Chapter 94

"*With over a dozen different locations being simultaneously attacked, there had been more than a fifteen injured to various degrees --some crippled-- while many more have been traumatized for life.*"

"**Furthermore, with public still mentally and psychologically reeling from the Catastrophic Descent just the year prior, has lead many people to draw connections of whether it was somehow related.**"

"*We have tried inquiring multiple Hero Agencies about their opinion but have been turned down for multiple reasons, some even outright saying that they too, have no idea.*"

"**What we do know is that this is no Villain attack. This latest incident is an organized terrorist strike that specifically targeted places and people of great significance.**"

"*Videos of the U.A. attack as well as the swift defeat of All Might is still wildly circulating the internet. Currently, we have yet to hear a word from the man himself, leading many to conjure increasingly bizarre theories. In addition, with the top heroic learning institute of the nation being struck, many parents have decided to pull their children from their courses in fear of another such incident would happen.*"

"**It can't be helped... The people having seen the Symbol of Peace brought to his knees is a wake-up call that the nation's pillar of justice is also just a man. The Pro Hero has been in active service for at least thirty years! THIRTY YEARS! In a career when the average length of term is between five to ten, suffice to say that All Might was dedicated to heroism.**"

"*It has also irked some parents that children have experienced something so gruesome, nevermind that the U.A. sports festival was a televised event. Viewers were able to witness live how the atrocities were committed, including the true nature of certain heroes as well as the actions conducted by the students.*"

"**There was also the so-called [No Dying] rule that was set up in the stadium which was the reason why the death toll at the place being low.**"

"*Experts believe that rule was somehow created by an high-class esoteric quirk, leading to both the government and the HPSC to label the event and the organisation behind the attack classified as another S-class incident.*"

"**If you, or anyone you know, have any information about the individuals or organisation behind them, then we insist that you contact the nearest police precinct or Hero agency to help combat this national threat.**"

"*In other news, the Hearts and Mind political party have gathered more support in recent-*" The projector was turned off.

"Shall we begin the meeting?" Said Nedzu as he calmly sipped his tea, a stark contrast to the expressions of the people in the room with him. "Let's keep this brief, we have much to do. First order of business: How are the students faring?"

"Physically? They have recovered." Announced Recovery Girl as she passed over some papers to Nedzu. "Me and my Grandson managed to treat everyone in time before they succumbed to their injuries after that dome disappeared. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same applies to their minds and we don't have nearly enough professionals to see all of them."

"With regards to the students, even if the other years weren't directly affected, there were about twenty students that were pulled out and we don't expect that to calm down anytime soon." The gruff voice of Hound Dog sounded off as he tried hard to hold down his growling. "Of those students, they primarily consist of first years, half of which are from the general education course."

"I see... They must feel uneasy about the current state of affairs. The whole incident has made everyone realise of the burden placed upon the shoulders of one man, a man who isn't as infallible as they once thought." Nedzu saw the downcast expression on All Might's face. "Do woe at such, Toshinori-kun. What you stood up for, and what you represent has inspired entire generations. Our situation now is not anyone's fault, so do not despair."

"...I just wish that I could have done more. There were lives lost by the tail end of it and where was I? Dazed and kneeling on the ground! If I was just a bit faster-"

"And you still wouldn't be of much help." Recovery Girl loudly tapped her cane on the ground, snapping All Might out of his thoughts. "You had a brain aneurysm, you big oaf. If it wasn't for my grandson, you wouldn't even be standing here now because half of your body would have been limp for months on end!" She then proceeded to whack the Symbol of Peace with the said cane, much to his distress and the amusement of the others in the room.

'At least he's distracted from his own thoughts now.' With the backdrop of All Might's sound of pain, Nedzu continued on. "Moving on to relevant matters... The new group calling themselves the Neo-Shintoists didn't just do a terror attack. No, this was a declaration. With the subsequent death of AFO, we are all aware of how deep and far-reaching his influence is. Now that he's out of the picture, the turbulence underneath the calm exterior rippled as the darker side of society was embroidered in a cold, silent war. That is, until the Neo-Shintoists came to light. The crimes they commited was merely their way of saying that they are the new big players of the country's criminal underbelly." His gaze focused on no one in particular. "This was their way of saying 'I am here!'"

