While he said nothing to his injured friend, he knew he could at least be there for him in silence.
All Might appeared then, his muscular form trembling as he came back from comforting some of the kids. The gaunt and the weight of failure crushing him. He stared at the blood on the ground, then glanced at the covered bodies being lifted away, and muttered through clenched teeth.
"Damn it… DAMN IT! If I had been here—!" He slammed his fist into the ground, cracks spiderwebbing across the concrete. Some turning in shock, only see see it was All Might on the ground.
His voice cracked, not from weakness, but grief. "...I let them down..." he looked at his friend Aizawa and then again at the ground. "I let you down. Three… three kids dead because I wasn't fast enough!"
Aizawa looked away, unable to bear it.
Nezu padded forward, his small figure almost surreal amidst the chaos. He placed a paw on All Might's clenched hand, his voice low but firm.
"Toshinori. You cannot carry this burden alone. Regret changes nothing. We honor the dead by ensuring this never happens again."
Tears welled in All Might's eyes, his teeth gritted. For once, the Symbol of Peace looked utterly broken, his pride shattered. Those who looked at him could see the pain as he kneeled on the ground.
Then the familiar trench coat silhouette of Detective Tsukauchi arrives. A close friend of the three, he knelt beside Iida first, speaking soft reassurances before turning toward the three.
At the same time, Midnight, whos hair was a mess, came to the three while being accompanied by Snipe, who pat the back of All Might. Ectoplasm stood, facing the other way, the rest of the teachers with the students.
Tsukauchi cleared his throat to get their attention, and showed them his tablet with photos taken of the camera surveillance. "The reports from the kids line up. They saw Gojo push himself to hold back that… thing. Apparently that monster wasn't just strong.
It was engineered to kill All Might. From what was said by this... Shigaraki character, it had multiple quirks, including Shock Absorption, Super Strength, Speed and a few more."
He gestures to the mangled legs of the Nomu, the only thing of what's left of it under heavy restraint and tarps. He looked at the teachers for any words before he continued.
"Without Aizawa keeping its Quirk suppressed at just the right times, and Gojo not only taking the lead in clashing with this monster, but at the same time leading the students to hold off the villains, this would've ended differently."
All Might clenches his fist, trembling, his jaw locked tight. The others, while saddened, also glance at the ambulance Gojo was in.
"He fought and held back the All Might killing machine? Well I'll be damned." Snipe commented as he held the tablet, a video playing of Gojo dancing around the nomu, blasting it away with red while Aizawa restraining it's limbs.
"Must say. Your plan worked. To hold it back. I'm honestly surprised at your student Nezu." He complimented Aizawa.
Aizawa, lying against the wall, let put a chuckle then coughed up some blood.
"No. You don't get it… the plan wasn't just to 'hold it off.' Gojo had one move left in him. His 'Maximum Blue' or whatever. He was going to collapse the Nomu in on itself… end it for good." The others eyes widening, surprised at this ability, and then remembering the entrance exams.
"You mean like the entrance exams?" Midnight asked to which Aizawa nodded.
But then Aizawa turned his head away, eyes narrowing in the direction of Midoriya.
"And then Midoriya ruined it. Thought his fist could finish what Gojo set up. Knocked the Nomu free from his blue, gave it the opening to hit Gojo, and that warp gate user managed to help the nomu hit him through Infinity. Nearly got him killed."
The others gasped. Snipe shaking his head, Midnight lowering hers as Nezu closed his eyes.
All Might looks over at Midoriya on another stretcher, curled in on himself, his eyes red and swollen from crying. Fingers digging into his palms as he clenched his fists. His heart sank. The boy had been so desperate to save everyone, to help but his recklessness almost cost someone their life.
No. It would of cost all their lives.
"Young Midoriya…" he said with a saddened tone.
Tsukauchi closes his notebook with a snap and took his tablet back, looking grim.
"Besides what happened in Tokyo, what Gojo did here today... It was leadership. Strategy. He gave them a fighting chance. Even with three dead, if he hadn't been here… we'd be counting bodies in the dozens. Nezu, where ever you found that thing, congratulations. Id shake his hand but hes incapacitated." Nezu nodded at the compliment.
"When he's better. We'll have to question him. But I'm sure you can handle that. Any info he gives is valuable. Especially on that 'purple' move he did. I wish you all a better evening ahead. If thats even possible." And with those few words, the detective left them in their thoughts.
The group falls silent. Only the sound of the gurneys being wheeled away and the muffled sobs of students fill the air.
All Might looks down, his fists trembling, silently cursing his absence, then took a deep breath as he stood up and cleaned himself. Trying his best to be the beacon of hope for the children as he walked towards the class group.
'Satoru Gojo. Thank you.'
"We need to have a talk with them. Midoriya and Satoru especially." Nezu adressed to the teachers as they nod their heads.
"Give me a phone. Mines beyond the point of repair." Aizawa said as he threw the remaining half of his phone on the ground.
Snipe pulled his out and handed it to Aizawa. "Who you calling?" He asked as Aizawa put the phone to his ear, the sounds of the phone dialing clear.
"An old friend. Who's going to kick my ass for letting his nephew near death."
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End of Chapter.
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