Requiem of the Broken

Chapter 67: Titans

Ochako stood staring at the pile of ash that had once been Sasakura. She hadn't really known him very well, but she had liked him. Looking around at the state of the gym and the crack in the ground and wall, she also found herself gaining newfound respect for him. Retired or not, he had been a hero and had ultimately died a hero's death. Like so many others before him, the war had claimed the lives of more heroes. 

Nezu suddenly stirred and walked to the pile of ash, looking down at it he clasped his hands behind his back.

"Miss Uraraka, go support the team at Mount Kiso," he said, evenly.

Surprised she asked, "Are you sure you don't need-"

"I GAVE YOU AN ORDER!" Nezu yelled suddenly.

Taken aback she saw Nezu start shaking all over after his outburst. She took a step back and began to float in the air.

"Yes sir," she said, then zipped out of the gym through the crack in the wall.

There was silence in the gym, and Nezu breathed deeply, trying to get himself under control. He hadn't lost control like that in a very long time, he continued to stare at the pile of ash that had once been his oldest friend. Old hate boiled up inside him, mixed now with righteous fury.

"Humans..." he thought spitefully. His tiny claws came out of their sheaths by sheer instinct and dug into the flesh of his paws which were still behind his back.

He closed his eyes and took a deep shuddering breath, his claws slowly retracted and his shaking started to subside. When he opened his eyes again he was surprised to find tears in them. He hadn't shed a tear in decades, and he quickly wiped his eyes. While he had reigned in his emotions, he still felt that hate and burning anger churning inside him.

He turned to leave the gym and check the rest of the school and get a better picture of their situation. As he had done in the past in school days, he took his anger and hatred and channeled them into the task at hand. There was still a city to secure, civilians to rescue, and more. He would have to content himself with the knowledge that Ochako would ensure Zeus's downfall.

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Ochako flew out of the gym and into the sky and looked down at the school grounds. Not much had changed since she first entered, but she saw a group of people heading toward the main school building and sped toward them. She slammed into the concrete in front of the group, her gravity shielding up and excepting a fight when she recognized Aizawa leading a group of students.

"Aizawa!" she cried, relieved but also alarmed to see him being supported by a student.

"Uraraka, thank god, is the school secure?" Aizawa asked.

"Yes, Cementoss is held up on the third fourth floor, left side. Nezu is at Gamma Gym but I imagine he will run into you eventually. So far as I can tell, there are no more attackers on the grounds but they might be lurking somewhere." She said.

"Good, so long as we can get to the main building we can figure something out from there," he said, continuing to make his way toward the school.

"I can't stay, Nezu ordered me to help the others," she said.

Aizawa paused. "The city?" he asked.

"I've taken care of the cause of the earthquake and things seem to be stabilizing but the city took as much damage as it did during the League's invasion," she said bitterly.