The grim looks on their faces or the way they clenched fist or teeth didn't deter the principal, not one bit. Instead, he continued on. "This is why I would like you all to reach out to whoever your connections are. A force of this magnitude will not stay idle amd have most likely already established a foothold somewhere, no matter how small and insignificant. This new force is still mostly an unknown, and we need any information we can acquire to properly plan ahead. I too, shall reach out with what I can." He pressed a button on his computer and a compartment opened up from a wall. "Please remember to use these special communicators when you wish to report anything you find. That is all."

~~~

When I woke up, my body was tired but my mind and spirit has recovered significantly. The stress of the situation of the recent incident two days ago had kept everyone busy.

Busy from healing, busy from emergency rescue, busy from helping organize and managing the post-recovery. Everyone chipped in where they can lend a hand but not everyone can remain that high-strung 24/7.

I expected for other more professional and experienced personnel to arrive and take over sooner but as it turned out, U.A. wasn't the only place that was attacked. Because of this, aid was slower to come to us as we were considered low on the priority scale from our 'lower number of suspected casualties' according to a tired responder that I shared a coffee break with.

It was only yesterday evening when they were finally free enough to delegate some people to our location.

Everyone finally had a chance to rest, well, the rest of us anyway. Healers are in pretty high demand right now so I was the last of the last batch to be free...

Which is why I supposed that it made sense that Kuroko appeared the second I was free and teleported me out of the hospital.

She was pretty stoic and a bit flushed when she did, which was also understandable. The last few days have been pretty stressful, not just for me. From the bits and pieces that I heard from the other nurses, some of the patients were teleported in or carried by speedsters when the roads were blocked by rubble and traffic.

It was a shame that I couldn't greet her sooner, being that I was self-confined in the operating room most of the time.

It was also understandable why I wasn't surprised at that time when I came to be instantly back in my dorm room. I would've like to cuddle a bit more but I also wanted to prioritize her needs and wants. As her loving boyfriend, it is my solemnly sworn duty to indulge my adorably pent-up darling~

Which led to me now waking up, hours later before the sun is even up, though not too early either. It'll be about another forty-five minutes before first light, I suppose. More than enough time to prepare breakfast in bed.

With those thoughts in my mind, I finished refreshing myself a bit and was already in the elevator making my way down. I was in the mood for something fried today so I figured to make some bacon and crack some eggs. Maybe some toast too? Or perhaps pancakes? Would something sweeter be better, like french toast instead or would that be too heavy with everything else?

"W-W-W-WHAT-WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?!!!"

Hm? Someone else was already awake? Though looking closer at the their eyes and the empty cups near them, it doesn't seem like they've have much sleep.

Oh right. "A Bunny girl outfit, obviously."

"I KNOW WHAT IT IS! What I want to know is why you're wearing one!!" Nice retort, Komori! And thanks for the wolf whistle, Pony. I know I look good. As for Kuroiro, a fly might make it's way into your mouth if you don't pick up your jaw, your know?

"Isn't that also pretty obvious?" I gave her the best incredulous look I can give her without laughing. "I'm not telling you the details of my nightlife, Komori..."

"NIGH-BWUAH?!" She goes beet red, stampers and becomes incoherently babbling to herself.

"And she's broken..." I turned a question to Kuroiro and Pony as I made my way to the kitchen. "I take it that you three didn't have night as good as mine?"

The former only shook his head, still slack-jawed while the latter responded with a snort. "I wish. It's been rough." She sighed.

"Right... You're a transfer student. Your folks probably don't feel comfortable knowing their daughter is in the same country with active terrorists." I thoroughly washed my hands before taking out the ingredients I need. "I'm making breakfast, bacon and eggs. I'm still deciding whether or not to make pancakes though... Any requests while I'm already here?"

"Can I have a side of fruit with mine?" Pony asked, moving over to the kitchen island to have a better view of me cooking.

"Sure." I glanced at the other two who were still hawking. "And you guys?"

Kuroiro finally snapped out of it. "Yeah... Anything's fine."

"Extra spicy. Got it."

"Wait a minute! That not what I said!"

"Technically, it is."

"Is not! You know what I mean!"

"I don't. That's why I asked in the first place."

"Y-you!..."

"Me!" I gave him the best smug look I can while passing Pony her side of fruit.

His eye twitching at the silent pause, no doubt debating with himself at the feasibility of socking me in the face. He hesitated for a moment, and then, a sign. "Whatever..." He breathed out as he took a seat next to Pony, leading Komori by the hand.

"Oh ho?" A grin formed on my lips at the display. "Oh my, what's this? Did romance blossom amidst tragedy?"

They immediately let go of each other's hand. What was surprising was Komori sending a glare my way.

"What do you know?! How are you even in the mood to make jokes when those people are still out there!" She slammed both her hands on the table. "The three of us have been agonizing all night about whether we should just drop out of the hero course and here you are making light of it! Even during class, you either ignore everyone or you just brush us off with that ice-prince persona of yours and when things don't go your way, you try and make up to it by using food like you are right now! All of us worked hard to get here and you always, always make it seem so small that it isn't even worth your full attention! Like it was just child's play and that it was beneath you! Is that all it is to you? One big joke?! Huh?!"

Komori took off from her seat and dashed out of into the hall. Kuroiro looked at her, then gave an apologetic expression to me, before following after her.

"...Is that how she saw me all this time?"

Uiharu smiled, but then she gave me pointitative stare. "Although, Shuzenji-san, you should be more aware of yourself this time. I worry that people would misunderstand you without us to clear it up."

"I guess?" Pony shrugged. "To be fair, we did just go through something traumatic and you were being pretty nonchalant about it. Bunny outfit and all."

"...I just wanted to help you guys get your mind off of things. " I agreed with her. "In my defense, this isn't my first time dealing with something like this. Also, you are nonchalant about this too."

"America." She simply said like that was supposed to explain her stable state right now.

"Anyway, was it true about what she said? You considered dropping out?"

"Me? No way! I didn't fly all the way here just to chicken out. I get my folks are worried and all, but I'm not backing out now that I'm in this, y'know?"

"Yeah... Still, I didn't expect Kinoko of all people to see me like that all this time..."

"Give her a few days. She just needs some time. The girl lost her limbs, that's gonna mess someone up real good. Everyone else too, probably."

"Yeah..."

I finished up her plate of breakfast, along with Kuroko's. I left the rest of the ingredients out,in case anyone else wants to make a batch for themselves and said goodbye to Pony as I made my way back up to my room, food in hand.

I want my cuddles.