A few days ago, I could praise myself with the fact that I've never killed anyone before.
Such a strange thing to praise yourself over, but you'd be surprised how often heroes themselves do the same thing, especially if they have a severe and damaging quirk such as my Chaos.
Typically, when such a thing happens in movies or tv shows, the individual who committed the killing, no matter the situation, learns to get over it quickly, especially if it was in self-defense.
But this isn't fiction. This was reality, and I simply did not have a strong enough conscience to accept the fact that I did in fact kill someone, even if I was the one who was in danger.
For as long as I remember, I tried to push down Chaos and limit my madness, but that evening, I failed miserably.
And so, as my eyes began to flutter awake, and my mind became active to genuine thoughts, one can easily guess why my body decided to panic as soon as I could move.
I shot upwards from the infirmary bed with a shout, anxiety filling my frame upon recalling the nights events.
"Amora," an elderly voice called. Soon, my grandmother revealed her small self and approached me, immediately embracing me in attenpt to calm said uneasiness. "You're safe, it's alright."
Though, we weren't close, my grandmother was someone I knew I could put my undivided trust into, therefore, with that comforting atmosphere, I broke down right in front of her, needing to release my emotions. For many minutes, I cried into her shoulder, as she stayed still to accept it.
As I began to run out of tears, she separated herself from me, "Do you think you can talk about it?" She asked, raising her petite hand to push hair out of my face, and wiping away the tears with her thumb.
With a final sniffle, I looked to the ground, asking, ". . . What happened? Why am I here?" I did not recall the events that happened after Shouta picked me up.
"Not long after everything, well, happened, you went into shock. Mr. Aizawa brought you here."
Thinking for a moment, I eventually nodded weakly. Soon enough, though, tears were brought back to my eyes due to the fact that I simply could not stop thinking about what I've done.
"Take this," my grandmother said after a moment of gathering some things. In one hand were two pills, and in the other was a glass of water. I looked at her. "I can not heal emotional distress, nor can you to yourself, at least. Take these, it will calm your nerves and stabilize your blood pressure. They should pacify your dark stance for the meantime as well."
I took them from her, popping them into my mouth and drinking them down as she writes something on a note pad. After a minute, she looked upward, staring at the wall with sympathy. She was hesitating.
"What is it," I asked.
She waited a moment before ushering to the window. Slowly standing, I walked over, gazing out.
Dozens of people and reporters surrounded the school entrance. U.A security was pushing the crowd back and away from the crime scene, even though it technically wasn't a crime.
A few teachers stood by the doors to help prevent forced entry. The small group included Shouta and Hizashi. They both looked extremely exhausted and hungover.
"They need a statement from you," She said sympathetically, hating that this was forced on me and knowing it was probably too soon to discuss. "Nezu is on his way with a few of his most trusted men to record your statement."
This was all my fault.
⏦
"Is it true one of U.A's staff members committed a murder on campus property?"
"Was the League of Villains involved?"
"How will U.A respond?"
"Is it true that the woman who murdered this man is the daughter of Remedy?"
Killer.
All staff who was aiding in handling this stood firm and still, not allowing the reporters horrible comments and inquiries sway them.
Murderer.
It was clear on the face of Hizashi how infuriated this whole situation made him. A close friend of his was being labeled as a murderer whenever the people didn't know the whole story.
Not much has been publicly said other than U.A has suddenly hired a new assistant counselor. It was rumored that this person was the daughter of the beloved hero, Remedy, which only perked the media's interest even more. How they would love to write a story about how a great hero's child becomes a criminal so their company can receive a few days of fame.
Shouta stood stoic, expressionless, not appearing as bothered as Yamada, even though on the inside, he'd like the beat the hell out of everyone talking bad on U.A.
He remained silent, but Hizashi was so bothered he couldn't help but speak out, "You are trespassing on U.A. property. Miss Young, a victim, is recovering in the school's infirmary, so if you could all please—"
"Is U.A. protecting a killer?"
"Amora Young? The daughter of Remedy?"
But, since he actually responded to the crowd, they wanted more, further shoving their microphones and cameras in his face. Shouta elbowed his companion and shook his head in disapproval. With that, Hizashi stepped back, pushing his sunglasses up, crossing his arms and holding his ground, agreeing to stay quiet.
⏦
"Miss Young, I know it is abrupt, but the reputation of U.A is on the line and the public demands an official statement of last nights events."
Children and families of Musutafu were supposed to wake up with joy to see presents underneath their trees and to spend the day with loved ones, but instead, they woke up to seeing news about a potential murder at U.A High on their televisions.
Looking down at my lap, my fingers played with each other as the men in front of the infirmary bed awaited a response. Grandmother was asked to leave the room, so it was only me, Nezu, and two men. Nezu already heard the end of the story from the others.
Fighting the urge to cry, I forced myself to sit professionally and state what happened as clearly as I could.
"Some other teachers and I were out in town. We decided to grab some drinks. ."
"Were you intoxicated when this happened?" The reporter asked.
"No," I stated plainly, "My quirk will not allow intoxication unless I consume a mass amount. I only had a few." The reporter wrote this down before nodding. I proceeded, "I got into an argument with one of them, and was just. . so angry. So, I decided to head back to U.A. on my own."
"I told Aizawa and the others to never leave you alone in public," Nezu said strictly, obviously aggravated at the others for letting me go.
