Another Form Of Power

Chapter 8

There was something...

He'd only met Imoku Kakurete once. The man had been affable, pleasant, even when giving the news of the new assessments. He had been genuinely caring, just as he was now.

"Eighty percent more!" Kakurete was reinforcing his point. "Do we think we can just ignore it, that it will go away? Of course not! We forget, that not so very long ago, we were all quirkless. We don't like to hear it, we don't like to know it and we ignore that 20% of the population born today is not blessed with a quirk. Instead we persecute these people. We bully and belittle them.

"We try to pretend they don't exist." Imoku paused at that announcement.

Nedzu nodded slightly. This was a political speech given at a press conference and like all political speeches there would be fact checking done on it available to the public. UA's Principal already knew Kakurete's facts would be true. The politician was one of those who preferred to rely on truth rather than easily disproved lies. Such an earnest politician should be celebrated but perhaps that was the problem...

"Japan has a long history of ignoring what it does not like! Have we already forgotten our shame? Have we forgotten how insular we were? How we called those of mixed race not Japanese? We made a mockery of ourselves then. We forgot that there is no mixed race, there is only one race on this planet, human! But we were content to draw shallow definitions. We were content to push the issue aside, ignoring the pain it caused. Are we once again content that if it is not public, if it does not affect us, there is no shame? That forgets that an absence of shame is not the presence of honour! It forgets that ignorance, that deliberate dismissal is the very definition of dishonour!"

"Shouta," Nedzu said to the other in his office. "What do you think?"

Class 2-A's Homeroom teacher looked at the TV, his eyes focused on the politician who was speaking. "He makes a good speech."

Nedzu knew he shouldn't have expected much more. He gave the imitation of a smile. "He does," the Principal agreed. Aizawa couldn't keep up with his intellect but he was smart enough not to make himself appear dumb. "You've never thought about him?"

"Those who are quirkless, we consider beneath us. We don't notice when they disappear. We just look away. But we know where they are going. We've always known, we just choose not to know. We choose to look away as those who are quirkless are pushed to the edges of society. Are bullied, belittled, and discriminated against. We feel as if we do nothing wrong when they are turned away. We feel as if we can because they are somehow lesser!"

"Not really," Shouta replied.

Nedzu looked at the Pro-hero. "Perhaps you should," he suggested.

On the screen he could see the way several reporters were looking down at their phones. No doubt they were already checking Imoku's words. From the distasteful expressions the Principal could see, the reporters weren't liking what they found but since they hadn't interrupted, the rat-man already knew the reporters hadn't caught Kakurete in a lie.

"Those we deem quirkless, and even those with quirks deemed useless, gather in our slums and our ghettos. They have no other choice. Why? Are they less human? No! It is proof that our society has become skewed. Too often to we blindly worship those with strong quirks, and ignore others. Too often do we focus on that one aspect, the quirk, ignoring the man beneath."

The politician didn't name anyone but Nedzu was confident that even the most dense would understand the reference to Endeavor. Aizawa must have thought so too as he glared at the screen. Endeavor was still causing Heroes problems, even after the Hero Public Safety Bureau delisted him. The court cases were dragging on. Not as sensational as they had been but a constant grind, a constant mark against the work heroes were doing.