Assassins Can Be Heroes Too || Todoroki Shoto

|56| The Aftermath {Pt. 1}

The Next Day, at U.A. High...

It was a total loss.

Vlad King got the word out, because fifteen minutes after the Villains escaped, rescue workers and firefighters showed up. Out of the forty-one students at the camp, fifteen were in critical condition thanks to the gas Villain's attack. Eleven more had injuries of varying degree, thirteen got off without a scratch... and two were missing.

Of the six Pros, one had suffered a serious head injury. Another couldn't be found, having only left behind a massive bloodstain.

On the other side, three of the Villains were arrested at the scene. With the exception of those three, the others vanished without a trace.

"It would seem... that this training camp that the students had all been looking forward to ended in the worst way imaginable," Nezu heaved. He pursed his lips, his eyes cast on the newspaper in front of him as the teachers silently listened. "We established the training camp to prepare for the battle against the Villains, and then they attacked it... the irony is embarrassing, indeed. We took their 'Villain Revival' too lightly; they've already begun their war: the war to destroy our Hero society.

"But even if we had taken it more seriously, could we have prevented the relentless flurry of attacks?" Midnight stared, "most organised crime has been eliminated since the rise of All Might, so all that's left is the best of the worst..."

"We got too complacent in this peaceful era," agreed Mic, "otherwise there'd be no need for preparations when we realised what was happening."

"I'm just mad about how useless I was," All Might growled lowly, hanging his head, "I was relaxing in the bath while they were out there fighting for their lives..."

"Where are Aizawa and Vlad?" piped up Midnight, gazing around, "they're not here."

"They're talking with the detectives and police," the principal responded.

"I reckon we can't pretend to be undaunted any longer... like how we went and held the Sports Festival just after U.S.J. was attacked," Snipe observed, "letting two students get wrangled is one of our biggest failures."

"Wasn't just Bakugo and Dart they stole," agreed Mic, "they took away the public's trust in us Heroes."

"Not to mention, the media's having a field day censuring U.A.," added Nezu, standing up and displaying a newspaper article, "we can assume they intentionally targeted Bakugo because that crazed, violent image of him at the Sports Festival was widely disseminated, and Rie because of her assassination background."

There was silence as the teachers let the information sink in.

"Speaking of lost trust," coughed Mic, drawing their attention to the Voice Hero, "it seems reasonable to bring this up now... we have a mole."

"What do you-"

"Only the teachers and the Pussycats knew about the Training Location! But we've got to consider other suspects; if a student used the GPS function on their phone, then-"

"Mic!" interrupted Midnight, "cut it out!"

"Like hell, I will-"

"Can you even prove that you're in the clear?" Snipe speculated, proving his point as the loud Hero faltered, "we can't even be sure if one of us is the traitor. Once we start suspecting one another and jumping at the shadows, we'll destroy ourselves from the inside. If we're searching for a mole or traitor, we shouldn't do it in a panic."

"Snipe's right," Nezu assented pacifically, "for what it's worth, I happen to trust all of you. That being said, I have no clear way to prove my own innocence... anyway, the task at hand is to ensure the students' safety. Adding onto that, there's something I've been considering for a while now-"

A phone call is here!

A phone call is here!

"A-ah, sorry about that," All Might hurriedly stood while he bowed apologetically.

"We're in the middle of a meeting, turn that thing off!"

What a lame ringtone... sweat-dropped Midnight, the staff watching as he hastily hurried out.

The No. 1 Hero stood outside the office, clenching his fists as he glared at the floor. What kind of Symbol of Peace can't even save his own students?! Some Hero I am... He exhaled, bringing the phone to his ear.

"All Might," the voice breathed in relief, "I thought for a second you were going to hang up on me."

"I would never... so what's up, Tsukauchi?"

"I'm getting statements from your two colleagues right now, but we've got a shocking development in the case! We may have pinpointed the League of Villains' hideout!"

His eyes widened as he perked up, now paying full attention to the detective on the other side of the line.

"Around two weeks ago, one of my men was out canvassing for information. One witness saw a man with a 'patchwork face' enter the building, one that didn't have many tenants. We searched the database for convicted criminals around 20 years of age, but none fit the profile."

"Continue..." he began slowly, "what else did you find?"

"When we contacted the landlord, we learned that there was a bar inside, a hidden one, like a shelter. It didn't seem connected to the investigation at the time, so we moved on... but now, that description matches one of the Villains who kidnapped your students, right?!"

"Yeah..." he was beginning to like the direction that this was headed in.

"Given the situation, we'll raid the place as soon as we've got enough information! This is all top-secret, but I figured you should know!" he sounded like an excited child whose favourite Hero had  just shown up, "for this rescue and search-and-destroy operation, I'd like to ask you to join us."

There was silence.

"All Might?"

"You're... one heck of a pal, Tsukauchi," he murmured, the detective perking up, "when we find those criminals, I'm going to say 'I am here to fight back'!"

The male let a small smile stretch across his face.

"I knew I could count on you, All Might."

He turned away, hanging up and giving the two teachers a nod of confirmation.

"Thank you," he bowed, the teachers standing and mirroring his action.

"Please... return them safely," Aizawa murmured before turning away, walking out of the department alongside Vlad. Upon hearing them depart, a grim expression crossed over his face as he exhaled deeply, tilting his hat downwards so that the rim covered his dark-brown eyes.

"Now... to contact him."