"—It wasn't his fault," I immediately responded with persistence, before calming. "It wasn't any of their faults. I'm the one that decided to walk away and didn't allow anyone to follow."
Nezu hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"I thought everything would be fine, I'd just go through the city where a villain wouldn't think to attack me, but I didn't consider the secluded walk up the hill to the school."
"You found this man already on school property? Was he waiting for you?" The other reporter asked, the one holding the voice recorder.
"I guess. . . He was one of the same men who attacked me the other night."
"Who was the other man?"
"I was told he is a wanted villain who goes by the name 'Giran'."
The reporters looked at each other, "What does the League of Villains want from you?"
"At first, I don't really know. I assume they were trying to take me to use for carnal pastime, but when they recognized that I had a remedial quirk, I interested them more. What they said to me was very vague, I can't really say," I paused before resuming the story, "He made a move to grab me, so I dazed him and ran towards the gates. When the door opened, I slid underneath and immediately pressed the button to make it close. I n—never. . ." I paused to gain my breathing. "I never expected him to follow after me."
I watched the reporter write everything I was saying down.
"What would you call this?"
Any other person would say self defense, but it really was just, "An accident."
After that, the reporters began to gather their things in conclusion. After the man shut off his recording device, he reached forward to shake my hand. "Miss Young, thank you for your time. Principal Nezu, I assure you the Musutafu police department will take care of this. You have nothing to worry about." Nezu nodded, paws behind his back. "There wasn't any facial recognition of this man in our system, so we gathered some DNA samples and we will be back with the school shortly to inform you of what we determined."
Nezu thanked the men, shook their hands, and watched them leave the infirmary. He, himself, stayed.
"I'm leaving U.A." I heard myself blurt out. This took the principal off guard. "I thank you for all that you have done for me, but I've only been here a few days and have already harmed the school. I really can't stay."
"Though, I respect your consideration for the school over your own safety, I personally encourage you to stay. I promised you that U.A would protect you, so if something were to happen outside, I would feel responsible. There is nothing to worry about, Miss Young. It's the least I can do for my old friend, Remedy. You're U.A family now."
His smile he always seemed to have was typically contagious, and he was being so generous towards me, but this time it just didn't feel right. He should not be going out of his way to protect me. His focus should be on his students. But it was obvious from the start how serious he was about this whole ordeal, so I decided to stay quiet.
With that, Nezu stood from his seating, dusted himself off and began to head to the door. "I do hope you decide to stay with us, Miss Young. Get some rest," he said before leaving, and subtly closing the door.
I was left in silence, so I decided to try to relax. Laying back down in the bed and covering myself up, I thought of what the future may hold if I did stay.
I suppose I could go back to America, but I never felt like I belonged when I was at the states. I don't know whether it was because of that or of the thought in the back of my mind that my father is still roaming the streets. Or not. He could be dead for all I know.
For a while, I expected to be left alone, but shortly after Nezu left, and I settled back down, I heard the door open. My back faced it, but I just assumed it was my grandmother returning to her office, so I remained still.
"Hey, Gran, do you have any more of those pills?" I asked, knowing the dosage she gave me is no where near the amount needed for me particularly.
"Amora," but it wasn't Grandmother.
Turning over, my eyes made contact with Shouta's.
"Oh," I breathed out, suddenly becoming nervous. Sitting up, I greeted him, "Hey. . Shouta."
"How are you feeling?" He asked, walking into the room. He literally looked dead, like he hasn't slept in months, but I suppose I looked the same as well.
I watched him walk over to the window and gaze out the window, checking on the crowd. There were a lot of shouts and flashes of cameras as the two trusted reporters were escorted off the property.
"As good as one can be," I wanted to chuckle to lighten the mood, but no matter how hard I thought the action, my brain was simply too drowned in woe to do such a thing.
After a moment, he moved away from the window and closed the blinds. Afterwards, he turned to me, "You shouldn't have to be dealing with this. I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry about, Shouta," I said softly, trying to sound assured. "Besides," I hesitated for a moment, "This was a wake up call for me. I might be leaving U.A. I will not risk putting your students in danger, like you said."
"I was wrong."
"—But you weren't," my voice raised slightly. I sighed, "I can't control Chaos and may not ever be able to. As if that isn't enough, I just killed someone involved with the League of Villains. This puts a giant target on the school. U.A has dealt with enough."
"No matter the circumstances I was compelled under, I promised Nezu I would protect you," Shouta said sternly, approaching me. "I will not fail again."
My eyes fell to my lap as I hushed myself.
"I will help you to control your quirk, and we'll take care of the League of Villains," he said, "You must not look too much into my bygone discourtesy, Amora. I was disrespectful and dwelling. There's no hard feelings. I promise to be executive with you from here on."
He has to be lying.
Shouta has always been someone to willingly admit when he is wrong, so the gesture is nice, but at the same time, I was in the wrong as well.
"I'm sorry as well," I said, looking up to him, "What I did all those years ago—"
"Really, Amora. It's fine." He said stoically, which is why I didn't believe him. "Like you said, it was over ten years ago."
We gazed at each other for a few seconds before he cleared his throat and turned for the door to leave.
"So, don't be a dumbass," he turned back to me, "Stay."
⋮
Author's Note:
Simple chapter, nothing exciting, but it is needed.
From here on out, there will be a lot more interaction between Amora and Shouta, I promise!
If you enjoyed, don't forget to vote and leave a comment! Feedback is always appreciated.
Stayed tuned for Chapter Nine!